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177|Cut Him Loose
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Beautiful Disaster 178|Kill For
The finality of Austin's words was enough to shut Marybeth up. She quickly changed the subject, filling him in on her chat with Carol."She threatened to go to the cops if we don't give her 25K every month," she said, wrapping up her update."Then let her go to the fucking cops. I'm not paying her shit, žena!" Austin growled on his end. "I should have killed that bastard when I had a chance.""Austin!" Marybeth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can't say stuff like that. Anyway, maybe we should pay her. She knows about Cruise Control and Amos. Ricardo knows someone who knows someone.""And you still think getting rid of them permanently is a terrible idea?" Austin countered. "Listen to me, Beth, do not engage Carol. I'll handle her when I get back."Marybeth didn't like the sound of that. 'Handling' in the Hawthornes' world meant one thing."Let's talk about it when you get home," she suggested in the way of a compromise."I heard you're in Virginia," she added quickly befo
Beautiful Disaster 179|Well-Kept Secret
"What's a payment ledger?" Orlando's question zapped Marybeth back to the room. She turned to the little girl, her mouth slack as her brain struggled to come up with something to explain away her horror. "What is it, Marybeth? What's a payment ledger?" Orlando repeated her question, shaking her arm gently. "It's something your daddy has been searching for," Marybeth replied, forcing a small smile on her face as she affectionately ruffled Orlando's hair. "For real, for real?" Orlando's eyes lit up. The tears that had shone brightly in them just moments ago were gone now. "Daddy's been looking for this?" Marybeth nodded and took Orlando's small hands in hers, "You don't mind if we give the books to your daddy, do you?" "Will it make him happy? He won't be sad anymore if I give him mommy's books?" Orlando asked, biting her bottom lip, her brows furrowed as though she was deep in thought. "Of course, it will make him happy!" Marybeth assured her. "He's been searching for these for
Beautiful Disaster 180|Dreams
Marybeth closed her eyes, already dreading the day a miniature version of Hadley would be running around the Bay unsupervised, tormenting everyone in her path with her high and mighty attitude."That's nice, I guess," she said when she opened her eyes and found the two ladies staring at her expectantly. "No," Liliana shook her head. "It's nice for her but not for you!" "What do you mean?" asked Marybeth, failing to see how Hadley's pregnancy had anything to do with her."You poor girl," said Zuki as she stood up and wobbled to Marybeth; the wine had gone straight to her head and legs. "Let's give you a crash course on the Hawthorne family politics—" she suggested, snapping her fingers at Liliana to take over. For a little while, Marybeth just sat there, unable to believe how something that should have been a joyous occasion for Hadley was quickly turning into a competition between the two of them. "So, you see, кума," said Liliana, clasping her hands on her lap. "You have to give
Beautiful Disaster 181|Bitter Fight—Part 1
When Elijah left work for the day, the weather had taken a turn for the worst, with the Bay seeing the heaviest rains since the start of Spring.The run from the entrance of Sea Point's police station to his car was quick, but by the time he slipped behind the wheel, he was drenched to the bone.He unzipped his K-Way jacket and pulled out a file, relieved to see it wasn't soaked like he'd feared. He dumped it on the dashboard and gazed at it in wonder, feeling pretty chuffed with himself.As fulfilling as his days were on the Special Task Force, Elijah still missed the adrenaline rush of solving a good old whodunit case. As a result, he couldn't wait to get home and get his hands dirty. But first, he had to stop at his mom's place. He always stopped at his mom's place on Wednesdays. After all, it was the only day of the week that the youngest two Boshoff children were occupied.Dreading the drive to The Flats, Elijah fired up the car and was about to pull out of the parking lot when, f
Beautiful Disaster 182|Bitter Fight—Part 2
His mom noticed his foul mood as soon as Elijah walked through the front door. But no matter how hard she tried to get him to open up, he wouldn't. After Noah's arrest, something she and the rest of their family still blamed him for, he'd decided not to burden her with his work issues."So, how are things with Anaya?" she asked, changing the subject when it became obvious her mollycoddling wouldn't get her anywhere."Ma!" Elijah said sharply. “Asseblief man, kan ons in vrede eet?”"Ek vra net, dis al," she retorted as she dished more of the curried fish and basmati rice for him even though he'd barely touched his plate."Eat, eat. Look at how thin you've grown!" she encouraged him while she poured herself another glass of Four Cousins. Her third since he came in. Her out-of-control drinking was another direct consequence of his actions, a piece of debris of the collateral damage left in the wake of his brother's arrest. And because of his guilt, Elijah couldn't voice his concerns or as
Beautiful Disaster 183|Game Changer
Virginia had a bit of everything—small-town charm, natural beauty and vibrant culture. The stunning national parks and several historical landmarks were stuff tourist dreams were made of. As idyllic as the place was, Austin could never see himself living here. But if he had married Iris, this would have very likely been his second home because of her close relationship with her parents.The thought made Austin shudder a little, and it didn't escape Tim's notice riding in the front with him."Are you feeling cold?" he asked, arching his brows. "Should we turn off the air-con?""Nah," Austin replied. "Just thinking about something, that's all!""What?""How this would have been my life if I'd married Iris."Sitting in the back seat and fixated on his texts since they landed at the heliport almost an hour ago, Angelo finally looked up from his phone and asked, "Do you regret it?""Regret what?""Losing her?""Why would I regret losing someone who cheated on me?"His question made his capo
Beautiful Disaster 184|Plan C—Part 1
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Austin whispered.He was prepared for a blood bath…To kill and possibly be killed tonight. He was even expecting some resistance from Friar John and his associates.But this little human?Austin wasn't ready for him, and he could only stare at him in horror as his mind raced, trying to come up with Plan C because Plan B—wiping out everyone in their path—was pretty much a no-go now."What do we do?" asked Tim, echoing Austin's thoughts as they watched the boy.He was roughly Orlando's age, about six, maybe seven, and something about the way he sat so still, his eyes fixated on his puzzle despite all the chaos around him, troubled Austin deeply."What's wrong with him?" Angelo asked in the background as he and Tim carefully moved through the room, sussing out possible danger.But after a few minutes and no one had come running in guns blazing, it became apparent to Austin and his men that they were alone.Friar John and his accomplices had to be nearby, though. After
Beautiful Disaster 185|Plan C—Part 2
"кум," Friar John stammered as he moved away from the table.He quickly bowed at Austin, gesturing at his accomplices to do the same."Please don't!" Austin waved them off as he dumped his bag on the concrete floor, pulled one of the metal chairs away from the table and sat down. "Don't insult me by pretending to respect me, John!""кум, it's not what you think," Friar John said, running quickly to Austin's side, but Angelo stopped him as he pointed his gun at his chest."Back the fuck up!" he growled, cocking his pistol when Friar John attempted to take another step forward."Listen, this is all a huge misunderstanding," said Friar John, holding out his hands pleadingly."A misunderstanding, you say?" Austin murmured, tapping his index finger on his cheek while he ran his gaze through the room. His eyes lit up when they fell on three familiar faces—Nadia and her two youngest sons. The oldest, Josef, was nowhere to be found. Austin could only assume he was still out of commission after
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