Page 38 of Mafia Beast

He says, “I think that’s our best bet, considering what we’re trying to pull off out there.”

“Can you hold the Beauties off?” I ask. “Keep them at bay a little while longer?”

“Yeah.” He gives a gruff laugh. “I’ll just have Tess tell them you two are on your honeymoon. That’s what she thinks, anyway.”

“That’s not funny.”

He laughs again. “It is to me. Tess called it when she saw you watch Charlie walk into a room the first time you saw her. Tess is never wrong.”

“We’ll see,” I say, my voice sounding tight.

When I come back into the room, Charlie’s painting Pippa’s nails. The girl’s tears are dried and there’s a smile on her face. Charlie sees me enter the room and whispers something to Pippa. Pippa gives me a shy glance and quickly looks back to Charlie, giggling.

It’s three in the morning. I’ve got to get Charlie some rest. I pry her away from Pippa. She doesn’t want to go but she’s exhausted. She gives the girl a long hug and plants a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll come see you tomorrow. I promise. Careful, your nails are still wet.”

I help her back into my coat. “It’s cold out there.”

I give Charlie a quick tour of the rest of the boathouse on the way out. We installed private showers like the ones in the guestrooms of the castle, each one fully stocked with high-end haircare, skincare, and beauty products. Anything to help these women feel human again.

We have a huge room of clothes, shoes, and accessories we collected from the Beauties’ last clothing drive. They thought the goods were being shipped to a shelter in the city. Everything actually came here instead. It was the easiest way to get clothing and shoes of all different sizes and the women seem to love picking out items from the “closet.” Charlie sees a purple and black floral dress she recognizes as hers.

“I have more. I can get you more of everything, anything you need,” she offers as we step out into the night.

“I think we’re good.” I think of Pippa’s giggles. I’m curious. “What did you tell that girl about me?”

“I told her that they call you the Beast.” She glances up at me. “But that it turns out you’re just a big, toasted marshmallow. A little burnt on the outside but sweet on the inside.”

“Oh, really? Is that how you see me? A giant marshmallow?”

“You’re so big. I’m sure after whatever they’ve been through, you look super scary. I didn’t want her to be afraid of you.” She nudges my ribs. “Besides. It’s true. You do have a sweet side.”

“Can we just keep that between us? Please.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” The teasing leaves her voice as she catches my eye. “And I want you to know, your other secret is safe with me too. I don’t have any idea what you are doing here, but I know you are helping those women. And I know whatever is going on, you’re working hard to keep their location a secret to keep them safe. I’ll keep your secret.”

“I trust you.”

“And I want to help, in any way I can. It’s amazing how something small like a manicure can make someone feel better. I know I can’t do much, but I can do the little things. Help them with their hair, or nails, or feed them. There’s this casserole I make whenever someone’s having a tough time. You know—that kind of meat and potatoes comfort food people crave in hard times. And first thing in the morning I’m putting in an order with Lush to have chocolates shipped here. They’re open 24 hours, which I love, in case anyone has a chocolate emergency, for which I think this situation definitely qualifies.” She gives me a shy look, careful not to overstep. “If that’s okay with you, that is. And if you think they’d like something like that.”

She’s so fucking sweet. My voice goes gruff. “That’ll be fine. What girl doesn’t like chocolate?”

“Exactly.” She looks up at me, her face bursting into a smile. “You get it.”

And there it is, that burning, yearning in my chest.

Am I falling for her?

Or have I already fallen, tipping over the edge of a cliff the moment I laid eyes on her?

I take her back to her room. She makes her call to Lush over speakerphone as she gets undressed. I stand and stare, enjoying every glimpse I get of her beautiful body as she tugs on her pajamas. I want to rip them back off, scoop her up in my arms and carry her to my bed. Ravage her. Kiss and lick and touch every inch of her. Take my time with her, time I didn’t have earlier tonight in the dungeon.

But that’s not what she needs. What she needs is sleep. I tuck her into bed. She’s exhausted, her eyes fluttering. I’ll go back to my room tonight, let her sleep. I lean down, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. She purrs at my touch.

The theme for the night seems to be truth telling. I have one more truth bomb to drop on her. I push her hair back from her face as she closes her eyes. I lean down, my lips brushing her soft earlobe.

“Now that you know, I can’t let you leave.”

16

---