Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110771 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“I better go, Melina.”
“You better be here for the birth of my child, Helen,” she huffs.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I respond, completely honest.
“Talk soon.”
“Soon.” She clicks off her phone and I do the same when I know she’s no longer on the other side.
I hold my phone close after we hang up. I close my eyes and I wish—not for the first time—Melina was here with me. Right now, her voice in my ear telling me that everything is going to be okay sounds like heaven.
I probably wouldn’t believe her, but it sure would be nice to hear.
It’d be better than the silence that surrounds me right now.
Much better.
I stare at the phone. I know I should call Marco, but I’m chicken. I’ll do it tomorrow.
Or maybe I’ll wait until he calls me.
Chapter 28
Marco
“Marco, we have shit going down.”
I frown looking at Elias as he walks into my makeshift office.
Hell, I been living in this damn box container since we tore our father’s old house down to the ground. I’m not religious man, but after we blew the tunnels up, I had the ground blessed by a priest. I didn’t know shit about how to do it, but my sister Melina contacted a priest, and he showed up and took care of it. I figured it sure as hell couldn’t hurt. Antonio suggested we keep the tunnels. I thought about it. I mean, I knew they may have come in handy, but I also wasn’t sure who knew about them. I didn’t need my enemies having a way in.
We’ve started building back, but every time I turn around there’s another hold up. I thought—stupidly—that I’d have a place to bring Helena home to in a month. That’s the only reason I agreed when she asked me for more time. It’s getting damn frustrating, however. There’s a distance growing between us, and I don’t like it. We don’t talk but a couple times a week. The time difference and our schedules are too great to overcome at times. She’s pulling away and while I have no intention of letting her this distance is getting beyond frustrating.
At the same time, I don’t want to be the only one doing all the work. She will not see me as some pussy-whipped shell of a man that she can wrap around her finger. I have a man on her. She’s under my guard and protection. If she doesn’t sort out her shit, I’ll have them bring her to me.
That is if I manage to have a place here to keep her!
I don’t exactly want to bring Helena to my construction trailer and fuck her on a damn blow-up mattress. My brothers opted for a penthouse suite in a hotel in Athens. I didn’t want that. I want to be here overseeing shit and remembering that I am not my father. I don’t give a fuck where I sleep if Helena isn’t here.
“What kind of shit? Is Melina okay?” I ask, pushing thoughts of Helena out of my head.
“Why do you immediately think something is wrong with Melina every single time one of us says there’s trouble?” Elias asks, walking over and sitting down in front of my desk.
I grimace because he’s right. She’s the first thing that comes to mind whenever someone says they have bad news for me. It’s a kneejerk reaction that happens because of years of conditioning. I’ve had my baby sister used against me and threatened so many times by our father that even though the bastard is dead, I still live in fear of it.
“Old habits,” I mutter.
Elias nods. He understands. Then again, he almost died protecting her himself. I’m damn glad he survived. Having my brothers with me right now is what keeps me going. Still, there are days, I think about chucking it all in and walking away. I have thought about getting my woman and going to Rio. Although, I’m not sure Brazil is far enough away. If I had just walked away, left all of this in DeLuca’s hands, it might have been better. Helena and I could have had a new beginning.
Instead, I fought for this position. I’m not even sure why. There are moments, however, that I remember that I’m a man who spent my life hating the monster that fathered me and eating his shit on a daily basis. I lived for the certainty inside of me that one day I would end him and once I did that—if I survived—I would take everything he had.
It feels good to finally do that.
“I think we can all let our guard down when it comes to Melina now, Marco. It’s clear she has her man wrapped around her finger—especially now that she’s knocked-up. That, plus the fact that he’s the man he is and will protect her with his life, I think she’s good.”