Total pages in book: 206
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
“Hello?”
“Tia, what the fuck!” he growled.
My scalp prickled, “What’s wrong?”
“Where’s your fucking phone?”
“In my purse.”
“I’ve been calling you!”
“I must not have heard it. The music was loud.”
Tessa pulled into a parking space in a strip plaza, jumped out, and dashed into a bakery.
“My sister picking you up was not authorized, Tia. The guy on duty was a fucking bonehead for letting her drive out of there with you. It’s not safe.”
My heart was pumping directly in my ears, it seemed. Time stood still for a beat.
Oh my God. OH MY GOD! I have a chance to get away. There was no one else in the parking lot. There were no bodyguards with us! I looked around me. I was in a suburban strip mall and there were no goons with guns watching me.
“Hello?” he called out impatiently.
“I’m here.” I slowly looped my purse strap over my shoulder, stepped out of the SUV and closed the door. I looked around, surveying the area. Should I run? This might be the perfect opportunity. This might be the only opportunity.
Someone had let me off the property with the wrong person, a sister who clearly didn’t know I was Tommy’s prisoner. I looked in the van and saw the sleeping baby and the game-playing tot. I chewed my cheek.
“Where’s Tess? It’s quiet,” he asked.
“She’s uh--- driving.”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible. Remember my rules. Yeah? Remind her not to stop anywhere. Go directly to my father’s house. It’s not safe for you to be out there unguarded.”
“Kay.” I frowned.
“You’re still wearing the ring?”
I looked down at it. “Uh huh.”
I could see his sister at the cash register, talking animatedly with the cashier.
“Okay, baby. I’ll see you soon. Be good. Text me when you’re inside Pop’s house so I know you’re safe.”
“Kay. Goodbye, Tommy.” I hung up.
I stood still, feeling like my pounding heart was inside of my ears. I pulled the ring off my finger.
Goodbye Tommy.
Tessa came out of the store holding three white bakery boxes. She passed them to me, so I opened the door and put them on my seat with the ring.
“Oh, just a sec. Let me get the trunk open. You can’t hold those on your lap.”
I passed her the phone. “Listen, it was nice to meet you, but I’ve actually gotta go. I wanted to leave the second you were in there, but I wouldn’t have left your babies alone.”
She looked at me weirdly. I started to walk away.
“Wait a second,” she called after me. “What’s going on? Did you and my brother have a fight?”
“You could say that,” I called back. “Sorry. He’s a psychopath, Tessa, he really is. I can’t do this, can’t be his prisoner. I am outta here.” I started walking faster. She was standing there looking confused.
After a few paces I glanced back and saw her dialing on her phone. That’s when I knew I couldn’t walk away. I had to fucking run.
I couldn’t believe the fucking screw-up. First, my meeting runs late because I have to watch a couple guys rough up someone who owes us money, like I have time for this piddly shit, but then I find out that my sister fucking took Tia. The gate guard that relieved Nino had some fucking stomach bug and was in the pool house taking a shit, so Marco hadn’t left yet despite being on since last night. Tino was at the front gate but then there was an emergency with a shipment that was coming and a few guys dropped by and swapped out Nino’s brother Tino with a newbie who just had to man the fucking gate waiting for the other guy to come back. I called Earl and told him to get over there and straighten this shit out.
My sister heard I’ve told Pop I’m running late and I’m not sure if we can make it and she conspires with my other sister to make sure they get their claws into Tia. So, Tess swings by my house and it’s miraculously during the period the inexperienced guy is there and the experienced guy is in the john and my five foot two 100 pound sister proceeds to bully the guy into letting her take Tia to my Pop’s.
He works for us but isn’t in the inner circle so doesn’t know the rules for handling Tia. All he knows is he’s watching the gate for a minute and my sister wants to give my fiancée a ride. The guy’s phone is dead so he tells her he’s gotta confirm it’s okay, but she starts getting pissy about running late and name dropping that she’s Tom Ferrano Senior’s daughter and does he really think she shouldn’t take her own future sister-in-law to me? She’s like a midget Doberman or something, both of my sisters are.