Page 34 of Darkness Tempt Me
I slide out of my seat, ready to join my boy on the dance floor, when my phone vibrates in my pants.
Daniel Sinclair’s name pops up on my caller ID. What the fuck?
“Daniel,” I say cheerily into the phone. “Give me a moment to get somewhere I can hear you.” I walk into the restroom, where the music is muffled.
“Sorry about that.”
“Not a problem, son. I heard congratulations are in order.”
I still. Congratulations? How did he know?
“Why yes, sir, but how did you know?” My heart is pounding in my ears again, and the hand that isn’t clutching my phone with a death grip is flexing into a fist.
“I heard you got married tonight. Is that not true?”
I grit my teeth. It’s not like we kept it a secret; everyone in my building knows, but still. Years of dodging me, and now he calls out of the blue to congratulate me? Understanding slams into me. He must really like the proposal. I chuckle. Of course, he has to. It’s a fake, bullshit proposal that makes it look like I’m giving him forty percent of my stock and making him a partner.
I’m about to bring up the said proposal when he speaks up first.
“Have you heard from Carl Reilly?”
Ah. Yes. Shit-for-brains Carl. He was chopped up and disposed of. “No, sir. Not for a while now.”
“Please just call me Daniel. I was your father’s best friend, after all. We’re practically family.”
“Right, of course, Daniel,” I manage, anger still boiling in my veins.
“Speaking of family, howisSophia?”
White-hot fury thrums through me.You piece of fucking shit.Get my mother’s name out of your fucking mouth.Memories of the horrid things I saw him do to her pop into my head. He was the worst. My poor mom. The bruises, the fear, and the tears. The hopelessness on her face. It took fucking years—years—for her to smile again!
Rage. It’s all I can see. My heart is pounding, and my nails are digging crescent moon shapes into my palm, cutting so deep I hope I bleed. I place Daniel on mute and scream into the phone. I scream and scream, roaring out my rage.
“You know, the cops called. Rian Burns and Tate O’Malley are missing. Not to mention, Andrew Faletti, Jacob Larsson, and Tony Russo were all found dead. Someone is targeting us. Targeting my inner circle. It started with your father. You might want to lie low as well.”
There’s something in the way he says it. It’s like he knows or suspects. Maybe it’s paranoia, but I think he’s either figured it out or he’s digging for answers. I need to tell Hunter.
I unmute the phone. “I can take care of myself, Daniel. If the fucker who killed my father comes after me, I’ll be ready,” I lie. “Now, I’d better get back to my husband. Thank you for the warning. Don’t forget to look at the proposal I sent home with Drake.”
Daniel chuckles. “Of course, son.”
My nails dig back into those cuts.Son.That fucking word. The word my father used to threaten me with.
“Oh, and Mavik? Tell your pretty mother I miss her.” He ends the call. My whole body vibrates with unleashed fury. He knows. He must.
Daniel Sinclair is going to die a slow, painful death.
It takes me about fifteen minutes to gather my composure enough to leave the restroom. Hunter is still on the floor, dancing with my mom, Iris, and Peyton. It all looks very platonic, which is good. With all the anger coursing through my veins, I can’t afford to kill my best friend.
As if sensing me, Hunter looks up, and I wave him over. “What’s up?” he asks as soon as he’s by my side.
“I need you to take my mom out of the country. Keep her safe. Maybe take her to your villa in Italy.”
The cocky smirk slips from his face. “What’s going on?”
I tell him about my call from Daniel.
He nods. “I’ll make it seem like it’s a surprise. A wedding gift of sorts. A gift from you. While you go on your honeymoon, she gets to enjoy a trip of her own. I’ll tell her I have business in Italy and that we’ll stay at my place. I’ll watch over her, Mavik, I promise.”
