Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“No! How can you do this? He’s an old man. He can’t work with more broken bones. Leave him alone.”
He wasn’t putting any pressure on her neck, and she glared at him, waiting for him to hurt her. No one could hear her screams. She was all alone.
Mazza and his cronies could do whatever they wanted to her. Her body would be found eventually … or not.
“Leave us,” Gino said.
She held onto his arm, her nails digging into the fabric of his jacket. It was too thick for her to do any lasting damage.
The door closed behind the men, but they didn’t walk away from the shop. With her heart pounding, she turned her attention back to the man with all of the power.
“You’re an interesting woman,” he said.
“What?”
He squeezed her neck, not enough to cut off air but certainly enough to make her alarmed for a few seconds.
She waited, expecting the worst, but he loosened his hold.
“You’re the first woman to beg for a man’s life. I find that interesting.”
“He’s my dad.”
“Yes, but when the idea of them being on the chopping block, or the bone-breaking block, they don’t like that and would rather I not pay any attention to them. Yet, you don’t want me hurting your father.”
“It doesn’t make me special.”
“You know who I am?” he asked.
“Everyone knows who you are.”
“And yet your mouth is still continuing to fucking work instead of staying closed.” He gave her neck another squeeze.
“Please leave my father alone.” She knew she was in danger right now. There was no chance she’d come out of this alive.
“You’re in no position to bargain with me.”
“How about just being a nice person?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “A nice person? Seriously? You’re going to try and win me over with that argument?”
“I’m not trying to win you over with anything. I’m just trying to protect my dad. You may not get what loyalty or even love means. My dad means everything to me, and this shop, it’s all he’s got left.”
“If this shop means so much to him, why did he borrow money off me?” Gino asked.
“It has been a trying time.” She didn’t want to tell this man all of her family’s troubles.
“Not good enough. I deal with whores, addicts, and greedy assholes. I want my money.”
She thought about that large guy entering the hospital. No one would stop him. The nurses would probably look the other way.
“Please, I’ll do anything. Don’t hurt my dad.” She hated how desperate she sounded. Her father had always told her to never allow a man to make her beg, and yet, here she was, begging on his behalf. “I’ve got nothing special to offer you, Mr. Mazza. My dad when he’s well, he’ll work hard. I’ll guarantee it.”
Gino kept staring down at her. She didn’t have a clue what he was thinking, and deep down inside, she knew she never wanted to even get a glimpse of what was going on inside his head.
This man was so dangerous.
Look at the way he held her. If the desire took him, he could snap her neck, make her suffer. She couldn’t believe she was pleading with this madman.
Gino suddenly nodded his head and smiled.
It wasn’t a nice one.
Her heart still pounded.
“Okay, I’ll leave your father alone. He can have the right to earn off his debt the long, hard way, but in return, I keep you.”
“What?”
“I’m not finished. You will learn to not interrupt me. You will belong to me. Mine to do with as I please for as long as it suits me. You’ll be at my beck and call, all day and night. That’s the only deal you have. Take it or leave it. You’ve got about five minutes before my man gets to the hospital.”
“That’s the only deal you’re willing to give me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I need to negotiate.”
“No negotiation. You’re mine. Everything about you belongs to me. Now, take that deal or your dad is going to be in a whole lot of pain.”
Tick-tock.
No, she couldn’t do this.
“Deal.”
There was no way she could let her father’s suffering continue. She would do whatever it took to keep her father alive and well.
****
There was nothing special about the woman he’d just purchased. He knew everything there was to know about Avery Finch. The moment anyone came to him for money, he made it his mission to make sure that person had a weak spot. Avery was her father’s, and coming to his shop tonight, he’d been curious at exactly how he could manipulate the situation.
Avery was different. Even as she was terrified of him, she still fought back.
He found that interesting.
Most women offered up their bodies, and in a way, Avery had done exactly that, only she didn’t seem to realize it.
He had an entire city at his beck and call, and yet this woman with her passion and stupidity had awakened something inside him. She tried to appeal to his softer side. She needed to learn there was nothing soft about him.