Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
I do.
I feel a warmth at my back and hear slow breathing. I look over my shoulder. Vivia’s passed out against my back. We’re strapped to each other. Doesn’t make sense at first why they’d do that unless they were short on restraints and wanted to make sure neither of us tried to escape with the other.
Clearly, they don’t know the Rossi family code.
I don’t dare wake her up or move.
I plow through the slog in my brain to put facts together.
Fact one. Vivia and Gray were considered suspects by the Rossis for the attempt to assassinate Marialena.
Fact two. Vivia says she didn’t know about it, but I can’t trust what she says. Gloria was the one that pointed the finger, and I trust Gloria more than I trust Vivia.
Fact three. Vivia isn’t innocent. She’s hiding something. She’s clamped her mouth and refused to answer, was tracked down by Gloria and Mario, and there’s no way she was supposed to be without her guard in an underground sex club. Her brothers would lock her up in a chastity belt and move her into a convent first.
Fact four. Gray tried to pin it on her, which means there’s a pretty good chance that he was the one responsible and he tried to get out of it by throwing her under the bus.
Is she innocent? Fucking doubt it.
I narrow my eyes in the darkness. What kind of a douchebag tries to get someone else to take the blame? A fucking pussy, that’s who. I wish he wasn’t dead so I could kill him all over again, the asshole.
Who was really behind it all, though? Whoever’s responsible for us being brought here, for attacking us on the streets of Boston, and for drugging us. Someone pulled out all the stops, knowing that Gray could’ve spilled all. At least that much I can guess.
Why are Vivia and I still alive?
They had their chance to kill us and didn’t. That leaves only one plausible explanation: we’re useful to them for another purpose.
I sift through what I know to make sure I’m not missing anything. We weren’t sure who tried to hurt Marialena at first, but Mario and Gloria did some investigative work. Romeo was livid and nearly lost his shit when someone tried to hurt his baby sister, but the rest of us kept our heads on straight and found out what we could. As far as I know, the Montavios knew shit, but I’d guess that’s changed by now.
There’s no way she acted with their knowledge. I’ve worked alongside the Montavios long enough to know they’re as loyal as the Rossis, and they’d fucking die before they’d betray any one of us.
Vivia’s in a lot of goddamn trouble.
Right now what’s more important is finding out if Vivia is alright, and then the next is figuring out a plan to get out of here. I was tasked with bringing her home to The Castle safely and goddamn it, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do if it kills me. I have one job to do. I won’t fuck up.
I shift a little to see if I can rouse her silently. I whisper a hoarse, “Vivia.” My vocal cords don’t want to work.
I call her name again, and she moans a little. Jesus, I wish we weren’t attached to each other. I need to see how badly she’s injured, and if she’s okay. Cracked ribs and some scrapes won’t hold me down.
But before I can turn around and try to unfasten these bonds, the door opens. A masked man comes inside wearing nothing but black. My eyes aren’t accustomed to the bright light, and I blink a few times to adjust to the sudden change. I can’t tell if this is the guy from earlier.
The door clangs shut behind him.
“The guard’s awake and alive, she still seems asleep.”
Guard?
Ah. They think I’m her bodyguard. Makes sense. How would they know the Rossis were involved?
I can feel her tensing against me, too much in control for a person who’s supposedly asleep. I gently move my hands that are behind me until I find the warmth of her skin. I give her hand a little squeeze. She squeezes back. I’m struck with how small her hand is in mine, but how strong her grip is.
I don’t care who she is or what she did. I’m sworn to protect my family, and the Montavio family is part of that.
“Good. Looks like she’s awake, too, aren’t you, princess?”
“Fuck off,” she mutters, her words slurred. I grit my teeth. I’m the one that can piss off the people that took us, not her, because I’m the one they’ll beat up. It’s a fine line. If they touch her, I’ll have to kill them and that’ll make things really complicated.
He only chuckles, though, and marches over to us. “And who do we have here,” he says. “Vivia Montavio’s trained bodyguard put up quite a fight, didn’t he? Impressed, man.” He shakes his head. “Never seen a guard ready to throw down like you. Should hire you for our outfit.”