Page 10 of The Mafia's Vendetta

He had to swallow the saliva that pooled in his mouth as she smoothed lotion over her skin.

He pulled his phone closer when he got a look at her back in the mirror.The overhead light caught on little white lines.If he wasn’t mistaken, the scars on her back told him she’d been whipped before.Even if she was a masochist, the scars were deep, and he couldn’t see a masochist taking that much pain.

He tried to see the rest of her body, but the light in the small room was horrible.She pulled on her nightgown.The thing was older and faded.It had no sleeves, so he could see her thin arms.It looked like she’d been starved.It was big on her but only went a few inches above her knees.It wouldn’t have looked sexy if she hadn’t made it that way.

She went back to the bathroom and started to dry her hair.The brush slid through the thick mass as she held the blow-dryer up to it.After a minute, he could see her arm tremble like she was getting weak.Hell, if she’d been starved and severely abused, and probably not getting enough sleep, no wonder she was weak.The more he saw, the more furious he became.

He could tell her hair wasn’t all the way dry when she gave up and put the dryer away.She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out an apple.She found a knife and plate before she sat down on her loveseat.

He watched her carefully cut the apple into slices.His brows pinched together when she took her first bite.She closed her eyes and smiled like she was eating the richest chocolate instead of an ordinary piece of fruit.The more he watched her, the more questions he had.

She finished her treat, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth before turning off the lights except for the one by the bed.

He watched her pull something from her purse and set it on the mattress before she walked to one of the bottom kitchen cabinets.There was just enough light coming in through the window to see her.She looked like she was prying up the bottom, and then she lifted a black cloth.She sat on the mattress and opened the bag, pulling out small stacks of money.His eyebrows shot up.He couldn’t see all the bills, but the ones he could were fifty- and twenty-dollar ones.Now, what the hell was she doing with that kind of money?

She pulled more money out of her purse and counted that out.He guessed they were the tips she’d made that night at the club.There were several one- and five-dollar bills.She counted those out and put them off to the side.Any higher denominations of bills were counted in with the money she already had.She put all of it except the small stack of ones and fives back into the bag and then shoved it in the hiding place in the cabinet.

After putting her purse to the side, Scarlet lay down.With how exhausted she looked, he thought she’d fall asleep immediately.Instead, she stared up at the ceiling.

When he saw the tears slide from the corner of her eyes, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay.She cried for a few minutes and then fell asleep.

Drew couldn’t get her tears out of his head.He’d seen women cry before, but for some reason, he knew this one had a good reason to.He promised himself he would do everything in his power to make her life better.

Drew had no idea where that came from.He’d never been a sensitive guy or cared about women’s tender feelings.His thoughts went to Alastair and his other cousins who had wives.He would have bet money they were even harder and colder than him.Then their women came, and although they were still deadly, he could see the love and affection they gave to them and how much happier they were.

He stuck his phone in his pocket, turned off the office lights, and went to bed.After showering, he lay staring up at the ceiling.

He didn’t even know the woman’s name, although he could guarantee it wasn’t Scarlet.But he was already obsessed with her.He’d go mad if he didn’t get all his questions answered soon.

Chapter Six

Nala stood at the bar waiting for her drinks.The music felt like it was beating in her head.She pressed her fingertips to her temple.She just had a few more hours left before she could go home and crash.

She delivered the drinks to a rowdy table with six men.She’d spent most of the night dodging their hands.She rolled her eyes when one complained that they only wanted to get to know her.Yeah, right.

“I’m not sure your wives would appreciate it.Do you?”

A few of them looked embarrassed and guilty.The one she was dealing with just grinned.

“She’ll never find out,” he said.

“Dude, they always find out,” she said.“I don’t know if you believe in Karma, but you betray her like that, and it will come back at you hard.”

He snorted.“Right.”

“How about this?Picture your wife in bed with a handsome guy, and they’re going at it.Do you think you could handle that?”

“Fuck, no.”

“Then why would you put your wife through that?”

“Jesus, I was just messing around.”

“No, you were being a douchebag,” she said.She turned and walked off, ignoring the other guys at the table laughing.

The rest of the night seemed to drag, and her headache worsened.

“What’s wrong?”Newman asked when she walked up to the bar.

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