Page 48 of Ruthless Redemption

That was special and buried deep below the pain of my life ripping into shreds, it gave me hope.

“I’ll make some calls. I’ll make sure you have your divorce by the end of the week.” He didn’t give me a chance to say anything else. Instead he stood, pressed those gorgeous lips to my hand one last time and walked out of the room without another word. Not even one last glance back so I could see what was in his eyes.

My heart shattered at the click of the door closing. As much as I didn’t want to let him go, I knew it was the right thing to do. My badass had to be free and this was the only way to make it happen.

Too bad it had to hurt so fucking bad…

Chapter Nineteen

Izzy

Four days later I walked into an enormous suite at the top of The Sinclair Hotel and Casino on the Vegas strip. My new home—for now.

When the Doctor had relented to my insistence that I be released, I didn’t know where else to go. With no family and no real friends to speak of, I’d asked my new attorney to make arrangements at the only place I was familiar with in town.

Houston had disappeared. True to his word, an attorney had shown up in my hospital room the next day and gotten down to the business of sorting out my complications. My father’s will had not made anything easier. He’d left his entire estate, including our home, to his eldest surviving male child. That revelation had rocked me to my core and even more so when no living heir could be immediately located.

Apparently, I could fight the will as the still only known living heir, but against my legal counsel’s recommendation, I declined. They could sell it all off as scrap and donate all the money to charity as far as I cared. I wanted nothing from that life to taint what I hoped would eventually become a new one.

Although I wasn’t ready for that yet. I couldn’t lie to myself and pretend that I was okay after everything that had happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about Houston and his whereabouts. Nor could I stop glancing at the door every hour hoping that he would come through it with some sort of magical solution that would make this all so much easier.

Between lost love and possible siblings waiting to be found, I was going to have to fight again to get my head on straight. Which likely meant more counseling. A course of action I did not relish repeating. Patty had at least been subtle. Our margarita Tuesdays had definitely been the highlight of my time with the MC. I highly doubted finding someone like her would be easy.

My lawyer recommended I hire someone to search for any living relatives and after some soul searching I decided to go forward with that plan. Although I asked him to oversee the entire case including any reports. I wasn’t ready to deal with any of that yet.

I was feeling tired again, but I didn’t want to spend anymore time lying around with nothing but time on my hands.

When the doorbell chimed, I sighed in relief. I had literally been saved by the bell. Even if it was just my lawyer again. It beat the hell out of being alone all the time.

I pulled the door open to find the lovely woman who had helped me pull myself together the night of the fight after…

“Mrs. Reed! It’s so good to see you again.”

I felt the hot rush of my blush at hearing her call me Mrs. Reed. I hadn’t wanted to use the name Mazzeo for the reservation, so I’d borrowed Houston’s name one last time. Technically, we were kind of married still so I didn’t think it would hurt. Soon, I would have to choose something new. New name. New life. It would help me move on I hoped.

“Nina, right?”

She smiled brighter. “Yes. I’m so glad you remembered. When my husband informed me that you had returned I had to come up and check on you. I hope you don’t mind.”

I smiled back as a little spark of that hope I hadn’t felt in several days returned. “Not at all. Please, come in.” I stepped back and ushered her forward. “I’ve just arrived.”

“I hope the suite accommodations are suitable. Is there anything else I can get you?”

We crossed to the living room couch where I took a seat and a deep breath. “Honestly, from what I’ve seen it’s absolutely gorgeous. Although I haven’t ventured beyond this room yet.”

“I’d be happy to give you a tour. I can show you how everything works.”

“I’d love that in a minute. First, why don’t you tell me more about the hotel. I visited the website so I know the basics. But as this may be my home for a while, I’d love to hear more.”

While I did want to hear about the hotel, I really just wanted her to stay and fill the void for a while. It was nice to have a visitor and I had to admit that this town fascinated me from the moment we’d arrived.

That pang of loneliness clamored again. I had to stop thinking inwe. In a few days time, our divorce would be official.

“We are thrilled to have you on site for as long as you like.” She leaned forward a little closer. “I hope you don’t mind my saying, but that night I felt a kind of kinship towards you. I can’t even tell you why. Just a feeling I got that you and I share some similar struggles and I really am happy you have returned. Although I suspect you’ve had a rough week since then.”

I laughed. The first time in a while and it kind of shocked me that it felt kind of good. “Is it that obvious?” I asked.

She returned my laugh. “Not that you don’t look as gorgeous as ever, but I can recognize sadness when I see it.”

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