Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“Did you hear that?” he asks, sounding like he’s moving to a different room.
“Yes,” I hiss. You two-faced fuck. “Stop torturing the poor woman.”
“Poor, yes,” Aaron says, laughing. “She is poor. I wonder where she’d end up if she didn’t have my generosity to bankroll her. Have you heard the horror stories? The abuse in inferior facilities? The overworked nurses who don’t have the time or energy to care? And, of course, you heard how badly she wants to stay here.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t have anything!” I snap.
“I’ve been watching the staff this evening,” Aaron says. “Watching them adjust her tubes and monitors and everything else.”
“You wouldn’t go that far,” I hiss.
He chuckles cruelly. “You’ve accused me of being a drug dealer, my sweet niece. You’ve called me a pervert for the way I talk to you and a criminal with connections. Do you seriously think putting an old bitch out of her misery is beyond me?”
“I’ll go public,” I snap. “I’m recording this call!”
Another laugh. “Even if that were true, and it’s not, it wouldn’t change the fact that I’m standing outside my mother’s room right this second. If this call doesn’t go the way I want, I’m going in there right now. I’ll make her squeal before she dies too.”
My throat tightens in panic, nearly choking me. I’m so sick of crying, and yet it feels like the only thing I can do to even somewhat manage this terror. I try to cry silently, at least, so he can’t hear me sobbing. The prick would probably like that.
“You need to give me something,” he spits. “I’m trying to help you here. Just a morsel, something you overheard, or you saw, or this is going to end very, very badly.”
I close my eyes, feeling tears squeeze through my tightly closed eyelids. Dom is a stranger. I scream silently at myself to convince myself. You shouldn’t even care.
But I do care. Too much.
“I don’t know anything concrete,” I murmur.
“Concrete,” Aaron repeats. “But you’ve heard something?”
“I don’t know. I think, maybe… I’m not sure.”
“Stop stalling,” Aaron snaps. “Or I swear to God, I’ll hang up and wring the old bitch’s neck. Speak. Now. Last chance.”
“There’s a politician, some district guy or something. His name is Reese McLaughlin. I think he’s helping Vale Construction to extend their low-income projects into the inner city. But I’m not even certain of that. It’s just something I saw on a whiteboard.”
“A fucking morsel,” Aaron grunts. “I should go in there and handle her anyway. I need more than that.”
“That’s all I have,” I lie, a croak in my voice that makes me feel weak, a croak I hate and resent. “I don’t have anything else!”
“Then you better work harder,” he grits out.
“This has to be enough for now,” I plead. “Don’t hurt her.”
“I like it when you beg,” he says, with another low, sick laugh. “For now. You’re right about that part. But the clock is ticking, bitch.”
He hangs up, finally letting me drop onto the couch and melt into it. Sobs wreck my body until my eyes sting and my chest is tight. Insanely, I wish Dom were here to wrap his powerful arms around me. I wish he were here to gently run his fingers behind my ear, like when he put on my necklace, sending reassuring tingles down my neck and through my body.
I take a hot shower, trying to force the agony from my thoughts. When I return, a towel wrapped around me, I see Dom has texted me.
Dominic Vale: Why didn’t you disclose that Aaron Pike was your uncle, Izzy?
I drop onto the couch, chewing the inside of my cheek. My previous message is still sitting unsent, the one where I reveal all. I quickly delete it. If Aaron didn’t have my Grandma as leverage… but he does, and I have to live in the real world.
Izzy: I’m sorry, sir. I should have said, but Aaron has never been a part of our family. He’s never wanted anything to do with us. I resent having any connection with him, honestly, because he’s so cruel. He’s not a good person. I know that.
Dom texts back right away.
Dominic Vale: I’ve seen his methods. All he cares about is the bottom line. He’s not afraid to break a few rules, or even bones, to get there.
Izzy: Bones??????
Dominic Vale: I’ve heard he might have connections. To drug dealers. To criminal elements.
Izzy: I’ve heard the same. Plus, Aaron has hinted at it a few times with me, as a way to bully me.
Dominic Vale: Hinted when? I thought you two had nothing to do with each other?
I walk into the bedroom and put on some PJs, wondering how to respond to this. I despise lying to him. But I’d despise the alternative far more.
Izzy: Since my grandma got sick, he’s been visiting her.