Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“It sounds like a good plan,” Antonio said, sounding a little reluctant.
“It’s a bad idea,” Roman said.
“I would never put those kids’ lives at risk.”
“It’s not about that. How can you … rest and recover if you’re surrounded by kids?” Roman asked.
Chapter Nine
Roman hated this idea.
Liam had loved the plan.
Antonio, Marlo, and Cash were not fans of it either.
Liam’s men were already placed in secure locations around the orphanage. The people employed were on Liam’s books. No part of Greco touched this place. Only he and his friends knew about it.
His dad was aware of a little boy named Stuart from the dinner that had ended in disaster, but that was the extent of it.
He stared at the garden where Alex sat in the wheelchair as the kids each ran toward her, showing off another prized picture. He saw how desperate they were to hug her, but he’d taken all fifteen kids to one side and told them all how important it was that they allow her to recover.
None of them had pushed.
Yet.
Even Stuart was on his best behavior and joining in. He had to take him aside and ask him to be big and brave for Alex. The little boy had been afraid of him, but Roman talked to him, man to man.
“Dude, I dump women the moment they start talking kids, or even hinting at not using a condom. You’re here in serious relationship central,” Antonio said.
Roman rolled his eyes.
“Alex was right. This place is not directly associated with Liam. Even though it’s close to him, there are no connections at all. It’s the safest place for her to be.”
Roman knew Liam was looking into the security footage, attempting to find the assholes responsible for putting the hit out on Alex.
While Alex had been in the hospital, Roman had been alerted to another call, putting a price on Alex’s head—alive. She had to be taken alive. It was why he’d kept her in the hospital. Three people had tried to get to her. All of them had failed, but as attempts had been made to hold the people intent on killing her, they’d taken some kind of poison and killed themselves.
The bounty on her head wasn’t a lot, so the people making the attempts were amateurs. Whoever was trying to fuck with them was low level, or they didn’t have the appropriate funds to take them on.
This brought him to another confusing part of all of this. His father was rich. Money wasn’t a problem. He could funnel money to any person, hide the actual transaction, and have a professional kill Alex.
The more he thought about the restaurant, the more confused he got. If his father wanted Alex dead, he wouldn’t have it done sloppily like that. It would be clean. Their enemies would struggle to be caught.
“You’re glaring,” Marlo said.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Roman said.
“I heard that is the first sign of love,” Cash said.
“Fuck off with the love. I don’t love my wife. I’m just … I’m taking care of her. I’m doing what my father asked of me,” Roman said. “I’m getting her to fall in love with me.”
“The same man who would be happy to see her die?” Antonio asked. “That’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”
Roman ran a hand down his face. “Something doesn’t add up in all of this. Think about it.”
“I am thinking about it,” Marlo said. “All of this is a bit of a stretch. Your dad, Alex, do you think Liam could be involved?”
“No,” Roman said. “He loves his daughter. He would never, ever, put her in harm’s way. What does he have to gain by killing her?”
“Freedom?”
“If he pins it on your father, an all-out war,” Cash said.
“Yeah, but look at who is doing the attacks. Supposedly the Smirnov Bratva, right. An organization that was nearly wiped out years ago. Their old enemies. Dad wouldn’t allow people like that to rise up. You’ve got to think about the logic on this one.” Roman started to pace. The kids were all on the grass with Alex, and he had her in his sights at all times.
The staff were also near her, keeping an eye on the kids.
“If Liam was going to attempt to pin it on Lucas, then he would make sure it was the Greco mark, not an old enemy. It can’t be him, and I don’t see him attempting to kill his daughter. He wouldn’t do that.”
“So we’re back to your dad again,” Antonio said. “And what he said to you in the hospital room.”
“Yeah, which makes no sense, because forty-eight-ish hours before, he was telling me to make Alex fall in love with me.” He gritted his teeth. The answer was right in front of him, he just couldn’t quite reach him.
“If he was going to kill Alex, seeing as there was already a hit put out on her already, why would he tell you, in private, to make this marriage work?” Marlo asked.