Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
God.
This is a lot.
A lot to process.
A lot to understand.
“Thank you, for telling me all of that,” I say, my voice tired.
“Doesn’t really explain why your son is now seekin’ her out after all these years,” Cohen says, his voice incredibly respectful, but firm.
Marcella looks to him. “He didn’t know the truth until he was older, and by then, she was gone, and we thought she had passed. He looked into it for years, and finally we got word she wasn’t dead. We came right away.”
I mean, it makes sense.
Cohen nods, accepting her answer, his face still tight.
“My son,” Marcella asks me, her face full of hurt and suppressed emotions I imagine she has long ago smothered down. “Was he a good man?”
No.
He wasn’t.
But I can hardly tell her that. It will break her heart, and that’s the last thing I want to do. Romeo, who is standing behind her, meets my eyes and slowly shakes his head. He doesn’t want me to tell her the truth, but I don’t want to feed her full of lies either. So, I give her the best parts of him that I can remember over the years. There weren’t many, but when he was younger, before my father changed him, we did get along.
“He was protective,” I begin. “He had a wicked sense of humor and was always pulling pranks on me, but he took care of me if I needed it. He was strong and a hard worker.”
She smiles, but it trembles.
My god I feel like my heart is being torn from my chest.
“When he died ... was it painless for him?”
Cohen stiffens beside me, knowing full well it wasn’t painless. She doesn’t need to know that, either. All she needs to know is her son passed and is in a better place. That’s all any mom needs to know.
“He went quickly,” I tell her.
She nods, pressing her hands together tightly.
“We should go, it is getting late and we have a lot to process,” Cohen says, standing. “Thank you for your time, ma’am.”
Marcella nods and stands. I do so, too.
She walks over to me and gives me a hug, the kind of hug I didn’t realize I had longed for, for so long. The kind of hug a mother gives her child, full of warmth and kindness. I close my eyes and take a moment to let that hug wash over me, to let the feelings break free and consume my body.
“My son,” Marcella whispers to me. “He is a good man. You can trust him. He was raised in a home full of love and good values, he will cause you no harm.”
I believe her.
I truly do.
So, where do I go from here?
“DO WE RISK TAKIN’ THE deal? It’ll get a big problem off our backs, allow Aviana to be safe again, and we can focus on getting Samson’s daughter, finishing that and gettin’ the hell out of here.”
Alarick speaks, sitting with his back against the chair, legs spread apart, arms crossed. He’s in my motel room with Cohen and me, and I’m trying very hard to stay away. The night has finally caught up with me and I’m exhausted. I want to go to sleep, but know it’s important we discuss this, too.
“I think we take the deal,” Cohen says, his voice tired, too.
I look to him. “You do?”
He nods. “Yeah, I do. I think he’s tellin’ the truth. That business is far over your head, and if he’s willin’ to give you a cut of it, I think it’s worth it provided it’s done through the correct legal channels.”
I’m surprised by this.
I guess the visit to Marcella convinced him, too.
I know it did for me.
“Then it’s sorted,” Alarick says, standing. “We’ll get the ball rolling with Romeo tomorrow, get them fuckers off our backs and we can go forward with our plan to get Benedict so we can finish this.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say, followed by a yawn.
“I’ll see you both in the morning.”
Alarick leaves and I turn to Cohen, who looks exhausted. He has his own room, but for whatever reason, he’s still here. He has been by my side all night, making sure to have my back at every turn. Just as he promised. That means the world to me, he might not know it, but it truly does.
“I’m going to shower,” I say softly. “Would you ... like to join me?”
He stares at me, and then without a word, drops his jacket from his shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. I guess that’s a yes. My heart races as I turn and walk to the shower, slowly removing my clothes as I go. I reach in and turn the water on, but before I can do anything more, Cohen’s hard, naked body presses against my back and his mouth finds my neck. I shudder with pure delight as he nibbles at the overly sensitive skin.