Some of the men were ex-military, and going back into a normal nine to five job wouldn’t work for them. Others were just insane, but were loyal to Zeke. He respected loyalty above everything else, and for that, she respected him. Providing she kept her bargain with him, and didn’t betray him, she’d be protected.#p#分页标题#e#
On one hand, Zeke was a deadly man who no one should mess with. On the other, he seemed to keep a part of him hidden. He could also be gentle to her, well, gentle in a way only Zeke could be. He loved his daughter, Daniella, and was learning to adapt to becoming a grandfather. Alessandria smiled as she’d thought about the times she’d walked by his office, seeing him staring at his reflection, and calling himself many names: granddad, grandfather, g-man, as if trying them on.
She found it endearing to see another side of him, one that didn’t have men begging for their lives. Of course, she knew all about the darker side of his personality. Zeke was deadly, but he had this softer side to him, one she’d realized he only showed to her, one that was hidden beneath the sadist he was.
She stared at her body again. There was bruising across her ribs, but they no longer caused her pain. She turned and glanced over her back to see the scars. Gerald had sharpened one of his belt buckles, and every time he whipped her with it, he’d cut her up so bad she’d bled. He’d almost killed her twice and she wore the scars as witness.
“He shouldn’t have put his hands on you,” Zeke said, making pull her robe together and turn.
“I didn’t hear you knock.”
“I didn’t knock. I didn’t think I needed to knock.” He leaned against the doorframe with his arms across his chest. Zeke looked so calm, collected. He didn’t frighten her anymore, and she didn’t know if that was the scary part.
“I wanted to see how bad the bruises were.”
“The ones on your face have gone. Your lip has healed.”
She licked her lips and smiled. It would be nice not to feel pain when she tried to eat something. She loved her food, and living with Zeke, she finally got fed regularly. Gerald liked to starve her, laughing, taunting her, making her wait to the point of passing out, unable to stand, before he’d let her have anything.
You did that!
You gave Gerald the power.
You could have tried to leave again, not caring if it meant death.
She should have run again, tried, even if she knew it would have mean death.
But Alessandria had stayed, terrified of what he would do if she tried to leave again.
Would it have really been worse than staying to see what he’d do?
She didn’t know the answer to that. Gerald had made her life a living hell, and finally, away from him, she was able to see that more clearly than ever before.
“It’s nice to finally see what I look like without all those bruises and cuts covering me.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’ve always had the marks.”
She saw one of his hands clench into a fist; he was clearly finding it hard to keep it together.
“When I find him, I will make him pay for everything he’s done to you.” She liked the way his eyes looked when he talked about revenge. Alessandria thought about Gerald, and she thought about everything she’d witnessed, of what he’d done. Gerald deserved a slow, painful, horrible death.
“Can I be there?” she asked, feeling sadistic herself for wanting to see his death.
“I’m not going to let him die quickly.”
“I know; I’m glad. He doesn’t deserve a quick death, but something slow, painful, and horrible.”
“I can promise you that.”
“You still can’t find him?”
Zeke didn’t answer right away. “I’m working on it He’s gone underground, and even though I have a long reach, in this, he’s being smart.”
“I’ve seen what he’s done to girls that are just teenagers running away from home. If you want to find Gerald, follow the girls who work on the street corners. Gerald likes to collect what belongs to him.” Although she knew Zeke would know how to find Gerald, had more knowledge of these things than she did, she had been very personal with Gerald. She’d heard things about him, seen things. She knew him more than she wanted to even admit.#p#分页标题#e#
“Does he give any of the money the girls earn back to them?”
Alessandria snorted. “No. It was his money. He paid for the rooms and gave us barely enough food to keep us going. If we needed anything else, we had to find other means of getting it.”
Turning her back on him, she gripped the edge of the vanity table.