Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I move to leave, but Ronan reaches out and grabs my arm.
“Sasha?”
“Yes?”
“You can tell her we’re keeping the dog, too.”
***
The girl in the basement isn’t what I expected.
At all.
She’s young, extremely thin, and can’t even be an inch over five feet. Judging from the way her toes are bouncing off the floor, she’s scared out of her mind.
She’s sitting in a chair with her hands folded in her lap while Alexei stares at her across the table. He isn’t speaking right now, only observing. And while I’ve only known him a short time, I’ve never seen his gaze so cold as it is right now. This right here is the mobster. The other side of the coin. These guys all have one, but his is admittedly a little scarier than some of the others.
And I don’t know whether to thank him or hate him for it. But in the end, my loyalty wins out, because I know he’s doing this to protect us. To protect Ronan. And this girl is a threat. Until she proves otherwise, she will need to be treated as such.
Her eyes fly to mine when she sees me standing in the corner of the room. Alexei turns a moment later as though he didn’t hear me come in. Conor is at my side, and he makes sure to tell him that Ronan gave me permission before he slips out the door. And then it’s just the three of us.
“I wanted to see her myself,” I explain to Alexei.
He nods and gestures at an empty seat at the table. I walk across the room and sit down, and the girl never takes her eyes from mine. She’s looking at me like I’m the one who holds her fate in her hands, though it couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Hi,” I greet her. “I’m Sasha.”
“Hi,” she whispers.
The room is quiet for a moment, save for the harsh breaths coming from her chest. Her fingers are wrapped around each other so tightly they’re almost white. She’s so thin that at first glance, one might assume she’s a junkie. But her gray eyes are clear and I recognize the expression on her face all too well. That isn’t drugs, but stress.
“Look,” I begin. “We have a problem, you and I.”
“We do?” she swallows, her eyes darting back to Alexei.
I’ve never been intimidating in my life, but right now, there’s something else taking over inside of me. Maybe it’s a mother’s protective instincts. Maybe it’s a love so fierce that it’s given me the courage to do what I never could before. Either way, I feel calm and assured with what I’m about to say. And I know now that the choice is hers.
“We do,” I answer. “Because you see, it’s my boyfriend that you’re ratting on. The father of my child.”
Her eyes well up with tears, and her body starts to shake.
“We love each other,” I tell her. “And we’d do anything to protect what we have. Do you get that?”
“I do,” she whispers. “You have no idea just how much I get that…”
“So do you still think Donny is worth all of this?” I ask. “Because let me tell you…”
“He was supposed to help me get my son,” she cries. “That’s what he said. I’m doing this for my son. That’s all. I have nothing against any of you. I just wanted to get my son back.”
I glance at Alexei, and he nods. What she’s saying is true. And a little bit of my resolve cracks. But then he throws me a bone.
“I have offered to retrieve her son for her. And Crow will send her away with what she needs to start a new life. If she should so choose.”
“Right.” I blow out a breath.
I look back at the girl, but it’s clear she doesn’t trust us. She doesn’t believe that we’ll follow through on what we’re promising her. But she can’t honestly expect us to be any worse than Donny. I can only imagine what he did to make her agree to this. He had a way of exploiting weaknesses. I’m not surprised in the least he chose to exploit hers too.
“We all have to do things we don’t like in this life,” I tell her. “I’ve had to do plenty of it. Make the hard choices. You’re going to have to do that too. And if you choose right, then you will live. That’s as simple as it can get.”
“But how do I know I’ll get my son back?” she asks. “I need more than your word to go on…”
“What choice do you have?” I ask her.
A tiny sound of defeat spills from her lips as she shakes her head and tears fall down her cheeks.
“Look, I don’t know much for certain in this life, honey,” I tell her. “But the one thing I know as sure as the sky is blue is that these guys don’t go back on their word. If they say they’ll get your son, they will get you your son. And they will walk through hell to do it. But that doesn’t come free. Nothing in this life comes free.”