Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
My throat tightened as I asked, “Do you still love him?”
“I’ll always care about him, but our time has come and gone.”
“You sure about that?”
“Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure.” Everleigh turned to face me as she explained, “I mean, the man never even tried to look for me. I saw the papers. Watched the news. Never once did I see any reports that I was missing.”
“I’m sure Antonio had something to do with that.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter. Bobby’s married now and probably has a kid or two.” When I gave her a questioning look, she shrugged and said, “I might’ve googled him when Antonio wasn’t looking.”
“I see.”
“I tried searching for my father a couple of times, too. I just wanted to see if he was okay, but I stopped trying when DeLuca admitted what he’d done.”
“What about your mother?”
“Oh, I stopped searching for my mother ages ago. Right about the time she ran off to Mexico with the asshole next door.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, I figured if she wanted to be with me, she would’ve just taken me with her or at the very least given me her address or phone number. She didn’t, so I went through the whole grieving process. First it was the whole denial thing. I told myself she really wasn’t gone, but when I realized that wasn’t the case, I got angry for a while. You know how it all goes from there.”
“I hate you had to deal with that.”
“You know what they say.” She smiled. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“Yeah, they say that, but I’m not sure I buy it.”
“Me either.”
Everleigh and I continued to talk as we left the dock and walked around the property. When the sun started to set, we headed inside to make dinner. I was running low on supplies, so we made do with a BLT and some chips. As soon as we were done, I got up and started putting the dishes away. I hadn’t been at it long when Everleigh asked, “Have you always been such a neat freak?”
“A neat freak?”
“Your entire house is spotless.”
“And that makes me a neat freak?”
“Billy, I’ve seen hospital rooms that aren’t this clean.”
“I didn’t realize that was a bad thing.”
“It’s not... Not at all. It’s just not something you’d expect from a guy.”
I found her back peddling adorable. So much so, I couldn’t stop myself from goading her. “You think there’s something wrong with me, huh? You think I have OCD or something?”
“No! Not at all!” she gasped. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t know. I think that’s exactly what you meant.”
“I was just saying that your house is really clean. It’s a good thing.” She must’ve caught onto the fact that I was messing with her because she turned the tables on me. “I mean, you don’t have to worry about your allergies kicking up or catching salmonella or E. coli.”
“No, I certainly don’t, but then again...”
Just as I was about to turn things back in my favor, my cell phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my pocket, and as soon as I answered, I heard Antonio ask, “Are you ready to play?”
“That depends.” I wanted to tell the guy to fuck off and that I was no longer working for him, but I feared it might make him suspicious. “Where’s the game?”
“My place.”
“How many are playing?”
“Just one. You think you can handle that?”
“Yeah, I can handle that.”
“Good. I’ll see you shortly.”
As soon as he ended the call, I turned to Everleigh and said, “I’ve gotta go out for a while.”
“Yeah, I heard.” A solemn look crossed her face as she asked, “Will you be gone long?”
“Hard to tell.” I grabbed my keys from the counter, then started for the door. “I’ll be back when I can.”
“You aren’t going to lock me up?”
“I was hoping you could behave yourself until I get back.” I turned to face her as I asked, “You think you can manage that?”
“Yeah, I think I can manage that.”
“Good.” I gave her a quick nod, then headed out. “Don’t wait up.”
I closed the door, then went out to the garage to gather my equipment. Once I had it all loaded, I drove over to Antonio’s place. When I pulled up, one of his guards greeted me at the front steps. I took a quick look around, and unlike the time before, I didn’t see any evidence of an attack.
Figuring the cleanup would be inside, I went around and grabbed my duffle bag from the back of the van, then said, “I’m ready when you are.”
He nodded, then motioned for me to follow as he headed inside. I followed him through the front door and up the stairs to Antonio’s office. As soon as I walked in, I spotted a young man in his early twenties sprawled out on the floor. He was wearing a black suit—one similar to the guard standing at my side, and he had two bullet wounds—one to his head and the other to his chest.