Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“I have n-nothing of value e-except the clothes on my back.” I fan out my arms, showing him they’re not anything to brag about. Cecil is sensible with his money. There are no flashy gimmicks or the latest electronics, just honest work and the assurance of a full stomach every night. Since that wasn’t something I was guaranteed during my childhood, I relish it more than staying up-to-date with fads.
“I am not here for what you can give me but for what I can give you.” My father lies so often, I truly don’t believe he can tell the difference between the truth and a fib anymore. “With Roberto dead…” I choke back a sob at how nonchalantly he announces that my older brother has passed. There’s no remorse in his tone, no sadness. It is as if he truly doesn’t give a fuck, and that’s proven without uncertainty when he adds, “You’re now second-in-charge of an entity worth millions of dollars, if not soon to be billions.”
“I don’t want your money. It’s filthy. It’s blood money. I don’t want anything to d-do with it—”
Cecil smacks me up the back of the head to teach me discipline and respect. My father does it to maim because not once does he do it to my deaf ear. He forever aims for my good ear. “Another word from your mouth, and I’ll burn this entire fucking town to the ground. This is your birthright, your lineage, and you will not disrespect the Petretti name.” He leans in real close to ensure my deep breaths won’t have me missing what he says next, “But if you do, I’ll be sure to pay Cecil a visit on my way out.” He strays his eyes from my flaring nostrils to Sheriff Dumont. “Which hospital did you say he was at again?”
“Saint F—”
“Fine. Let’s go. L-Let’s leave now.”
I direct my father to the door like my heart isn’t racing a million miles an hour. I have no intention of becoming his lackey like Dimitri, but I need to get him as far away from Cecil and Jae as possible before he learns the reason wannabee gangsters are sniffing around Cecil’s turf, and that the witness he wanted dead is stronger than he could have ever predicted.
Once that is achieved, I’ll work out a way to keep them safe. I’ll even go as far as using the notoriety that comes from being raised by a madman if I must.
It’s okay to come out of the shadows when you’re protecting what’s right. My mother taught me that the night she was murdered, and although I couldn’t save her from my father, I have every intention of saving myself from the misery he forever instills in everyone he meets.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jae
I spin away from JR so he can’t see my lips before growling through clenched teeth. “Having a hearing impediment doesn’t mean you’re an idiot, so stop treating him as if he is one.”
The processing officer acts as if I didn’t speak while lodging JR’s fingerprints into the federal database. The fact they don’t already have his details exposes that he isn’t the monster they think he is. He was raised by a horrible man with unjust punishments and misguided morals, yet this is the first conviction JR has faced in his thirty-two years.
Alex was right when he said this went higher than him. The chain stretches so far, even with Isaac reaching out to contacts in this area, he had a hard time finding the U-bolt holding JR hostage.
Mercifully, he did, and now JR is being processed for a late afternoon bail session. I don’t know what I’ll do if his request for bail isn’t approved. It took a heap of favors to get things moving, so I’d hate to think what Isaac had to offer to have Cedric’s interview switched from being a witness statement to an interrogation of a perpetrator.
The Bureau wrongly believed he was their latest golden boy.
It was only after Alex did a heap of digging did they realize how wrong they were. I’m not surprised. Surgeons are automatically given a prestigious notoriety from society, but when money comes into play, all bets are off.
Although I’m quickly learning I hardly knew a thing about Cedric, I guarantee you that is what all this is about. He doesn’t do anything without a fee associated with it. That’s why he never worked at any of the medical clinics I attend once a month in the communities dotted around Ravenshoe. He said he paid to learn his skills, so people should pay to utilize them.
He doesn’t have a single compassionate bone in his body, and it’s proven without a doubt when he responds to my snarl during his escort from an interview room to a holding cell. “Depends on who you’re asking. From what I’ve heard, you were useless for the weeks you were deaf.” I want to smack the arrogance off his face when he mimics the voice of a hearing-impaired person when they first learn to speak. “They wouldn’t even let you stitch up a patient, much less operate on them.”