Page 50 of Broken

"I need to tell you a crazy story and I need you to not judge me. Now whose around you?"

"Oh my god," she sounded on edge from my words. "No one, it’s just me and Lexi's in her room playing with dolls. Capone hasn't been home since last night, he probably at another bitch's house."

I didn't even want to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole. Astrid could surely pick them. "I kind of got kidnapped."

"Nova, quit playing with me." I could hear the sound of relief in her voice. "But for real though, what's up."

"I'm being extremely serious, Astrid. That guy I robbed. He's been..."

"Girl...I feel like I need a glass of wine for this story already. Is it too early to drink?"

I bit my lip, trying to see how much I should even reveal. "No...I need a glass too. And I haven’t' eaten."

"I'm glad you said that because I've been drinking since last night, anyway. I've been blowing up Capone's phone, and he's not answering. I swear if he's with that other girl I caught him with...wait," Astrid said as I leaned against the countertop, still watching Yara and Des. They were coming back into the house. I could hear her pouring a glass of wine on the other end.

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Tell me about this whole situation and don't leave out one detail."

Yara didn't look at me as she entered, but Des shrugged his shoulders. I gave him a small reassuring smile, and I went back to my conversation. "The guy I stole from, Astrid. He's been kind of stalking me."

Now that I was saying this out loud, I knew how crazy it really sounded.

"And he kidnapped you," she asked, and I could hear the skepticism in her voice.

"Okay like he did, but he didn’t'...you had to be there. But the point is, he's been wanting to punish me."

"What kind of punishment?"

"Girl....it was so good." I found myself saying and then looking around to make sure no one had heard me.

Astrid literally screamed on the other end of the phone. She was laughing so hard and loud. I held the phone away from my ears until she stopped.

"You done?" I asked.

"Nova...are you serious?"

"Very...but that's not even the crazy part," I stated.

"What is?"

"I think he's the head of the Russian mob," I whispered.

"Holy shit," Astrid whispered back. "You need to run…hard and fast."

"Tell me about it," I responded. "You want to come over?"

"To what...a mob boss's house?"

It sounded stupid when she said it like that. "You right. I just need to get back to the apartment. Oh yeah, that's the other thing. I have a hit out on me, which is why I'm here in the first place. Somebody tried to kill me last night, but Liam stopped them."

"I'm out of wine," Astrid murmured from the other end. "So, are y’all going to keep hooking up?"

"Depends on if my punishment is fulfilled or not." I looked over my shoulder at the sound of the door cracking open. I let out a slight gasp at the sight of both Liam and Val; I saw all the blood. "I'll text you later. He just got back."

"Okay. Nova?"

"Yes."

"Be really careful. The body count in Chicago is already high enough. Love you, girl."