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)
It hadn’t been easy, especially with a homelife like mine. My mother left well before those crucial teen years and never looked back. She never called or wrote to see how things were going with my father and me. She simply disappeared, leaving us both to fend for ourselves. I wasn’t exactly surprised that she left me behind. My mother had never been the doting type.
That was my father’s department.
He loved me dearly and hated that I was known as the girl whose mother had left her behind. He tried to make up for her absence by buying me things—things I didn’t necessarily want or need. His intentions were good, but he tended to spend money that he didn’t have. And it eventually caught up with him, and he was covered up in debt.
Thankfully, my grades were exceptional, and I earned a full ride to UT Knoxville. I continued to work my ass off and earned a finance degree with honors—which led to an internship at Merrill Lynch. It didn’t take me long to make a name for myself, and after six short months, I was offered an advising job and given my very own cubicle.
While I was pleased to have my place, I wanted more, and within a couple of years, I had my own office. I had an amazing apartment with an incredible view of the city, and my boyfriend, Bobby, and I were making plans for the future. We’d even talked about moving in together and getting married.
All my dreams were coming true.
And then there was a knock on the door.
I don’t even know how it happened.
One minute I was standing in the doorway of my apartment, happy and content, and the next, I was bound, blindfolded, and tossed in the back of some car.
I should’ve screamed or tried to fight the two men who’d abducted me, but I was too terrified to move—much less fight. It was like I was a prisoner in my own body as I sat there frantically trying to figure out what was going on. I’d worked myself up into a full-blown panic when the car stopped, and I was jerked out of it.
Seconds later, I was standing in a cold, dark room staring into the eyes of a man I’d never seen before, and his mere presence sent a chill down my spine.
At first glance, he looked like your typical businessman. He was in his mid-to-late forties with salt and pepper hair, and he wore a black suit that fit snug across broad shoulders. But as I stood there staring into his dark, menacing eyes, I knew there was nothing typical about this man. He was the epitome of a gangster--the sinister type you might see in a Mafia movie.
He exuded power and fear, and just being in the same room with him completely terrified me. A wicked grin swept across his face as he sneered, “Well, hello there, Everleigh. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Who are you?” My heart felt like it was going to pound through my chest. Everything inside me screamed for me to get the hell out of there, but the two men at my side were there to make sure I stayed put. Feeling utterly trapped, I turned back to the man in front of me. “What do you want? Why did you bring me here?”
“I’m Antonio DeLuca, and there’s a matter of a debt owed to me that needs to be addressed. I’m thinking you can help me settle it.”
Before I could ask him what the hell he was talking about, he lifted his hand and gestured to the corner of the room. Seconds later, a third man stepped out of the darkness, and my breath caught when I saw that my father was with him.
Dad’s hands were bound behind his back, and it was clear from all the cuts and bruises on his face that he’d been badly beaten. I adored my dad, but like all men, he had his problems. He was a bit socially awkward and obsessed with numbers—which often got him into trouble. Regardless, he was always there for me, and seeing him in such a state gutted me.
Everything in me screamed to help him, so I rushed toward him with a gasp. “Oh God! What happened to you?”
I’d only taken a couple of steps when I was yanked back by the men at my side. They held me tight as I tried to break free from their grasp and ordered, “Stop! Let me go!”
“Not gonna happen, lady.”
“Why are you doing this?” I shrieked, fighting back the bile that was inching up the back of my throat. “What do you want?”
“You should ask your father that question.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you see? He’s the reason you’re here,” he answered emphatically. “He’s the reason we’re all here.”