Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“That’s why you ran him down?”
“It wasn’t intentional. So, I’ve pissed off a mafia boss. That’s good to know. Well, seeing as I’m now fucked, I might as well know who you are.” She started to lift herself up in the bed, and he saw the pinch of her mouth as she didn’t complain.
“Alexey Baranov,” he said, holding his hand out.
“Jane Adams, but I have a feeling you already knew that, didn’t you?”
He smirked.
“Baranov,” she said. “If I’m dealing with mafia, that makes you Bratva, right?”
He nodded.
“My luck has truly run out,” she said. “Not that I had any to begin with. So, what is the plan, you intend to hand me over to Vincent? Make some kind of deal?”
“You think I would just hand you over?”
“It’s business, right? People die, mistakes are made. You want him to stop hitting at your men. You stop hitting at his.”
“His only son died.”
“Yeah, and I bet he’s got plenty more he can push into that line.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he’s got a ton of kids that can stake a claim.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I’m not handing you over.”
“You’re not?” Jane asked.
“No, you helped save me, and that is what I’m going to do for you.”
“Save me?”
He nodded.
“But you don’t even know me.”
“And you think I need to know you in order to help you?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you need to do, but right now, you’re not making a lot of sense.” She rubbed at her temples. “I’m no one.”
“That’s true, but you’re also the same woman who helped me out, and I’m not going to forget it.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Jane said.
Alexey got to his feet. “You know, a lot of women would be grateful, and bowing down at my feet, begging me to help them.”
“I’m not most women.”
“I’ve come to realize that. You’ve got a bad attitude, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t. I just understand the way the world works, and I know it’s fucking shit,” she said. “It doesn’t make life easy for girls like me.”
He looked at her and could see she believed that.
“Life hasn’t been good to you, has it?”
“I was left at a church when I was just a few days old. At least, that was what the nuns assumed. All my life, I’ve been told I’m not good enough.” She pointed at her face. “This is never going to turn heads or get any kind of attention. Trust me, I’m not an idiot.”
Alexey smiled. “So, don’t you think you should just thank me for helping you? After all, that is what normal people would do.” He winked at her. “I’m going to get you some food.”
Leaving the room, he made his way toward the kitchen, looked through the fridge and the cupboards. He had no idea what to make her.
Jane had helped him when no one else would. His reality was people looking the other way, and that was okay. Anyone who got involved with his shit, he killed. Anyone that tried to stop him from completing the shit he needed to, he took them out, no questions asked. She had defied the odds. He was not going to let that bastard get to her. Jane Adams was now under his protection.
Grabbing a can of soup, he didn’t know if she would be able to stomach anything more. Her lips were swollen, and he saw it was hard for her to talk. Chewing would feel impossible.
Warming up the soup, he grabbed a couple of slices of bread and thickly buttered them. Once everything was hot, he poured it into a bowl and made his way into the bedroom. Only, his patient was not in bed, she was standing by the window. Her arms were crossed over her abdomen, and she looked to be in a lot of pain.
“Looking for a way to escape?” he asked.
“You don’t exactly make it easy, do you?” She turned to him.
She wore a pair of his sweatpants and oversized shirt. They swamped her. He’d changed her while she had been passed out.
Jane was all curves, in all the right places. He wanted to know her story.
“I’ve made you soup, from a can,” he said. “It’s good. Come on, relax.”
She sighed but moved back toward the bed, and he placed the tray on her thighs.
“It’s not too heavy?” he asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Good. Eat. You’re going to need your strength.”
She looked at him for a second, then picked up her spoon and started to eat. He watched her, keeping a close eye, because he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.
Chapter Three
The following day, Jane looked at her reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but groan.
She was not a pretty woman. She accepted that. Long ago, she would stand in the mirror and wish she looked pretty, just so someone would want her. Parents would always look at her and immediately forget her. She would beg and pray someone would look at her and want her, for her. It never happened. And she stopped praying. This is who she was. Plain.