Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“No, but it sounds like you do.”
Her eyes flicked back up to mine. “I obviously don’t know Don Russo, but he seemed genuine to me.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s genuine.”
“And you aren’t receptive at all?”
“He’s genuine because he needs me to deal with Icarus. He didn’t feel my absence because I left a gaping hole in his heart.”
She gave a slight nod. “But he asked for your friendship, not your employment.”
“I don’t believe that.”
She was quiet for a while as she considered what to say. “People make mistakes. And when they do, it doesn’t mean—”
“You weren’t there. You didn’t hear the shit he said to me. I know you mean well, baby. But you don’t understand.”
She was quiet again, turning her attention to her food. “I think the reason you’re so hostile is because…he really hurt you.”
I rejected her words. “I don’t get hurt.”
She looked like she didn’t believe me at all. “They were your family your whole life. They were there when you lost your mother. I know I would be devastated—”
“I don’t appreciate being analyzed—”
“And I don’t appreciate your guard,” she said. “Because you can put up a front with everyone else, but you don’t need to put one up with me.”
I rested my fork on the edge of my plate before I stared at her, my hands coming together and my fingers interlocking.
I was torn. I didn’t appreciate her forwardness, but I respected it at the same time. I’d tried to cut her off, but she wouldn’t have it. Irritating…but sexy at the same time.
She held my stare with equal ferocity. “I’m not encouraging you to return to Cosa Nostra. But not everything needs to be permanent. Not everything needs to be irrevocable. Sometimes people fuck up, and that’s okay.”
“You don’t know what they did,” I said calmly. “If you did, I don’t think Don Russo would pull at your heartstrings.”
“What did he do?”
I’d never told her because I wasn’t a snitch. Wouldn’t rat out Cosa Nostra even though I’d lost my respect for them. But she’d left her father’s employ, and even if she hadn’t, I trusted her to keep this to herself. “Business had taken a couple hits, and to compensate for those losses, Don Russo came up with this brilliant idea…”
She listened, still wearing the apron that barely covered her body. She abandoned her food and only focused on me.
“That we would traffic young women and force them to work in our brothels. The girls don’t get paid, and we keep all the proceeds.”
She didn’t overtly react, but a sadness entered her gaze.
“He did hurt me. He knew how I would feel about it, and he tried to manipulate me into accepting it anyway. It hurt to know that I worked with men who would do that to innocent people. It hurt me that he knew how my mother had been treated, and he just disregarded it. He was like a father to me. He’s literally known me since I was a kid. Watched me lose my mother and then my father. Watched me lose everything.” I stared her down like she was the one who’d hurt me because these memories made me seethe. “And he did it anyway.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine as she listened. She swallowed.
“People make mistakes—but this is not a mistake. This is a crime against humanity. And he only disbanded it when he needed something from me…or because his business went under because I made sure it went under.”
“How did you make it go under?”
“I told everyone I knew that if I ever found out they went there, I’d kill them.”
She continued to stare at me.
“Maybe he’s being sincere. Maybe he’s not. It doesn’t matter. I don’t give a shit.”
She gave a slight nod.
“So don’t let that asshole manipulate you,” I said. “Because that’s all he’s doing. I’m sure he regrets it all. It was a stupid business venture, disgusting and inhumane. And I know criminals like me don’t have the best morals, but no person wants to pay to rape someone…except the evil kind. And there are so few of those out there, it all blew up in his face. He lost money, then Icarus showed up, and Don Russo was forced to acknowledge how badly he fucked up. I’m sure it humbled him. I’m sure it opened his eyes to his faults. I’m sure he and everyone else started to see the consequences of that decision and he lost authority. And I’m sure he realized that he’d lost a lieutenant who would have bled himself dry for him and the rest of Cosa Nostra. It’s a shame…really.”
She continued to watch me.
“But I don’t think we can ever come back from that. It’s done.”
“I admire your principles.”
“It’s the only principle I have. I kill assholes and rob them blind and hang them from trees and carve out their guts. I don’t have a conscience, and I sleep well every night. But I’m an old-fashioned criminal like your father. I don’t involve innocent people in my business. If they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, I always let them go. And I think it’s despicable to harm women and children. Other men will come for someone’s family, but that’s never been my style.”