Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“I understand where they’re coming from. We don’t bring strangers into the family and the business for a reason. Everyone that works for me outside of the official properties is known and trusted. You’re neither of those things. At least to my brothers.”
“But I am to you?”
He doesn’t speak for a long while. I’m not sure how I feel about this conversation—on the one hand, I understand where his brothers are coming from, but on the other, I want them to accept me.
Which is bizarre. I have no real plans to stay in this family long-term, so why does it matter to me if Adler’s brothers think I’m out to get them?
I’m here to get paid and save Shane. That’s everything. I need to keep reminding myself that it’s nothing more than business, because I’m starting to get dragged deeper into Adler’s tightly woven web.
I start to feel anxious, but finally, at nearly a whisper, Adler says, “Yes, Casey. To me, you’re known and trusted.”
Which surprises the hell out of me.
“Why?” A simple question. An obvious one too. Adler doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to trust anyone, much less someone like me.
Basically, a stranger.
With a junkie asshole brother.
His stare tells me nothing. “You know why.”
I shiver slightly. “You’ve been watching me.” The tables. He was always lurking around the tables back before this all happened. “But that was just at work.”
His head tilts to the side. “You think so?”
“I don’t—” What’s he saying right now? That he’s been watching me outside of work?
I go very still, a sudden sense of dread creeping down my spine.
It’s one thing to accept that Adler Costa’s been coming by my tables while we were both in the casino. Maybe he’s curious about me, or maybe he finds me attractive for some reason. It’s not like he was going out of his way.
But it’s another issue entirely to imagine he’s been trying to find me outside of this place.
“I married you for a reason.” His voice is firm. “Not someone else, but you.”
“You had leverage on me,” I say, feeling suddenly exhausted. My knee aches like crazy. I limp to a high chair near the kitchen island and climb onto it.
“Yes, conveniently, I did. But that’s not really why.”
“You need a wife. A baby. The deal.” I shake my head. Confusion and fear trickle into my toes. “Are you trying to tell me that you’ve been, what, following me around?”
“In a way.”
“How? Why? Adler, this is freaking me out.”
He comes closer. Finishes his second glass of wine. Puts it down on a side table. “I didn’t want to tell you like this, but maybe it’s better if you know.”
“Know what?”
Something passes across his face. For a moment, I’m not sure what that expression means, until it hits me like a slap.
It’s relief.
He looks like he’s about to shed a weight that’s been holding him down for years.
“I’ve been helping you for a very long time, Casey.”
I stare at him, trying to process, but it makes no sense. “Helping me how? I mean, I know the Sunrise has been really accommodating about my disability, but—”
“Do you remember when you left the hospital after your accident?” He’s staring at me hard now. “Do you remember what happened with your bill?”
I could scream. I reach for my glass of wine, but it’s empty. “I got a grant,” I whispers. “That’s what the billing department told me. There was a grant.”
“That’s true,” he says, cocking his head. “At least, that’s what I told them to say. I paid your medical bills. Every dime of them. And I hid it by saying it was a grant to the hospital.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. That was—it was way before I worked at the Sunrise.”
“Do you remember how you got the job here?”
I rub my forehead. My skull’s pounding. “Someone called me.”
“A recruiter named Mary,” he supplies.
I nearly gag. “That’s right. Her name was Mary.”
“With a nice Southern accent. That was my old assistant. Real name Fiona. I fired her after you started to make sure you never put it together.”
“This is insane,” I say, shaking my head rapidly. It feels like the base of my skull’s on fire.
“There are other things. The bonuses you were paid. The big tips that always seemed to appear every few weeks. Did you know your mother has a regular she loves?”
Tears stream down my face. “She calls him Mr. Grey.”
“I bet she does.” His smile is tight. “He works for me. I send him to your mother’s diner when she’s working and I make sure he leaves a big tip.”
“That money’s been paying for her heart medication.”
“I told you, Casey, I’ve been taking care of you for years. You and everyone in your social circle, everyone you care about. Even your friend, Roxie. Another beneficiary of random huge tips.”