Page 50 of Relentless Sinner
“Okay. That’s what I’ll do.” From the look of things my family may yet dig themselves into an early grave.
“As for your father, I think he’s deteriorating faster than he’s allowed anyone to know. I don’t think he’ll have as long as the doctors have said.” Eric swallows hard and the warmth I’m used to seeing returns to his eyes.
“He looked frailer at the last meeting.”
“He looked even worse yesterday.” He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “I spoke to him about you. I urged him to make peace with you.”
I give him a narrowed stare, unsure what purpose peace would achieve after so much tension and hatred over the years. “Why?”
“For you. So if he tries, my counsel is that you find it in your heart to meet him halfway.”
I bite down hard on my back teeth and consider the request. It’s a tough one for me. “That man beat the shit out of me for most of my childhood then he tried to kill me.”
Eric is the only person who knows about the bad brew of drugs my father fixed up for me. There was no point telling anyone else because they wouldn’t have cared.
“I know. But if he dies having tried and failed to make peace with you you’ll regret it.”
“What makes you so sure?” He sounds certain and I’d like to know why.
“You’re not the same kind of monster he is. And she would want you to.”
She…
He means my mother. He knows that even though I never knew her, I didn’t need to, to love her.
Eric’s words cut deep, right to the place in my soul where there’s light and understanding. So I nod and agree to meet my father halfway if he tries to make peace. But I will do it for her—my mother.
“Okay.”
“Wonderful. That’s it from me today.” Eric smiles and picks up his coffee again. “The next few days are going to be intense. I won’t add any more to your plate just yet.”
I smirk. “You’ve given me enough to think about.”
“I think so, too.”
No one is happier than me to see nightfall so I can return to the lake house.
It was a long day but a good one.
The meetings were a success and there is excitement for my ascension to the leadership. I feel more confident now.
The moment I step in my room Gabriella returns to my mind. She never really left. I just didn’t acknowledge her throughout the day so I could focus on everything else.
Eve and Andrieu, the head of security, both reported to me about Gabriella during the day.
Eve said Gabriella had confined herself to studies, but Andrieu said something slightly different. He said he heard her on the phone talking to her cousin in Italian and she looked nervous. When he reviewed the call it seemed like they were talking about something they didn’t want anyone to know about.
This is no surprise to me. The only problem is thatsomethingthey were talking about could be anything. There is no trust between Gabriella and me yet.
The only real thing between us is attraction.
Despite that I’m sure she’d screw me over just as quickly as I’ve planned to use her fortune.
My orders to both Eve and Andrieu were to watch her. There’s one thing I know Gabriella wants more than anything and that’s her freedom.
I walk into the bedroom, strip down to my boxers and take out my laptop. There’s something I’ve been dying to do since I left my sexy littlekrasotaback in New York. I couldn’t do it on the plane last night because I needed privacy.
I switch on the laptop and navigate my way to the security systems of my home. I have things set up so I can access the surveillance from anywhere in the world. But only I can see inside my bedroom. I have a separate passcode. I type it in and access the camera, then I see her—Gabriella.