Monster: Made & Broken (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance) (6 page)

“
Evelyn—”

A quick kiss landed on my back, making a shiver travel up along my spine before she waltzed past me and out of the bedroom.

I followed her mindlessly, trying and failing not to look at her round arse. She stopped next to the kitchen island and bent to pick up her clothes. I finally managed to turn away, before memories of what we did on that counter made me lose the final slivers of my already flagging self-control.

“
I’m not letting you get a cab. I’ll drive you.”

“
Stop trying to boss me around. You’re not particularly scary with morning hair. Now shush and zip me up.” She stepped around to my front, a mischievous smile on her face before she turned her back.

I zipped up her black dress, resisting the urge to let my fingers glide along her soft skin as I did.

“
I’m a big girl. I can get home on my own,” she said, turning around to look up at me. A flash of regret passed across her features, so quick I almost missed it, before she forced a smile on her face and raised up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful night, Marcus.”

I stared at her as she grabbed her bag, waved with her fingertips, and walked out my door. Leaving me.

The blinding pain as the monster bellowed its fury made me stumble forward, leaning heavily against the kitchen island.

God, I need her. I need her. I…

…
How did she know my name?

* * *

It had been a long time since I felt so unsure of myself.

I’d been sitting in my car outside her run-down apartment block for nearly an hour, and it wasn’t going to get me the answers I wanted. But the longer I stared at the door, the less sure I was of what would happen if I went in.

I gripped the steering wheel harder, doubt blooming in my chest as it had been since I’d grabbed my car keys and followed her taxi to her apartment.

She knew my name, and I was 100% sure I hadn’t told her. I’d seen enough betrayal in this business to know never to ignore signs of things being off. But even as my innate mistrust gnawed at the back of my skull, I was still clutching the damn steering wheel.

Because if I was being honest, answers weren’t what I was here for, not really. I was here because all I could think about was her arms wrapping around my neck and her lips pressing against mine.

I groaned and threw my head back against the headrest.
Fuck.
There had to be a logical explanation as to why she knew my name. If there was something wrong about her, I would have known. She was way too good, too pure to be mixed up in any business crap.

But what was a girl who lived in this shitty part of town doing at a club like
Eleonore?

Fuck!

The truth was staring me in the face, even if I was too lovesick to want to acknowledge it.

Blackness flashed in warning from the sides of my vision and I pressed a hand to my chest to soothe the monster as I drew in deep breaths. When I finally got control of myself, I fumbled for my phone, my fingers tight. If she truly betrayed me, I wouldn’t be able to push the darkness down—and despite the monster howling in my chest, I had enough control left to know what would happen if I snapped.

Flashes of her body lying in front of me, mutilated and bloody like the people I’d murdered in my past blackout rages, made me push “call” on the twins’ phone number.

Thankfully, the line connected after only two rings.

“
Marcus? Is everything all right?”

The concern in my brother’s voice was understandable. I never called any of them unless it was an emergency.

And this—this was an emergency.

“
You need to come. Both of you.”

“
Okay. Can you give us an address, mate?”

Right, an address—

Movement on the pavement next to my car caught my eye and I turned my head just in time to see a familiar figure walk past my Porsche and over to the the staircase leading up to Evelyn’s flat.

Leo Brigs. The nephew of Gerald Brigs, the man my brother Blaine threatened last year over a business deal gone wrong.

There was no longer any plausible deniability—if she was in with the Brigs, then she played me.

“
Marcus? Come on, mate, tell me where you are.”

I flicked my thumb across my phone’s screen, hanging up. The monster growled low as I saw the door slowly close shut behind Leo.

* * * *

Chapter 7

Evelyn

When my front door finally slammed shut behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. I felt like the worst human being on the planet, and the only thing I needed was to be left alone with my own self-loathing.

I tossed my bag on my couch and stripped out of the black dress without stopping on my way to the shower. The sooner I could no longer smell Marcus on me, the sooner I could try to forget what I’d done.

Only the lukewarm spray from my semi-functioning shower couldn’t remove the delicate ache between my legs, and with every step I took while I got dressed and poured myself a bowl of cereal, I was reminded of the man who had made me feel things I didn’t even know existed.

If only things could have been different.

I sat down on my couch next to where I’d tossed my purse and put my breakfast down on the coffee table. The guilt in my gut made it difficult to eat.

Maybe if I saw what was on that stupid pen drive, I’d get some clarity?

With any luck, it would be a detailed description of how horrible a person Marcus really was. Perhaps then I could hand it over to Brigs without feeling like I’d betrayed someone who didn’t deserve it.

I got the pen drive out of my purse and plugged it in my laptop. As I waited for the machine to fire up, I contemplated the wad of cash I’d stolen from Marcus. Perhaps I should just throw away whatever was on that drive and tell Brigs I hadn’t been able to get the combination to Marcus’ safe, and then promptly pay them the money I owed them so they wouldn’t have time to get too pissed. That way I might still have stolen from Marcus, but at least I wouldn’t betray him. I didn’t know what his relationship was to the Brigses, but if they had someone try to steal information from him, I assumed they were not his friends.

Yeah, that seemed like a good backup plan, in case whatever was on the pen drive didn’t show Marcus murdering baby animals for sport.

When my ancient laptop finally managed to boot up, I quickly navigated to the pen drive’s folder. There was only a single file on there—a video.

Great.
And what sort of video would a crime lord like Gerald Brigs be interested in? I clicked it, hoping against hope that I wasn’t about to watch something that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

The image that flickered into view was a little off-kilter, but clear enough. It seemed to have been shot inside a stately lounge or living room with thick carpets and mahogany furniture, but from a weirdly high angle. It looked like someone had planted a camera on the ceiling. A surveillance camera, perhaps?

I jolted when I spotted movement on the video. An older, but handsome man with steel-gray hair and cold, gray eyes came into focus. He was pacing back and forth across the thick carpet, arms folded across his chest and his mouth pulled into a narrow line.

“
You know there’s only one thing to do.”
The man’s voice was a bit distorted from the audio, but the words themselves were clear enough. I couldn’t see who he was talking to, but the way he was staring across the room while he spoke it was obvious he wasn’t alone.

“
He always was so goddamn cocky. I should have known that kid would be trouble. And now he thinks he can usurp
me?
His own father?!”

Whoever he was talking to responded, but the audio wasn’t clear enough for me to make out the words. The man in the frame shook his head, the angry slant to his mouth only becoming more pronounced.
“
If I give him a second chance, he’ll just see it as a weakness and pounce. I raised my boys well. Too bad Jeremy didn’t listen when I taught them the Steel motto:
‘
Everything for family.’
Well, if he thinks he can bite the hand that feeds him, it’s time to cut him loose. I want him dead before the week is over.”

My stomach dropped as my brain caught up to the silver-haired man’s words. The
Steel
motto…? This was… was this Marcus’
dad?

And this Jeremy he wanted killed… was that Marcus’ brother?

Oh, my God. The pen drive contained proof that Marcus’ father wanted to kill his brother. Had he succeeded? Marcus had only mentioned his brother, Blaine, but then again—tragic family loss probably wasn’t what most people talked to their one-night stands about.

But why was he hiding this video? For blackmail? Insurance? Proof?

Why did Brigs want it?

I frowned. The man was giving instructions as to how the person off-camera should go about murdering his son. He seemed calm and cool through the entire exchange, if a bit annoyed. As if having to plan out his own son’s murder was a major inconvenience to his busy schedule.

The video cut off shortly after, static filling the screen.

I sat back on my sofa, numb. I don’t know what I’d imagined I would find, but it certainly wasn’t that. I’d expected something money-related, not… intimate family issues that stretched way beyond your standard petty feuds. I recalled my mum not speaking to an aunt when I was a kid, all because someone hadn’t given back a sugar bowl they’d borrowed. This was something else entirely.

“
Well, well, our little honey trap caught a nice, fat fly!”

I squealed at the unexpected voice from behind me, adrenaline spurring me off the couch and onto my feet. I spun around, only to come face to face with Leo Brigs.

I gaped, staring at the wide-set man as he looked over my shoulder at the screen. “What are you doing in my flat? Get out!”

“
I came to see if you were still alive, sugar tits. Didn’t entirely expect you to pull one over on that big brute, but look at you proving me wrong! Seems uncle was right when he said you’d be perfect for the job. I’d have picked one of our high-class hookers, myself, but Marcus is into chunky girls, huh? Did he give it to you good?”

He leered at me, and my shock gave way to disgust.

“
I want you to leave,” I hissed, folding my arms across my chest and wishing I’d put a bra on underneath my t-shirt.

“
Sure. Just give me the pen drive. Though once we’ve had a look at it, I’ll be back for details on your night with the Steel freak. For research, of course. Maybe we can reenact parts, eh?”

I looked from his outstretched hand to his filthy smirk, and something snapped in me. The thought of this creep watching the video of Marcus’ father betraying his family made my stomach clench. I didn’t know why the Brigs wanted it, but I knew they’d use it against him somehow. And as I looked at Leo, standing there so self-assured in my living room, as if he had every right to be there even though I hadn’t invited him in, I knew I couldn’t let that happen.

Without further thought, I bent and pulled the pen drive out of its socket, snapping it clean in two.

“
What the fuck did you just do?” Leo’s smug voice morphed into a furious roar. “What the
fuck,
bitch!”

I had time to feel maybe two seconds’ worth of triumph before Leo’s right hand closed painfully around my wrist as he yanked me forward, putting his face an inch from mine. The rage distorting his features made me swallow hard, a fresh rush of fear flushing away any hint of triumph.

“
You are going to regret that, you stupid little cunt.”

* * *

The housing block Leo took me to wasn’t the usual place I had my meetings with the Brigses.

It was in one of the absolute worst parts of town, with most of the windows in the red brick, rundown buildings around the filthy street either broken or boarded up. A few junkies sat against the wall next to the door leading into the building, but they were so far gone they didn’t even look up when Leo dragged me across the asphalt by my arm, heedless that I was stepping in broken glass and dirt with my bare feet.

Inside, complete darkness met us until Leo hit his hand against the wall, triggering a worn light switch. A dim, naked bulb spread a sickly orange light, revealing a narrow corridor and a flight of stairs. It reeked of vomit and feces, and smears of a questionable nature covered the walls.

Leo continued down the hallway, never releasing his painful grip on my arm, and when we turned a corner and were faced with a flight of metal stairs leading to the basement level, he pulled me down them so fast I nearly tripped. Only his hold on me kept me upright.

Another hallway marked with brown patches led past several closed doors with peeling paint. By the seventh, Leo stopped and turned the knob, opening it.