Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Giulia took over after her father’s death. How she manages all aspects of her father’s world, I don’t know. What I do know is I found myself in a bad situation and she got me the hell out of dodge.
The resources she has, it worked.
Well, until now.
“I don’t know that it came from him.”
“Well, I do,” she challenges.
My head pounds as my pulse quickens and the fear rises. “I didn’t even tell you yet.”
She lets out an exasperated breath. “Michele, I hired a man name Howard when you wanted to leave. He got you the car, the money, the identity set up. He is the driver who got you to South Carolina. Remember him?”
“Yes, vaguely, I remember him. Everything happened so fast. But what does that have to do with me now? I’ve been here for years.”
She sighs, “We should have changed your name completely.”
“Giulia, what happened?”
“Howard’s body was shipped to my office in a box. His head missing, but his ID card in his front pocket. There was a typed letter,” Giulia whispers the last sentence.
The tears fall. “I have his head,” I whisper as I now remember my brief time with Howard as I was getting out of New Jersey. “I got a box of flowers in Friday, but didn’t open it until today. There was a severed head of a man inside,” I manage to choke out as emotions overwhelm me.
“Where are you now?”
I look to the ceiling as I blow out a breath. “I don’t actually know.”
“What!” She shrieks.
“I have a customer, you know the cute one I told you about?”
“Monday, tiger lily biker man?”
“Yes. He was here when I opened the box. He called in his gang. Before I could put my thoughts together he whisked me off to his lair.”
She laughs a nervous laugh before immediately going back to serious, “you read too many damn books. When did your shipment come in?”
“Friday, but I was busy, so I didn’t open it until today.”
“Mine came today, it gave him the lead. Now that tells me, he’s a full weekend ahead of us.”
“Where are you? Your house isn’t safe, get out of town if you can. Don’t go back there.”
“I’m not home, I told you, but I don’t know where I am.”
“Where are you?” She repeats.
I feel like an idiot. “I really, stupidly don’t know.”
“How long was the drive from your shop? An hour?”
“Less than an hour,“ I tell her confidently.
“What’s the biker’s club? I can find out who their people are using some business connections.”
Oh, Giulia has business connections, they just aren’t necessarily of the legal variety. I don’t judge her, this is the only world she knows. I worry for her, but she is tough as nails. She has contacts all over, both in the corporate world and the underworld. She thrives as a boss. She saved my life knowing the people she does. It wasn’t easy for her to earn the respect of her peers, but she has. More than anything in business, though, Giulia is about family.
Love is blind, I learned that lesson the hard way. Giulia is the only reason I made it out.
“Kings of Carnage. They are nice men, Giulia. Don’t bust their balls.” I fight back the fears and tears threatening to fall down my face. Although, her giving them shit is one thing, the power she has, she could have them all un-alived with one call.
I should have stayed in New Jersey and let him kill me.
“I’ll be the judge of nice.” Her tone is sharp telling me she isn’t in a the mood for pushback from me.
“Giulia, what am I supposed to do?” I ask as the defeat washes over me.
It’s on my soul that Howard is dead. The man didn’t know me, but he paid the price for my transgressions.
“Sit tight, Chelle-Belle. I’m getting on the company plane within the hour. I’ll text you details of my arrival. Then we can sort getting you out of the biker’s lair and to a place I deem safe. Until then keep a low profile. Stay put as long as you feel safe there. Benny is in your area. Has to be. Got my guys on it, but we lost days since your box came Friday, but mine didn’t come ‘til today. He’s at least already in Huntsville, that was the last digital trace of him. He’s closing in. Fucking piece of shit wants to play games. He’s gonna find out my fuckin’ balls are bigger.”
Before I can even reply, the line goes dead.
Giulia is on a mission. I can only hope she finds Benny before he finds me.
I hear noise on the porch so I move back to the front of the house. Peering through the peephole, I see a man wearing a leather vest leaving bags of groceries by the front door.