Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“Sometimes in life, we have no choice but to do exactly that,” Mansell said.
He hated that Mansell was right, but he also hated that he was tempted to do so. It was time to bring Bozo in line.
Chapter Eight
Winnie woke up in pain, and in the bed she now shared with Elias. He had stopped allowing her to be in a separate room. They were husband and wife in every sense of the word. She groaned and the bed dipped.
“You’re awake,” Elias said.
“And I’m home?”
“Yes, Mansell said I could bring you home. You’ll be fine. He has prescribed you some pain medication, as well as antibiotics as a precaution.”
She lifted her arm that hadn’t been shot, and pushed her hair out of her face. “I must look a mess.”
“You’re fine.” He held some water, along with the pills for her to take, which she did.
“The movies have it all wrong,” Winnie said. “Being shot is not easy.”
“You shouldn’t have stood in their way,” Elias said.
“I wasn’t going to allow you to get shot when I could take the bullet.” Last night was a little fuzzy. Especially after getting shot. She had a vague memory of Mansell, but other than that, nothing else made sense. “I just … reacted.”
“You did.”
“What happened to that guy?”
“I took care of it.”
“Do you know why he was shooting you?”
Elias looked away.
“Did you even bother to ask?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She waited. He didn’t say anything. “Are you going to tell me why?”
“There is a pimp causing trouble on the streets. Rumor has it he is trying to take my job.”
“Your job?”
“Yes. He is trying to kill me. The guy is a … frequent gambler. He told me he wasn’t bad, but he made a bet with Bozo. It was an off-the-cuff kind of bet that he didn’t put much credit in. Bozo did, now he owes him tens of thousands of dollars. It would seem Bozo went to collect, and instead beat the shit out of the guy’s wife and son. He was going to kill them, but then he made a deal. He would shoot me, and in return, all bets were paid.”
“What did you do?” Winnie asked.
“The wife and son are in a safe location. As for the man, the arm he used to fire his weapon is broken, but it will heal, and he also has a swollen eye.”
“You didn’t kill him?”
“No. I knew this was something you would ask me, and you wouldn’t be happy if I killed a man that had no choice in doing what he was blackmailed to do.”
Even though it hurt, she couldn’t help but throw her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said.
There was no way she would be able to live with herself knowing that, and if Elias had killed him. People were put in difficult circumstances.
“What are you going to do about this Bozo?” she asked, the she frowned. “Why would he call himself Bozo?”
“I have no idea. I guess it’s a way for him to hurt others. Anyone seen laughing at his name, he punishes.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I am going to kill him and everyone associated with him.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing there was more to it.
“Nothing. He will suffer for what he has done, and seeing as I couldn’t kill the man that pulled the trigger, he will pay double for it.”
Winnie knew there was something else wrong, but she didn’t know what it was. Staring at him, she waited, but Elias didn’t say anything more. Just then, her stomach interrupted by grumbling.
“I’ll get the food.”
She looked down at herself. “I need to get washed.”
“Do you need my help?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I won’t take long, just a quick shower. I’ll cover this so I don’t get it wet. It will be fine.”
She just needed a minute. Elias leaned forward and kissed her lips.
Something was off, and she needed a few moments to compose herself. Elias left, and she quickly made her way into the bathroom, and sure enough, she looked a mess. Her mascara was not waterproof, and had left streaks running down her face. Her hair was all over the place, and she looked terrible. Even worse than when he had first met her.
She turned on the shower, found a shower cap, and taped it across her shoulder to keep the dressing dry. Winnie didn’t take long in showering off the night, and the grogginess. Once that had fled her body, she came to realize just how hungry she was.
After her shower, she dried her hair and didn’t bother going to her beauty room. She pulled on a pair of lounge pants and an oversized shirt. She was just in time, as Elias had finished cooking them breakfast. Today, rather than bacon, he had cooked sausage to go with their eggs, along with what looked like a grilled piece of tomato. Her breakfast looked yummy.