Dark Shadows (Gia Santella Crime Thrillers Book 11) by Kristi Belcamino (best motivational novels txt) 📗

down at his phone. He wasn’t even paying attention to me.

“Huh?” he said raising his head. “Will you need anything else before I leave?”

I ignored his question. I wasn’t done talking about how prudish he was acting.

“That’s one reason I came down here, so I don’t have to put up with all the uptight bullshit.”

“They sunbathe topless in Barcelona, too. I happen to have it on good authority.” He said it matter-of-factly.

I made a face. I hated that he was calling me on my shit.

Then he walked out the door, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll leave my number on the table downstairs.”

And then he was gone.

“Don’t bother,” I shouted after him.

5

Swimming naked in the Olympic size pool was just what the doctor ordered.

After Ryder left, I decided to scrap the bikini and walked around the villa naked. I didn’t even bother to grab a towel when I headed out to the pool.

The water was as warm as a bathtub and felt delicious.

I did several laps and was surprised when I popped up at one end to find a towel folded neatly on a chair and a large bottle of water with condensation dripping from it.

I glanced around quickly. Ryder was nowhere to be seen.

That was slightly creepy.

But I felt smug knowing he hadn’t actually left when he’d said he was going.

Then I felt sort of guilty when I got out of the pool and trudged into the house only to find a plate of fresh fruit, cheeses, and meats laid out on the counter next to a simple white card with his name and number.

I picked up the card and examined it for a few seconds.

Just what was his story? All I knew is that he was one of the most annoying men I’d ever met.

Thinking this, I texted Dante.

“Your guard dog got me here safely. Is he a eunuch or what?”

I watched the bubbles on my phone screen that appeared as Dante wrote back. Then his text appeared. “What? He’s all man, baby.”

“Oh! He’s on your team. Boy is my gaydar broken.”

“Wrong. If he was, I would’ve brought him home years ago. What’s your problem? By the way, using the word ‘gaydar’ is offensive and so 2017. And it’s broken if you think he’s gay.”

“Whatever,” I said. “He must be gay because he wasn’t interested in seeing my boobs. And we both know I have great boobs.”

“All I know is he’s not gay. Maybe he has a girlfriend?”

“He still could’ve looked.”

“Some men have integrity.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

I hadn’t, actually. Nico was the epitome of integrity. But he was one of a kind.

Thinking of him made a heaviness fall over me. I glanced down at the plate that Ryder had prepared. It looked like a piece of art.

Definitely gay.

I stuck a piece of cheese and slice of nectarine in my mouth, and it tasted like heaven. I made a small plate of the food, reached for a bottle of red wine sitting near the platter, and headed back out to the pool.

I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Eminem, Juice WRLD, and Cardi B, reading the latest Gregg Hurwitz thriller, and sipping wine.

The sun beating down on my body felt glorious. When I got too hot, I’d dive into the pool to cool off.

I checked my phone a few times and then decided to delete every single app on it except for my music apps. I was going off the grid. No more news. No more social media. I used to keep track of all that when Rose was younger, but now that she was out in the world on her own, I never used them anymore.

Thinking of Rose made a pit form in my stomach.

She was a warrior. A killer. But she was still a little girl to me in some ways. Still barely an adult. Still the girl I had met as a frightened eight-year-old. It was incredibly difficult to let go and let her make her own way in the world. Especially when that way involved hunting down sadistic cult leaders who sacrificed children. But I had no say in the matter.

Nobody could have stopped me at her age.

I knew I couldn’t stand in her way. All I could do was love her and be there for her in any way I could at any time. All she had to do was say the word, and I would drop everything in my life to go to her and help her. She knew that. That was what I could offer. But it didn’t feel like nearly enough.

Rose had my phone number. Dante had my phone number. Eva had my phone number. And the nurses at memory care had my phone number.

Other than that, there was no reason for anyone else to reach me.

I’d texted all of them during the day to let them know I was settled into the villa and planning on staying off the grid and reading and lying in the sun until the festival started the next week.

I was surprised at dusk when my phone rang.

It was Ryder.

“I’m out front.”

“Okay…”

“I forgot to show you how to program the alarm. You have to set your own code.”

“Oh, right,” I said.

“May I come in?”

“Yeah.”

I met him at the door with a robe on. It was the least I could do since he’d driven all the way back here to help me set the alarm code.

After he showed me how to personalize the code, he discreetly walked out to his car while I programmed my own personal pin. Then he came back and stood at the foot of the steps.

“I thought I’d take you to dinner. Reservations for C’est Bon usually need to be made weeks in advance, but I was able to get us in…the seafood paella is exquisite…”

For some reason the arrogance of his assumption that I would drop everything and go out to eat with him incensed me. I was positive Dante was behind this. Paying him to keep an eye on