Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
The “how” was taunting me, causing horrific scenes to play out in my head.
“My cousins and uncle can keep you safe. I swear it. They can protect you far better than the fucking DEA. They didn’t protect their own and now …” He trailed off, his eyes flickering regret at mentioning it.
He was so sure of these cousins and uncle of his. People I’d never met or known existed, and I’d thought I knew everything about Calvin until today. I’d been to his family get-togethers, parties, and met other relatives, but they had always been from his father’s side of the family. His mother rarely came around to see him. I’d not realized he had any contact with her family.
“I trust you,” I replied, my voice sounding raspy from not speaking the past two hours. “But I’m worried that they don’t realize the complete situation. If we get there and they—”
“I told them everything. Oz—that’s the oldest of my three cousins—he knows all the details. And …” He paused and sighed heavily. “The media has the story now. I told him more than the media knows.”
I still didn’t understand why he felt these men were safer than the DEA. I’d never even heard of Madison, Mississippi. Perhaps their location was one of the reasons that Calvin decided I’d be safer there.
There were a million things I should ask. That I should care about. Like how they would be able to protect me, how long I’d be there, or if it was some cabin hidden in the woods with hillbillies who had an illegal firearm stash. But the aching void in my chest wiped out all other concern.
Calvin moved to the edge of his seat and reached across the space between us to take my hands in his. “I can’t stay with you. I’ve got to get back to LA. Even if I could, I couldn’t keep you safe. I’m not … I’m not like my cousins. Hell, I’ve never used a gun in my life. The only way I can leave is knowing you’re safe, and there is no safer place for you than with them.”
I nodded. He really believed that. I didn’t think it was accurate though. The security system on our home had been the best. My father had always had protective measures in place to keep us safe due to his job. Yet this Telos Kris person had had no problem getting through it or the security systems of the other families who had been murdered.
Calvin’s mouth tightened with frustration. He was reading me, much like I did him. We knew each other too well.
“Look,” he said, squeezing my hands in his. “I didn’t want to tell you this. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to it, and I needed to get you to agree to get on this plane with me and leave.”
I waited as he seemed to have an internal battle with himself. Finally, he blew out a breath and leveled his eyes on me.
“My mom’s sister, Aunt Ellender, married a man who was born into a family that is dangerous and powerful. I’m not sure how long the Savelles have been involved in it, but it goes back generations. My father kept me from them most of my life because he’s scared of them. Who and what they are. But I’m not. I mean, I wouldn’t piss any of them off, but I also know that they will protect you for me. They’ll do it for their mom.”
I waited to see if he’d say more, and when he sat there, staring at me, gauging my reaction, I decided that perhaps I should ask those questions.
“What do you mean by a dangerous, powerful family?” I asked.
Calvin bit his bottom lip and glanced out the window as the plane began to lower before turning back to me. “Their part of the Southern Mafia.”
What? What did that even mean? I hadn’t realized Mafias were still a thing.
“Um, what is that exactly?”
He continued to hold my hands in his. “The Southern Mafia is all over the South. There is a branch in every Southern state. They are wealthy, powerful, and control most all government officials in those states. They are exactly what it sounds like. Organized crime. They know who Telos Kris is. They’re not scared of him. In fact, they may be more feared than he is. They have more power than he does. He is a criminal that has to hide. They are just as dangerous, but they get to live out in the world controlling things.”
“We are landing,” the flight attendant interrupted as she stepped out of the closed-off area in the front of the plane. “Sit back and tighten your seat belts,” she informed us, then went over to sit in the chair she’d been in when we took off and buckled herself up.