Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“There’s nothing to tell, Everleigh.” She wanted an explanation that I simply couldn’t give, so I told her what I could. “You needed help, and I gave it. Simple as that.”
“There’s nothing simple about any of this, and you know it.”
“Like I said, it’s getting late.”
Without giving her a chance to say anything more, I turned and walked out of the room, quickly closing the door behind me. Unlike before, I didn’t lock the door. I simply let it be and headed straight to my room. I was ready to put an end to this tumultuous day, but after my conversation with Everleigh, I knew there was no way I could sleep.
Feeling unreasonably irritated, I stormed into the bathroom and started removing my clothes. Once I was undressed, I turned the water on and stepped into the shower, letting the water cascade down my back. The cold bite of the water caused my breath to catch and muscles to tense, but I welcomed the distraction from the thoughts coursing through my mind.
Sadly, the diversion didn’t last long.
Eventually, the water grew warm, and my mind went straight back to Everleigh. Damn. It was going to be a long night.
EVERLEIGH
Guilt is one of those emotions that feeds on itself. Over time, it will become bigger and heavier, and eventually, it will start to weigh on you. When the load gets to be too much to bear, you’ll do just about anything to get rid of it—even if it means apologizing when you had nothing to apologize for.
I’d spent the better part of the night thinking about my disagreement with Billy. The more I thought about it, the more I worried that I might’ve been out of line. I was so busy being mad that I hadn’t actually considered why he’d locked the door in the first place.
It wasn’t until I actually took the time to think about it that I considered the fact that he knew nothing about me. He didn’t know if he could trust me not to snoop and pilfer through his things, so it wasn’t that inconceivable that he chose to play it safe and lock me in my room. It was this realization that had me feeling a little guilty about the fact that I’d lashed out at him.
That guilt ate at me all night, and by morning, I knew I had to do something.
Billy had helped me into the living room and was in the kitchen making us both some coffee when I said, “I wanted to apologize for last night.”
I wasn’t even sure he’d heard my apology until he eventually replied, “Not necessary.”
"Yeah, it is.” I was sincere as I told him, “I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”
“Hmmm.” He didn’t even look at me as he brought a cup of coffee over and placed it on the coffee table next to me. He moved the TV remote closer to me, then walked back into the kitchen as he announced, “I have some work I need to take care of. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“Oh, okay.”
He studied me for a moment, then turned and walked out of the house.
And just like that, Billy left me alone once again. I had no idea if he was mad and wanted to get the hell away from me or if he really did have work he needed to take care of. He was just so damn hard to read, and I had a feeling that it didn’t matter how well I got to know him. It would always be like that with him, and I had no idea what to do about it.
The men in my life had always been pretty straightforward. Even when it wasn’t in his best interest, my dad always said what was on his mind, and Bobby, my ex-fiancé, always did the same. I certainly never had to question what was on Antonio DeLuca’s mind. Good, bad, or ugly, it was always written all over his face.
The same held true for Matteo.
It was pretty easy for him, though. The boy only had three emotions—angry, worried, or ecstatic, and I could tell just by looking at his adorable face exactly what he was feeling. A smile swept across my face when I thought back to the day he came to my door with a goofy grin on his face.
Before I could ask what had him so happy, Carlos came up behind him, and Matteo’s smile immediately vanished. His back stiffened, and he went back to his usual detached demeanor. Neither of them spoke as they led me down to DeLuca’s office and over to my desk. Once I was settled, they both assumed their position by Deluca’s door.
I was dying to ask him what was going on, but I wouldn’t dare do anything so stupid. Matteo was my one and only ally in this hell hole, and if I even looked in his direction, I could lose him. All it would take was DeLuca becoming suspicious, and he’d either kill him or fire him, and I couldn’t let that happen.