Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
She had done her research.
And, honestly, I probably shouldn’t have expected anything less. Vega, for all of her craziness, was sharp. She had good instincts.
Besides that, research was a part of her job. Of course she would have gotten curious and looked into me.
“Why would you let me get involved with Mere then?” I asked, knowing I should have been focusing on where Mere was, but there was nothing we could do about that until we got to the shop.
“I told you. I liked you with her. Until… whatever happened,” she added, fingers gripping the wheel.
“If it makes you feel any better, she was the one to end things, not me. I wanted more. She didn’t.”
To that, Vega looked over at me as we stopped at a light, her brows pulled together, looking at me like I made no sense.
“What?”
“Yeah. I sent her a text saying that I wasn’t going to keep bothering her if she didn’t answer me. And she… never did.”
“When?”
“A couple days ago. What are you thinking?”
“That Mere was happy with you. Did you see the way she looked at you? Like you hung the damn moon and stars just for her. It was sickening,” she said with a small smile. “There was no way she just… ended it. Something happened. Maybe something to do with this motherfucking flower shop,” she said as it came into view.
She braked so hard that my body flew forward, the belt cutting into my chest and stomach.
But then the car was, for all intents and purposes, parked. Sure, it was halfway in the roadway, but she was cutting the engine and jumping out.
I followed behind, running across the street as I reached for my key.
I didn’t need to use my “mafia skills” when I owned a stake in the damn place.
Whatever crowd that had been there before was gone, leaving us to rush inside unbothered.
Vega turned to re-lock the door as I moved through the front of the store.
“Mere!” I called.
“Mere, where are you?” Vega called, rushing up on my heels, then slamming full force into my back when I froze in the doorway to the back room. “What is it?” Vega asked, tone tight as she moved out to my side, looking where my gaze was focused.
On the bloodied scissors on the floor.
On the bloodstains all over the table.
“Oh, God. Oh, goddamnit!” Vega hissed, looking around.
My gaze slid to a different pile. Vomit?
“Could she have just cut herself and gotten sick over the blood?” I asked, trying to put the pieces together.
“No. I mean, she doesn’t like blood, but she once sliced her finger really, really bad on a razor knife and she didn’t get sick. I felt a little sick looking at it,” Vega admitted. “And even then, she wouldn’t leave without her purse. Without her car. The doctor isn’t that close.”
That was true.
I had to follow her lead here.
She had years with Mere.
She knew her best.
“What are you thinking?” Vega asked, watching my profile as I tried to snatch one swirling thought out of the mess of my mind.
I’d known worry before.
I’d been in some sketchy-ass situations in my life.
But nothing had felt quite as intense as the panic that was gripping my system right then.
It was making my chest feel tight, my thoughts fast, but unreachable.
“Cesare,” Vega snapped. “Get it the fuck together,” she hissed, tone fierce. But it was fractured at the edges, evidence of how she was barely managing to do the same.
“I’m thinking that Dennis is missing and Rayna is in the hospital. And now Mere is hurt and missing too…”
“I’ll drive,” Vega said, already turning and running.
I didn’t know where she was planning to drive, but she seemed to have a plan, so I followed behind.
Right to the hospital.
“I’m sorry. I can’t allow two people to visit her,” the lady at the front desk said.
“Listen to me,” Vega said, leaning forward. “I get that you have a job to do, but don’t make me have you page Dr. Cutty. I doubt he would want to be dragged away from his very important work only to tell you to let us up on that goddamn floor. I mean, you would be lucky to still be employed tomorrow.”
No more than twenty seconds later, we were moving into the empty elevator car, and Vega was pressing the button for the ICU.
“Dr. Cutty?” I prompted, brows raised.
“I think I made him see the face of God when I sucked him off while he drove me home from our first, and only, date,” Vega admitted, a small smirk toying with her lips.
“Why only one?”
“Because doctors are married to their work. And I like a lot of attention,” she said, shrugging. “Here we go,” she said as the doors slid open. “Hey, Mary,” she greeted the nurse who looked up as we walked onto the floor. “Hope you haven’t heard from that shitbag ex-husband of yours since the divorce,” she said.