Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
I turned my head slowly and looked at Bane. The man who had held a knife to my throat in my bedroom. The man I’d watched kill two men with a shot to their heads, as if it was something he did often. I could feel my pulse in my neck as my heart rate picked up. My breathing felt shallow. Bane’s eyes locked with mine, and the cold, distant way he looked out of them made me shiver.
Turning back to Linc, I stared at him. The tattoos on three of his fingers. What did they say?
“Do you agree that your brother killing Crosby because you were pregnant was a sane choice? Was it a fair response? Had Crosby raped you?”
I swallowed hard. “No,” I replied. “It was consensual.” I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
“Then, Crosby lost his life because he had fallen for you and had sex with you and you got pregnant. Were you on birth control?” Linc asked.
“No but Crosby knew that. He’d asked me.”
“Did Crosby not use a condom while knowing this?” Linc asked.
“When I told him my period was late, he said that a condom broke one of the times, but he hadn’t told me or wanted me to worry. Then, he gave me the money to go get a test.”
“Why would Ares kill Crosby when he found out you were pregnant? Do you know the answer to that?”
I felt sweaty and sick all over as I shook my head. It was horrific. I hated thinking about it. “He always had a temper, but it had been getting worse. If I’d had any idea he was reading my texts and listening to my calls, I would have said something. But even then, I never would have imagined he would even consider doing that. I just—” I let out a choked sob. “God, I am so sorry.”
“We aren’t blaming you, Halo.” Linc’s voice was soothing, but right now, there was nothing that could ease this. “I am trying to get you to see that our killing him is what he deserves. It’s vengeance. We don’t stand by and allow our family to be attacked without striking back. It’s part of our power. One of the reasons we are feared and respected.”
I stared up at him, my breathing heavy. “What is your family?” I asked, although I had a feeling that I had figured it out. Pieces were clicking into place. Things that hadn’t made sense suddenly did.
“The Southern Mafia. Our families go back for generations. The branches of the family are all inside the Southern states. There is one boss, but each branch has a head. I’m the head of the Mississippi branch,” Linc explained.
There was a Mafia in the South. Holy shit.
“I see,” I replied, although I was sure there was a lot I did not see.
“You need to understand that Crosby and Saylor began dating at a young age. They grew up together. Saylor’s father, Gannon Rice, was the head of this branch. But his Parkinson’s disease progressed until he could no longer hold that position. Gannon had no sons.
“I was sent to take over until”—he briefly flicked his gaze to Bane, then back to me—“the eldest son of the next-oldest family in the Mississippi branch is named the head.
“Gannon’s oldest daughter married a man in the Louisiana branch, and Saylor was always thought to wed Crosby one day. Losing Crosby was a devastation to us all. Your pregnancy, while it has given Grissele the will to get out of bed in the mornings, has placed a dark cloud over the Rice family. Saylor’s memory of Crosby and what they had has been twisted. She’s angry and hurt. She’s also dramatic and very spoiled. Bane will make sure to keep you safely away from her so that you don’t have to face that kind of reception.
“Grissele has made sure to get you the best medical care money can buy, and you will want for nothing. The family is now your family. The family who deserted you will no longer be connected to you in any way.”
Wait. I tensed, gripping the armrest on the chair. “What do you mean?”
Linc stood up. “Exactly what it sounds like, Halo. Ares will be killed. The others you will not have contact with.”
They couldn’t get to Ares, but I wasn’t going to say that. He deserved to be in prison, and they could go to the police and make it happen although that wasn’t what they were threatening to do. Why couldn’t I see my other siblings?
“But my sister and little brothers,” I said.
“They left you without a word. I don’t see how this is an issue,” Linc replied.
“Yes, but it was my stepmother who took them.”
“Do you even know where they are? How to find them? Do they know how to find you?”