Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 72340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Mack shuffles his feet back and forth for a moment as if he’s nervous. Then he talks, and my life spirals out of control.
“I found out from one of Luccio’s men that her father works for the FBI.” The second the words leave his mouth, I’m retaliating.
“That’s crazy! This whole thing is a lie!” I frantically assert over and over again. Tears escape my eyes as I try to make sense of the whole thing. Why would Mack say these things?
“So, all the info you have comes from Luccio. There is no other source?” he inquires, deathly calm.
“I confirmed his info with other sources… and there is more.” What now? What additional lies can he come up with? What more could rip me to pieces other than Enzo thinking that my father is in the FBI? That I had betrayed him?
“Talk.”
All I want to do is cover my ears. I don’t want to listen to the lies that bastard will spew.
“Not only is her dad in the FBI, but he was the one who shot and killed your mother. Amara knew this all along. She knew this whole time. She was simply pretending to be something that she wasn’t.”
The accusation has me flailing for air. What did he just say? Though nothing about this is funny, I feel like laughing. Mack is crazier than I ever thought.
“Is that true?” Enzo grits out through his teeth. His eyes are so dark. He doesn’t even look like himself.
The tears keep coming, so I’m unable to gain my voice to say anything. Without an answer, he loses it. He comes at me and grabs my arm with his free hand while digging the gun into my side.
“Is that fucking true?” he screams, his face right on mine. His hands grip my arms as he shakes me until my teeth rattle in my head.
All I see is a blur of him as I try to get my mind and body to function so I can answer him. My legs hit the floor as he pushes me down, releasing me to walk away. His hand grips his hair as he stares at the gun in his other hand and back down to me.
“No. No, it’s not true,” I whimper, tears still falling. “Don’t listen to him,” I plead, looking him straight in the eyes.
“Silence,” he orders, walking over to me with his hand raised. Will he hit me? Will he hurt me?
“That isn’t true!” I shoot back. “Nothing he is saying is true…”
Silence ensues for a long second before Enzo speaks. “Get the ropes and tape!” he yells to Mack. I’m lying on the ground on my side when his face comes into my vision.
“Was it all a lie, Amara? Was it all some fucked up lie so that you could get into my head? So you could get the inside job done and walk away unscathed?” His voice is so loud in my ears, I push away from him.
“Was it?” he shouts, demanding a response, his fingers gripping my chin, pulling me closer again.
“No!” I gasp. “I love you. I really do. I don’t know what he’s talking about. He’s a liar.”
I try to push myself up. I need to get up to escape, but I know there’s no point in running. Enzo wants me dead. The man I love wants me to die.
“Enzo, maybe you should calm down. Take a breather,” Eli says, reminding me that he is still here. Again, I’m shocked that it’s him who is the voice of reason. “Something doesn’t add up…”
Enzo shakes his head like he doesn’t want to hear what his friend is saying. I look at Eli, pleading with him with my eyes to keep going, to make him understand.
What kind of fucked up day is this, that Eli out of all people, is the one who is on my side.
Mack comes back into the room, shooting Eli a dirty look.
“Bind her feet and duct tape her mouth,” Enzo orders Mack. Taking a step back, and I await my fate.
“I didn’t do it...” I cry and beg. My pleas go unnoticed. Enzo finds a bottle of bourbon and starts drinking it straight from the bottle.
“Shut up, you stupid bitch,” Mack says smugly, pressing my face into the wood floor while he binds my hands and feet together with the rope.
“Listen to me!” I demand over and over again. Nothing changes in the way he looks at me. I know the hate he has for the people who killed his mother, and I know even the absurd possibility of me having any relation to them will do me no good.
“I changed my mind, leave the duct tape off,” Enzo coldly commands. His voice is far off, and I wonder if it’s me who’s slipping away or him. My body is pulled up until I’m resting on my knees before him. Is he really going to kill me? Is this the end?