Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 49774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
She nodded her head, the action jerky and scared.
“I’ve done a lot of bad things, Arika. In this line of work, you have to.”
“Torturing men and women?”
“I needed answers,” he said.
“But, what if they were innocent?”
“If they were innocent and there was proof they would be highly compensated.”
“That kind of torture couldn’t have been easy to live with after,” she said.
“Yes, but more money and power are always a deal-breaker, Arika. The world is full of bad people.”
“And you’re one of those people.”
“If I was to tell you that some of the men and women that I’ve killed had hurt children, the next generation of the mafia, what would you think?”
She went to speak, and he saw her pause. “In what way?”
“Forcing them to have sex with men or women they don’t like. Hitting them, abusing them, exploiting them. I’m not saying the mafia is perfect, but the family I work fo0r, they don’t believe in the exploitation of children, or in their torture.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she said.
“Some of the people I’ve hurt and even killed deserved it, Arika. I’m not going to make excuses for what I’ve done. This is who I am.”
“It scares me.”
“Do I scare you?”
She nodded her head.
“I’ve not done anything to harm you. I’m going to keep on protecting you because you are an innocent in all of this. You were merely at the wrong place at the wrong time. I won’t hurt you. I will do everything to keep you safe.”
He watched as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Holding up the bag he brought her, he smiled. “So I went through your apartment and found everything related to your course.” He held up the laptop. “There is no internet service here.”
“What about a deadline?”
“You’ll print it out, or give me one of those USB drives, and I’ll take it to your professor.” He paused as she watched her. She was biting her lip. “I want to make one thing clear, Arika. If for whatever reason the cops come calling or questions start getting asked about you, I’ll have no choice but to end your life, do you understand?”
He watched her swallow, the nerves clear on her face.
“I—”
He cut her off before she could say anything else. “I will do everything in my power to protect you. That means keeping you alive. I can only do that if you allow me to. Cops change things. It puts a hit on your head, and I will do it. Not only that, I will make it slow.”
“I don’t want to die.”
“Then let’s not send secret messages to your professor about where you are or what you’ve done. You want to stay alive and breathing so you can finish those plans.” He saw the surprise in her eyes. “I saw the board you had, the plans you’d written on it. What you hope to achieve for the future. I found it a rather inspiring plan. You wish to help others.”
Again, she nodded without saying a word.
“It’s good what you’re doing.”
She looked at him. He saw the doubt in her eyes.
“I’m not really going to get far as a waitress though. There’s so much I want to do with my life.”
“We’ll work together to help you achieve that.” He took her hand, and at the first touch, she flinched. He didn’t let her go though.
She stared at their hands, and after a second or two she gripped his firmly. It wasn’t much but it was a start, and for now it meant he could trust her.
“Is this even allowed?”
“What?” he asked.
“You and me, talking together. Isn’t the mafia supposed to be, like, an exclusive kind of thing?”
He smiled. Her question was so sweet.
“It’s not an exclusive club, Arika. There are always people close to it that have nothing to do with it.”
“Like?”
“Mistresses can be one.”
“How? They must be pretty close to it.”
“Some of the men take wives that are part of other families. They’re often not good matches, and usually result in a great deal of unhappiness. So the men do what they must, and when they find the right woman, they take her as a mistress. Rarely does the life touch hers. She’s there to provide entertainment. Some time away from their life.”
He saw her thinking.
“But it does touch them.”
He stared at her.
“You said rarely. That’s not never. So, a mistress position must still be pretty dangerous.”
“It is.”
“I don’t know how anyone could do that. Be part of a life. Especially with a married man.”
“For the most part, the guy isn’t really married. He must have heirs, obviously, but he wears a ring, that’s it.”
“I can’t even believe you’re telling me all this.”
He didn’t respond to that.
“What about the women?” she asked.
“The mistresses?”
“No, the wives. The women. Don’t they get to have a little fun on the side?”