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Chapter 43
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Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 44
ASHTONWe pulled up to Detective Worthing’s place, and I called first.“Yeah?”“You have her?” I asked, looking toward his building. Getting a call from Jake Worthing after threatening him, then asking him for a favor, wasn’t what I had expected for the night, but when he told me the events of the evening, I was thankful he’d stepped in. Again. Even though, there was a part of me where I wondered, really wondered, if I was good for Molly. This war would pass. She wouldn’t be in danger at that time. She’d be normal, could be normal. Live a normal life, but not if she was attached to me.I brought this to her. Guns. Wars. Mafia. That was me. That was this life, so while she ran from me, while I was worried to the point that I wanted to strangle someone, there was a deeper part of me that had to ask the question: Would she be better with someone like Jake Worthing?Or someone else. Someone normal.I thought about it and felt like I gutted myself.I was so far in, too far in. And that was
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 45
MOLLYI had no idea why we were here, but I was also not going to push my luck with Ashton.I’d done something stupid, let my emotions run me off, and he was quiet, but the fury was simmering under his surface. It was there. I could feel it, but I also couldn’t lie and say I didn’t want to make sure Amy and Nick were okay.When we got there, Elijah went inside to check the place first. He came back, and Ashton had me go first. He didn’t touch me, like he had when we went into Katya or when we left our floor. I missed his touch. Even a simple graze of his finger would’ve reassured me a little.Nothing. He kept a firm distance behind me as I walked in.Amy and Nick were there, and Amy gasped when she saw me. “Oh my—” She stopped, paling, and her mouth dropped when Ashton stepped in after me.The whole diner went quiet, more than a few mouths dropping to the ground.A guy stood up from their table, starting to approach before stopping and moving back a foot. His hands folded in front of
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 46
MOLLYWe went to Ashton’s Manhattan apartment. I was dead on my feet when we finally walked inside.“Do you want a drink?”Ashton had thawed toward me, significantly. Which I was grateful for, but which also alarmed me because man, when he was pissed, he was like ice. Like the Antarctic ice that doesn’t get thawed.I shook my head, leaving my purse, impressed with myself that I had kept ahold of it through everything tonight. “No.”He tossed his keys on the counter, putting his phone and wallet down. Then went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink. “You sure you don’t want one?”“Do I need one for this?”His gaze locked on me. His eyes trailed down my body, and I looked away. I didn’t want to get heated. I didn’t want to want him. I just wanted to go to bed, alone, and wake up and regroup because my head was spinning. No matter what, the fact I reacted so quick and so intensely was scary.I didn’t like how much he could affect me.“You were jealous?”Here we go.“No. Yes. I
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 47
ASHTONBoth our phones lit up almost at the same time.I jumped up first, curled around Molly. It took her a little more time since we’d fallen asleep two hours ago. I cursed, two hours of sleep, but grabbed my phone and hers.Unknown number so I answered. “Who is this?”“Is that my phone?” Molly was yawning, rubbing at her eyes before she sat up.A harsh laugh came from the other end. “I didn’t believe it, but now I do. You’re screwing my little girl?”“Easter.”Molly woke up with a snap after that. She sat up and took the phone from my hand. “Dad?!”My phone had quieted but started again, so I answered it. “What’s wrong?” It was Trace.“We’ve been hit, again.”Fuck. Though, not surprising. I moved to the closet, grabbing clothes and beginning to pull them on. “Where? Who?”“Two warehouses, separate locations. They bombed the warehouse that we leaked was where we were holding Molly. The other place was where we had his sniper. He got his man back.”“Our men?”“They got out. We didn’t
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 48
MOLLYThe safe house was an entire building that was hidden in plain sight.We drove into a parking lot, went down, and somehow we were going through a tunnel and parked in a basement. There were a bunch of men in the room as we got out. Ashton took my hand, walking with me to an elevator, and up we went. We got off on the sixth floor, the elevator opening to an apartment that spanned the entire floor.“Make yourself comfortable.” Ashton pressed a kiss to my forehead, staying back with Elijah and a few other guards. I wandered around. For safe houses, this one was luxurious, but I wasn’t surprised anymore. Everything Ashton did was thought out. He had the reputation for being more impulsive, and Trace was the analyst, long thinker, but Ashton was underrated. Severely.It wasn’t until later that day, after I headed right back to bed and slept, that I realized we were next to Octavia.I’d woken later in the afternoon, heard the music, and went to see what was going on. There were floor-
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 49
MOLLYI tried fifty different pizza places in New York. Course, they didn’t know I tried them because we ordered delivery to a place that wasn’t even remotely near here, and there was a whole elaborate system for security guards who picked up the food and transferred it. But I tried them, and I was now an expert.I was considering creating an app just about New York pizza places. Though, there probably already was one, and so . . . maybe I’d look into that.I asked about Jess and Trace, but Ashton said they were in a separate place.“We want to keep you separate, just to be safe. Less exposure.”That was three weeks ago, and we were still going.Ashton left at all hours of the day. Sometimes he’d crawl into bed for a few hours, then leave for three days. It was insane, but they were in a war. The news was reporting a huge uptick of criminal shootings, all places with mob ties.I wondered if those were either Ashton’s or Trace’s places because I didn’t know much about the Worthing fami
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 50
ASHTON“She was right?” Trace joined me in the back of the kitchen where I was standing, a drink in hand but mostly watching Molly interact with Jess. They were on the other side of the kitchen, doing meal prep for dinner.I nodded, indicating for us to head somewhere private.He followed, stepping out onto the back three-season porch.“Car was registered to the grandmother of a guy in Crispin Worthing’s employment.”“Crispin?”“Who we still have locked down at the compound. Avery connected when I told him the latest. He’s making headway with both of the Worthings, but the biggest information they’ve given up is that Nicolai has a backer. One big major backer, bigger than anyone.”“That’s not good.” Trace asked, “Mauricio reached out himself about the shooting tonight?”“He did. I told him what happened, sent him the registration, and he was fine. The numbers collaborated with their security cameras.”“Is he going to let Molly watch the security tapes?”“They’re being compiled into ph
Mafia's Cruel Arrangement chapter 51
MOLLY“I’m going.” I was following Ashton around the room the next morning.“You’re not.”Over dinner last night, a very, very late dinner, I learned that Jess was going with her mother to the hospital. Right then and there, I knew I had to go. I couldn’t explain why. There was no rational logic for me to go, but I had to go. I just knew it. My gut was sparking something bad, and I didn’t think it was the lettuce I forgot to wash.I was the fixer in this group. It was my job to go, and he needed to understand this.I was pleading my case this morning by just repeating that I was going because he’d stopped listening about the group dynamics and roles.My plan of attack was to wear him down, and it was working.He picked up a tie, putting it around his neck. “You’re not. You have to look at the security photos from Octavia, remember?”“I have to go. The photos can wait.”He finished looping the tie through the hole, then tightened it. “That look okay?”It didn’t. I stepped in, righting
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