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)
My dad calls, concerned. Mrs. Alvarez told him about the scary men knocking on her door asking for her doorbell footage. I lie and say I don’t know anything about it. I also lie and tell him Maya’s going through a breakup and needs me.
Maya is a little more complicated. I have to tell her some version of the truth, so I end up telling her about the pregnancy. She freaks out and congratulates me, and tells me to enjoy my fairytale romance. If only she knew.
20
DOMINIC
Living with Sofia isn’t much different from not living with Sofia. We travel to work separately and come home separately. I think that’s a complete waste of time, but she won’t budge. She doesn’t want even a hint of office gossip about us. That’ll be a moot point once her pregnancy starts showing, but I digress.
We still have no answers on who broke into Sofia’s apartment, even though I know it in my gut it had to be Calderone. The violence felt so personal. They wanted to send a message to her and to me.
The most frightening part was that there was no break-in. The windows were all shut and locked, the door too. That means someone has a copy of her key and could come back anytime. Changing the locks won’t help, either. If they copied it once, they could do it again.
For two weeks, she’s a ghost in my home. I know she’s there. She sure spends a hell of a lot of time with my sister. They’ve become thick as thieves, which is a problem for later. The last thing I need is the two most important women in my life ganging up on me.
I also resent it. She trusts Chiara more easily than she’s ever trusted me.
I think she’s still mad about me bringing Dr. Greco to see her. She thinks I overstepped. Well, she can think whatever the hell she wants, because I’m not risking her health on top of everything else. In the meantime, I’ll just have to deal with her not speaking to me in a non-professional capacity.
Rafe comes into my office one afternoon, and I can tell by the grimace on his face that whatever it is, it’s bad. He glances back at Sofia’s desk, which he never does. I stiffen.
“Shut the door,” I tell him.
He hesitates. “It’s about her dad,” he says quietly. “I think after everything, you should probably bring her in on this from the start.”
I only consider not telling her for a moment. The only way we’re ever going to build trust is if I’m open and honest about what’s going on. Hiding another thing from her is not going to strengthen our good will.
“Sofia,” I call. “Can you please come in here?”
Her chair squeaks as she gets up, and I wait, holding my breath. She comes into the office, looking between Rafe and me, apprehension written all over her face.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Have a seat,” I tell her. “And Rafe? Shut the damn door.”
He does and they both sit down. Rafe looks from me to her, clearly not sure who to address.
“Out with it,” I demand.
“Sofia,” he says carefully. “This is going to be hard to hear, and I haven’t told Dominic yet either, so I’m telling you both together. Your father’s garage was vandalized.”
She gasps in horror and shoots to her feet. “I have to go check on him.”
I move quickly, putting myself between her and the door.
“Let my men handle it,” I tell her. “The last thing we need is for you to put yourself in harm’s way.”
She glares up at me, shaking her head fiercely.
“I’m not having this debate with you,” she hisses. “He’s my father!”
“At least let him call you and tell you himself,” Rafe suggests. “He’s going to be suspicious if you go there now without warning. He’ll wonder how you know.”
She looks between us, and I see the gears grinding. She knows Rafe is right. She’s more likely to listen to him than me right now.
“It’s going to be okay, Sofia,” I tell her. “We’re going to sort it out.”
She doesn’t respond. She opens the door and goes back to her desk without another word. I’d chain her to that desk if I could.
“What if he doesn’t tell her?” I ask Rafe. “We’re going to have a hell of a time keeping her out of Queens.”
Rafe sighs. “Then you’ll need to go with her. From the pictures I’ve seen, she’ll need the support.”
“I’m not sure how much support I’ll be to her,” I murmur. “Or how much she’ll let me be.”
We hear the sound of buzzing, and a moment later, Sofia appears in the doorway.
“He called,” she says plainly. “I’m going.”
“We’re coming with you,” I tell her.
She doesn’t argue, probably because she knows there’s no point. We pile into a town car and head toward Queens. Her father’s garage sits in a seedier neighborhood than her apartment. Anyone could have vandalized it, though we all know the truth. Whoever did this was likely the same person who broke into her apartment, the same person who tried to attack my business.