“I never thought I wouldsee the day a woman would jump in front of a bullet for you,” Mansell said.
Mansell and Elias’s friendshipwent way back. When Mansell was at the hospital, he had been being blackmailedby one of the cartels to perform surgeries on people. Some of them were to givewomen bigger breasts, others were to take babies out of girls. It was an uglymess.
Mansell was at the end andcouldn’t stand it. He had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, whichhad resulted in him using his medical skills for evil.
Elias found out, and hegave Mansell a chance. He could work for him, he would never require him to goagainst his oath, and he would be his personal doctor. No one would everdiscover his past, and he would remove the cartel without a problem. A deal wasstruck, and their friendship had begun.
Mansell had fixed him upon more than one occasion. He had also gotten him to help with some of his menwhen needed. He was his emergency contact and the only person he trusted. Theonly man he would ever trust near his wife.
“Winnie is not just anywoman.”
“No, she is your wife. Youdid tell me you were married, but you didn’t exactly say your marriage wasreal. This is a surprise to me.”
“It was alwaysreal,you just failed to see it.”
“I don’t know if this is agood or bad thing for you,” Mansell said.
“What do you mean?”
“You have never been a manwith a weakness, Elias. I don’t need to point out the obvious.”
He ran a hand down hisface. “I’m not giving her up.”
“I’m not telling you togive her up, but I am warning you that you have to face the consequences ofwhat being with a woman does to you. What it will do to your enemies.”
Elias didn’t need thedetails. Winnie was a risk. For the past four years she had been a risk. Hecouldn’t kill her and didn’t want to. He loved her.
Holy fucking shit. Thiswas a revelation to him. He loved his wife, and that was not something he everexpected to think or feel.
Love.He had never loved anyone.
“Have you ever heard of apimp called Bozo Robins?” Elias asked.
Mansell did a lot ofstreet work after Elias had freed him from the blackmail of the cartel. He lefthis high-paying job and took to the streets where he helped men and women, evenkids that were runaways. He tried to help them in any way possible.
The good doctor let out agrowl. “Yes, I have heard of that piece of shit.” He let out another growl.
“He’s bad,” Elias said.
“Yes, he is. He … one ofthe girls that worked for him didn’t want to give a customer a blowjob. Do youknow what he did to her?” Mansell asked.
Elias looked at him.
“He removed all her frontteeth. Yep, just tore them right out of her mouth, and then forced her to suckthe cocks of ten men, with blood pooling out of her mouth, and in pain.”Mansell took a deep breath. “She came to see me, and I tried to reason withher. I found out she killed herself a week later.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She was sixteen,” Mansellsaid. “I was trying to reconcile her with her parents. She was just a spoiled kidwho got into the wrong crowd. She never saw her seventeenth birthday.”
Elias hated Bozo, but theman had gone into fucking hiding and disappeared. All his homes were empty. Theman had vanished like a ghost.
“He wants your position,”Mansell said.
This made him look towardMansell. “How do you know this?”
“The girls are nervous,and seeing as I do most of my work in silence, they talk. They’re scared. Theywant to come to you, but the girls that have tried ended up dead.”
“No one has come to me,”Elias said.
