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chapter 56
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Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 57
ASHTONThe night was about Trace and Jess, but the second Molly showed up, my eyes never left her.We had dinner, speeches, and I was doing my thing. Toasting Trace, telling him how much I loved that we’d grown together over the years to where we both were now through loss, grief, but blessings. Trace was looking Jess’s way for the blessing part. I was looking Molly’s way, and now someone pulled out a playlist, and people were dancing.Jess’s mom was dancing with Avery.Sloane was dancing with Demetri.Me, I was heading right for Molly, who was standing with Pialto and Sophie.Their heads folded together, the freaking three musketeers, until I got to them. They went silent. I waited until Pialto’s head popped up, and he blinked, pretending to see me for the first time. “Oh, hi, Ashton.” He nudged Molly with his shoulder, who looked up, looking all shy.She ducked her head down, the same shy smile showing over her face. Her cheeks were a good blush color by now. I glanced at the winegl
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 58
MOLLYOh, god.Not again, but again.All that flashed through my head in the space when Ashton let me back down, and bang!Bang!He cursed, pulling up my panties, then fastening his own pants. He had a gun out, and where did he get that gun? But he had it pointed down, and he took my hand, pulling me to the back of the shed.I looked around, hearing the screams but knowing I had to follow Ashton.Another scream. God. That was Jess’s mom.And another—that was Sophie.I started to turn, to run for her, but Ashton caught my hand. “No. No, babe.”I could hear Sophie crying. A guttural scream left me, but Ashton yanked me against him, clamping a hand over my mouth and wrapping an arm around my stomach. He was hurrying backward, carrying me with him, and he had the gun in his hand. “Ssssh. Please, Molly. Please.”I was crying, already knowing I was about to lose someone. I didn’t care if it was me. Just not someone else. Please.I stopped fighting to get free, and Ashton put me back down at
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 59
I nodded, letting him know I was fine, but I wasn’t. I was suddenly so tired. And worried.Ashton was still out there. Jess. Trace. It’d been quiet except for an occasional gunshot, and quiet again. I couldn’t handle the silence. I felt like my skin wanted to come off my bones.“Your father knows who killed Kelly? Jess’s friend?” The question came from Nea, who was staring at my gun.I shrugged. “I don’t know.”She lifted her gaze to me, her eyes narrowed, focused. “That’s what he was trying to find out? Who killed them?”I frowned at her. “Yeah. Why?”“Nea.” Nurse Sloane was coming around the desk, fixated on her friend. “Don’t—”Nea shook her head, her eyes looking a little panicked. “He knows. He knows, Sloane.”“Nea, don’t—”Her voice hitched up. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”She’d said that before. My body went cold at her words. “What wasn’t?”“Um . . . ,” Pialto said from behind me. “What are these?”“What?” I glanced back. He was staring at the desk, at the picture
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 60
ASHTONI was going to murder whoever was doing this, whoever was putting my loved ones at risk, whoever dared to bring this fight here. Here. My compound. My family’s compound. The one I loathed.I raced from building to building, tearing open every door to find everyone.Marco and Remmi were in a back closet.Avery and Elijah found me when we moved to another building. They helped take my primo and Trace’s sister to another safe room.I kept going. I had to keep going.Everyone had to be safe. We couldn’t lose anyone.I swept through the staff building now.Trace was inside, holding a gun up and aimed right at me. He cursed, seeing me. “Thank god.”I grated out, “We need to find the rest.”“Molly?”“They’re safe. They’re in my office.”I turned, my gun in hand, and I kept going. Always keep going. Always.Never stop. Never stop fighting.“Ashton. Jesus.” Trace touched my arm. “You’re shaking.”Avery’s radio sounded. There was another barrage of gunfire before a voice came over, yelli
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 61
MOLLYThe rest of the story was pieced together.Sloane filled in the initial blanks.“You killed Kelly. Didn’t you?” Jess said rather than asked.Sloane nodded. She’d been void of emotion by then, sitting in a separate room at the compound. Nicolai’s and Nea’s bodies were both—well, I didn’t know. I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know, but now it was later, and it took time to learn the truth.Everyone just wanted to know the truth.“I did. I thought I was protecting her, but now I realized that Kelly was trying to protect herself. I came in at the wrong time. I—I’m so sorry, Jess. I’m so sorry.”“Why did Nea kill Justin?” Trace moved to Jess’s side, his hand on her back.Sloane raised her chin up. “She was dating Nicolai. They met a month after.” She looked Ashton’s way and at me. “I think that’s what she was saying earlier. She was hurting after.” She glanced in Ashton’s direction. “Then Nicolai came in asking questions. I don’t know what drew him to her, but she was beautiful. She m
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 62
ASHTONWe were at Katya two weeks later.The place was closed down, except for the small group on the dance floor. A DJ was booked, and he was enjoying every time the girls wanted a song changed. I was in our private box, coming up here because Avery told me a certain detective wanted to talk to me.He came in now, stopping to grab a drink that’d been poured for him on the bar. I was standing at the end, overlooking how Molly was dancing with Jess, Sophie, Pialto, Remmi, and half the staff, who Molly had insisted be given the night off. She wanted to extend another “sorry” to them for the night she’d left and put two of them in danger. I didn’t think the boyfriend was in attendance, but Molly had insisted. I wouldn’t be surprised if the boyfriend showed up sooner or later. So far, everyone was having a good time.Her cousin Glen joined as well.“What are you guys celebrating?” Jake joined me at the window, sipping his drink.I gave him a cursory look, noting his badge wasn’t out. “A f
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 63
ASHTONThree months later and Elijah was directing Shorty Easter to my new place of business. It was just one of many. I’d moved it farther north of the city, and we owned a good acreage on the Hudson River. This particular new building was a warehouse, one that no body of government was aware of. Yet.It was also the perfect place for me to fulfill my second promise to Molly.Elijah brought him inside. We were both ignoring his protests as he put him in a chair and whisked off the bag from over his head.Shorty quieted, blinking a few times for his gaze to adjust to the change. It was daylight outside, the sun fully shining down, and in here, all dark except for a few lamps in the corner.“Ashton Walden?” Shorty’s hair was greasy, as always. He had his usual homeless-esque attire on. A cargo jacket with holes for the elbows. The pocket was pulled off. The ends of his jacket were shredded and frayed. His jeans were just as bad, and I couldn’t see what kind of shirt he had on under the
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 64
MOLLYAshton wanted to take me on a trip, but I hadn’t expected a helicopter ride.I gaped at him when we drove up to the helipad. “Are you serious?”He smiled before nodding. He’d also asked for me to dress up, so I was wearing a dress. V neck. The material was the softest fabric. Sequined. It looked light pink, but in the right light, it could sparkle and give off undertones of lilac as well. And it was wrapped around me like a robe. I tied it in front. Ashton was wearing a black suit and an off-white shirt under. He looked dashing.“What’s the occasion?”He squeezed my hand, nodding to the helicopter. “Just get on. You’ll see.”A guy approached us, wearing a bright-orange vest. We were given these helmet/visor things with radio pieces for our ears. It helped silence the sound, but we could still talk to each other. After we got in and seat belted, the helicopter lifted off.I’d never imagined this was something I would do in my life. Never, ever. Not being the daughter of Shorty Ea
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“He has a point. You got shot four times.”“Six times, actually.” I touched the spots on my body like a prayer. “Drive-by shooting. It was apparently meant for him, but I stepped out of the house at the wrong time, and boom. They decided to settle for his daughter instead.”“That’s not supposed to happen,” Mona said, frowning. “We’re not supposed to be fair game.”“It’s not a game to them though, to guys like that. Those assholes don’t care if we’re innocent or not. They’ll hurt us if it gets them what they want.”“I’m sorry that happened to you.”I waved it away and stared out over the yard. I didn’t remember much from the aftermath, but I remembered it happening vividly: the black truck that pulled up, the guns that appeared in the windows, the way I screamed, the pain as it flared, the weird, almost calm knowledge that I was going to die. Then black, then waking up in the hospital, in pain, very, very angry, and all the rehabilitation, the surgery, the bullshit. It took months to g
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 10
Amber After that very strange, but surprisingly good night out at the bar, I did my best to hide from him for the next couple days. When we were sitting at the bar, our legs touching slightly, I felt it: that tingle down my spine, that buzz on my lips. We ate, he asked about me, made me laugh, and toward the end of the night, our fingers touched as we reached for the check, and I stared into his eyes, and I knew in that moment that if he’d kissed me, right then and there at the bar, I would’ve kissed him back. We walked back together, said goodnight, and I’ve been hiding from him ever since. I should hate him. I don’t understand what the heck would attract me to a guy like that. He robbed a man in front of me for fun. I hated that sort of thing, hated men that bragged about crime and thought it was exciting, hated that sort of macho arrogant crap most of all, and yet somehow, he was different. He didn’t seem to take himself too seriously, and he made jokes all the time, and of cou
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 9
I walked along the bar toward a large man up near the door. He was on the way to the restrooms, so I had a good excuse to pass him. I exaggerated my sway, just a little bit, making myself look drunker than I was. The guy had a goatee, a double chin, and a tiny sprout of hair at the top of his head. I noticed the Rolex first, then the way he leaned toward a much younger, much prettier girl and grinned at her with a creepy hunger in his eyes, and I’d watched him down three drinks since I’d started my first. He was rich, he was trying to impress a girl, and he was drunk, which made him ideal.It wasn’t a complicated maneuver. Amber stared at me, wild and ready to get up and chase me down, so I hurried a little bit. I turned the corner toward the restrooms and bumped into the guy, grunting as I did it loudly. My hand slipped into the pocket of the jacket he had hung on his chair— found nothing.“Shit, sorry,” I grunted, and slipped my hand into his pants pocket. It was tricky, but they we
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 8
“To our night out,” I said.She smiled, met my toast, and sipped her drink. “This place isn’t so bad.”“You got a lot of spots like this back home?”She shook her head. “I didn’t come to fancy places like this. I’m more of a dive bar girl myself.”“Funny, I’m the same way. South Philly is filled with little holes in the wall, bars that have been there for generations. Some real cheap, trashy places, but you can get good and drunk and see the boys from the neighborhood there, so it’s not so bad.”“Philly’s a weird place. It seems so small, you know?”“It’s old. Not built in an ideal spot. Didn’t sprawl out like the newer cities. Chicago’s kind of that way too.”“I guess that’s true. I like it though. It’s got character.”“That’s what I think. Philly’s got everything you could want, and it’s cheaper than most other cities, plus it’s a lot smaller, so you can get around way easier.”“If you’re trying to get me to move here permanently, I think I’m sold.”I laughed. “I’m not sure you’d wa
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 7
Ren At first, the job wasn’t so bad. I hung around that big house, watched TV when I felt like it, bothered Amber when I got bored, and kept out of Mona’s way as much as I could. Things were quiet for a while, but after a few days it started to get real old, real quick. Amber wasn’t happy. That got pretty obvious by the fiftieth time she told me to go fuck off. Not that I minded if she told me to go to hell, to be totally honest—I sort of liked that she pushed back against me. The girl had spirit, she was a goddamn handful, but I could tell something hung over her. I kept thinking about those fresh-looking scars on her body, so like the bullet wound scars I’d seen on countless other guys, and had a couple myself, but that made no sense. I couldn’t imagine what a girl like her would be doing with bullet scars. One night, Mona decided to head into the city. Amber watched her go like a sad puppy, and I knew she wanted to go with her, if only to escape the house for a little while. I l
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 6
I climbed out of the water, intensely away of his eyes on my body. He was a good-looking guy, muscular but trim, with light eyes and dark hair slicked back. His pouty lips would’ve made a younger version of myself swoon, but I was over all that, over and done with it. I felt self-conscious, though, and realized that some of my scars were visible— the two on my leg, and the one on my shoulder. I quickly walked to my towel and grabbed it, wrapping it around myself, but too late. I caught him looking with a thoughtful frown. “We should set up some ground rules, if we’re going to do this for real.” He looked at me and shrugged. “All right. You played along with me, so I’ll play along with you. Give and take, the bedrock of any healthy relationship.” I doubted he’d ever been in a healthy relationship, but I didn’t say that out loud. “When I’m swimming, you can’t sit there and watch me.” “Fair enough.” “And you can’t follow me around all the time.” “That’d make me a shitty bodyg
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 5
Amber Vincent hustled me out to his house in Mt. Airy the next day, accompanied by my hired goon babysitter. I ignored him. It wasn’t easy though. He was a big guy, broad shoulders, stubble on his face and chin, but he held himself with this strange grace that I couldn’t totally understand. He commanded a room, and I kept sneaking glances in his direction, and caught him looking back at me, seemingly unashamed at being caught. I didn’t know what his deal was, but it annoyed the hell out of me, and drove me wild at the same time. The Mt. Airy house was Vincent’s wife’s place, a nice, pretty girl named Mona. She met us out front in black pants and a white button-down shirt. She was a few years older than me, with dark hair cut short, and dark brown eyes. She smiled, hugged me, glanced at Ren, then held me by the shoulders. “You must be Amber. Vince told me all about you.” “Yeah?” I asked, smiling a little, trying to ignore the way Ren loomed behind me. “I hope it’s all good thin
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 4
“If you’re asking me to fight your war, I’m not interested.” He shook his head and held up his hands. “Something simpler, actually. There’s a girl that came to live with me, daughter of a capo in the Chicago family. She went through something recently, they’re having their own problems out there, and she was sent here to get away from the heat. Unfortunately, things are getting hot around here now, too.” I thought of the girl I’d seen with the long dark hair and the intense expression. She must’ve been twenty, maybe a little older. It must’ve been the same girl he was talking about. “Not sure what she would have to do with me.” “I need you to be her bodyguard.” I let that sink in for a second then burst out laughing. He stared at me, eyes hard and cold, and I knew this wasn’t a joke—but it had to be. I wasn’t a bodyguard. I was a thief, and the occasional thug. I had a reputation for myself, sure enough, but nobody entrusted a life in my hands—much less the life of a young, bea
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 3
When Vince came calling, I had to answer. The Leone family was the largest mafia in Philadelphia, and I was still an independent guy, working all my jobs alone. I was happiest that way, and didn’t want to get tangled up by the Leones, but their money was good and the job was simple: track down a couple goons and beat the ever-loving shit out of them. I brought Floyd along and offered to split the pay sixty-forty. He thought it was an even split, but shit, that’s on him for not asking. “Either way. I hope they got the message.” Vincent smiled and clapped me on the shoulder, the one with the knife wound, and I grimaced. He had the good manners to look a little embarrassed before turning to Floyd. “Thanks for the assistance. I’m sure Ren will have your money soon.” “When I get paid, he gets paid,” I said, nodding. “Very good.” Vincent squeezed my shoulder. “I actually have another job for you, if you’d be willing to talk?” I hesitated. I really didn’t want to get too involved. The Le
