Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45605 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
I gasp and glance at Brea.
She’s leaning into her Daddy, but she nods.
Orion continues, “The bastard went out for a hike one evening and fell off a cliff. Idiot.”
My eyes widen at his sarcastic tone. “He fell?”
“Yep.”
I search Daddy’s face. That’s all I’m going to get out of him, but it’s enough. The bad man who’d trafficked Brea may have fallen off a cliff, but I’m certain he had help getting there, and something similar will happen to Vincent.
I should feel remorse, but all I feel is premature relief. It hadn’t occurred to me that there might be a way to eliminate that asshole from this Earth without anyone getting caught doing it. That would be tidy.
Throwing my arms around Daddy one more time, I whisper, “I love you. Be careful.”
“I love you, too, Cora. And I’ll return without a scratch. Promise.”
Chapter Sixteen
Orion
Leaving my Little girl with Navin and Brea is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not because I don’t trust Navin to take care of Cora, nor am I concerned about my own safety. It’s because we’ve only been mated for slightly more than a day. I don’t want to be apart from her.
What I also want is to put an end to Vincent Jones so that I can rest easier. Tonight when I climb into bed with my girl, there will no longer be a threat looming over us.
Pryce, Quinn, and Ronan are with me. Quinn is driving the extended cab truck. I’m in the passenger seat. It’s late afternoon. The sun is going down. I have the surveillance cameras Sylas put up on Cora’s property pulled up on my laptop, and I’m looking at split screens, keeping an eye on the fucker as he moves around the homestead.
He’s definitely stomping, just like Sylas informed us. The man lost his slave, and he’s furious. He’s about to lose a whole lot more than his live-in labor.
My phone buzzes. It’s Sylas. “What’s up?”
“Hey. I did a bit more digging into Vincent Jones. He was never a golden boy. Before he moved to this area and married Cora’s mom, he was married to another woman four states away who pressed charges against him for battery. She filed for divorce soon after. I haven’t been able to hunt her down, but it looks like she eventually dropped the charges and left town.”
“Asshole,” I mutter. The woman probably just wanted to get on with her life and not end up dragging that fucker through a court system that doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to ruling on such cases.
“And before that,” Sylas continues, “he dated a young woman in yet another state. He beat her so badly she ended up in the hospital. She also dropped the charges.”
I’m seething. This is Vincent’s last day on Earth.
“Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks. I’ll take all of that into consideration when I make this motherfucker pay.” I end the call and resume watching Jones’s erratic movements inside the house. I noticed he has a few gas cans outside. Hopefully he hasn’t emptied any of them. That would be a bitch to clean up. Not to mention, I’d rather arrive before he sets the place on fire and burns Cora’s childhood home. I doubt she’ll be returning here anyway, but I don’t want Jones taking that option away from her.
Quinn parks the truck far enough away that Vincent won’t hear the engine and be alerted to our arrival. Plus, we don’t need the authorities to be aware of our presence here at any time, either.
We finish the trip on foot and walk right into Cora’s home through the unlocked front door.
The piece of shit who terrorized my girl for the past four years is in the living room, and he spins around, eyes wide when we enter. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he shouts.
I assume he doesn’t have a weapon on him since he doesn’t pull it out immediately. Either that or he’s too stupid to think.
“Just paying you a little visit,” I say as I stalk toward him.
“Well, get the fuck out.” He points toward the door the four of us just entered.
“I don’t think so.” I reach him and back him against the wall without touching him. “It’s come to my attention that you don’t actually own the land you were trying to sell to my pride.”
He flinches. “Of course I do. You’re standing in my house.”
I shake my head. “I’m standing in Cora’s house. You stole her inheritance and lied to her. She was just sixteen. And then you spent four years abusing her so you could live a life of leisure off of her inheritance.”
“Not fucking true. I was married to her mother. By all rights, this homestead and the house are mine.”
“Tsk tsk. You know that’s a lie. You’re a thief and an abuser. It’s time to pay the piper. Your gig is up.”