Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Rafe and I get back into the car and he whistles lowly.
“This is bad, Dom,” he says. “Targeting us is one thing, but this is personal.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I snap, leaning against the window and running a hand through my hair. “We need to make a move.”
He nods and sighs wearily.
“We’ve got to be smart, though,” I continue. “If we counterattack without absolute proof of what he’s done, he’ll try to ruin us.”
“I’m on it,” he says. “Whatever you need.”
The driver pulls away from the curb, and I look back toward the garage. Sofia and Marco are still visible through the opening, and it kills me to leave her alone. I fight the urge to stay. This is what it means to build trust, though, right?
21
SOFIA
With Dominic and Rafe gone, I can finally breathe. I know my dad hated having them here to witness this. Unfortunately, when I turn to speak to him, his face is furious. Every angry thought he swallowed while they were here is bubbling to the surface now.
“Why did you bring them here?” he seethes.
“I didn’t bring them here,” I argue. “Dominic just wanted to come and make sure that you were okay. It was a safety thing.”
“A safety thing?” he roars. “Sofia, my livelihood is gone. Because he butted his nose into my business. I have told you over and over again that I don’t trust this man, but you refuse to quit. You’re so stubborn, just like your mother.”
That stings. I know Dad loved her, but he always drags up her worst qualities, especially when he’s measuring me against them. She’s been gone six years now, but his anger about her death never faded.
“That job is the only reason your debts were paid off,” I remind him. “And how you can afford your blood pressure medication without going into more debt. You can hate Dominic all you want, but he’s saved us financially.”
He glares at me. “Does this look saved?” he asks, gesturing around to his trashed garage. “Years of hard work and saving are just gone. Some of those tools belonged to my grandfather. They’re irreplaceable, Sofia!”
“He didn’t trash your garage himself,” I remind him. “You act like he stormed in here with thugs and tore the place apart.”
“He may as well have. I don’t know who decided my loose association with that man was worth destroying my life over, but this is exactly what I’ve been telling you, Sofia. This is what happens when you get sucked into a world like that.”
“If we’re part of that world, it’s because you decided to trust shady people,” I shoot back. “You just had to get that loan. They would have done this to your garage whether I worked for Dominic or not.”
“Yes, if I hadn’t paid the loan,” he says. “But the loan was paid, Sofia, so this was a warning. Those men know you work for Dominic. It’ll be a miracle if they don’t come after you too.”
I freeze. I never told him about the break-in, or that I’m staying at Dominic’s penthouse. He’s going to be furious.
“What is it, carina?” he asks, instantly concerned at the shift in my demeanor. I hate that he knows me so well.
“They already came after me, Papa,” I say in a small voice. “They trashed my apartment.”
“What?” he screams. “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was a few weeks ago—”
“A few weeks?” he shouts, his face getting redder by the second.
“Papa, you have to calm down,” I tell him. “You’re going to have a heart attack if you don’t.”
“So what, Sofia? They took away my livelihood and threatened you. If I can’t protect my daughter, I might as well be dead.”
I roll my eyes and groan. There’s no reasoning with him. So instead I go to his mini fridge, grab a bottle of water, and thrust it into his hands. I don’t stop glaring until he opens it and takes a sip.
“You need to make a decision, Sofia,” he says once he’s swallowed half the bottle. “You can keep working for that man, or you can keep being my daughter. I can’t do this anymore.”
Now it’s my turn to shout.
“Excuse me? I’m a grown woman, where the hell do you get off?”
“This is for your own good, carina. He’s not a good man, and working for him will only lead to more troubles in our life. I’m not willing to put up with it anymore, so if you insist on working with him, I want nothing to do with you.”
“You can’t be serious,” I spit. “You can’t just cut off your family when they make you angry. I’ve worked my ass off to make sure you’re okay, and now you’re throwing it in my face.”
“That was never your job.”
“No? Because there wasn’t anyone else banging down the door to help us. There was just me.”