Twist of Fate Read Online Free PDF Page A

interrupted the shorter, bald man, “he hit her car and she went down into the lake.” He slapped his gloved hands together, forming a visual explanation of events, then leaned over the desk as he spoke, “Don’t worry, boss, we took care of that driver-fella.”
    Dante inched his face closer, keeping his voice low as if the walls of the twenty-story office building had ears. Since becoming Carlo Santini’s personal attorney, Dante had no privacy. Cameras were another story. “What did you do, Joey?”
    Joey sliced his index finger across his throat. “He won’t be singing anytime soon.”
    “This is my wife we’re talking about,” Dante growled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” The curious looks from his men didn’t go unnoticed. He knew what they were thinking. The divorce wasn’t final yet, and if he had his way, it never would be. Kate and Hope were his. They were a family. The sooner she realized that, the better.
    Paulie, the larger of the two, stepped forward and added, “We were going to pull her out, but then this other guy showed up.”
    “What guy?” Dante narrowed his eyes, forming barely visible slits.
    “It looked like the same guy she met up with at that bar.” Paulie wiped the perspiration from his brow with a meaty hand.
    “She met a man?” Dante balled his fists at his sides in an attempt to channel his rising anger. Murdering the truck driver was collateral damage. Murdering his wife’s lover was a privilege Dante wanted for himself. Once Kate was safely back where she belonged, he would make the fool disappear. It would be as if the man never existed.
    “She didn’t leave with him. But he must have followed her, too. Didn’t take him long to catch up.”
    “Did he see you?”
    “We left so he wouldn’t ask us questions,” Paulie answered. “By the time we circled back, they were both gone. We think he might have pulled her out.”
    “You think?” Dante’s voice boomed through the room. He slammed his palms on the desk, knowing he’d need to stop at the dojo to burn off the tension before going home to his daughter.
    “Well...” both men stammered, looking dumbfounded at each other.
    “You’d better do more than think. You’d better find out if he did take her, and what the hell he did with her.” Dante rubbed the sting from his hands. “And you better hope he wasn’t smart enough to pick the number off your license plate, or we’ll all be answering to Carlo.”
    “Sure thing, boss, we’ll get right on it.” Paulie shoved Joey as if to wake him up.
    “Just find her.” Dante pointed toward the door. Both men scampered to be out of his sight.
    His wife was missing. Soon to be Ex, to be exact, a fact he still wasn’t used to. Dante paced to the wet bar and poured a glass of single malt scotch from the crystal decanter. As the rich, buttery liquid passed over his palate, the strong peppery tones blended well to match his mood. Even though they’d been separated for eight months, to think Kate could be with another man made his blood burn. Could she be that shameless after all he’d given her? Did she once stop to consider what the media would do, or what he would do with such information?
    It had been two months since she’d served him with divorce papers. And now, how dare she even think about fighting him for custody of their daughter? Dante took a slow sip of the deep, amber liquid, closing his eyes as the tension released. The corners of his mouth tipped to form a satisfying smirk. No, Kate wouldn’t block him out of their daughter’s life, she knew better. She knew there would be consequences.
    There was no place she could go where he wouldn’t find her.
    ** *
    “Where are we going?” Kate tried to hide the nervousness in her voice as she watched the passing scenery. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen another house, just an ever thickening forest of trees.
    “Home, where’d you think?” Sam tossed a grin in her direction,