Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
My father speaks of Mason’s fire, loyalty, and talent. But Mason’s murder isn’t just a death. It’s a warning. Someone is out there threatening to knock down the tower he spent so long building. And his words are clear that he’ll find out who and make them pay.
By the time the respects are over, I’m exhausted. My eyes burn from trying to stop my tears. My chest is tight from the constant reminders that Mason is gone. There are so many people here that I want to scream or smoke a whole pack of Marlboros—something I haven’t done in years.
I need air. I don’t want to chance reporters or paparazzi outside just in case, so I make for the funeral home’s back door, bowing my head politely to people who greet me as I pass. As I step out of the parlor, I feel it again. A pair of eyes watching my every move. But when I turn to look back, no one is paying me any mind, giving me a chance to make my escape.
The breeze is cold on my feverish skin, cooling me down. It wasn’t supposed to rain today, but maybe the sky is crying with us. As the only male in the family, Mason was always Mom and Papa’s favorite. Maybe he’s Satan’s favorite, too. There is no way Mason ended up at the pearly gates. In fact, I can imagine him playing poker with the demons, swindling them out of everything they had and laughing about how Hell is going to be a fun ride.
It brings a smile to my face.
“It’s good to see you smiling again. It’s good to see you period. I started to wonder if you’d return.”
My body goes rigid before I recognize the voice. Marco. Just the person I need most right now.
I was worried he wouldn’t come, but he strolls up to me as casually as ever, hands stuffed into the pockets of his rain-splattered trench coat.
Screw the tabloids. I hurry down the back steps of the funeral home to fling myself into his arms. He’s warm and smells of mint and apple from the cologne I bought him for his birthday. He crushes me to his chest so close I can practically feel his heartbeat.
“Sorry I didn’t come sooner,” he mumbles into my hair.
“Or through the front door?” I say, weakly. It feels awful to smile and joke on such a sad day.
Marco chuckles as he lets me go. “Probably for the best I don’t.”
I can’t exactly refute him. A cop at a Godwin’s funeral is bound to raise a few eyebrows, after all.
“Do you want me to get my father?”
Marco shakes his head, shaggy brown hair falling over an eye.
“I’ll talk to Hector later. Gotta head back to work, but I wanted to see you. I was happy to hear you returned to Seattle, even if it was because of this.”
I glance behind him to see his car still running. The gesture warms me. Marco has been by my side since we took the same Intro to Business class at the University of Washington years back. He’s also one of the only ones who didn’t pressure me for my familial ties when he found out the truth. I’ve had plenty of friendships crash and burn once they realize that Hector Godwin isn’t just a shipping mogul. But Marco has stuck with me through it all, even risking his job to pledge loyalty to the Godwin family.
If only we could be together. Law and Godwins don’t mix well.
“It was foolish to think I could break away from… all this.” I glance down at the ground and then back up into his eyes and smile. “But it’s good to see you again.”
“Are you gonna be okay without me?” Marco asks.
The question makes me chuckle. He always asks this before he leaves, and my answer is always the same.
“As okay as you are without me.”
“Okay, but if you need anything, you let me know, and I’ll come running. Got it?”
I nod. “Got it.”
Marco leaves with a two-fingered wave, the same as always, but I can’t help feeling like something is different. Maybe the world has shifted now that Mason is gone, or maybe I’m the one who’s shifted. I can’t tell.
The only thing I know for sure is that everything is going to change from this moment forward.
Chapter 10
Braken
I barely hear my bodyguard Jasper call for me over the sound of the power drills.
Construction for my newest hotel only started yesterday. Delay after delay set back my plans. First, it was convincing the old asshole to sell me his broken-down, unusable parking garage and land, and I paid way too much for it. Then it was getting approval for the restaurant I planned for the first-floor lobby. I hate red tape and dealing with the government, but I’m the only one who can get this shit done. And the truth is I really prefer to spend my time on Heathens Hollow and running The Vault, but family loyalty still is a fucking noose around my neck.