 by Charmaine Pauls.jpg)
Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
In my line of business, every day dawns with the smell of death in the air. But it’s not a bullet that’s going to slay me. It’s Sabella, the woman who was promised to me, the woman who betrayed me.
I hate and want her in equal measure, an agonizing situation of my own making. We’re heading down a path of destruction, but there’s no turning back. At the first chance she gets, she’ll stab me in the back again. She’s a dangerous risk and a threat to my family. If I were wise, I’d eliminate that risk and leave her funeral to the sharks. I must be an idiot, because I’m going to finish what I started, no matter the cost.
Note: Tears Like Acid is the 3rd book in the Corsican Crime Lord series. Love Like Poison (Book 1) and Hate Like Honey (Book 2) must be read first. Sabella and Angelo's story concludes in Kisses Like Rain (Book 4). The story contains scenes not recommended for sensitive readers. Reader discretion is advised.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Previously in Hate Like Honey
Corsican Crime Lord, Book Two
After the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of Angelo’s mother and sister, Angelo learns that Benjamin Edwards, Sabella’s father, paid their mechanic to cut the brake cables. Ben’s target was Angelo and his father, Santino. Santino and Angelo swear revenge.
Roch, the bodyguard Angelo employed to protect Sabella, shares the shocking news of the tragic deaths of Angelo’s family with Sabella. When she asks her brother, Ryan, about it, he tells her to mind her own business.
Growing increasingly concerned about her father’s withdrawal and absent-minded behavior, Sabella pays him a surprise visit at the office, only to walk in on a gruesome scene. Santino Russo stands over the body of her father, and Angelo is crouched next to him, holding a gun in his gloved hand.
After rendering her unconscious, Angelo informs Ryan of the turn of events. Sabella wakes up to find Ryan on the murder scene. When she urges him to call the authorities, he tells her that they can’t involve the police. Their father commissioned the hit on Santino and Angelo, which by an unforeseen turn of events claimed the lives of the mother and sister. They have to stage their father’s death as a suicide.
Sabella faints as a result of the shock. During the next two days, Ryan bribes a doctor to keep her in an induced coma for her body and brain to recover from the trauma. Santino returns to Corsica, but Angelo remains in South Africa in case damage control is necessary. When he learns that Sabella has been admitted to hospital, he slips into her room at night.
Angelo’s visits to take care of Sabella manifests in her dreams. When she wakes up, her family is present. Ryan confesses the true nature of their illegal business. Unable to share the terrible truth with anyone, the burden and guilt weigh her down. In an effort to expel the emotions torturing her, she swims out far to sea.
Roch saves her from almost drowning. In a fight that ensues, Angelo orders Roch to return to Corsica for verbally assaulting and pushing Sabella. The confrontation between Sabella and Angelo turns violent, and in the heated argument that follows, their passion gets out of hand.
Sabella hates herself for succumbing to her desire for Angelo again, especially after what had happened. While her family is arranging the funeral, they learn more devastating news. Sabella’s father had a second family that he kept secret from them. At the reading of his will, they meet his mistress and their half-sister. The betrayal cuts Sabella deep. She starts doubting her relationship with her father, not sure what was real.
Concern about Sabella’s near-drowning drives Angelo to seek her doctor’s advice. Could the incident be seen as an attempted suicide? The doctor advises Angelo not to submit Sabella to more stress. He declares that it won’t be conducive to her mental state to move her to Corsica so soon. Eager to finally claim his betrothed and marry her, Angelo is faced with a dilemma. In the midst of having to make a decision, his uncle calls with bad news. Santino had a heart attack. Angelo returns home, leaving Sabella behind once more.
Ryan takes over the business in George. He moves back into the big house with Celeste, his wife, and their son, Brad, to be close to his mother after the ordeal. As Sabella can no longer board with Ryan and Celeste while attending university in Cape Town, Ryan rents her a beautiful villa in Camps Bay.
In the meantime, Angelo is slowly unraveling. At his father’s funeral, he fires Roch for assaulting his future bride. The construction of the new house on his property is complete. He makes arrangements to have his late mother’s poor family moved into the luxurious dwelling. While biding his time to bring Sabella home, he ruthlessly grows the business into a global empire.