Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Dominic shuts the engine of the car off and Shavonne steps back, folding her arms over her chest as Dominic climbs out.
“I should be asking you that question,” he counters when the car door is shut behind him.
Shavonne scoffs. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I know it’s you leaving notes for me to find. The dead bird in my trunk. Attempting to break into my house. You’re trying to ruin my life. Why?”
She doesn’t react to his accusations. Her face remains neutral, minus her brows that shift down deeper. “You mean to tell me it’s okay for you to ruin someone’s life, but not for someone to ruin yours?”
“So, you admit it,” he counters, and he curses himself for not having his phone to record this conversation.
Shavonne steps closer, eyeing him. “You think I don’t see through this whole governor façade of yours, but I do, Baker. I see right through you, and you’re made of pure glass. One tap and you’ll break.”
“Why are you trying to sabotage me? I did nothing to you,” he retorts.
“The same way you didn’t do anything to Brynn?”
Hearing the name fall from her lips sends him into a cold shock. The ice runs through his veins, paralyzing him where he stands. All he can do is stare at Shavonne as her lips deviously curl to a smile.
“Where is she? Tell me. Is she still alive?” he demands.
She leans toward him and whispers, “Just know you won’t get away with what you did.”
Those words bring him back to life, back to the moment. He can make this stop. He can get her to go away. “What is it that you want? Huh? Money? Is that it?”
Shavonne bubbles out another scoff while narrowing her eyes at him. “If I wanted money, I wouldn’t be handling it this way.”
“Name your price,” he continues as she starts to walk off. “How much do you want? However much it is, I can get it. I have ways.”
Shavonne peers over her shoulder. She drops her folded arms to face him again, looking deep into his eyes. “Look at you. So eager to use your wife’s money to cover your sorry ass.”
He works to swallow.
“I know what you did to Brynn that night, Dominic. You and that other man. She told me all about it and, trust me, she will not let you live this down.”
His world is spinning. His mouth has become dry and is tacky from the cashews. His heart pumps double the speed as Shavonne turns away, her chin up and a smirk on her lips. She takes a few steps, but he can’t let her go. She knows too much. Brynn is still alive. They’re both here to hurt him—ruin him. He can’t let this happen.
He’s not quite sure what comes over him in the moment. One second, he’s watching her go, and the next he’s yanking her back by the ponytail, spinning her around, and slamming a fist into her face. He hits her so hard she collapses on the ground and the back of her head slams on the black pavement.
He breathes raggedly as he searches for witnesses. No one is nearby. That’s the good thing about a shitty motel in a terrible part of town. No one can stop him. No one cares. The neon lights of the motel flash on them, red hues swimming on one half of Shavonne’s bloody face. He must be quick.
He picks her body up and shoves her into the backseat of his SUV but not before rifling through her pockets and purse for her phone. When he finds it, he chucks it toward the trees. Then he’s behind the steering wheel, his tires screeching as he peels out of the lot. As he goes, eyes flickering to the rearview mirror, he feels around the floor for his phone. When he finds it, he dials Boaz and tells him what he did. He tells him that Brynn is alive and that if they don’t find her, they’re both going down.
Less than thirty minutes later, Boaz meets Dominic behind an abandoned warehouse.
“Take her to this address,” Dominic says, showing Boaz the screen of his phone.
“We’ll need to switch vehicles,” Boaz states. “Don’t want her DNA getting everywhere.”
Dominic hesitates. When he realizes he has no time to argue, he mutters, “Fine.”
Dominic hands him the keys, and once Boaz has them in hand, he stalks to Dominic’s SUV, climbs behind the wheel, and drives away.
Dominic watches the taillights fade, then stares at Boaz’s pickup truck—the same one that had Brynn’s body stored on the bed—and a sinking feeling buries its way inside him.
He can’t turn back now.
He has to finish this once and for all.
THIRTY-FIVE
DOMINIC
Four years ago
Once Boaz was gone with Brynn’s body, Dominic did all the things Boaz told him to do. The first thing he did was find wood for the fireplace. He went out back, where a small storage shed was, and found a few logs. He toted them inside, found matches on the mantel, and lit it up. Once he’d stripped out of his clothes and the gloves and tossed them into the raging fire, he went for his phone and called John.