Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“It would appear I like the asshole,” I say with a sad sob as he leads me into his home. I bite the skin around my nails as I sit down on his couch. I kick my shoes off and tuck my feet under my ass. I know we’ll only have a few hours together at most, and the moment I flee the country, the reality is, we won’t be able to talk for some time. I might not even see him again. That thought rattles me. Am I sure Eli Monti is worth all of this?
“Well, it was bound to happen,” Craig says sympathetically.
“What was?” I ask.
He smiles. “You liking someone,” he jokes, and I laugh at the stupidity of it. “You can’t be lonely like me and your father for the rest of your life. You’re young, meant to fall in love. But, unfortunately, with that, sometimes heartbreak happens, and then you kill some fuckheads to make yourself feel better.”
I laugh because I still wish I saw it in black and white. “I shouldn’t like someone like him. He’s reckless, powerful, egotistical, potentially a psychopath, overbearing and dominating, sadistic, and I think a bit of a masochist, and he sure as shit doesn’t take no for an answer.”
He sighs as he taps his cigarette into an ashtray. “Kiddo, you’re describing yourself in male form.”
“I’m not his kind of powerful,” I reply.
“Bullshit,” he says. “I bet you could take him and all his men out from a mile away. What’s not powerful about that?” He raises a brow and lights another cigarette. “It doesn’t mean that you’re weaker than him for falling for him. I wish I could advise you to kill him instead. But I know your mind is already made up.”
I shake my head because he’s right. Once I’ve made up my mind, I won’t change it. I am a powerful woman. It’s not that I doubted myself in that situation; it’s just that I knew my entanglement with him would ruin me. Even if I were to marry him, I’d still be disposable. And the thought of falling for any of this, and loving him too deeply, then being discarded so effortlessly the moment our contract is over, would destroy me. Maybe I’m a coward for not letting that come to fruition. I’d rather leave him before having him reject me.
“He made it sound like he was serious about the marriage,” I tell him as I tuck myself tighter into a ball.
“Is there a chance he was?” Craig asks. “I know we do things on our own, kiddo, but he is the mafia heir. I’m sure if anyone can make your problems go away, it’s him.”
It goes unsaid that Eli Monti is my biggest problem. And the thought of carrying through with the marriage and then being left behind, after tasting what having a real family is like—no matter how whack they are—is heartbreaking.
“I wouldn’t write it off as a possibility. You are, as the youngsters would say, a catch.”
I chuckle, then say matter-of-factly, “I’m a liability.” He grimaces at that, and I lean over to turn the TV on. I have until the evening before I need to leave.
“Let’s just enjoy today like old times before I have to go, okay?”
Because no matter how tired I am, I want to memorize my family. What’s left of it. Because I’m willing to let it go for another.
Doesn’t that make me a truly stupid girl?
CHAPTER 52
Eli
I’m groggy as my eyes peel open. I feel around the silk sheets, looking for Jewel, but when I realize she’s not there, I sit up in bed with a pounding headache. I groan as I search the room. “Jewels?” I call out, but it’s deathly quiet. Why the fuck is my head hurting?
My gaze stops on the shiny ring on my bedside table, and my eyes widen. “Jewels?!” I demand, flinging the sheets off. I’m naked, and I can remember being with her last night, but not much past that. I rub my head and grab my favorite Rolex. Five in the morning? What the fuck? “Jewels?!” I shout again. I search every room, dread sinking in.
I lick my dry lips as I grab my phone and call Ford. He answers on the first ring. “Boss, you’re finally calling.”
“She’s gone.” I breathe heavily. And the moment I say it out loud, fury, rage, and sadistic determination kick in.
“Wh—”
“Jewel. She’s gone. I need everyone in action to find her. The moment you have her location, send it to me. I’ll call Will now.”
“Eli, wait. Is it possible she was given the green light for the hit on you? Shouldn’t we be coming to you to make sure she doesn’t follow through?”
My jaw tics. I understand his concern, but right now, I’m anything but rational. “You have your orders,” I bark, then I hang up.