Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I point at him. “To watch your oldest child go to prison? Tell me how easy it was for you, Bellamy. Because you and I both know there’s more to that story.”
He doesn’t reply at first. He kneels next to the man still in the fetal position. “You okay, Dietrich?”
I knew Jack Smith was a fake name. And Austin Bellamy knows his real name. Point one for me.
“You hired someone to off your daughter?”
He looks up at me, his face stony. “Are you kidding me? You think I want to be involved in all of this?”
“Seems you do want to be involved in it. You’ve got a fortune. You could take your whole family, leave the country, live in luxury somewhere and not be bothered by any of this.”
“Where would I go? Certainly not to South America.”
“Who the hell said anything about South America? You could go to Europe. Hell, go to Monaco. It costs a mint to live there, but you’ve got the money.”
He sighs. “You think I haven’t thought about that?”
“Then why haven’t you?”
He looks back down at the guy on the floor. “Because this is a fucking mess. A mess of my parents’ making.”
“Your father’s been dead for decades, and your mother passed away over a year ago.”
“Yes, I know. And I shielded my mother from what was going on within her company. Why do you think I had to let my son go to prison?”
“Because he confessed to shooting a cop,” I say. “Quit making things up.”
Bellamy helps Dietrich to his feet.
“You want to start explaining?” I say to him.
Dietrich is breathing hard and holding his stomach. “I was only following orders.”
“Yeah, so were the Nazis. Sell it to someone else.”
“I wasn’t going to kill her,” he says.
“You admitted it to me.”
Bellamy steps between us. “His job was to make you think he was going to harm Raven, Gallo.”
I scratch the side of my head. “But he received payment from Agudelo. Not from you.”
Bellamy shrugs. “I hacked my daughter’s Uber app. Do you think it’s so difficult for me to falsify some financial records?”
I blink, unable to come up with a good response.
Bellamy shakes his head. “I knew who you were in contact with in Colombia, Vinnie. I knew you would be looking up everything you could about this guy. You really should work on being less predictable.”
My mind races. “But why would you go to the trouble?”
Then it hits me. Bellamy did all of that so he could…
“You bastard.”
Bellamy frowns. “I see you figured it out. I did it so I could get you put away. Attempted murder.”
“Not actual murder?”
“He’s wearing a bulletproof vest, of course.”
“Yeah? I had my gun pointed at his brain. Wouldn’t have helped.”
“Which is why I had to intervene.” Bellamy sighs. “You and I are on the same side, Gallo.”
“Not from where I’m standing. You just admitted you wanted to send me to prison.”
He clasps his hands together, not meeting my gaze. “We both want to protect Raven.”
“Right. And you want to protect her from me.”
He finally looks up, making eye contact with me. “Bingo.”
“You think I don’t want that? I love your daughter. No doubt about that. I’ll probably never love again. But I will give her up a million times to keep her safe. She knows that.”
“There are things you don’t understand that are at play here,” he says.
“I swear to God, if you try to tell me that one more time, you’ll be able to get me on two charges of attempted murder.” I pace the room. “I’m a member of the Bianchi family. You think I don’t get how this works? If you think I don’t understand something, then explain it. I’ve got a functioning brain, Bellamy.”
“We need to speak in private.”
I raise my hands to either side of my body, gesturing around the room. “What the hell do you call this?”
He shakes his head. “Dietrich doesn’t know everything either.”
I reach into my pocket. “I’ve had enough of your stalling. I’m calling the cops on this asshole.”
“He hasn’t done anything,” Bellamy says. “I just told you that he wasn’t going to harm Raven. His only job was to make you think he was going to do that.”
“Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”
“You don’t have to take my word for it. When it comes to my daughter, I speak only the truth.” He turns to Dietrich. “You okay? I can have Paris take you to the ER.”
Dietrich coughs. “I’m good.”
“Then go. Get whatever medical attention you need, if any. Then lie low. I need to speak with Mr. Gallo alone.”
27
RAVEN
Isurge past Jared, pushing him out of my way, my dress rustling around my feet. I walk into our large country kitchen and head straight to the drawer where my mother keeps her sharpest knives—the ones she uses to slice through our beef as if it’s butter.