Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
She paused and glanced at him, waiting for a nod before she continued. “It turns out, he was involved with the Mob. After you dropped me off after school that last day, I walked into the house to find the FBI waiting.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, the only outer reaction she’d seen so far.
“They told us we were leaving and I had five minutes to pack a few personal items and we would be disappearing. Witness Protection, they said.”
“Holy shit.” He shook his head, his eyes wide in obvious shock. “You have no fucking clue how hard I tried to find you. The lengths I went to, the hacking… and you were a ghost. And when you showed up with another name, things started to fall into place.”
“Hacking?” she asked, her voice rising. She’d never want him to get into trouble because of her.
A smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. The man was too damned sexy for his own good. Or hers. “A story for another day. Go on.”
“I got hysterical. I didn’t want to leave my home, my friends. Most of all, I didn’t want to leave you.” Her eyes filled at the memory of that awful day. “You can’t imagine I’d leave you without a word? We were so close. We understood each other.” She’d thought they were soulmates. He’d lost his mother and she had as well. They had a bond.
His jaw tightened and he visibly forced himself to relax. “I thought so too, so let me be clear. I understand why you disappeared,” he said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “I don’t get why you didn’t try to reach out and let me know you were okay, before you left. Even if you couldn’t explain where you were going, at least I would have had that. You had to know I would lose my mind once I realized you were gone with no word.”
She walked back to the table and sat in the seat closest to him. “I did know that. And if I hadn’t been so frightened by the agents who escorted us out of the house, I would have. But they told me if I didn’t memorize everything, if I opened my mouth, my father would be killed. I was sixteen years old and the kind of kid who did as I was told. When federal agents said my dad would die, and my baby sister was at risk, I believed them.”
He stared at her for a few uncomfortable beats. “But eventually? You never thought to reach out? Did you forget about what we shared so easily?”
Though his voice was clipped, she heard the hurt beneath. “Of course not! At first not only was I afraid to defy the agents, but I also thought you’d be safer without me contacting you. If the Mob was after my father, there was no way I wanted to put you in danger.”
She rose and began to pace the kitchen.
“My family would have protected me.”
“Really?” She raised her eyebrows and shot him a disbelieving look. “It was the Mob and you hadn’t yet turned eighteen. Money couldn’t protect you.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, remembering those difficult days.
“And later? You certainly thought it was safe enough to show up now.”
He wasn’t being stubborn, he was revealing his reality. One she hadn’t let herself think about too closely or she’d never have stopped crying or gotten out of bed.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. “Haven’t you ever reached a point in your life where you think, it’s too late? If I wanted to have any kind of life, I had to push you out of my mind. I had no choice. I didn’t use social media, and though I was tempted to borrow my sister’s account and look you up, I didn’t. Because I had to move forward.”
His jaw was still clenched tight but his eyes no longer shot daggers at her. No doubt he’d had to move on too. Something else she hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on.
“After I took Dani and we ran, I needed gas and I wanted to load up on food for the trip. We were in line at a rest stop when I saw a magazine and your family was on the cover. At the Cannes Film Festival. I couldn’t not look so I skimmed the article.”
He shook his head. “I hate publicity. The whole blow up after Nikki’s mother tried to kill Winter, the hero shit… so not my thing. I don’t know how Harrison deals with it, but we went to support his film.” His lips lifted and she saw the pride in her eyes for his sibling.
“You are so fortunate to have so many brothers and your sisters.” She smiled at him but knew he needed her to finish her story. “Anyway, that article was how I discovered you not only owned the bars but you ran a P.I. business to find missing people. I knew then you could help me. I was already driving east with no idea where to go. Seeing you, reading that… it was like a sign.”