Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Be still, my heart.
“You’re moving here?” I choke out, trying to wrap my head around the turn of events. “I was moving home to be with you.”
He glances at my luggage and then back at me. “What about school?” he asks, disappointment laced in his tone.
I shrug sheepishly.
“Vanessa, you can’t be serious. You have one semester left.”
“And I was going to graduate. Just not this semester.” I glance up at Lorenzo, blinking my tears away. “I missed you guys so much. And today, when I signed the contract for the partnership with Kora, I should’ve been so happy. My dreams were literally coming true. But all I could think about was how empty it felt without you by my side.”
“You signed the contract?” Lorenzo asks. “Hell yeah, baby!” He wraps me up in a hug, and Leo squeals when he’s squished between us. “We need to celebrate.”
I start sobbing, and he frames my face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just so happy you’re here. How long are you in town for?”
“That depends on you.”
“Me?” I squeak.
“Well, I’m assuming you’ll be here until you graduate. Then you’ll have to decide where you want to move to afterward. LA … New York …”
“Lorenzo,” I breathe, “you were serious about moving here? But what about your company?”
“The company that I own?” He quirks a brow. “Dani is going to help run things. And I have a competent staff.”
Oh my God, he’s serious.
“I booked a hotel room close by while I secure a rental. Any chance I can convince you to spend the night with us?”
I lean in and kiss Lorenzo’s lips, needing to touch him in some way.
“No convincing necessary.”
Of course, the hotel room he booked isn’t a room. It’s a massive suite with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a full-sized kitchen, dining room, and living room, and a nice-sized terrace overlooking the city.
“They’re saying it’s going to be ninety minutes to have the food delivered,” Lorenzo says. “Or thirty if I go pick it up.”
“Welcome to Seattle. You sure you want to live here? It’s different from the small town of Harbor Point.”
“If it’s where you are, then it’s where I want to be.”
He kisses my temple and stands. “I’ll go get the food. And by the time we’re done eating, thanks to the time difference, Leo should be ready for bed.”
He waggles his brows suggestively, and my lady parts light up in excitement.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” I grip the front of his shirt and pull him toward me for a kiss. “Thank you,” I whisper against his lips.
“Never have to thank me.” He gives Leo a kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll be back.”
38
Lorenzo
“About fucking time you answered your phone!” Matteo barks when I click Accept on the call.
“Sorry, man. We arrived in Seattle and—”
“She’s alive.”
A shiver races up my spine as I wrap my head around his words.
“What do you mean, she’s alive?”
“Leysa Santiago. The DNA results came back, and it wasn’t her who died in the fire.”
“Then who the fuck was it?”
“It shows a partial match, so I checked around, and it turns out, her sister isn’t just her sister … she’s her fraternal twin. It’s why they look so much alike. And she’s missing.”
“Holy shit. She killed her sister?”
“She’s a fucking psycho bitch, and we’re back at square one. I know you’re planning to stay in Seattle, but you need to—”
His words are interrupted by an incoming call.
“Hey, give me a second. Vanessa is calling. I left to pick up dinner, so she might need me to grab something while I’m out.”
I click Accept, and once it switches over, I’m about to say hello when the sound of my son crying comes over the line.
“Vanessa?”
Leo continues to cry.
“Leo?” I ask, even though he’s not capable of answering.
And then he says the one word that has the blood draining from my body.
“Mama!”
With Matteo still on the other line, I click to merge the calls.
“Matteo,” I bark as Leo cries over the line.
“What the hell is wrong with Leo?”
“I don’t know. It’s Vanessa’s phone number, but only Leo is on the phone. I’m five minutes out, but I think something is wrong.”
“Does Eddy have access to the tracking on her necklace?”
“Yeah,” I breathe, my heart pounding in my chest so hard that it’s difficult for me to hear.
“What hotel are you staying at?”
“Seattle Olympic. Presidential Suite.”
“I’ll call you right back.”
I step on the accelerator, not giving a shit that I’m now doing over one hundred miles per hour, my only thought that I need to get to Vanessa and my son as fast as possible.
Leaving the food behind, I park in front of the hotel and rush into the elevator since we’re on the thirtieth floor.
When I step onto the floor, the door is closed, so I quickly unlock it with my card and rush in. I don’t have my gun on me, but I don’t give a shit about anything other than finding my son and Vanessa.