Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
She was actually surprised she had made it more than a year with them as it was.
“Right, my job was done since I had been nothing more to them than a fancy accessory, like the gold chain Frank wore around his fucking neck. His wife was his immediate heir and he had adult children to help run the organization.”
When she stopped talking, Fletch’s lips flattened out and his eyes searched her face. “There’s more to this story, Nova. You’re holding something back.”
“And you’re very observant.”
“The best cops are. But the whole fucking reason we got into this conversation was because of your reaction to me backhanding you.”
“You’ve been bugging me about my time with the Russos,” she reminded him.
“Yes, but you finally relented to talk about it because of what happened earlier. What you just told me had nothing to do with that, Nova. So, what fucking did?”
“I might have been spared from having Russo pumping between my legs, but I wasn’t spared anything else.”
She let that sink in. Again, he was smart and observant. He was already on the track he just needed to keep chugging forward.
She saw it in his expression before it even left his lips. “He hit you.”
Bingo. “Yes.”
“Fuck,” he barked.
“I said that silently to myself every time he did it along with some other choice words.”
“But you had to keep your mouth shut. That had to be difficult. To not fight back. To not protect yourself. To go against your very grain. Because I know damn well if I had hit you and not Ghost, I’d be looking worse than you right now.”
He was spitting out facts. “If I didn’t want it to make the abuse worse, yes. And, you’re damn right, it was a struggle. Every fucking day.” And every night she fantasized about smothering him with a fucking pillow. Sometimes slicing his throat or balls. Or, hell, both.
“Exactly like a fucking abused wife. Knocking you around was a power play to make him feel and appear strong when we all know the truth. An abuser like him is really weak as fuck because fear is what drives it. He was afraid of losing the power he had. Striking women, putting fear into them, made him feel like a big fucking man. The same way as making you lie about all the banging you guys didn’t do.”
“Yes. But in a way it worked against him. Every fucking shake, slap, backhand or punch only made me more determined to bring that fucker to his knees. Staying and taking everything he dished out only helped guarantee that I would succeed.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Jesus Christ. You basically took one for the team.”
More than one. It was almost a daily occurrence and when a business deal went wrong, putting Frank in a horrid mood, he struck out even more.
It was safe to say that was why his wife never complained about him taking goomahs. It was also most likely the reason Frank Sr. had gone through so many of them. Nova wouldn’t doubt that some ended up “swimming with the fishes.”
“Truth? I would’ve taken more. I would’ve done whatever was needed to take that fucker down.”
“For fuck’s sake, Nova, I don’t know if that was better or worse than having to fuck Russo. Both are equally fucked up. And he’s lucky he’s dead because I would’ve wanted to take out the fucker myself.”
“Now you know how seriously I take my career.”
“I already knew before that fucking story. I take my career seriously, too, but I have my limits. You don’t see me out fucking lot lizards at the truck stops.”
Her face twisted.
“That reaction you just had? That’s the same I’m having even thinking about you fucking any Russo.”
“Well, I lucked out in that department.”
He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his forehead. “Right, but you let him use you as a punching bag instead.”
“We’re trained to deal with physical altercations, Fletch. That training and my instincts helped mitigate some of the damage.”
“If you saw it coming. Sometimes abusers strike out for no reason. Even if it’s only about something wrongly perceived. It could be as simple as an insult from someone else earlier in the day. The anger over that embarrassment could build until it explodes and you just happen to be in reach and the recipient.”
“Most of the time I saw it coming. Unlike when you backhanded me.”
“And I said you could hit me—” He suddenly became so still, Nova thought he morphed into a statue. Just as quickly, his brown eyes widened and he jolted back to life. He pulled the ice from her cheek and locked gazes with her. “Jesus, Nova. Was I right all along and Russo’s demise wasn’t a contract hit?”
She pressed her lips together. This was the part she had wanted to avoid and the reason she never discussed her time with the Russos.