Page 4 of The Marriage Demand
Also, Elias had insistedshe take some personal defense training. It was non-negotiable. She knew how toprotect herself in the event of an attack, which she hoped would never happen.He’d also insisted she learn how to fire a gun—again, something she could nowdo. There had been some knife training, and unfortunately, that hadn’t gonequite well. She thought the knife one of the guards had been using to train herwas a prop. It wasn’t, and she kind of … stabbed him. The guy, bless him, wasalive, and he didn’t have any resentment toward her for what happened. Nate wasa good guy, but he also insisted to Elias that she didn’t need to learn. So,she was prepared to defend herself.
Right now, with herhusband by her side, she was not really prepared for anything. The market dideventually become a welcome distraction as she looked at the handmade trinkets,bags, and everything from food to clothing. She even saw several independentmakeup companies present as well.
They had been there for atleast two hours, and she had encouraged Elias to have a hot dog. She knewwithout a shadow of a doubt that he hated it.
A few purchases had beenmade, and as they stood, finishing their hot dogs, she noticed Elias checkinghis cell phone. He always did this. In the early days of their marriage, shedidn’t mind. If she was honest, she didn’t mind now. Only there was theteeniest, tiniest smidge of curiosity that made her wonder if it was a womanwho was calling or texting.
She tried not to thinkabout it, because he owed her nothing. Yes, she was his wife, but they hadn’tmade any vows to one another. The priest had been paid to grant a service, andit 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 wholecity, and she would later hear possibly the whole country, which wasterrifying.
Yet, he had never harmedher. Never hurt a single hair on her head. He’d been the perfect gentleman.
Which was why she wasstill a virgin.
They had never consummatedtheir marriage. For a long time, she didn’t care if he was out with otherwomen. He could live his life, and she could live hers. They came together whenhe required it. Like last night, she was with him during his poker game, orblackjack, or whatever kind of game he was playing. She didn’t do cards, nordid she gamble.
She had been to somefoster homes where one of the parents gambled, and it was never pretty,especially when they were losing. When they were winning, that was an entirelydifferent story. Winning was a good thing. Losing fucking sucked. And shewanted no part of it. Winnie had made a vow to never gamble. This was how sheliked it.
“You’re hating it, aren’tyou?” 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 thequestion I asked.”
“Then I am enjoying it.”
This made her frown. “Youdon’t have to enjoy it just because I am.”
“Once we finish our hotdogs, we’re going back and buying everything you admired during the first walk-through.”
“You don’t have to dothat.”
“I insist.”
And with that, it was caseclosed.
Elias always made thefinal decisions, and she had to follow his lead, no matter what.
****
He fucking hated theartisan market. It was boring to him, but also, he had to be on guard. Therewas 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 hadchanged his name to Bozo, and at first, he was a small-time pimp. Now, girlswere turning up dead, badly beaten, and in some cases, mauled, like they hadbeen attacked by a dog. Only, the cops had informed him they were human teethmarks. Freaky fucking shit.
Elias had been on the huntfor this Bozo, who currently was in hiding. The pimp was trying a play for hispower. He wasn’t concerned. It wouldn’t be the first or last time some piece ofshit thought they could take him on. But he wasn’t going to take any chances.
When it came to Winnie, hewanted her to have a good time. During their first meeting, he had seen thedarkness that had surrounded her. Her so-calledfriendhad been usingher, and other girls like her, to become popular with a certain group offriends. After killing all of them and taking Winnie as his wife, he made ithis mission to learn everything about her.
She ended up in the systemat five years old, after a cop managed to stop the mother from selling her to adifferent 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 overheardthe conversation. He changed everything.
The irony of it was,Winnie’s life had been changed in a good way since going into the system. Ifshe hadn’t been caught when she was, there was no telling what would havehappened after.
Elias was a piece of shit.He knew this and accepted it. He hurt people, exploited them, but there werelimits. Kids and non-consenting females were off limits. He didn’t believe inrape, kidnapping, or human trafficking. If women wanted to sell themselveswillingly, he had ways for that to happen.
He could handle brothelsand offering online porn, with a cut of the profits. He had a lot of women wholoved their jobs, and were more than happy to split the profits. He also wasn’tan 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, whichwas why he was one of the best fuckingcrimelords thecity had ever seen.
He didn’t take from hisemployees. Sure, he scared them; fear was a great motivator, as well as greed.Money made the world go around. It helped people overlook uncomfortablealliances and shit. He understood it.
