AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s all a front, isn’t it? Really, though? The company?”
“What are you saying?”
“It’s not legitimate,” I say. “You got here through violence and suffering, that’s your real business.”
Damon takes a moment to process what I’m saying before he simply shrugs. “It’s what you have to do to survive in my world. That’s the harsh truth. To achieve perfection you have to do some bad things.”
“Surely there are better ways than that.”
“Business is the same as being in the mafia,” Damon replies. “The same cutthroat enterprise, just that one is legal and the other isn’t.”
“I don’t care,” I reply.
“You don’t?”
“It’s still bad.”
The gangster smirks. “I don’t think I can change your mind, Ava.”
“You want to hear the truth?” I ask. “Do you want to know what I really think about you and what you do?”
Damon leans back in his chair opposite me. “Sure. Go ahead. I’m sure you’re going to tell me regardless.”
“In my eyes, you really are just a criminal,” I say. “Andno matter what words you say, I’ll never erase that from my mind. I look at you and I see violence.”
Damon suddenly stands up and takes my plate from off the table. The movement is abrupt and almost savage.
“Get up,” he commands. “I want to show you something. Maybe Icanchange your mind.”
23
DAMON
“Get in,”I command Ava, pointing at my old-school American muscle car that sits in my mansion garage.
The girl smiles up at me. That same fucking smile that does strange, soft things to me every time I witness it flash up on her pretty face.
“This is yours?” she asks, admiring the vintage vehicle.
“Yes.”
“Damn, Damon. You really take care of it.”
“She’s my pride and joy,” I reply. The thing truly is. I’ve spent a long time in this workshop under my mansion modifying and restoring her. I’ve spent a small fortune on the car, enough that it would make most poor people furious. I dare not tell Ava how much it costs. It’s probably more than three times what her father owes me. “My beast. My baby.”
“Boys and their toys,” Ava mutters with a smirk.
“Oh, this is way more than just some toy,” I reply.
I have to say, the vehicle itself is an unmistakable emblem of sheer power, style, and a longing for a bygone eradeeply embedded in our nation’s history. It is a testament to American engineering excellence, boasting striking, assertive contours and a hood that exudes impressive menace. The body gleams with a high-gloss coat of cherry red paint, and the interior strikes a balance between simplicity and sophistication. And let’s not overlook what’s beneath the hood – a colossal engine that wouldn’t be out of place in a high-class sports car, emitting a resonant, guttural growl.
Power. Speed. Might.
Just like me.
No wonder I fucking love it.
