Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
John needed this, he’d taken some financial hits in the past few years. I’d help get it going and then in a year, maybe two, we’d sell our shares back to John and Ben.
I got a ride back to my hotel from one of Ben’s drivers, calling Tia on the way. She answered on the third ring, her voice small.
“Hello?”
“Sleepin’ baby?”
“Mm. It’s okay. How are you?”
“I’m good. On my way back to my room, crashin’ early. Just wanted to see how you’re feeling.”
“I don’t know yet. I guess I’ll find out when I finally get my head off this pillow.”
“You been in bed all day?”
“No. I got up and got stuff done for the party tonight and then I decided to take a nap after I made all the food. Sheesh, I slept a long time.”
“I’ll call you later then. Sarah still there?”
“Think so. I’m gonna take a shower; girls’ll be here soon. Love you. Call me before you go to sleep?”
“Yep. Have fun. Love you, baby girl.” I entered the hotel and tucked my phone into my pocket and then stopped near a bank of elevators, leaning over to fix my shoelace.
From the corner of my eye, I saw something that tweaked me. An older guy, trench coat, coming up beside me. He halted when I bent and then he skirted the couple walking in front of him, quickly walking by me, disappearing around a corner in a way that felt unnatural.
It might’ve been nothing, but I’d learned over the years to trust my gut. Trench coat done up like that indoors in the fuckin’ desert? I’d lay bets he was following me. And packing. But for who? Denarda? Or, I was being followed by Zack’s Fed buddies.
I hit the button for the elevator. One opened immediately. I got on it and hit buttons for the second, third, fifth, and twenty eighth floors.
I let the doors open and close on the second floor and then got off on the third, crossed the long hallway to the other end and then climbed up to the fourth floor and called the elevator. Whoever was watching me wouldn’t know which floor I’d gotten off on, unless they had the elevator camera feed hacked.
As the elevator climbed to my floor, I texted Nino.
Come to Vegas. Get on the next flight. Arrange security detail for me. Double security for Tia. Tail the goof and toss his house. Thinkin’ he might’ve put out a hit on me.
I entered my hotel room with my gun drawn. The room was empty, but I wasn’t taking any chances so I examined, then packed up my shit, changed into jeans and a hoodie with dark glasses and sneakers, and then I switched hotels and checked in under a fake name.
It was the next day. I was in another meeting with John, Ben and the other investors for Fete. Ben said Denarda had canceled their meeting after the start-time. So, my guess? He saw I wasn’t there and that’s why he canceled.
As we were wrapping up our meeting, I got a call from
Nino who said he and a few other of our guys were checking out Denarda’s place and his office and they’d nearly gotten caught by Denarda’s security. Nino found a fucking Ferrano inner circle flowchart on the fucker’s home office wall. Tessa’s picture was circled.
Nino called her immediately to tell her to stay put so he could get additional security for her but she hadn’t answered, so he called me to tell me he’d have her tracked down. I called her cell. The phone went straight to voicemail. I called Sarah’s cell. Voicemail again.
I phoned the house.
“Hello?”
Lisa. Shit.
Lisa and I hadn’t talked much since her meltdown. She hadn’t been back from her retreat for long and had revealed her secrets of her origins to the girls.
Tia had been there and filled me in on how it all went down, how Tessa and Luciana left without letting Lisa off the hook. My sisters were in shock and Dare and I had talked it over. We knew that given time, they’d welcome her back into the fold. Hopefully Lisa knew that, too.
Dare told me he’d talked to Lisa and said she was doin’ okay, despite the shock from the chat with the girls. Tia and Angel were being a good support to her, as was Sarah. Though Sarah was pretty fuckin’ angry lately, knowing the truth about all that her girls had been through. She treated all of them like daughters and took it as a personal affront that anyone would hurt those girls.
“Hey. It’s Tommy. You good?” I half prayed she wouldn’t answer that question with more than a yes.
“Hi. Uh. Yeah, Tommy, I’m good. Um… you?”
“Not so good. Listen, Tessa there?”
“Oh, I’m not sure. I think Sarah has the boys.”