Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
He found Teddy hiding away in a run-down motel outside of the city. With him had been the brick of coke, and the man had stunk. Enzo didn’t get it. Teddy had been afraid, and if he’d been loyal, none of this would have happened to him. There always had to be an example made of men like him. His body wouldn’t be found whole.
After a long day at the office, all Enzo wanted to do was get home to his wife. Killing Teddy had been a messy job, and he had no choice but to remove his clothing and have it destroyed. It was why he always had clean suits everywhere.
Arriving at his penthouse, he nodded at the guard he placed on the door. The entire building had men and women of the mafia inside, so it was protected, but he was sure to place extra protection around his woman.
He entered the penthouse and the smells of lemon and garlic met his senses. It was a little after eight, and he had called ahead to let Adele know he’d be late. Stepping into the kitchen, he saw her at the stove. She didn’t wear anything on her feet, but the pretty yellow sundress looked so cute. It skimmed over her curves but shaped around her body.
He walked right up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Evening, beautiful.”
Adele tutted and pulled away. “You’re already late, don’t make dinner any worse by making it even more so. Go and sit.”
It had been a long time since he had a woman serve him. Enzo didn’t even realize he’d missed it until this past week. He sat at the head of the table, which was already set for two place settings. Adele came out seconds later carrying two plates, only to come to a stop when she caught sight of him.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“You’ve changed your clothes,” she said.
“You noticed?”
“It’s kind of hard not to. You left this morning with a blue shirt on, and now you’re wearing a white one.”
“Messy day at the office,” he said.
Adele put his plate in front of him and then lowered down into her chair opposite him. “Do I want to know why it was a messy day?”
Enzo sat back and looked at her. Neither of them spoke for several seconds, if not minutes.
Should he tell her? Her life was already part of his own. Women were not involved in work. They didn’t get to know the gory details. Adele wasn’t just any wife, though. She had proven that time and time again. She was different.
“That depends,” Enzo said.
“On what?”
“How much you can handle. You know who I am. You know what I’m capable of. What I tell you can never leave this room. Can you live with that?” Enzo asked.
Adele twirled her fork between her fingers and he watched as she stared at him. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind right now.
“I can handle it,” she said. “I … there’s no end to this, is there? It’s you and me, and we’re married.”
“You won’t get a divorce, and the only way out now is death.”
“That’s a lovely thought,” she said. “I don’t want to die, and I don’t intend on making it so. I’m guessing you killed someone today.” She twirled her fork in her pasta, and he waited as she took a bite.
“A rat,” Enzo said.
“What was he or she going to do?” Adele asked.
“Attempt to take us out. He had something of ours, and if it was properly analyzed, it would cause a lot of problems.”
She pursed her lips. “Something of yours. I’m guessing a gun?”
“No.”
“An item of clothing.”
This made Enzo laugh. “No. No gun. No clothing.”
“Drugs?” Adele asked.
He nodded his head. She sighed.
“How do you know all of this?” he asked, taking a bite of the pasta, and it was delicious. Adele was a great cook. She told him it was years spent learning from her mother.
“My mom.” She shrugged. “Like I said, when the truth came out about my … Hank, she got him to tell her everything and when I was old enough, she told me all I needed to know. By the time she told me everything, he’d already stopped coming around.”
“Does it bother you?” Enzo asked.
“I don’t know.” She took another mouthful of food. “Does it bother you?”
“No. I swore my loyalty and nothing will ever come between that. I will always stand by their side and take care of those that threaten us.”
“Is that all you did all day?”
“Yes.” He did have to locate the fucker first, and it took him a couple of hours to do that. After that, he had to get the information out of him. The cops were giving the guy the runaround. They thought it was a scam or a joke. Either way, Teddy had lost his life for it. The cops didn’t get to win today.