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)
They had been there for at least two hours, and she had encouraged Elias to have a hot dog. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he hated it.
A few purchases had been made, and as they stood, finishing their hot dogs, she noticed Elias checking his cell phone. He always did this. In the early days of their marriage, she didn’t mind. If she was honest, she didn’t mind now. Only there was the teeniest, tiniest smidge of curiosity that made her wonder if it was a woman who was calling or texting.
She tried not to think about it, because he owed her nothing. Yes, she was his wife, but they hadn’t made any vows to one another. The priest had been paid to grant a service, and it was done. A couple of the guards had been witnesses, and then, boom, she was Mrs. Winnie Moore. Married to one of the most feared men in the whole city, and she would later hear possibly the whole country, which was terrifying.
Yet, he had never harmed her. Never hurt a single hair on her head. He’d been the perfect gentleman.
Which was why she was still a virgin.
They had never consummated their marriage. For a long time, she didn’t care if he was out with other women. He could live his life, and she could live hers. They came together when he required it. Like last night, she was with him during his poker game, or blackjack, or whatever kind of game he was playing. She didn’t do cards, nor did she gamble.
She had been to some foster homes where one of the parents gambled, and it was never pretty, especially when they were losing. When they were winning, that was an entirely different story. Winning was a good thing. Losing fucking sucked. And she wanted no part of it. Winnie had made a vow to never gamble. This was how she liked it.
“You’re hating it, aren’t you?” she asked.
Elias looked at her. “Excuse me?”
“The market. You hate it. Admit it.” She took a bite out of her hot dog and looked at him, waiting.
Elias just glanced at her. “Are you enjoying it?”
“Yes, but that is not the question I asked.”
“Then I am enjoying it.”
This made her frown. “You don’t have to enjoy it just because I am.”
“Once we finish our hot dogs, we’re going back and buying everything you admired during the first walk-through.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I insist.”
And with that, it was case closed.
Elias always made the final decisions, and she had to follow his lead, no matter what.
****
He fucking hated the artisan market. It was boring to him, but also, he had to be on guard. There was a threat from one of the rising pimps, who he was after to teach a lesson. The pimp in question was Bozo Robins. It was no fucking joke. The guy had changed his name to Bozo, and at first, he was a small-time pimp. Now, girls were turning up dead, badly beaten, and in some cases, mauled, like they had been attacked by a dog. Only, the cops had informed him they were human teeth marks. Freaky fucking shit.
Elias had been on the hunt for this Bozo, who currently was in hiding. The pimp was trying a play for his power. He wasn’t concerned. It wouldn’t be the first or last time some piece of shit thought they could take him on. But he wasn’t going to take any chances.
When it came to Winnie, he wanted her to have a good time. During their first meeting, he had seen the darkness that had surrounded her. Her so-called friend had been using her, and other girls like her, to become popular with a certain group of friends. After killing all of them and taking Winnie as his wife, he made it his mission to learn everything about her.
She ended up in the system at five years old, after a cop managed to stop the mother from selling her to a different kind of pimp. Money was exchanged, and Winnie would have been used, abused, and possibly even killed if it weren’t for this one cop who overheard the conversation. He changed everything.
The irony of it was, Winnie’s life had been changed in a good way since going into the system. If she hadn’t been caught when she was, there was no telling what would have happened after.
Elias was a piece of shit. He knew this and accepted it. He hurt people, exploited them, but there were limits. Kids and non-consenting females were off limits. He didn’t believe in rape, kidnapping, or human trafficking. If women wanted to sell themselves willingly, he had ways for that to happen.
He could handle brothels and offering online porn, with a cut of the profits. He had a lot of women who loved their jobs, and were more than happy to split the profits. He also wasn’t an asshole, and he made sure they got their fair share. They were loyal to him, made him money, and were rewarded. This was true for all his businesses, which was why he was one of the best fucking crime lords the city had ever seen.