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Chapter Fifty-One
Muriella
I firedoff five quick rounds and lowered the gun.
“Where’d you learn to shoot?” Valentina asked.
“My father.” He was going to regret that.
“Me too.”
I pulled the target off the clip. One large hole was in the center. Valentina’s was nearly identical to mine.
“Have time for lunch today?” She removed her safety glasses.
“Some other time. I need to get home.” I packed the pistol back in its case. It had been a couple of days since I’d seen her at the church, and I couldn’t be away from Stone for too long.
“Of course.”
Her stilettos clicked as she led me to the lockers where we’d stored our things. If Valentina was anything, it was consistent. Twice now, I’d seen her at the gun range in four inch heels.
“Cathartic sometimes, isn’t it?” She retrieved her purse and set it on the bench. “Everything disappears. All there is to focus on is hitting that target.”
“It didn’t really help today,” I said before I could think about it, grabbing my own purse. Quickly, I checked my phone. No missed calls.
“What can I do to help?”
Get me a plane to Nicaragua. Kill my father. Erase my mind.
She tapped her manicured nails on the metal locker. “I have resources,” she said carefully. “The kind that can solve any problem.”
I froze. The answer to getting rid of my father once and for all was staring at me in the form of a woman in skinny jeans and stilettos. I darted my eyes around the room and saw another lady shoving items into storage. Valentina understood my concern.
“My car is waiting. Perhaps I could give you a lift home and we could talk on the way?”
* * *
Daniel setdown his tablet on the island as soon as I entered the kitchen. I knew what he was going to say, so I saved him the trouble.
“It makes me feel in control. Like I’m doing something instead of sitting here waiting for him to come back.”
“You have the right to go anywhere you please. It’s just been quite some time since we did target practice. And I don’t recall you ever going without me.”
“Next time I’ll extend an invitation.” I dropped my purse on the counter and didn’t tell him I’d been going alone more and more frequently.
“Muriella.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and drew in a deep breath before I exhaled and opened them.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to take care of this. Focus on Stone. The school. Whatever makes you happy. But I don’t want you to give that fucker one single second more of your energy.”
I opened my mouth to tell himIwas going to take care of this, but then I thought better of it. Instead, I relaxed my posture and forced a smile. “I think I need to get away for a bit. I’d wanted to before all of this.” I waved my hand in the air. “I need to do some soul searching. And every time I come home, all I smell is cigars, and it happens all over again.”
Daniel softened. “Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll make the arrangements.”
“No. You’ve done enough.”
