Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Nikolai, people talk. There’s—”
“I don’t care what the hell other people say. I never gave a damn about a stranger’s opinion, and I won’t start now. What I care about is what you say about me, Porsche… and what you think. That’s all I care about. So, tell me the truth. A little piece of you is torn, isn’t it? A little piece of you, that tiny one percent is saying to yourself, he still might be our guy.” He bit on his inner jaw, his emotions welling like the hot lava of a volcano. There it was—the reason for the hurt, and now he was tasting the metallic flavor of his own drawn blood.
“I didn’t say that, Nikolai.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I am going to say this to you again, and I want you to listen to me instead of putting words in my mouth. I. did. Not. Say. That. Period.”
“What are the police saying?”
“Huh? Now you know better than that,” she scoffed. “I can’t discuss any of the cases with you. Besides, that wouldn’t be fair to Captain White. It would violate the—”
“This whole damn experience isn’t fair to me, Porsche. You and Captain White can join the club! I’m not only a client, but I’m also the president. You think I care about what’s fair to him and his cronies? They can go to hell! They practically ruined my life. I lost business!”
“Nikolai, you have to—”
“I’ve gotten a few calls from weirdos messin’ around on my phone, too. The only good thing to come outta this is YOU!”
He could hear her breathing. Long inhales and exhales. Faster and faster.
“Let me make this perfectly clear. If you don’t believe me, Porsche, I want you to say it to my face. The way you reacted just now when I told you that I was here, the way you’re protecting the police and acting like their feelings are top priority, and treating me like I’m in the wrong is a slap to my face.”
“Are you on something? I know that when the police drug tested you, all the results were negative, but sir!” She laughed mockingly. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“I haven’t lost my mind, I’ve found it. I was so blinded by fallin’ for you, I missed some red flags. You want to stop going out to eat because you don’t want us to be seen together.”
“Nikolai, that’s ridiculous!”
“You want to hide me away like some dirty secret because I agreed to be discreet with you until this blows over, but now I see deep down in your heart that you just might not be certain about me after all. GOT DAMN IT! I DIDN’T KILL NO FUCKIN’ BODY!” His anger became a scalding rage. Astonished hurt turned into white-hot resentment.
“I KNOW YOU DIDN’T!” Her voice was broken, chopped into tiny bits. “It has nothin’ to do with me not believing you! I was just worried about you, but I hear you… you’re right. You can go wherever you want but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have valid points, too! Nik, please… I’m not your enemy! I can’t be, because I love you!”
He stopped walking. His face tingled with heat, and so did his chest.
“Our situation is different, baby… Please don’t do this. Please don’t make this about you. It’s not,” she urged.
“It’s been all about me, Porsche. From day one. You can’t… you can’t un-ring a bell.” His world was getting darker by the second. Something was happening. Something deep inside of him was screaming, crying out. He was no longer on the radar, but he was still under speculative gaze. He looked out towards the sea and shook his head.
Blood in the water… Bones on the sand… This is the beach… A haunted land.
“I just needed to hear it. I needed to hear you say that you trust me… believe me… I love you, too.”
“Nik, this is stressful for both of us. Neither of us planned this. I didn’t expect to meet a suspect in this case, of all things, and fall in love with him. Yes, I need to be discreet, but I’m not hidin’ you from anybody! You’re all mine, and I’m proud to be your girlfriend. My mother knows I am seeing you, and so do a couple of my friends back home in Boston. You are not some dirty little secret! Listen… I’m trying to help my client and the police solve this case, let my heart have its way, and grieve so much loss, all at the same damn time. The last thing I want is to lose a love I just found! Neither of us were wrong on this telephone call. We made our points out of concern. We have to respect each other’s feelings and opinions.”
“…Yeah, I can agree to that.” He broke away from the shore and walked back towards the eateries and shops.