Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad.”
“You’re more than a cold, heartless killer, son. You’re my son, and one day, you are going to meet a young woman, you’re going to want to settle down, and you’re going to want a life far away from the Rostova. You shouldn’t have to deal with this life.”
Pulling out of the memory, he looked into the engine of the car. At the time, he had laughed with his father, telling him all the good women were gone. He was happy with his life, but the truth was, he wasn’t happy.
From the very beginning, he hated working for the Rostova. He had done so to make his father proud, and also because when he went to the school where he was trained, he was warned. If he didn’t excel, if he didn’t make this worthwhile, his parents would pay. Everything he did, he did for his parents. He loved his family.
Their deaths were the last straw. He made his decision. They thought he would fear death, but the truth was, he welcomed it.
After his father died in his arms, and he begged for his son’s forgiveness, Isaac had gone to church. It was strange that he had gone there. He’d never been baptized. His parents wanted him to make the choice, and the truth was, he always believed in a higher power. Whenever life got hard, he prayed, and each day he woke up and lived to survive another day.
This was when he made the decision to rid the world of Rostova for good. He didn’t care if he died. In fact, he felt like it was a guarantee. One man against the whole Rostova Bratva. Only, he was one of the scariest motherfuckers out there. No one could best him. Not even the teachers in that training school. He was that fucking determined, that fierce, no one was ever going to stop him.
It took the Rostova Bratva three decades to get where they were. Blackmailing politicians, having crooked cops on their payroll, and having the authorities look the other way. He dismantled the entire organization within two weeks. They had bred him to be an unstoppable force, but they never expected that force to turn against them.
“Hey.”
That soft, feminine voice pulled him out of his past, and he shoved himself out from under the car. His dad had never owned a mechanic shop, but he had wanted to. Instead, he went into laundry, because apparently that had been what the Rostova had wanted. His father always dreamed of being a local mechanic, which was why Isaac owned this place. It was why he took his father’s name.
Isaac Flynn had died ten years ago, but he was going to keep him alive. As it happened, he shared his father’s name, only he scrubbed “Junior” from the title. Now, he was going to do something with his life to make his father proud.
There was no one looking for him. No one would dare to. That monster was at rest, and no one better wake him up.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said, looking into Lucy’s smiling face. Was this what his father described all those years ago? If so, then he was more than happy to settle down.
****
“And are you going to tell me what happened?” Marge asked.
Lucy didn’t need to look over at Harry to know he was paying attention to Marge’s question. She offered her friend a smile as she handed out the cups of tea she’d just made. This was part of her job as well, serving everyone, which she didn’t mind. She loved it.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play coy. I may have been tired yesterday, girlie, and it was your day off, but news travels fast around here.” Marge looked behind her. “Tell her, Betty, that people were talking.”
“Don’t get me involved. You’re the one that told the poor girl to stop coming in on her day off, and I don’t think that is right.”
It was true. Lucy usually came to visit her friends, because working here and getting paid for it, well, she considered everyone a friend. She loved and adored them all, and it wasn’t because it was her job. They were her family.
She offered a smile to Betty as a thank you.
“The only reason I didn’t come yesterday is because you threatened to beat me with your walking stick, don’t you remember?”
“Oh, I remember, but I also recall telling you to get a life, and you’re being a pain in the ass about that too.” Marge gave her a forced glare, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m doing what I can,” Lucy said. “It’s all I can do.”
“Besides, I heard she was at the mechanic shop anyway,” Betty said. “So, there you go, Marge is doing exactly as you ask. She’s not coming to see us, and she is finding a life for herself.”