Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 73043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
She looked at her father’s body.
“Stavros had changed from the man that I’d fallen in love with. And that change had everything to do with my father. Stavros was forced to do things he never wanted to do, and if he didn’t do them, my father threatened the one thing that could keep him doing them. Me.”
“Asshole.”
“Right?” Elspeth said. “So, Stavros and I went to someone that could help. An FBI agent named Lynn. Stavros knew him from somewhere, and though it’d been a very long time since they’d spoken, he hoped that connection was still there. And it was. Which led us to gather as much evidence as we could. Stavros’ job was to do what he was told to do within reason.”
Within reason. I smirked.
Her eyes narrowed. “You almost killed him today, though.”
I held my hand up. “I didn’t know. I was just protecting Janie.”
Elspeth smiled sadly. “We knew the risks.”
They had. And, so did he.
Which was why he was no longer going to play this dangerous game. He was done. D.O.N.E.
Starting now.
I nodded. She didn’t need to justify her reasons for doing what she did. I agreed wholeheartedly based solely on my own convictions.
“You mind untying me?”
Elspeth jumped. “Yes, sorry. I meant to do that earlier. Your face is still bleeding, too. I’m sorry about that. Stavros was supposed to stop any of this from happening. But then your friend showed, and started causing some chaos.”
We both looked over at Trace, who at some point in this discussion had blended into the woodwork. He’d been paying attention, but he hadn’t said a word.
“I don’t really know what you wanted me to do here. Layton told me to come with a gun pointed at my head,” Trace pointed out.
I sighed and turned back to Elspeth expectantly.
“Let’s do it,” I ordered, wiggling my free hand at her.
She untied me, then Trace, moments later.
“I need to call Janie,” I said as I reached for my phone that was sitting on the counter next to the scalpel Layton had used to cut my face.
She answered on the first ring.
“We heard,” Janie said as she answered the phone. “Elliott just went outside to tell the officers. He said someone will be on their way to come get you momentarily.”
I looked at my watch. “I have my own ride when this is finally all sorted out here.”
And I did.
Trace was going to take me home in his truck—which I’d seen outside when ‘Stavros’ had parked the van next to it.
Then I wasn’t going to have another damn thing to do with him for a very, very long time.
Out of everyone that could’ve told me the truth, I expected it most from him. He’d been my longest standing friend. The one man that had been there from the very beginning.
“I’ll be home in a little while,” I said, smiling then.
Why did it not surprise me that she knew I’d been watching her?
***
“For what it’s worth,” Trace said, “I didn’t want to go. It was either bring you there, or they take my woman. And, now that you have Janie…you know that you’ll always choose her.”
I did know.
Which was what sucked.
I couldn’t blame him for going and giving up my location.
He’d called earlier and asked where I was while I was in the shower. I’d told him, and hadn’t thought another thing of it.
“And your wife? She’s okay?”
“I left her there and drove myself to the lovely Casa De Crazy. They said if I cooperated, then she wouldn’t be hurt.”
I nodded and opened the door, stepping out.
“Rafe?”
I looked over my shoulder at him.
“Yeah?”
“I’m here if you need me.”
I snorted. “I won’t.”
Then I slammed the door in his face.
I walked up my driveway, past a cop, and through my front door.
Before I could close it behind me, Janie was in my arms.
She was there for about point five seconds before she let go of me, and then dashed outside.
Frowning, I turned to look at her, only to get an eyeful of her ass as she bent over into the grass and lost her lunch.
Chapter 24
I’m not above biting someone to win an argument.
-Janie’s secret thoughts
Janie
“There are some things I’ve been dying to know.”
Rafe’s eyes were closed.
He had butterfly bandages all along the length of his cheek. Seven in total.
We were talking. About nothing really in particular, but neither one of us had really gotten over today yet.
It’d been bad.
It’d could’ve gone way worse than it had, and we were lucky that all had turned out as it had.
Though I was still quite baffled about Elspeth.
Plot twist.
“What do you want to know?” Rafe asked.
I smiled.
“I want to know what makes you tick. I want to know why you’re so complicated. I want to know why there are shadows in your eyes. I want to know everything there is to know about the mysterious Raphael Luis,” I whispered.