Chapter 136Katie's POVMoments later, I walk to the first floor, saunter across the lobby, and head to the dining area overlooking one of the private pools.A round table with flowers and sparkling glasses, silverware, and porcelain plates for about eight people awaits there.A woman greets me and informs me I’ll be serving food.I can’t say I’m not surprised by the news.I have nothing against serving food, but things don’t make much sense to me. Have I been demoted overnight?Last night, I played the role of a trophy call girl, and now I’m waiting tables?In all fairness, he warned me I’d work for him around the clock in different capacities, doing all kinds of tasks.He never said I’d only do one thing. Or that I’d be his fake girlfriend.Strange things happen.So basically, he’s showing the world he can do whatever the fuck he wants, which shouldn’t surprise me.And that’s despite paying two million dollars for me.He even hinted two million dollars is nothing for him. The neckla
Chapter 137Katie's POV“The purple one and the blue one,” I say, leaning over the counter and pointing to the swimsuits displayed on the mannequins.“All right,” the woman behind the counter says. “I thought I had them displayed in the front. “Let me get you one of each. Anything else?” she asks.“I’m looking for a summer dress and some shorts.”“Everything is over there,” she says, pointing to the left.“Okay. I’ll be right back.”I peruse the clothing racks and end up with a red dress with narrow straps that tie on my shoulders, white shorts, two cropped tops, and flip-flops.“Are you an employee?” the woman asks while ringing up my items.I hesitate for a moment.“Uh… Yes. But I don’t have the badge with me.”“No problem.”She gives me the employee discount, and I’m happy about it.Despite all that, I opt against the blue swimming suit since I still consider it a splurge, and I walk out of the boutique with a shopping bag and a lot of cash in my pocket.There were forty-one hundre
Chapter 138Cephus’ POVI watch her find pleasure in everything that doesn’t hurt her.Things can’t get shittier than that.But the more dangerous your life is, the more intense the moments of peace are.I know that. I live like that. And that is about the only thing we have in common.Although there may be more.“There’s no problem,” I murmur when the leather couch squeaks as they slide into their seats behind me.Reluctantly, I take my eyes away from the beautiful woman and her tiny swimsuit and turn around.Gianni locks my eyes first.“Got something for yourself that might pull your mind away from the Russians, Boss?”Smiling, I lower myself in my seat.“You’re looking for trouble,” I joke.“What did I miss?” Vito asks.“It’s nothing new,” Gianni offers. “He likes that woman.”I gesture dismissively.“There’s nothing to like.”They go quiet, and there’s no way they believe me.When I lift my gaze, they both flash knowing smiles.“I don’t want to hear a word. She could be the bigges
Chapter 138Cephus’ POVI watch her find pleasure in everything that doesn’t hurt her.Things can’t get shittier than that.But the more dangerous your life is, the more intense the moments of peace are.I know that. I live like that. And that is about the only thing we have in common.Although there may be more.“There’s no problem,” I murmur when the leather couch squeaks as they slide into their seats behind me.Reluctantly, I take my eyes away from the beautiful woman and her tiny swimsuit and turn around.Gianni locks my eyes first.“Got something for yourself that might pull your mind away from the Russians, Boss?”Smiling, I lower myself in my seat.“You’re looking for trouble,” I joke.“What did I miss?” Vito asks.“It’s nothing new,” Gianni offers. “He likes that woman.”I gesture dismissively.“There’s nothing to like.”They go quiet, and there’s no way they believe me.When I lift my gaze, they both flash knowing smiles.“I don’t want to hear a word. She could be the bigges
Chapter 140Katie's POVI have a feeling he purposely evades my eyes, and he might be doing it because he has something to hide.I’m curious, so I keep my stare glued to his face.He edges closer and finally brings his eyes to me.They narrow against the sun and hold a look that's different than what I routinely see on him.“Things all right?” I ask when he pulls an armchair closer like we’re about to talk.“Yeah, yeah…” he says, although a shred of tension is woven in his voice.My eyes slide to his chest since his shirt is open at the neckline.His skin is smooth over his pecs.“I saw you talking on the phone. Is everything all right?” he asks, gesturing at my phone.“Yes. Everything is fine.”“Your sister?”“She’s fine, too.”My voice is less upbeat this time, and my eyes trail away from his.“Are you sure?”“Yes. She misses me. And I miss her too,” I say, bringing my eyes back to him, and I catch him looking at my body.Suddenly, my swimsuit feels too small, covering too little, a
Chapter 141Katie's POVI put a lot of effort into making sure I look fantastic tonight.Maybe it’s because I’m still wrestling with frustration.Maybe it’s because I’m still horny.And maybe it’s because I want to regain my dignity.It’s not like I made a move on him––frankly, I wouldn’t know how to pursue men––but his comment was more than telling.It stung a little. I must say.I haven’t even tried to do that with high school boys.That part of my life has never happened.Have I thought about having sex, losing my V-card, and all that crap?Quite a few times, but it just didn’t feel right.When the other girls were having sex, I was trying to stay alive.So yes, it has never been a priority of mine.Can anyone blame me? No. I don’t think so.I’m still confused when it comes to Cephus Salla and the things he does to my body. Sometimes without even touching me.But I’m not confused when it comes to the dress I want to wear tonight.The black dress he’d picked for the other nightlies
Chapter 142Cephus’ POVWhen I go to the casino, time stops, people freeze, and the animation fades, everything becomes a muted scene with no life in it.I used to get all the eyes in the room when I walked in.I get them now, too, but not before they take her in first.Katie has no idea what’s going on.Her cheeks are flushed. Maybe it’s from the sun today, or maybe it’s from walking next to me.Her hair and eyes steal the show.I’ve never seen someone more magnetic in my life, and I’ve seen women covered with glitter, clad in sequined costumes, wearing feathers and tiaras.I run the kind of business where magnetism is instrumental in making money.People like to be distracted, see magnificent things, and fully experience them.That’s what makes this even more fascinating.The way she draws people’s eyes to herself without even knowing is astounding.Even I’m distracted by her dress.Not only that.I couldn’t think straight the entire day.The image of her almost naked in that lounge
Chapter 143Cephus’ POVI’m doing my due diligence to prevent it, and then I get this kind of shit?Why?I’m paying the right people not to have FBI agents at my door.Vito looks at me without answering.“I can’t get in touch with my people right now. I don’t know who’s ratted us out or why.”Yes, it could be the FBI agents who are on my payroll. Maybe they have become susceptible to blackmail.Or maybe there is a new player in town, overbidding me. Offering more.This is not about the money, after all. I have money. I’ve already given them too damn much, but I could up that sum.This is about power.“That Boris guy…” Vito says, his voice trailing off as he unbuttons his jacket and slides into an armchair.“Yeah… I know.” I mutter, reaching inside the drawer and going for my pack of cigarettes.I retrieved one and put it between my lips.Fire goes through my veins, and I’m so tense I could easily break someone’s neck.I crash into my seat and light my cigarette.“I knew it was all a d
Chapter 183Katie's POVAll I see is a blur of him as I try to get my mind and body to function so I can answer him. My legs hit the floor as he pushed me down, releasing me to walk away. His hand grips his hair as he stares at the gun in his other hand and back down to me.“No. No, it’s not true,” I whimper, tears still falling. “Don’t listen to him,” I plead, looking him straight in the eyes.“Silence,” he orders, walking over to me with his hand raised. Will he hit me? Will he hurt me?“That isn’t true!” I shoot back. “Nothing he is saying is true…”Silence ensues for a long second before Cephus speaks. “Get the ropes and tape!” he yells to Mack. I’m lying on the ground on my side when his face comes into my vision.“Was it all a lie, Katie? Was it all some fucked up lie so that you could get into my head? So you could get the inside job done and walk away unscathed?” His voice is so loud in my ears, I push away from him.“Was it?” he shouts, demanding a response, his fingers gripp
Chapter 182Katie's POV“I see it as more of a protective arrangement for both of us. There are legal protections for each of us… incentives to keep one another’s secrets.”I fixed him with what I hoped was the most vicious look I had in me. “I never went to the cops after you kidnapped me, didn’t go running to my parents begging them to find someone to break your kneecaps, and you thought you needed some other way of getting me to keep your secrets?”“It matters…” I can hear the anxiety in Mack’s voice. Something is very, very wrong.“Why does it matter? She was nothing before this whole incident and will be nothing after everything takes place. She’s clean. I know it.” Cephus sounds confident, and though I know I have done nothing wrong, if Mack convinces him I did something, I know I am as good as dead.“It matters because I know she’s not clean. After Jared called me and told me what Luccio said, I did a little digging on her and found some shit out.”Horror fills my mind. What i
Chapter 181Katie's POV“I was seven or eight, in a regular primary school not far from here.” His right hand moved, grasping for his phone, then he left it alone and pulled my hand he was still holding onto his knee, placing both of his hands over it. If the ring I was wearing was digging in, he didn’t give any sign. “It might surprise you to hear this, Katie, but I was not the best of children.”“Shocking revelation.”“I was always targeting kids a bit younger, a bit smaller. The ones I knew wouldn’t be able to give me any shit in return. Except this one time, there was this kid—Billy Burke, I remember his name vividly—and he did give me shit. He told me he wanted me to stop pushing him around and trying to scare him, and no he wasn’t going to give me his lunch money, by the way. I’d never run into this situation before when I was running this scam, so I panicked a bit. I hit him in the face. Told me to his parents.”I didn’t know what to say to this. It took me all too quickly b
Chapter 180Katie's POVEven when it gets worked out in the end, it sucks for long-term relationships.”It had to be even harder to find someone you could enter into the sort of long-term relationship most people were especially keen on with. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised Cephus had jumped at the chance to get me on board as a future wife.And speaking of my future husband, I had half-expected he wouldn’t be there when I returned. Then when I saw him sitting on the couch in front of the TV where he’d been when I ran out to get in Caroline’s car—where he’d probably slept for all I knew, he’d gone out the night before and hadn’t been back before I admitted defeat and crawled to bed—I half-expected to spot Angel somewhere in the room in the next moment. She didn’t have anything further to add to her roster of manipulations for the moment: we were alone.“What was your day like?” asked Cephus without looking at me. I let my bag slip by degrees from my fingers, frozen in place by the p
Chapter 179Katie's POV“Cephus isn’t supposed to be a part of this side of things, he can’t do it… and I doubt you’re in a position to ask your mother for assistance. Caroline is an ideal choice.”I didn’t like it, but she was right. I couldn’t go about this the wrong way if I ever wanted to be on Cephus’s good side. I didn’t want to go about it the wrong way. And while I was surrounded by Cephus’s family I needed to make connections unless I wanted to be treated the same way I was on my own. Caroline seemed like the safest option there so far.“If you’re sure I won’t be inconveniencing you,” I told Caroline. “I could use the help. I don’t have much experience with the whole wedding business, that much is for sure.”Caroline broke out in a little golf clap of delight. There might actually be some benefit in spending trying to absorb as much as I could of her elegance. “I’m so pleased to help. Now, I was thinking, I have the whole of tomorrow afternoon off work, so that would be a g
Chapter 178Katie's POVI sat up with a gasp.It was just like the morning before when I had woken to unexpected voices. But this time I was in a strange bed again, and at least one of those voices didn’t seem familiar at all.I’d learned my lesson from the day before. I couldn’t get myself into the single bathroom in the apartment, but I pulled on a proper outfit, brushed out my hair, and cleaned my face thoroughly with some wipes. I didn’t dare put on makeup without a full mirror, but I was young and fresh enough that I could probably get away without it.Once I was decent, I made a quick and quiet tidy of my room and then stepped up to the door for a bit of strategic eavesdropping before I joined the action.A childish female voice was doing most of the talking. “She’ll need someone to guide her through the process.”Cephus’s voice sounded both amused and exasperated. “Someone who has never been even close to getting married before?”“You know exactly what Caroline means.” The thi
Chapter 177Katie's POVI kept trying to convince myself that what I was craving was the worst craving anyone had ever had, including anything that had been thought up by a brain on pregnancy. But it was ridiculous to be so worried about whether I did or didn’t sleep with him when I was already making myself vulnerable to him, right? Or was this just how I was convincing myself to go along with wherever my lust took me?I don’t think about looking at my plate. Then when Cephus abruptly slid his chair backwards and stood, I startled like a tiny animal that could run away if provoked further. I knew damn well I couldn’t run.Cephus came to my side and put his hand out for mine, drawing me to my feet when I complied.“You have sauce on you,” he said and pointed it out on my shirt—his fingertip pressing slightly into my breast in a way that was, I’m sure, entirely necessary.I looked down at his hand there. Well, I’d managed to at least try to eat something.I thrust my chest forward in
Chapter 176Katie's POV“Madonna and child.” Cephus folded his arms and leaned back; it felt like an acknowledgment that I’d landed a hit, but I didn’t have any idea how. I’d just been trying to give a voice to my frustrations. “So you know a little bit about art, then.”“I think that’s kind of something I picked up through pop culture actually,” I said. I was hoping to screw with him while I seemed to have an advantage, and he did appear to deflate a little in response. “You’d be more eager to get a leg over if I was the kind of girl who t art and how to engage with you because I have any desire to ‘get a leg over’. And I have no intention of scorning you because you lack cultural polish. I assure you that I will be able to provide for you sexually in every way you might require.”“What kind of statement is that? Trust me, I’m a sexy beast, even though from the way I behave you would expect pretty much any Arctic land to be less frigid than I am?”“Do you want me to provide referen
Chapter 175Katie's POV“Am I supposed to believe you are shy?”I was so startled by Cephus's Voice that here I dropped the capsicum I’d been fidgeting with. It rolled across the bench, and Cephus caught it with one hand while he continued dicing its unlucky sibling with the other.“I guess you wouldn’t,” I admitted, “but if any situation was going to make me feel that way… I mean, we’ve gone from you having me dragged out If bed to trying to cook with me?”“You’ve got to roll with the challenges life presents you sometimes, Katie,” said Cephus, rolling the second capsicum into the path of his knife.“Are you talking about me here or you?”“Both of us, for once.” His expression visibly dulled. It struck me then just how much more animated he had become since we had first met. It was just a handful of hours but there was someone behind the mafia man front he was slowly letting me see, whether by choice or unconsciously I did not know.It bothered disappearing again. It was messing wi