Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
He scoops up Archie and walks toward the door. I leap to my feet, meaning to run around him, but then Blake lurches ahead and shuts the door quickly behind him. I hammer my fist against it, thinking of Dad, thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to him.
“I hate you,” I scream, not meaning it even for a moment. “You hear me, Blake? I hate you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Blake
I hear Bonnie’s voice in my head as Malcolm and I drive out to the city, a Kilt car following us. Her words bounce around my skull, harsher each time.
I hate you, she screamed. I deserve it but probably worse. She wants to do the right thing and save her dad, but she doesn’t understand the life and doesn’t understand what Enzo could do to her. If I gave her the details of what Francesco had done to Isla, maybe Bonnie would have some idea, but I’d never do that. It would break her.
“It’ll be fine, boss,” Malcolm says. “Massimo will see sense. Enzo can’t make absurd demands like forcing a daughter to pay for her father’s debits. If we’ve got the money, he has to take the payment. This is business, after all.”
I nod, teeth gritted, hoping my second-in-command is right.
I slam my hand against the steering wheel. “Fuck.”
Malcolm sits beside me. He drove on the way up, but I was too filled with buzzing energy to sit placidly in the passenger seat.
“That was a waste of time,” I growl.
During the meeting with the head of the Italians, we learned Enzo has disappeared and missed a meeting this morning. He’s not answering his phone, even from Massimo, the boss.
“This isn’t about the money.” As I speak, I imagine punching Enzo so hard that his gold tooth flies out of his mouth. “Enzo just wants to humiliate Cameron and get his daughter to grovel in front of him. Or worse, he’ll hurt them both. He’ll start another war.”
“A war?” Malcolm says.
I stare fiercely at him. “If the Italians cause Bonnie one second of pain—if they physically hurt or destroy her by hurting her dad—it’s war. I’ll kill Enzo and every member of his little clique. Nobody will be safe.”
“You really care about this girl,” Malcolm says.
“Yeah, I do.” More than anything.
“Find a way for us to reach Enzo,” I tell Malcolm. “Phone numbers of all his businesses, all his associates. He doesn’t want the camp to contact him but wants to play games with us. I bet he hasn’t made it too difficult.”
“I’ll put the feelers out right now,” he says, taking out his phone.
I rub my eyes, fighting the idea of sleep. I can’t rest until my old best friend is safe. Until the future grandfather to my children is safe.
My cellphone rings. It’s Dorman, one of the guards on my estate.
“Hello?”
“She’s gone.”
I sit upright, a jolt running through me. “What do you mean, gone? She was in her bedroom.”
“The window’s open. She must’ve climbed down the trellis for the creepers. The plants are disturbed.”
“But she must be on the estate,” I snap.
“We’re looking.”
“Keep looking. I’m on my way.”
Malcolm is busy on the phone, but he quickly buckles his belt when I speed out of the parking spot.
Bonnie, what did you do? I can’t protect her if she’s on the run. She must be hiding on the estate somewhere. I drive fast, speeding away from the city. As I near the estate, Dorman calls again.
“Still no sign of her,” Dorman says on the loudspeaker as I drive.
“We’re almost there,” I reply. “Have you checked every room?”
“Yeah, and the grounds.”
“What about the security footage?”
“It shows her leaving the house, but then she walks into a blind spot.”
I drive up to my estate’s large gate, waiting as the guards trigger the electronic opening mechanism. As the doors slowly widen, showing me more of the greenery and the estate, I realize what my woman did. It was a crazy plan, but I can see it clearly.
She appears from just beside the gate and runs through the opening gap, ducking left into the small forest which borders my estate. Her hair’s tied up, her ponytail bobbing as she runs, her arms pumping fast. She climbed out of her window, then hid near the gate, knowing I’d return, and it would have to open. She’s tenacious. Perfect motherhood material, but there’s no time to dwell on that.
I leap from the car, running after her, breath loud in my ears. Disaster scenarios taunt me. My mind tortures me with all the things Enzo could do to her if she gets away and somehow returns to the city. Evil, ugly images, and vicious sounds. I push them away as I hurry through the trees.
I catch up with Bonnie quickly, jogging just behind her. She’s determined. She ducks her head and runs fast. A roar escapes me when she trips. I’m there quickly, leaping into the underbrush to cushion her fall. I catch her and cradle her in my arms as she slams against me.