Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“I won’t, but even if I did, they wouldn’t say anything,” I said. “Cat, Isabel, and Rosie are trustworthy and loyal. They can keep a secret.”
“Absolutely, but they’re loyal to their husbands first,” Mom said, and then she paused to think about something. “I would say they’re examples of great marriages, but they’re all so obsessed with each other, and I don’t think that’s healthy.”
“They’re in love.”
“Nora.” Mom shot me a look. “These kinds of men don’t fall in love. They become obsessed.”
“Like Dad.”
“Dad’s a little different. Your dad may love and respect me, but I don’t think he’d take a bullet for me.” She paused, deep in thought for a moment. “Those boys would die for their wives. No questions asked. No hesitation.”
“Would you take a bullet for Dad?” I asked.
“No.” She scowled. “I’m not an idiot.”
We laughed again.
“Listen, when you’re ready to get away, text me the words ‘Idk if I can do this.’” She looked me square in the eyes. “Do not text that to me unless you’re ready. I’ll text back the words ‘You’re stronger than you think,’ and when you get that text, you’ll go to this address.” She scribbled an address on the back of a business card and slid it to me. “It has to be those exact words because your father may notice that you’re missing, and when he does, he’s going to check everything.”
“So it has to look natural,” I said. “It has to look like I ran away.”
“You ready for that?”
“I think so,” I whispered.
“Do not tell the girls.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m serious, Lenora. The last thing you want is for them to send a Russo or Marchetti out there to ruin your days of peace.”
My heart skipped. “You mean Rocco?”
“Dean, Rocco, or Michael.” She shrugged. “It’s all the same. They’re hunters, you know, but it’s not animals they hunt.”
“What does that mean?” I asked quietly.
“It means you better lie low, enjoy yourself, and make sure no one finds out you’re gone.”
“But Rocco’s so nice,” I said, stuck on the hunter thing. “He’s always smiling and laughing.”
“The charming ones are the most lethal.” Mom took her last sip of coffee.
The aftertaste of her words bothered me the rest of the day. It wasn’t like I thought Rocco was a saint. . .but a hunter? What did that even mean? I pushed it aside. It didn’t matter. That wasn’t going to keep me from wanting one night with him. There were no strings attached, so whatever he did wasn’t my concern.
5
ROCCO
Some people hated getting their hands dirty. I wasn’t one of them. The way I saw it, if I could torture and kill potentially innocent people for the government, I could do the same to scums who had tried to take advantage of my father. It was how I got sucked into this business, to begin with. I was home on a paid two-week vacation, and Dad had to collect some money he was owed. On our way over, he told me about Neil Kemp, the former boxer turned wife-beater and child abuser who now worked as an enforcer for another family. Dad just wanted the money owed, and information about the man Neil worked for. He didn’t give a fuck about what kind of man Neil was or the things he’d done to innocent women and children, but I did. It was where the joke about me being a vigilante started. Maybe I felt it was a way for me to pay for the atrocities I’d committed overseas—a way for me to call it even in the eyes of the universe. I watched as my father tied the man up. I watched as he got in his face and questioned him. I watched as Neil laughed and spit blood on my father’s shiny shoes. I watched him not say anything about who he worked for.
After about an hour, I suggested to my father that I take over. His expression was priceless — he had no idea what I’d done after my time in the Marines. When I began waterboarding, clipping nails, restricting airways, and ultimately getting Neil to break, my father was shocked. He gathered his answers, and then I slit Neil's throat — that hadn't been part of the plan. As we left, he stared at me with admiration and unease. Afterward, I told him what I could about my job, which wasn’t much without having to kill him — rules and all. He urged me to return home and work with him, and I did after I finished my contract.
Somewhere along the way, even torturing these people got boring. Once you’d heard ten men’s tortured sobs and pleas, you’d heard them all. They were all the same. They started cocky, boasting about the things they could do. Two hours into the questioning, they changed their tunes. Suddenly, they were sorry for what they’d done. They were begging for the second chance I’d never give them. Lately, I’d been letting Matti and Nico collect on my behalf. They were both young and so bloodthirsty, you’d think they’d lived horrible lives and would never guess that they were raised by good people in quaint middle-class neighborhoods, white picket fences and all. Nico’s dad was an enforcer, but that didn’t mean he was a bad person.