Someday….
There was always the hope of someday.
“Loring is trying to call his daughter,” #1 called out.
“Block it.” I clicked through the files on my computer. “And let me know if he tries to take a flight.”
“On it!”
If that happened, I might have to kidnap Amanda, tie her to my bed on the top floor of this building, and keep her occupied until her father quit searching for her. My lips tipped up at the prospect. I almost wished it would happen.
Chapter 32 –Amanda
It was neither a light nor a sound. My sleep was dreamless, body relaxed. But something pulled me out of the depths of unconsciousness. A soft grey glow illuminated a corner of the bedroom. Several seconds passed before my sleep drenched brain formalized what had happened.
“What are you doing?” My voice was thick and heavy. The words didn’t come out strongly.
Vincenzo’s gaze lifted from the screen to look at me. “Snooping.”
He made the casual statement with brutal honesty. On top of that, he’d entered the house again. The new security system hadn’t fazed him.
What a freaking waste of time having it installed! I should have just bought a gun instead. But only one with a tranquilizer. Then he would be the one incapacitated, and I could have my way with him.
The place between my legs warmed. Yeah, that was a better plan than buying expensive security systems. Give the monster a taste of his own medicine and see how he liked it.
We’d probably both like that….
Annoyed, I pushed myself up in bed. “That’s not yours!”
“Your search history is squeaky clean.” He closed the lid and plunged the room into darkness. “Don’t worry, I didn’t find what I was looking for.”
The tempo of my heart picked up. There was no stopping him. Why—whyhadn’t I gone to one of my family’s other houses? They had properties scattered across the Continental US and several international locations. Hell, I could have remained in New York. The thought of enduring my stepmom and her pet rat was preferable to this constant intrusion.
No…that’s not true.
“You were sleeping really good,” Vincenzo murmured. His tone was buttery soft. I didn’t want it to soothe my anger, but it did. Just a little.
And he was absolutely right. I might be able to wean myself off my sleeping pills, not that I had many left. Actually, I was pretty sure they were a faulty batch, because I didn’t have the same groggy feeling in the mornings. I’d even planned to try to sleep without them tomorrow night.
“What are you looking for?” I demanded.
Vincenzo sighed. “You’re hiding something.”
“And you aren’t?” I huffed.
“I’m an open book, Mandy. Ask me anything.”
It was probably the teasing lilt of his voice. I wanted to ask him something outrageous. Dare him to prove it was true.
But the only thing my stupid brain could come up with was: “What happened when you were arrested?”
“You read the case files,” came the counterstatement.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. He wasn’t asking. He already knew I would have. As a law student, I spent a terrible spring break poring over the documents. While the other students were kicking back in the Bahamas, I stayed in the library, dug around, and reopened old wounds.
“You were indicted on racketeering charges, but you said my father did that.” That was the heart of my question. He said he would tell me the truth? Well, this was what I needed to know. “Enzo, he wasn’t on the prosecution team.”
“But he was there. Behind the scenes.” Vincenzo spoke with such certainty.
