Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Dad’s mouth hangs open. I step back, seething. Both Davide and Stefano seem impressed.
“Ah, sorry to interrupt again, but here’s the manual for the microphone. It has about ten hours of recording time built in, but it needs to be uploaded and charged between uses.” He tosses Dad a little stack of papers. He clumsily snags them. “There’s also an earpiece. It’s tiny and flesh-colored. Just make sure you don’t lose it in your ear canal. Or do, I don’t care. Good luck to you all. I’ll be watching as always.” Davide lightly salutes me before leaving again.
“This is crazy,” Dad murmurs before taking a deep breath. “But I’ll do it.”
“I knew you would.”
He gets up and I follow him to the door. Before he goes, I put a hand on his elbow to stop him.
“One more thing. Your mistress, Emily. I want you to fire her. Stop sleeping with her. Make sure she can’t find work anywhere on the East Coast ever again.”
Dad gives me a bemused look. “Really, Charlie? Just because she lied to you?”
“She’s lucky I’m not slitting her throat open. Destroy her for me. That’s part of the deal now.”
Dad sighs. “Fine. I was getting bored of her anyway. Anyone else you want out of the way before we’re through?”
“I’ll let you know.”
He walks off, shaking his head. “I’ll be in touch.”
I watch him go. Stefano joins me, a hand on the small of my back. “What do you think?”
“I think he’s a rat, but he’ll do what he’s told. I dangled the biggest, fattest piece of cheese imaginable, and he’ll go to any lengths to get it.”
“And what about you?” he murmurs, stooping to kiss my neck. “Did that little bit of revenge feel nice?”
I lean against him. Do I really hate Emily that much? She’s only doing what my dad told her to. It’s my fault for trusting her so easily. I should’ve known better, but I was vulnerable and afraid, and she was the only person showing me any kindness at the start of all this. I needed her. It was a mistake, but what the hell. It worked out in the end.
“Not really,” I admit with a shrug. “But fuck her anyway.”
Dad’s voice comes through scratchy and slightly distant. “How’s that? Better?”
“Good enough,” Stefano murmurs into his microphone. We’re in a van parked about a mile from the Westbrook mansion. “Where are you?”
“In the bathroom near my father’s suite. God, I’m sweating. I never sweat like this. I can’t believe I’m nervous.” The sound of running water and Dad talking to himself.
“Just do what you need to do and get the recording.” I lean up against Stefano, feeling stifled and unhappy. My heart’s beating fast and nerves jangle in my guts. Dad must be even worse right now.
“It’s going to be okay,” Stefano says lightly, not talking into the microphone anymore. “You don’t have to be worried about him.”
“I’m not really. I don’t care if Grandfather has him killed. I just want the plan to work.”
“That’s my girl.” Stefano kisses my hair. “Just hang tight.”
We’re subjected to ten minutes of Dad cursing to himself, peeing, and grumbling in the mirror before he finally leaves the bathroom and heads down the hall to his meeting. The transmitted audio is surprisingly clear. I can hear Grandfather’s assistants talking quietly to Dad, and I can even tell who they are based on their voices. He sounds stressed, but still like himself, as he cracks jokes and blatantly flirts. Finally, he’s allowed into Grandfather’s inner sanctum.
“You know my schedule, Walter,” Grandfather says, sounding exasperated. That’s how he always talks to Dad, like it’s the most annoying possible event in his day. “What was so urgent you needed to speak with me?”
“I have some concerns.” There’s a rubbing sound, and I’m guessing Dad just sat down.
“And here I was, worrying about what you thought all morning.”
I can almost see the deep frown on Grandfather’s face right now.
“I know, Dad, but please listen. We’ve been tracking the Marino trucks for a while now—”
“How many times have I told you? We don’t use that name. Not here, not anywhere.”
“Right, but—”
“You’re too goddamn stupid for your own good. How you’re my son, I’ll never understand. I’m of a mind to get a DNA test.”
“I know, you’ve been saying that my whole life. It doesn’t change the fact that the Marino trucks are all over the place. The data’s been corrupted.”
“Then fix it.” Grandfather lets out a grunt of frustration. “I swear, I have to hold your hand through everything.”
“I need funds. I need people. Your support so far—”
“My support has been everything. Without me, you’d have curled into a tiny little ball and cried yourself to sleep. Or more likely, you would’ve done something stupid and gotten yourself killed.”
“At least I put Charlie in this position, just like you asked.”