Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
All of this weighs heavier and heavier on my shoulders. The door leading from the hall opens, and I expect it to be a doctor or a nurse, but instead, it's one of my own men. “Sorry, boss. I, uh, wanted to bring the phones over for Romero. He said he wanted to take a look at them.”
The way Nathan's eyes dart around the suite, it's clear he's not sure how much he can get away with saying.
“We're alone,” I confirm. “I thought somebody would've brought them over by now.” What a blur it's been. I barely know which way is up or who's coming and going.
“Sorry, we've been pretty busy,” he explains. “They left a real mess back there, although we got it cleaned up.” I'm sure the memory of having his nose broken when he mouthed off to me is a lot of the reason why he seems so hesitant now.
“This type of thing would've been much more useful yesterday.” He doesn't need to explain it to me. Normally, Romero would have reminded someone that he gave an order which hadn't yet been obeyed. This is not a normal situation. Even when I told him to go home and shower, he refused to move from Tatum's side.
“I'm supposed to protect her. I already failed her once. I won't leave her again.” That was his only explanation, and I didn't ask for more. At the heart of it, we're a lot alike. That's probably why we work so well together—and why it's so easy for him to push my buttons.
“Can I...” Nathan gestures toward Tatum's room, looking pained as he hesitates before opening the glass door leading inside.
“Go ahead, go in and give them to him.”
Nathan's engaged in quiet conversation with Romero on the other side of the glass when the door to the suite opens again, and this time it's Charlie. I told him to go home and stay there and that I'd update him when I had more information. Clearly, he doesn't care what I have to say.
Instantly, my stomach sinks. He doesn't know about the video, and I don't plan to show it to him. It would kill him to see her that way—it nearly killed me. He might not be my favorite person, but we're both fathers. I would hope he'd grant me the same courtesy if it was Tatum being held by a fucking maniac.
“Any news?”
It's a good thing lying comes so naturally to me. “No. Nothing's changed, though we're closer to narrowing down our list of suspects. One of my guys brought the phones from the warehouse in, and I'm hoping we'll find a little more information on one of them. I told you I'd call you if I had any news.”
“I don't take orders from you.” He grumbles, “And how is Tatum?” He goes to the door, his shoulders slumping further when he finds her condition unchanged.
“The doctor is confident she'll be fine. She just has a lot of healing to do and is tired from all the meds and the concussion. She did manage to stay awake for a minute or two but passed out again pretty quick.”
“That can happen sometimes,” he murmurs, watching her through the glass door. “Back in the day, when I was working cases, we sometimes had a victim like that. We'd need to talk to them, but they couldn't stay conscious long enough to talk. It's sort of the brain's way of escaping reality—that's what the doctor told me once.”
“She's definitely seen enough to make anybody want to escape.” My poor girl. How will I ever make this up to her? It would take the rest of my life, every single day, and even then, I doubt it would be enough. I'll never forgive myself, and I wouldn't blame her if she never forgives me for leaving her vulnerable to the darkest aspects of my world.
We both step aside when Nathan leaves Romero alone again. He nods briefly to Charlie and me. “I better get back to the house.”
“Yeah, keep your phone on you and contact me immediately if anything changes.” He gives me a nod and disappears out of the room.
“How many people do you have on this?” Charlie asks once we're alone again.
“Every man I have employed, plus all of Romero's contacts—which means half the city.”
“And nobody's found anything?”
Again, my thoughts go back to the video. “I have reason to believe Jack Moroni is the man behind this.”
“Yes, the name sounds familiar. You used his name before when you were trying to narrow the list down.”
“He wanted to arrange a marriage between Tatum and his son, and of course I didn't go for it. He's been fucking with my business ever since, but I never imagined… I mean, I couldn't have thought it would end this way.”