Total pages in book: 206
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
My first outing in a while was on the Friday before the dinner at Tom and Lisa’s. I’d been taken to a shooting range where Tommy got me more comfortable with a gun so that he could leave a gun here knowing I’d know how to use it and knowing I wouldn’t be afraid of it being here. Tommy hadn’t said anything further about his exit plan and I didn’t want to press him, knowing there was a lot on his mind.
The air was thick with tension for the whole welcome home dinner. Bianca and Nino, her mother, her Aunt Joanne and Aunt Joanne’s husband Al were there plus a few other people that were considered extended family. It was catered affair. Tessa was somber and Tom was edgy and terse with everyone.
Tommy and Dario hung back for the most part, in conversation with one another rather than their father and the rest of the room.
Tommy whispered to me to say my goodbyes right after dessert. As I was making the rounds to say goodbye , I awkwardly approached Tommy’s father. I leaned in as he’d motioned to hug me but then he hooked his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. He kissed me on the mouth, forced his tongue into my mouth, and then looked at Tommy with ferocity on his face. The whole room seem to be stunned and the electricity coming off Tommy…he was wired.
Suddenly I was pulled back and they were chest to chest, both glaring at one another. Dario grabbed my elbow and then ushered me out of the room. The whole room then emptied, leaving Tommy and his father in there. People spilled out into the backyard. Dario put me into Tommy’s car. “Two seconds, Tia,” Dario said and then ran back into the house.
My heart was hammering in my chest. I looked at the house and Lisa and Luc were standing there talking and they were staring at me. I opened my mouth, still in shock, and shrugged at them. Lisa had tears in her eyes and Luc looked like she wanted to spit venom.
Suddenly my door opened and a tall and husky neckless guy pulled me out by the arm. I didn’t recognize him. He wore a men-in-black suit and dark glasses. Security?
“What are you doing?”
“Come with me,” he said, and he put me in the back seat of a black car parked behind Tommy’s. Luc and Lisa were still staring, open-mouthed, so were some other people. The doors opened and two more burly goons got in on either side of me and the car drove away from the house. This was reminiscent of my graduation day.
What on earth?
I was steaming fucking mad. My Pop wasn’t happy about what’d happened at the hospital that day and hadn’t taken our calls or seen us since. He knew I was still digging into his activities and that I was finding out shit that made my skin crawl. My father was more power-hungry, more ruthless, and more evil than I had ever realized.
He’d frozen us out. He’d frozen company accounts and was taking legal action to lock Dare and me out of the business, even though we owned shares on paper. He’d put a lawyer in charge. Lisa didn’t know squat about it all so of course she invited us to Pop’s big surprise welcome home dinner and Pop hadn’t looked at us once all day until he put his hands and his mouth on my girl and looked right at me and that’s when I was ready to fucking lose it. I’d been behind Tia and immediately ripped her out of his arms and got in his face.
Dario took her away and the room cleared out.
“What in the fuck was that?” I demanded after a stare down that went on until the French doors to that room and the sliding doors to the outside all clicked shut and it was just us two in the room.
He said nothing, just looked at me with cold dead-looking eyes.
“Pop!”
“Everything you have, my boy, everything you have is because of my blood, my sweat.”
I raised my brows. “You haven’t made me work for everything I’ve got? You haven’t made me prove loyalty and worth to you every single fucking day of my life? Your kids, everyone who has ever loved you haven’t all paid a heavy price for being your family, your wives?”
Pop snickered.
“You don’t put your fucking hands on her again,” I warned. “If you weren’t who you are to me you’d be in the fucking ground for that shit.”
He didn’t reply, just kept looking at me with hatred.
“I guess Dare and I have your answer,” I said as my brother re-entered the room.
“You might wanna rethink this, boys.” He gave me a sick smile.