Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Slowly I tilt my hand over the table, letting the ring on my left hand catch the light. I would have preferred to have Ely pick out a ring for me, but I needed this to make a point.
"Your wife?" He balks. "Fucking a girl doesn't mean she's yours to keep. The arrangement I had was with your grandfather, not you.”
All I can do is shrug, still keeping the hate I feel for this asshole out of my eyes. "Isn’t that how inheritance works? Anything that was his, now belongs to me? I mean, if I, in fact, had one of your possessions. Which, I don't."
He releases a frustrated sigh and taps his knuckle against the table. "Well, I suppose we can circle back to this in a moment when I tell you the rest of why I'm here to meet you. The carrot, so to speak."
"As opposed to what, the stick? Are we speaking with that tired metaphor?"
He wears his dislike of me thickly on his face, his thin mouth twisting into a nasty grin, one I'm sure would send Ely running, and I hate him a little for it. Though he should know, men like him don’t scare me. They make me hungry for revenge, for power, for death.
"It would appear you’ve run into some legal troubles, Mr. Arturo. I'd like to be of assistance, on account of the long-standing relationship our families have with one another."
I clench my hand into a fist in my lap and shake my head. "Legal troubles? I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. I'm a good, upstanding citizen. Just an all-American good ol’ college football player, and the star running back for Oakmount. Who would have a problem with me?"
His jaw twitches, and his smile slips away. "Your stepmother, Mrs. Arturo, has filed assault charges against you. When she showed up at the station, distraught and beat up, we knew we had to do something. As good officers of the law, my team and I took pictures and recorded everything. Even made sure she saw a medical professional for a rape kit. She named you as her attacker. She says you even caused a miscarriage. Medical records to prove it."
Are you fucking kidding me? I want to scream at him that I didn't touch her, but that's a lie. I didn't fuck her, or let her fuck me, as she would have preferred. But there is no denying I threw her out of my house as brutally as she deserved.
Face like a stone, I stare at him. "Does she have proof of this? I haven't seen my stepmother in some time. Not since she graciously decided to move out of the family estate and into a hotel to make room for my growing family."
Something like disbelief flashes in his eyes. "Family? Are you expecting anyone else besides your...wife?"
I smile. "Oh you know, young love. It’s early in the marriage but we're just a couple of kids, Sheriff. Sometimes we aren't as safe as we should be, and I have a family legacy to consider."
He stiffens, and I know I've gotten under his skin. If Ely is pregnant, he can't take her back, he can't sell her or her body to anyone else. I’ve essentially spoiled the fruit.
"Well, regardless, your stepmother has named you as her attacker and has formally pressed charges. Of course, in view of your potential cooperation, if we could come to an arrangement, maybe I could help."
I shrug, trading in my usual blank stare, for a smile. "Well, she's lying, and I don't have anything I’m interested in giving you. So..." I shove away from the table and stare down at him. "If there isn't anything else to discuss, I'll be going."
Before I repeatedly smash your smug face into the table until you stop breathing.
"Wait one more moment, Mr. Arturo. I don't think you understand how serious this is. There's been a warrant issued for your arrest. I’ve been dragging my feet with paperwork, but the lady is being insistent you should be arrested. So, if we can't come up with a solution, I'm afraid I'll have to take you to jail and book you.”
I slowly lower myself back into the chair. This fucking asshole. The smile slips off my face, and I let the hate I feel for him enter my eyes. Let him see how much I want to kill him. Brutally. Painfully. Without mercy. I let him see the man he's decided to fuck with, long enough to unsettle him.
Unfortunately, he's a stupid bastard.
"Mr. Arturo, do you have any thoughts?"
I sip the last bit of my coffee and slide my cup back onto the table again. Thinking. The only thing he wants is Ely. And she's the only thing I wouldn't give up for the world.