Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“If you waited for me like I told you to do, money would never have been an issue for you.”
She gapes. “You’re joking, right?”
My expression remains serious. “Am I laughing?”
The scotch sloshes over the rim of her glass as she plants a palm on my chest and pushes me. “What do you want from me, Dante?” She shoves me again. “Why did you bring us here? Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”
Her efforts don’t move me an inch. “That’s not going to happen.”
“No?” She laughs, the sound unhinged. “Isn’t that why you put a million bucks on my head?”
“Who told you?”
“The last man who thought he was going to claim that million.”
“Curtis Laing?”
“Wow, Dante. You’re something else if you think he took the time to introduce himself before he chased me down the street.”
“Big guy with eyebrow piercings and a star tattoo here?” I point at my left cheekbone. “He told me he saw you in Chicago, but he had no proof. I checked it out. There was no sign of you.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve learned to run fast and to think on my feet.”
I’m curious. “How did you get away from him?”
Few people do. I can count the number of targets who evaded him on one hand. That’s why I thought he had to have been mistaken about spotting her. I never thought Tatiana would’ve been capable of outrunning Laing. The man has a reputation, and he’s a professional.
“At the first red traffic light, I jumped into the car of some guy in a suit.” She shrugs. “Told him my abusive boyfriend was chasing me. He dropped Noah and me off at a motel.”
“Noah was with you?” I stab a hand into my hair. “Jesus.”
“So thanks for ruining my life and then offering it up for a million.”
“It was a reward for information that would lead to finding you, not a price on your life.”
“With the kind of men who came after us, you could’ve fooled me.”
“I made it clear that no one was to touch you.”
“I don’t think bounty hunters bother with the fine print on a contract. When do they ever play by the rules?”
I want to ask what she means, but she bulldozes ahead, not giving me a chance to speak.
“Tell me the truth, Dante. Aren’t you here to make sure I can’t lay a claim on the inheritance you’ve stolen from me?”
“I haven’t stolen anything, and I don’t have to kill you to make sure of that.”
“Is that so?” She sneers. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Then tell me what’s going to happen.” She steps right up to me, putting us toe to toe. “Tell me why you’re here.”
I drop my gaze to her lips. “I’m here to take what’s mine.”
She laughs that strange laugh again. “You’re not getting Noah.”
My voice is level. “I don’t mean him.” I finish my drink and set the glass down on the bar counter. “Well, not only.”
She steps back and glares at me. “Stay away from Noah. He’s not yours, and neither am I. Making that assumption will be a mistake.”
She has no fucking idea how wrong she is.
Ugly jealousy burns in my gut. “Did you take another man’s cock in your pussy?”
She clamps her lips together.
My voice comes out low. Dangerous. “How many?”
More silence.
“Because so help me God, Tatiana, I’ll kill every motherfucking one of them.”
A chuckle bubbles up in her throat. “Is that what this little charade is about? Hell, Dante, you’ve always been possessive, but this takes it to a whole new level.” Her cheeks flush red with anger when I don’t reply. “Did you come here to piss on your tree? To mark your territory?” Shooting back her drink, she downs everything in one go before putting her glass neatly next to mine. “I’ll tell you what. I’m done doing things on your terms. It never did me any good, did it?” She shakes her head. “No. Look where listening to you has left me. So here’s how this is going to work. You want my pussy? You can buy it.”
I growl a warning. “Tatiana.”
“No, Dante. Let’s call this what it’s always been. You used me, so why change the game now?” She brushes her hands under my jacket, pushing it off my shoulders. “I fuck you, you get over it, and you go away.” When the jacket falls on the floor, she grabs my shirt and rips it open. Buttons fly everywhere. “I’ll sign any papers to denounce my inheritance.” She pulls the shirttails from my pants. “Or why not have a death certificate issued? Everyone thinks I’m dead anyway. Why not leave it like that? It’ll make things easier for you from a legal point of view. Don’t you think?”
She stills when she’s got the shirt open to stare at the new ink on my chest. I covered a lot of skin since the last time she saw me naked. I don’t know if it’s the vastness of the ink or the fact that all those images prove just how long it’s been that pulls her out of the fucked up space she’s gone to in her head, but she’s quiet as she splays her fingers over my chest.