Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Okay. We’ll be there soon.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“We’re fine,” I said. “They didn’t hurt us.”
Once we were in the cab and on the way to our destination, Armando looked at his phone and muttered, “Is it really one p.m.?”
I nodded. “We gained several hours with the time difference.”
He hugged my arm and leaned against me. After a minute or two, he said, “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I guess it’s really over.”
“I feel the same way. I think it’s going to take us a few days to fully relax after all of that.”
He didn’t say anything else during the rest of the drive. I hoped he was just tired, and not traumatized.
Dante was waiting on the porch of his grandmother’s house when we pulled up. I paid the taxi driver in cash and grabbed our bags, and my cousin hurried to the curb to greet us. He gave us both backslapping hugs before ushering us into the house.
His husband Charlie was in the kitchen, making a pasta salad. He stopped what he was doing long enough to hug us and say, “Thank god you’re safe.”
“Come have a seat,” Dante said. “We’re making you some lunch.”
Arie and I got comfortable on a pair of barstools at the kitchen island, and I asked my cousin, “Where’s your grandmother?”
“She’ll be home soon. Her husband took her to a doctor’s appointment.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, fine. It’s just a routine checkup. We didn’t know you’d be coming back today, so she’ll be ecstatic when she sees you.”
Dante and Charlie filled the kitchen island with trays of sandwiches, three different salads, and a pitcher of martinis before taking a seat. Arie and Charlie ate hungrily, while my cousin and I mostly drank our lunch.
Dante wanted to know what had happened over the last three and a half weeks, so I told him everything, finishing with, “It was odd. They treated us like guests, and we had the run of this beautiful English country house. But obviously, we weren’t allowed to leave, and our full cooperation was expected. We didn’t choose to find out what would happen if we disobeyed.”
Dante asked, “Do you think you can find that house again?”
“No. I only know we were in the UK because I’m familiar with the English countryside, and the style of the house was unmistakably British. They made a point of never telling us exactly where we were, to make sure we couldn’t return and retaliate.” I studied Dante’s dark expression and asked, “That’s not why you want to know if I can find it again, is it?” He didn’t answer, so I said, “I know you’re angry, but you can’t go seeking revenge, Dante. You need to let this go.”
“Ashcroft sent armed thugs to my grandmother’s house.” His voice was calm and low, but I had the feeling it was masking a lot of rage. “They pointed guns at her. How can I let that go?”
“Please, do it for me. Armando and I need to put this behind us. We need to feel safe, and we won’t be able to do that if you try to stir something up.”
“You’ll be a lot safer if I kill him.”
“I doubt you’d be able to get near him,” I said. “Ashcroft never made an appearance at the house in the UK, but there was a small army on site at all times. I can only imagine how many layers of security are around him.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“You can’t go after him,” Armando said, his voice rising with alarm. “Tory and I are finally safe, but we won’t be if you stir things up again. I need to know those people aren’t going to come after us. I need it to be over!” He was shaking when I drew him into an embrace.
“He’s right,” I said. “I know it’s not in your nature to let anyone threaten and disrespect your family the way Ashcroft did, but we need to let this end. If you make trouble, we could become a target again. Armando just spent over three weeks as a hostage. What he needs now is for his life to return to normal.”
Dante nodded. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, especially now. Your nerves must be raw.”
Once we finished eating, Armando said he wanted to rest, so Charlie led us to one of the guestrooms on the second floor. “Don’t worry about Dante,” he said. “He’s not going to do anything to put you in danger. That’s the last thing he’d want.”
I nodded and said, “I trust him to do the right thing.”
After Charlie left, we stood under a hot shower for a while before climbing into the big, comfortable bed. Arie tucked himself under my chin and held onto me tightly. “Your cousin’s going to let this go, right? If he tries to take a shot at Ashcroft and misses, none of us will be safe.”