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Waking Up in Purgatory
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Taken by the Mafia King Sleepless in Philly
TommasoI stared up at the mural on the ceiling until Paige’s breathing evened out, and I figured she’d fallen asleep. Then, I sighed and turned over a dozen more times. If I’d been smart, I’d have made sure every couch in this house fit me. Ever since my growth spurt as a teen, I’d known the bumping and bruising of attempting to sleep on even a regular couch, and this stupid fainting piece of shit was even smaller than most. Plus, the throw blanket was a light quilt, and it wasn’t really cutting the night chill.There was no way I was going back to sleep tonight, but that was okay. Working with Killian, I’d gotten used to sleeping less than six hours a night most of the time. With a little extra coffee, I’d be able to start constructing my empire tomorrow.That was, if I could pull myself away from Paige long enough.Her breathing hitched, and I sat up to stare at her. The first sign of another nightmare? No, she just turned and fell back to sleep.I took a deep breath and stared up
Taken by the Mafia King The New Normal
PaigeI opened my eyes to find the sun well over the horizon, much later than I usually slept when I’d had a choice about when to get up. I blinked, feeling sleep crusted in the corners of my eyes. My mouth was dry, and my thoughts fogged. What happened last night? Was the medicine messing me up? I remembered having the dream, Tom coming in, and then…nothing. No more dreams, at least.I sat up and stretched. All my muscles burned, and as I rubbed my eyes, I spotted a throw blanket spread across the biggest of the tiny couches in the room.My face heated as the rest of the night clicked into place. I’d grabbed him, on purpose, and begged him to stay. After I’d pushed him away a thousand times, I’d relied on him to be here so I could go back to sleep. What had I been thinking?Had he stayed the whole night?I didn’t care. I got up, ignoring the aches, and headed for the massive ensuite bathroom I’d discovered the day before. The bathroom was full of girly-smelling soaps and shampoos, it
Taken by the Mafia King Empire Building
TommasoFor all my talk, it took three more days for me to actually find a moment to sit down in my office and begin looking through potential staff. I stretched my legs out behind my wide, mahogany desk, a genuine antique salvaged from an advertisement office in the 1920s to match the overall Art Deco inspiration for the room. Philly would always be my home, but I’d never forgotten going to the top of the Empire State Building as a kid, looking out all those Art Deco windows, and thinking that was what being in charge really felt like.Of course, I never expected being in charge to feel like exhaustion from nights of sleeping on a tiny couch, my eyes blurring as I looked over another list of potential recruits. I clicked onto the sheet of guys Killian offered to loan me in the short-term, the ones currently patrolling the grounds of my house. I had to replace every goddamn one before my old friend’s patience ran out.Time to focus. I’d be better off starting with the top, guys Killia
Taken by the Mafia King Accepting Visitors
PaigeI curled my knees into my chest and stared out through the narrow windows at the yard. Now that I knew it was there, I could just make out the shine of afternoon sun on the duck pond, hidden amongst the trees. My days had begun passing in a cycle of sleeping, staring out the window, and trudging down to the kitchen at mealtimes to eat some of the best food I’d ever had in my life. It was dead boring, but after the last few months, I wouldn’t mind never being excited again.Someone knocked on the door, and my heart stuttered. He almost never visited in the middle of the day.God, what was I thinking? Tom was just the latest bastard. He’d made that clear over the last few days. Sure, he slept on my couch at night, but other than that, I barely saw him outside of the kitchen. Not that I wanted to see him, anyway. It was just a big change from the constant contact of Cairo.And anyway, Tom didn’t knock like that.“Mom?” I called.The door opened, and Sera Bianchi stepped in wearing
Taken by the Mafia King The Journey of a Thousand Miles
PaigeThe massive, warm hand on my shoulder invaded my dreams. For a moment, it sent my heart racing. Then, it began shaking me.I sat bolt upright in bed, sending Tom skittering back to avoid being smashed by my chin. My eyes widened, and my chest squeezed. He’d touched me. After days of careful distance, he not only entered my room, but he’d touched me while I’d been sleeping. Was he trying to take advantage of me?Tom put his hands up. “I couldn’t wake you any other way. I’m sorry.”My panic flashed instantly into rage. “You’re sorry? What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? I want a lock on my goddamn door, and I want to install it myself so I know you can’t get in anymore.”Hurt flashed through his soft green eyes. “I tried knocking and calling your name, but it didn’t work. We’re running out of time. You need to get up.”I gathered my blankets to my chest like I needed to hide my sports bra and sweatshirt. “Running out of time?”Tom sighed and took another step back. “Your f
Taken by the Mafia King Therapist Barbie
PaigeI blinked then rubbed my eyes like that would change what I was seeing. All the therapists I’d imagined were graying old men, rubbing their beards and trying to stare down my shirt in leather-shrouded offices. Instead, Dr. McMillan—Dr. Lauren McMillan—stood in front of a rounded teal chair with one of the longest manes of flowing blonde hair I’d ever seen in my life. She wore a deep green blazer over a cream button-down, and pants that matched her jacket, but that seemed more like a concession to her position than something that actually suited her. She pulled out a steno pad and a handful of different colored pens then smiled at me like some kind of sorority girl.“Paige, right?” she asked.“Uh, yeah.” I nodded my head. “How do we…do this?”“You can sit wherever you’d like.” She swept her arm over an assortment of matching teal furniture, other chairs and a couch, all of which looked weird against the utilitarian gray of her walls and carpet. “If it’s easier for someone else to
Taken by the Mafia King Regular Order
TommasoMy heart pounded as I followed her to the elevator and out of the office building. Paige looked just about as pissed as when I’d walked her in, but I couldn’t forget the feeling of her hand in mine. For a split second, she’d trusted me outside the four walls of our home. But after whatever happened in Dr. McMillan’s office, she’d turned back into the woman who’d been ghosting around my house for almost a week, irritable and hungry.When we reached the car, I directed Patrick back to that restaurant we’d stopped at on the way from the airport. It might’ve been the first cheesesteak place she saw, but with the way her eyes lit up, I doubted it. It seemed special to her.Should I ask how it went? No, of course not. I might not have ever been to therapy myself, but I knew most people went for months, if not years. I just wished I could do more than buy her a cheesesteak. I wished I could figure out how I kept pissing her off.We arrived at the restaurant.“Fried onions on top,” sh
Taken by the Mafia King Good Mobsters, Good Monsters
PaigeI climbed the stairs back up to my second-floor room feeling completely full for the first time since—maybe since I’d been kidnapped. Two muffins, a cheesesteak, and an order of onion rings. That was what it took now.Well, most of an order of onion rings. That foreign smile crawled back across my face, stretching unused muscles back into shape. As much as I could hit him sometimes, as furious as I was that he’d woken me up like he did, having Tom steal an onion ring felt so dizzyingly normal I couldn’t help but smile. He was obviously a multimillionaire. Another serving of cheesesteak and onion rings couldn’t possibly put him in the red. But he hadn’t gotten his own, and he’d refused when I’d first offered to share. So then he’d resorted to stealing. It was almost funny, like something that would happen in a high school lunchroom rather than the back of a mobster’s SUV.I turned into my room and shut the door behind me. Standing up long enough for another shower sounded exhaus
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