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)
“You were with him for over a year, right?”
“Yes.” For more than a year of her life she had to tolerate a man she hated on a daily basis. She rarely had time away from him. Unlike a normal job, she didn’t have weekends off and couldn’t go on vacation to take a break. Working twenty-four-seven had taken a toll.
“What about his wife?”
Nova let out a sharp laugh. “Please… You think she fucking cared he had side pieces? I certainly wasn’t his first. Gianna Russo got the financial benefits of being married to a very wealthy and powerful man without having to deal with the rest of the bullshit. She fulfilled her ‘job’ by giving him three heirs and expertly maintaining his household. After she did what was required, she only wanted to enjoy the spoils. And believe me, she made him pay because she had very rich tastes.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Would you have had sex with him, or even Jr., if you had to?”
“Not by choice. Only by necessity.”
“To further your career or because of your uncle?”
“The truth?”
“Truth is required for trust,” he said simply.
He was absolutely correct and she would require nothing but the truth from him, too.
“Both. My thirst for La Cosa Nostra to pay in one way or another had seeped into my bones. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get that satisfaction with the Parisis. So, I jumped on the chance for revenge when it came to the Russos.”
“Damn, Nova. When you went under, the father wasn’t your target. You might have had to fuck Jr.” An unrecognizable emotion crossed his face. It couldn’t be jealousy, could it?
“Of course they knew that might be required when they wanted me to target the son. Before I went under, it was cleared, with reluctance, by the AUSA for Frankie. I was advised by my supervisor it was acceptable as long as I was willing to testify about having to go that far to avoid my cover being blown. Or to avoid death, of course.”
She was glad she wasn’t the one required to get that particular permission. That had been decided for her. She could only imagine how that conversation would’ve gone if they came directly to her, especially once her target changed from Frankie to his father.
Are you willing to testify to the fact you had to sleep with Francesco Russo Sr., the notorious don of the Russo crime family?
Oh sure, sir. I’ll sit on the stand so everyone in that courtroom can stare at me knowing I fucked a sixty-nine year old crime boss just to get all the accolades.
Let’s also not forget, for a twisted sense of revenge.
If it had come down to that, she would’ve kept the last part to herself. The FBI tended to frown upon their agents seeking personal vengeance. For good reason.
“In case it came down to an indictment,” Fletch stated flatly. “Oooor you could’ve walked away and refused to do it at all.”
True. Those would’ve been her choices. The FBI had heard whispers of Russo Sr.’s prostate cancer, that was one reason she had been told to target Frankie. No one expected Frank Sr. to be looking for a new “girlfriend” when he couldn’t even get it up.
But then, no one considered the fact that both Frank and Frankie regarded women as accessories. It wasn’t always about sex with them, but more about impressing the people around them, as well as their business partners.
Having a beautiful, sexy, well-dressed woman on their arm made them appear more successful. Power and money were always the ultimate goal, sex was simply a residual benefit.
“I wasn’t going to walk away, Fletch. No matter what I had to do.”
“Even if you had been forced to go that far to keep from getting made, he was dead before any indictments ever came about, right? So, you might not have ever had to admit that on the stand.”
“Even so, it most likely would’ve come up as a defense tactic from their attorneys in future indictments. Since taking down Frank Sr. was just the beginning.” The Russo organization wasn’t a house of cards, where if you removed one card, the rest would collapse. There were plenty of other cards to shore that teetering house back up.
“Is the FBI working on detonating that whole organization? Both the boss and underboss are just the tip of the whole Pittsburgh Sicilian mobster mountain.”
“Of course there’s a lot more to do, but without me, obviously, since I’m now here. With you.”
“Makes sense. There was no reason for you to stick around after he was taken out. And I’m glad that fucker got his due so you could be here.” He took the ice pack from her and held it to her cheek. “With me.”
She had no idea if the feds had managed to slip another agent inside, whether male or female. Since she was off that job, she wanted to concentrate on the one at hand. After Russo’s death, she could do nothing more with the organization and not risk being made.