Page 59 of Mafia and Gold Digger

I try to use my work emails to distract me from the thought of her soaking in the tub, all naked, wet, and slippery…

After thirty minutes, she still hasn’t reappeared, and I’m starting to wonder what she’s up to. “Emerald?” I call out.

But there’s no answer.

I get up and prowl toward the bathroom door. “Emerald? I knock on the door.

But when there’s still no response, a sense of unease prickles within me, and I fling open the door.

And I see why she didn’t answer. She’s got earbuds in and is listening to music. She’s standing in the tub, her back to me, just about to get out.

Her whole gorgeous body is on show.

She glances over her shoulder and blushes as she sees me watching. “Oh…I’ll be out in a minute.” Her back is still to me as she reaches for a towel.

And I can’t stop staring. I can see her full ass, beautiful hips, those thick thighs, and all those gorgeous curves. Every bit of her is goddamn perfect.

But that’s not what I’m staring at.

There’s something else that my gaze is glued to.

That I can’t stop staring at.

The breath sticks in my throat.

Because on her back is a mark.

A mark in the shape of a buckle.

A fucking belt buckle.

What the fuck? Anger roars to life inside me and races through my veins. “Who the hell did that to you, Emerald?”

When she realizes what I’m staring at, the flush on her cheeks deepens, and she quickly wraps the towel around herself before climbing out.

“Emerald?”

“It was my mom’s boyfriend, Enzo. He did it the night before we moved out. He was drunk and…” She shrugs, but I can see it’s very painful for her to talk about it.

I’m speechless for a few moments.The fucking coward.“The bastard. If he ever lays a finger on you again?—”

“He won’t. We moved out the next day. Honestly, if I knew he was capable of lashing out with a belt, I would have moved us in with a friend before that. My blood runs cold every time I think of what could have happened to the kids. Before I left, I told him if he ever tried something like that again, I still had a key to the apartment. And that I had a serum I’d inject him with while he slept, and it would shrivel his dick to the size of a pea.”

My eyes widen into saucers. “Where the hell did you get a serum like that?”

She shrugs. “From the drugstore.”

I’m silent for a few moments. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not. I really did get a serum from there.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.”

“Jesus,” I mutter.

“Although it was actually a vitamin B12 booster shot,” she adds.

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