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 had to think clearly and plan carefully in hopes that Fletch would arrive soon, even if only as a distraction so she could put these two fuckers down. Humanely, inhumanely, it didn’t matter to her as long as they both stopped breathing.
“He thought it a little suspicious when after his father died you disappeared at the same time. He wants to ask you a few questions since you didn’t give him that chance before you left.”
She blinked quickly, still trying to drum up some tears. Just one, that was all she needed, damn it. But the fury licking inside of her was making that impossible. “Why now? It’s been months.”
Scared, Nova, act scared. Not like you want to punt his balls toward the one-yard line after slicing out his tongue.
“You didn’t make it easy to find you after you vanished. Not only did you use a fake name, which we found quite interesting, your cell phone was disconnected. It’s almost as if you purposely went underground. He wants to know why.”
If they didn’t know why, that definitely meant they didn’t know who she worked for. That also meant they wouldn’t expect her to be armed. Two things in her favor.
Actually, three. Fletch should be coming up to the condo at any time. That meant she needed to keep speaking as loudly as possible—without getting gagged—and to keep Asshole and Dipshit talking and focused on her.
Unless… Shit. If he heard voices, he might think it was only the maintenance men discussing the non-existent water damage.
She needed to use key words Fletch might recognize as a red flag. Maybe he’d hear them and realize whatever she was saying weren’t things she’d ever discuss with a condo complex employee.
“You don’t need to take me anywhere to find out why I left. I can tell you and you can pass the message on to Frankie. The reason was simple. After getting slapped around by Frank, I no longer had an interest in staying and letting the son take up where the father left off. That’s exactly why I left. It wasn’t anything nefarious like Frankie might think. It also made sense that if someone had put a hit on his father’s head, that Frankie would be their next target since he, as the underboss, was next in line. Who in their right mind would stick around and risk becoming collateral damage? I did it purely out of self-preservation and no other reason.”
Asshole shook his head and sneered, “Nice try, but we know you were involved with whoever put a contract out on Frank Sr. Who were you working for?”
They didn’t know shit. They were fishing. Because if they knew anything concrete, she’d already be dead.
“Nobody!” burst from her with an added bottom lip quiver for good measure.
Asshole jabbed his gun toward her. It pissed her off even more since he had his damn finger on the trigger. Proof that La Cosa Nostra didn’t require their soldiers to follow gun safety protocol. Stupid fucks.
“Bullshit. Who hired you to infiltrate the family, Nova Wilder?”
Where the fuck was Fletch? “Nobody! I swear!” She wasn’t even going to try to come up with an excuse for using a different name. In the end it wouldn’t matter.
“Keep your secrets for now. We’ll hear them soon enough. And if you’re not willing to spill them, then we have ways to make you willing. We need to go. The boss is waiting to hear everything you have to say. The longer we make him wait, the more impatient he’ll be and the tougher he’ll be on you.”
Great.
Whatever happened, she was not leaving her condo with them. She’d rather die quickly by a bullet from one of those dumbfuck douchebags than go through a long, torturous interrogation at the hands of Francesco Russo Jr., a chip off the old block.
However, Frankie wouldn’t get his manicured fingernails dirty or risk stains on his Gucci button-down dress shirt. He’d have his soldiers do the dirty work for him while he watched from a splatter-free zone.
A hierarchy existed in La Cosa Nostra for good reason.
“It’ll be much easier for you if you came with us willingly. Otherwise, we’ll gag you and tie your hands. What’s your choice?”
“I’ll go with you. He just wants to talk, right?”
“Right,” Dipshit answered.
“And as soon as he realizes I don’t know anything, he’ll let me go?”
“Of course,” Asshole assured her.
Motherfucking liars. “Will someone bring me back here when we’re done?”
One side of Dipshit’s thin lips pulled up. “We’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Sure they would.
Did anyone ever believe their bullshit?
She nodded like she was too stupid to live. “Fine. I’ll speak with Frankie. He’ll see I had nothing to do with it.” As she went to stand, she cried out in pain. “Oh! I must’ve twisted my ankle when I fell.”