Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Mitch’s grandmother was as cold and impersonal as mine. Uncaring families were something we had in common.
Marjorie waved off his comment. “I’m just taking care of him the way I hope anyone would do. He’s been through a horrible experience.” I was immediately charmed by her and wondered how on earth she ended up married to a mafia boss.
“And this”—Dante indicated the young man—“is Nikolai.”
“It’s good to meet you,” he said. “Lorenzo has told me all about you.”
“I hope he said at least some good things.”
Nikolai smiled. “He did.”
I turned back to Mitch. “I’m so sorry you got mixed up in all this. I don’t even know how to apologize enough.”
“It’s not your fault,” Mitch said. “You told me the job thing was a scam.”
“I thought you’d lose money or do something like embezzling for someone, not… I’m so sorry. You would never have been a target if it wasn’t for me.”
“No,” Dante said. “It’s my fault, and I’m the one who owes you an apology.” He held out his hand to Mitch.
“Whoa. Is that a monkey?” Mitch pointed at Tony, who had been sitting quietly on Dante’s shoulder. The little monkey squeaked, jumped down, and ran to sit in Marjorie’s lap.
“That’s Tony. He belongs to Lancelot, and this is Dante,” I said, then glanced at him, wondering what else to say. He smiled and nodded, so I added, “He’s my biochem professor, and, well…” Dante took my hand.
“Sweet,” Mitch said.
“You’re not shocked?” I asked. “You don’t mind?”
Mitch shrugged. “You never seemed really interested in girls. But I also didn’t know you were interested in professors.”
Dante narrowed his eyes, and I laid a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s all right. I didn’t know I was either, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen now.”
Dante squeezed my hand tighter. “What’s going to happen now is that I am going to take care of you and protect you just like Bébé, Marjorie, and Nikolai have done for Mitch.”
“But what about your job?”
He pressed a finger against my lips. “We’ll figure it out. We don’t need to worry about that right now.”
I knew there were other, far more pressing things, but we were going to have to figure it out soon. I was supposed to be in class the next day, and so was Mitch.
“Mitch, what happened? I mean, if talking about it won’t make you feel worse. I can find out from someone else or just wait until you are ready.”
Mitch shook his head. “No, I think it helps me to talk. I went to meet up with the man who’d contacted me. I knew you were right, and the job was probably a scam, but just in case, I needed to know.”
“I get it. You were in a bad spot.”
“Yeah.” He let out a shaky breath, and I guided him to the sofa across from Marjorie and Nikolai so we could sit.
He continued. “When I got there, there were several men waiting for me. They grabbed me, tied my hands behind my back, and told me I would only survive if I didn’t fight. I still tried to free myself, but they drugged me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in a place that looked like a hotel room, but there were bars on the windows. I was locked in. I called out and kept rattling the door until finally someone came and told me to shut up and be quiet. I heard men joking about how they wanted to… to fuck me. But they had to wait their turn.”
Tears gathered in his eyes, and I wrapped an arm around him. “I’m so sorry.”
Lorenzo and Lancelot entered the room, but they stayed quietly by the door as Mitch kept telling his story.
“Then some men broke in. They killed the ones who’d kidnapped me and told me they were there to rescue me. I didn’t know who they were. I didn’t know anything. But it turned out it was Marjorie and Bébé’s nephews.”
“Rafe, Ambrose, and Dax?” Dante looked at his uncle.
Bébé nodded.
“They made sure I wasn’t hurt and that I’d been given food and water. They were worried I was in shock, so they wrapped me up in insulating blankets and monitored my pulse while they brought me here. I’ve been here since then. They told me you would come, but you were helping catch the man responsible for all of this, but I guess he got away.”
“We will find him,” Bébé said. I promise you that. “Ambrose, Dax, and Rafe are trying to learn more now. They should be here soon.”
“Where’s Remington?” Dante asked.
“He’s with Corbin, tying up some more loose ends.” I assumed that was code for something much more sinister, but I didn’t ask.
By the time Dante had introduced Mitch to Lancelot and Lorenzo and Tony had gotten treats from several family members, Rafe, Ambrose, and Dax arrived.