Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 72822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Why did you think she had postpartum depression?” Jack asked. “What, other than what you’ve already told us, put all these red flags in your head?”
I tried to think back to an instance in time, and I couldn’t pinpoint one.
“Mostly it was due to the fact that she said she had it, that Drake said she had it. Then, when the baby was younger, maybe about two months old, she told me about wanting him to go to Heaven. After that, it was like she almost stopped… loving him.”
Dante hissed in a breath.
“What do you mean she stopped loving him?”
“The kisses,” I said. “She used to give him kisses all day, every day. She’d dote on him. But, after she told me about that dream, it was as though she started to distance herself from him. I’d come over, and the baby would be crying. I’d arrive for coffee, and she’d hand him over, almost as if she couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.”
Nobody knew what to say to that.
“Maybe she was distancing herself because she knew he wouldn’t be here much longer.”
That was Janie.
We all looked in her direction.
“What?”
Janie flushed at Rafe’s quiet question.
“Maybe she knew what was about to happen.”
“You mean, maybe she knew that Drake would kill her child, and she was trying to minimalize her feelings so it didn’t hurt as much?” I offered.
Janie looked at me and nodded gratefully. “Yes, exactly.”
“Maybe,” I murmured, looking down at my hands.
The room was silent after that, almost as if no one knew what to say.
“Well,” Jack muttered. “I haven’t heard back from Winter yet. Once I do, I can give you the number on those boxes… do you mind if I keep this?”
Dante waved his hand away.
“Fine.”
Jack grunted his thank you, and I looked around.
Was this where we left? We didn’t know anything more than when we arrived.
Well, kind of.
I now suspected that Drake was a terrible person who had a hand in killing my friend. She may not have died from anything that he could be convicted for, but he’d certainly played a part in how her treatments were handled.
Shit.
“Do I kick him out of my house?”
“I think you should tell him that you’re selling it,” Rafe piped in. “Tell him that you’re strapped for cash and that you have no choice. If you want, I can be the go-between.”
I looked at the man across the table.
“That makes sense,” I muttered as I turned my eyes to the table, trying not to stare at the man.
Rafe—Raphael—was beautiful. So, so beautiful.
Normally, he would be the type of man I would go for. Tall, dark, and dangerous. But there was something about Dante, though, with his brooding good looks, and his anger that was almost palpable, that really had me gravitating toward him.
“If I tell him that I have to pay for cancer treatments, he’ll understand,” I muttered almost to myself.
The table went silent.
Sam, who was shuffling his papers into a neat stack, froze. Jack stopped repeatedly clicking his ballpoint pen. Janie, who’d been absently spinning in one of the chairs, stilled. And Max stopped tapping his fingers against the tabletop and stared at me.
Dante, who’d been at my side absently cracking his knuckles, was the only one who continued to do so.
My eyes came up, and I found myself staring at Rafe again, who looked considerably more interested in me.
“You have cancer?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Dante beat me to it.
“Yeah, breast cancer. She says she’s not doing anything for it, though.”
I turned a glare on the man at my side.
They seriously didn’t need to know that.
Rafe grunted.
I looked back at him, and he was scrutinizing me with a gaze that I was sure took in every minute detail, down to the tiny hairs that I probably had growing on my chin.
“I once thought I had testicular cancer, but it turns out it was an infection.”
I blinked.
“You did?”
My eyes automatically went to his pants, where his testicles would be, causing him to laugh.
“If you’re wondering, I lost one of the boys,” he expounded.
“That’s why we call him Uniball,” Sam muttered, and he, too, was looking at me.
“Rafe will be a good fit for this, don’t you think?” Jack asked, I assumed, Sam.
Rafe sat back in his chair and continued to study me.
“I have to go overseas in a few weeks, but other than that, I should be free,” Rafe added.
Sam grunted and stood.
“Sounds like a plan.” He handed the stack of papers back to Janie. When he’d taken them from her, I didn’t know. “Make a copy of those and give the duplicates to Dante in case he needs what we have. Dante,” he turned to study the man at my side, “when we get more info, I’ll let you know. For now, Rafe is free to use as you please. If anybody asks, though, make it sound like you’ve hired him. We don’t want anyone thinking he’s working with us due to liability reasons.”