Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I’m afraid.”
“You don’t have to be.” He stands and holds out a hand. “Come on. Come see your father.”
I hesitate, but I take his big palm, and I follow him.
Chapter 37
Hellie
Erick takes me to an empty guest room at the back of the house. It’s sparse, simple, with only a big bed and a chair shoved in the corner.
Dad’s standing near the window. He’s looking outside, his hands folded behind his back. I recognize him from the way he stands with his shoulders square and his chin up like he’s taking on the entire world. But the moment he turns around, my hand comes up to my mouth.
He’s thin. So much thinner than I’ve ever seen him. Gaunt, emaciated, his eyes sunken. His hair’s gray and short, and his beard’s gone wiry and long. His gaze is still sharp and blue, but his hands are gnarled, his knuckles swollen, and his clothes hang off him like they’re two sizes too big.
“Hi, honey,” he says, smiling broadly. “How are you, Heloise?”
“Dad?” I step into the room. Tears threaten and I struggle against them. Erick remains near the door, watching. “You’re seriously here?”
“I’m here.” He spreads his arms, as if for a hug, but I don’t get closer. He lets his arms drop after an awkward moment. “It’s not often a big crime lord like Erick Costa invites me to his home. I couldn’t turn him down, you know?” His eyes shine like he knows it wasn’t really an invitation.
Dad. After all this time. There he is, standing in the flesh.
I finally rush over and give him a hug. It’s so strange, he’s all skin and bones, which shocks me. He laughs gently as I pull back and wipe my eyes, the tears finally winning. “Are you hurt?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” Dad says, his smile sadder now. Like he’s not telling the full truth. “All things considered, Erick’s been easy on me.”
“He deserved at least a beating,” Erick grumbles.
Dad laughs. “That’s very true. At least.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on.” I look between the two men. “Are you two going to explain? Why are you acting like you’re friendly?”
“You can talk.” Erick steps through the door. “I’ll be nearby if you need me. I can’t hear what you’re saying, so you’ll have to yell.”
He shuts the door.
I shake my head in shock, trying to comprehend this situation. Erick has Dad, and Dad stole from Erick, and Dad should be extremely dead—but he’s not.
Instead, Dad’s standing in this room, and he’s alive.
“What’s happening?” I ask as he walks over to the bed and sits down with a sigh like it was hard for him to stay on his feet for long. His breathing is labored. He was always in such good shape, and seeing him now, like this, it’s disturbing.
“Well, I got caught. Lucky for me, I got caught by Erick, instead of by Gallo or Frost. Those sadistic fucking pricks.”
“I’m sorry, that was my fault. I opened your email on his computer—”
He waves that away. “The email was a stupid risk. I was trying to find you in person, but you disappeared, and I heard the rumors about you getting snatched by Erick, and I got desperate.”
“I guess the rumors were true. Erick really did pick me up.”
“So it seems.” He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment as if gathering himself before looking at me again. “Are you okay?”
I laugh, trying to figure out how to answer that. I was drugged and kidnapped and forced to paint, but I’m also the happiest I’ve ever been, or at least I was before Erick and I got into that ugly fight when I tried to escape. Now I’m mostly confused and tired, running on no sleep, basically dangling over a chasm.
“It’s complicated,” I eventually say. “But I’m physically fine.”
“Good. That’s good.” He leans back and looks tired. “I have a lot to tell you.”
“Why did you need to meet? Why the hell are you still in Vegas? You should be long gone by now. Everyone assumed you were on some tiny island somewhere hiding out.”
“I never left. Running was an option, but it never came to that. The plan went so fucking wrong.”
“What plan? Dad, what were you thinking, why would you steal from the casinos? You know what they’re going to do to you.”
He nods slowly, still smiling, but it’s sad now and an ugly dread fills my guts. “Listen, hon. I’ve known for a while, and I guess I should’ve told you, but you’ve always been sensitive. I didn’t want you to suffer along with me, you know?”
A horrible, ugly pit opens under my body. I feel like I’m spiraling down into the dark.
“What are you talking about? You know what?”
“Heloise, I’ve got cancer, and it’s the bad kind that doesn’t go away.”