Page 67 of His Beautiful Revenge
He opened his eyes and recoiled away from Norah. He had been gripping her wrists tightly, so tightly he could see red marks. He collapsed back against one of the bedposts and sat, panting for air. “God, Norah,scusa…I’m so sorry.”
Norah, her eyes wide and frightened, reached out a hand to him. “It’s okay, baby, truly. You were screaming …”
For a second his mind whirled, and he couldn’t make sense of anything. He pressed his fingers into his eyes. “Mio Dio.”
Norah sat in silence, waiting for him. Her hand stroked his arm gently.He’d hurt her.He opened his eyes and took her hands, studying her wrists.
“They’re fine, Giacomo. Seriously. I’m more worried about you.” Norah gently extracted one of her hands and touched his face. “How long have you been having nightmares?”
He sighed. “They started when you were missing and stopped after I knew you were going to be okay. I have no idea why it’s started again.”
Norah gave him a small, mischievous smile. “Maybe something to do with heightened emotion?”
His body relaxed then. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”
“Absolutely sure. Do you want to tell me about the dream?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to think about it.”
She crawled over to him and curled herself into his arms. “Then maybe we can do something to distract you.”
He smiled down at her fondly. “Insatiable.”
“You betcha.”
Grayson Harris was used to getting jobs from George Hubert. Hubert called him when he wanted someone dealt with speedily and discreetly, and as long as he was paid upfront, he was happy to do it.
But lately, he had felt a dissatisfaction with his job. The people he was hired to kill …some of them, he was sure, didn’t deserve to be dealt with that way.
And then there was Delilah, his granddaughter and the love of his life. Her chocolate brown eyes and merry nature gave him something he could not describe. A new outlook on life?Maybe, he thought to himself now, as he sat down opposite Hubert. That old cliché, but it was true. She made him believe in good again. Was it too late to redeem himself?
He’d never liked George Hubert, but he knew the other man trusted him to get the job done. It satisfied Grayson that he was the one person Hubert seemed afraid of.
Hubert handed him a manila folder now. “I need it done quickly and discreetly.”
Grayson opened the folder and took out the photograph. “A woman?” That was a first—for HubertandGrayson.
Hubert didn’t look comfortable and suddenly Grayson realized that maybe this wasn’t a job for Hubert. He knew all about Tara, Hubert’s spoiled bitch of a daughter. He would wager any amount of money that this woman in the photo was Tara’s ex’s new woman.
“Put a bullet in her and I’ll make sure you’re paid double your normal fee.”
Grayson put the folder back on the desk. “I don’t kill innocent women.”
Hubert sat back, dissatisfied. “Look, normally I wouldn’t ask … triple fee. Come on, man, you don’t even know her. She gets lead in her belly and you get rich. How does that sound?”
Grayson stared at him. He looked back down at the photograph. God, she was a beauty. Long, dark hair, curvaceous body …chocolate brown eyes.
He gazed at the picture for a long moment, then gave his answer to George Hubert.
Tara had been questioned for twenty-four hours and released without charge. She was almost gleeful as she left the station with her father’s lawyer, but back at the house, her father merely nodded. “Fine.”
“Is the other thing arranged?”
Her father turned cold eyes on her. “Norah Reddy will be dead soon enough. But you, you little whore, you will spend the rest of your life making this mess up to me and to the family.”
Tara rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
She never saw her father’s hand before it slammed into her face. The force of the blow knocked her out of the chair and onto the floor. Before she could make a sound, her father picked her up and threw her across the room. She crashed into a cabinet of fine china, the glass breaking. She slumped the floor and started to sob, wailing as he approached her again.
