Page 38 of Faith
Gwendolyn was not afraid to do the dirty work. It was required if she was going to prove what she could do. It was what put her on top of the family business. What allowed her to claim her rightful place.
You were never good enough.
Gwendolyn screamed, reacting to her father’s voice as though he were actually there instead of a ghost who taunted her.
Fernando’s gun was out and scanning the room instantly, carefully avoiding Gwendolyn. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” Gwendolyn growled. “Put that away before you kill me.”
Fernando looked around the room once more before holstering his gun. “We know where she is. Do you want us to get her?”
Gwendolyn shook her head. “No. I want her to get comfortable. To think I’m going to let her live. Keep operating as best we can.”
“People are scared. The FBI is breathing down our necks.”
Gwendolyn glared at him, getting in his face.
He didn’t back down or flinch, which was why she let him live.
“The FBI will forget all about us soon enough. We operate as though they’re not there. And if someone gets caught, they know what to do.”
Fernando nodded. “Everyone knows. They won’t get caught.”
“Good. Bring me another phone.”
Fernando nodded again. “Of course. Is there anything else you need?”
Gwendolyn looked around the room. “A new bed. And another security check.”
“On it.”
Fernando left, and Gwendolyn looked around the room again. She would rise again. With or without Nina by her side.
9
Nina smiledas she walked into Zeke’s house with Monty and Zeke right behind her. It was the perfect day. A day for her to remember who she was. For her to feel like she wasn’t so broken anymore.
Nina turned to face her protectors. “That was amazing. Thank you both for taking me there.”
Monty shook his head and pointed at Zeke. “It was all him. I was clueless, but he came up with it. Said he remembered you liked carousels.”
“I did. I do. Thank you.” Nina’s gaze slammed into Zeke’s. The look in his eyes stole her breath and made her eager for her brother to get the hell out so she could figure out what that expression meant.
Zeke had been staring at her all day with different looks, but the latest one sent a shiver up her spine. A good kind of shiver. The kind of shiver that said the man giving her the look was thinking all kinds of sexy thoughts that involved her.
Nina never found those looks all that appealing. She had a purpose for Gwendolyn, and that purpose was to make men want her. Without that trap, that requirement, being desirablefelt foreign and awkward to Nina. She didn’t know how to appeal to a man.
But with Zeke, it wasn’t so challenging.
“You guys up for dinner?” Monty asked, heading to the kitchen.
They’d stopped at a diner after the beach, then wandered around for a while and went back to the carousel for a few more rides before they headed home.
Home. Nina smiled at the word. She hadn’t had that in so long. It was nice to think Zeke’s house, and Monty’s, could be that for her.
Temporarily, of course. Zeke would get tired of her being in his space, and Monty would want his life back, too. She would have to be on her own at some point, but not yet.
“I’m up for anything,” Zeke said, surprising Nina.
