As they’d parted and Oscar told her to call him, she noticed one of Kevin’s so-called friends. That was when she knew he had someone following her.
She closed her eyes as he stopped ranting and moved closer. She saw the picture of the redhead. Fake boobs, big ass, and a very wild look in her eyes as Kevin fucked her in the ass. She saw it again. She heard the moans and saw how turned on he was.
Frankie wouldn’t do that with him. It had taken six months before she gave Kevin her virginity. It took six more for her to suck his cock the way he begged her to do. She had been a virgin, an innocent, inexperienced twenty-one-year-old. She knew nothing about pleasing a man in bed, and Kevin knew it all.
“Baby, where are you going? You know you can’t leave right now. It’s not a good time. I need you here where I can watch over you.”
She used to love when he said that. That he was watching over her and protecting her, and that she was his everything.
He had men spying on her, watching her every move to make sure she wouldn’t cheat on him like he cheated on her.
“How many have there been?” she asked. He reached for her shoulders and squeezed. She pulled away and took a few steps back.
“How many what?”
“How many women have you fucked behind my back, Kevin?”
He squinted his eyes at her and released a long sigh.
“I told you that I love you. I only want to be with you. I fucked up, baby. One fucking time and I’m going to make it up to you. This deal, this was supposed to be our ticket out of Chicago, hell, out of the country.”
“I don’t want that, Kevin. It’s over. I don’t want anything to do with you, your criminal lifestyle, or to pretend you love me and are committed to me. It’s over.”
“No, it’s not over.”
“It is,” she yelled at him.
“Where are you going to go? You’re nothing without me. You have no family and no friends.” He taunted her. He had caused that. He’d made it so every waking hour she wasn’t at work she would be with him. The few friends she had moved on to dating, working on their careers, and enjoying their early twenties. She didn’t. She thought she was in love with Kevin.
“I have friends. I’m not alone.”
“Who? Who the fuck do you have? There’s no one but me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh, you mean Oscar, that dumb fucking rookie? Yeah, well, guess what, he’s fucking dead. So shut up and take a seat,” he yelled at her, and she gasped. She couldn’t believe it. Was he saying that Oscar was really dead and that he’d killed him?”
“You hurt him? You killed him?” she asked, voice cracking.
“I said enough. He should have stayed away from what’s mine. That includes you.”
“I need to go. I’m not staying here. I came here to say goodbye and to tell you that it’s over.” She started to take a step, but before her high heel reached the carpet, he was pulling her back by her upper arm, making her slam against his chest. Her purse fell to the floor, and she gasped.
“What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t need your sophomoric bullshit right now, Frankie. I’m dealing with a serious situation with work.”
He was calling her sophomoric? This was his MO, making her feel naive, uneducated, weak, unknowing so that he could manipulate her actions and her thoughts. Her mind scrambled for control. Part of her wanted to just ease back down to the couch, be a good girl, and listen to Kevin. A killer, a bad cop, the man who supposedly killed Oscar. God, this was too much. My God, poor Oscar. Was it true? Was he really dead?
She felt the tears roll down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to do. Her mind raced as she wondered how she would get out from under Kevin and even Carlotto. She needed to get to the police, but maybe there wasn’t anyone she could trust. Maybe they were all like Kevin. Kevin would protect her and keep her out of harm’s way. But then came the reality of the situation and this relationship. It was a dead end. If she stayed, she was headed for disaster or, worse, becoming the wife of a cheating, manipulating crook of a cop, everything her father and her brother were the opposite of.
“No, Kevin. I’m leaving. You deal with your situation at work. I want nothing to do with you, especially if you killed Oscar. I can’t go on like this.”
“Go on like what?” he yelled, shoving her arm as he released his grip.
She shuddered a moment. He had been known to strike when he was upset or angry over something. She took a retreating step backward, and his eyes widened and then squinted with anger.
“You’re not going anywhere. Sit your little ass down and keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Her eyes instantly filled with tears. He really was a bastard, a heartless, manipulative bastard.
“Go to hell and take your whore with you,” she spat at him and then began to flee toward the door. Kevin pulled her back by her hair. He smacked her face. She screamed out and grabbed her cheek, shocked at the pain he inflicted.
“Whore? What the hell—”
He stopped talking and stared at her. At first, his expression seemed remorseful, but it quickly changed to anger.
“You bitch. You spying on me? You don’t trust me?” he roared.
“Obviously you can’t be trusted, Kevin. The Hyatt? The Tuesday and Thursday schedule every week? Yeah, I was there, and I saw you screwing her from behind. I heard and saw it with my own eyes, so don’t stand here and lie to me.” She screamed at him as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was shaking, so scared and so angry.
He gripped her shoulders and shook her so hard her neck wrenched.
“You’re not leaving me. You’re mine. I own you, and we’re going to be together forever. You’re nothing without me. You hear me? You’re fucking nothing.”
The tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried out at him.
“I hate you. I want nothing to do with you.”
He struck her. She’d nearly fallen to the floor when, suddenly, the door to the apartment was kicked open. Two men came charging in and one closed the door behind him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Kevin roared and shoved her behind him.
Frankie didn’t know what was happening and tried to run to the left and get out of the room, but the guys pulled out knives. Kevin went for one, and the guy struck forward.
“No one double crosses Carlotto,” he roared.
She jerked and cried out as the knife sliced into her hip, hitting the bone. She screamed, and Kevin roared as he attacked the two men at once. She held her hip as the blood oozed from the wound. The door opened again, and there stood Louie Carlotto with three other men. His main guys.
“Enough!” he roared as Frankie cried and leaned against the wall, shaking.
Carlotto stared at her, anger in his eyes but also wearing an expression of concern. She wasn’t stupid. She knew his concern was for selfish reasons. He wanted her. He’d wanted her since the moment they’d met four months ago.
“Carmine, take her to Vito. Fix her up and make sure she knows the deal to not talk.”
She shook her head as Vito reached for her.
“Come with me, doll. You don’t want to make the wrong choice here. Your freedom depends on this,” Vito told her.
“No. Where are you taking her? She’s mine,” Kevin roared from the rug. Two of the men were on top of him, holding him down.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Carlotto held her gaze.
“Go with Vito. Everything will be okay,” Carlotto told her.
She looked toward Kevin. She wondered if she would ever see him again and what was in store for her with Carlotto removing her from this scene.
“Come on, doll. We’ll get you all patched up,” Vito told her as they exited the room.
The door closed, and she heard the roar of pain. She couldn’t help but think they were going to kill Kevin. Her heart ached, but that innocence, that quality of inexperience, disappeared the moment the thought went through her head with the hope that Carlotto killed Kevin. All her current troubles would be over, but new ones would start. Beginning with owing Carlotto her life and her future.
Chapter 1
“You are so funny. With your body and gorgeous face and eyes, you could be in magazines, and you won’t sunbathe in a bikini on the beach? God, you have so much to offer, and I’ve seen the men you’ve turned down at Prestige. I’m starting to think something is wrong with your brain.”
Frankie chuckled as she leaned back in the beach chair under the umbrella, as if she were barely listening to Cassidy’s rant.
“I’m not looking to get involved in a relationship with anyone.”
“How about a booty buddy then? No strings attached and you can get some relief.”
“Relief?”
“Yeah, girl, you are so uptight sometimes I’m just waiting for you to snap. But every time you look close to it, you pull back, gain control, and are the usual sweet, soft-spoken Frankie we’ve all come to know and love.”
Frankie smiled.
“Who is all?”
“I can tell you for a fact that half the male staff, including the owners at Prestige, would like to taste your cookies.”
“Get out of here. You are so full of it. Besides, all those men are older and single and want to keep it that way.”