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)
Arnold was the first to leave, and whatever he said clearly made Adele laugh. They came out of the side exit, chuckling. The moment Adele caught sight of him, the laughter froze and died.
“Is everything okay?” Arnold asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. This guy is a friend of my … dad’s,” Adele said.
Now this did surprise him, but he was right in his earlier assessment. Adele knew who he was.
“Do you need me to call anyone?”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Adele said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She patted him on the arm, and then started to walk. Her gaze was on his as she walked past, but then she kept moving.
Enzo was not used to this kind of chase.
“Why are you following me?” Adele asked. She suddenly stopped and whirled around.
“You know who I am?”
“Yeah, I know who you are, but I don’t understand why you’re following me. What does Hank want?”
“It’s Hank now, I thought it was your dad?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “No one knows who my dad is, and I figure the less I say, the better.” She shook her head. “What does he want? Normally he sends one of his soldiers with a letter or flowers or something. Why did he send you?”
“How do you know who I am?” Enzo asked. He had hoped this was going to be easy.
“My mom wasn’t stupid. When she realized who he was, she made sure to learn. In fact, I think she forced him to tell her everything, so she told me. You’re a very popular guy. Enzo Amato, one of the youngest capos ever, and you have a reputation for torture and fear. I would offer you congratulations, but I heard how you rose through the ranks, so I will say, my apologies on the loss of your parents and family.” She gave a head bow.
This did surprise him. No one ever spoke to him that way, not ever.
“What does he want?” she asked.
“Have you ever thought I might not have anything to do with your dad and that I’m here to see you?”
“I’m not known. My presence in that world is a secret. His wife tried to kill my mother and me. He hid us away. Try again.”
Enzo chuckled. “Do you think you get to tell me what to do, little girl?”
She shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me what it is you want, and maybe I can help, and then you can fuck off.”
He loved hearing her curse. It rolled off her tongue, and he knew very soon he was going to get her to beg him to fuck her.
Enzo took a step toward her, then another, then another. Adele didn’t back up. She stayed perfectly still, and tilted her head back to look at him. He stared into her eyes, and was taken aback at just how beautiful she was.
“Your father wants me to marry you. He wants you to have the respect you deserve and for me to take care of you. I guess this is his way of bringing you back into the family.” He wanted to touch her cheek to see if it was quite as soft as he imagined.
“You can tell him he can fuck off as well.”
With that, Adele whirled around and walked away.
Oh, he loved a challenge. Enzo thought she’d be some simpering girl who would fall madly in love with him. Adele was anything but.
Chapter Two
Adele woke up the next morning and the conversation she had with Enzo kept rushing back to her.
Her father couldn’t be serious. She pressed her hand to her head, and then groaned. Why? Hank had promised he’d leave her alone. Admittedly, that had been while her mother was alive, but now he intended to impose on her life. How dare he!
She rolled over and reached inside her drawer, pulling out the tiny slip of paper her mother had given to her years ago. It was a direct number to Hank. If she called him, it would mean she’d have to talk to him. Adele avoided talking to him every chance she got.
She had a wonderful childhood and her mother had always been there for her. Hank would turn up, fleetingly, and for a long time, she didn’t know what he was. She remembered jumping in his arms, being so excited. If she had an event at school, she’d invite him. Hank would promise to be there, she’d get excited, tell everyone her dad was coming, and he’d never show up. Her mother was always there, telling her he got busy.
He never came on Christmas day, or New Year’s, or at Halloween to see her costumes. One year he promised to take her trick-or-treating, but that never happened. She eventually stopped asking him for things, until she finally asked her mother to tell him she wanted nothing to do with him. Hank would come, but Adele wouldn’t leave her room.