Page 48 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

Monster moved behind me and lifted his arms over my head, letting ‌his cuffed hands drop against my stomach. I held back the small smile that tried to fight through at how protective he was. Even restrained, he’d keep me close.

We walked, rather awkwardly, out of the bunker and towards the steps. When we reached them, Monster bent down to slide his arms around my thighs and lifted me so he could carry me up ‌to the car. We sat in the back together, with Nolan on the other side of Monster, holding his leash and a gun.

I took in the car’s interior, looking for any ideas we could use for a future escape plan. Child locks in the back meant there would be no diving and rolling out of moving vehicles. The windows were blacked out and bulletproof, completely impenetrable. But my family had cars just like this, and I knew there were secret compartments beneath some seats that could hold firearms. I subtly tried to lift my foot under the chair to feel for anything. There was nothing under mine. I’d have to sit on the other side on the way back.

Sean whipped the door open and placed a holdall at my feet. Then he held up a blindfold, smiling widely. Of course, he would never let me take in my surroundings.

“I’ll do it,” Monster said when Sean was about to wrap it in place over my eyes. Sean tossed it into Monster’s lap with a shake of his head and closed the door. I turned towards Monster and met his dark gaze with a small smile. He placed the silk over my eyes, and I lifted my hands to hold it there while he tied it at the back of my head. The softest brush of his lips against mine in the briefest of kisses made my heart flutter before he sat back.

The drive was roughly forty-five minutes, which meant we weren’t that far from some kind of civilization. I tried my best to count as accurately as I could. When the car stopped and the doors opened, the blindfold was ripped off me, and a soldier helped me out of the car. The moment Monster climbed out, he barged the man’s chest with his shoulder and sent him flying onto the concrete before lifting his arms back over my body and caging me into him. I couldn’t help the sly smirk I sent the soldier’s way as we walked past.

The ‘Fight Club’s’ location was in a huge abandoned church. Monster had told me they moved the location nearly every time to keep the police off their trail. We were taken around the back, through an overgrown, forgotten graveyard and to the back entrance. Music was already blaring from the main chapel and the wooden floorboards vibrated beneath my feet. Monster tensed behind me, the feel of his solid muscles tightening around my body. I peered back at him, my stomach dropping at the pained expression on his face.

“Headphones.” Sean snapped his fingers at Nolan, who placed them carefully over Monster’s ears. Sean peered at me with amusement in his eyes. “Can’t have him beastin’ out before the party starts, can we? Has he told you why he has such a vehement reaction to loud music? You should ask him. Oh, wait.”

I scowled, fantasising of all the ways I’d like to watch him die. We were ushered into a back room that used to be a vicar’s office, and they removed the handcuffs from my wrists but left Monster’s on.

“You’ll need to let go of her, mate,” Nolan said quietly as he lifted one headphone off Monster’s ears. “She needs to change her clothes.”

Monster slowly lifted his arms over me, and I stepped forward, taking the holdall from another soldier. Monster followed my every step towards the small walk-in cupboard they expected me to change in and stood with his back against the door when I closed it. I lifted the sequin mini dress from the bag, thankful that it wasn’t too revealing and wouldn’t show my new tattoo (that I was in love with). Then I spotted the black wig. I scoffed, shaking my head. That son of a bitch had thought of everything. No one would recognise me.

Once I was dressed, leaving the wig off for the moment, I knocked on the door to let Monster know I was ready. He opened it, and his dark eyes widened as they devoured me with hunger. This wasn’t my usual style at all, but I’d momentarily forgotten that he hadn’t seen me wear any normal clothes except the oversized tracksuits and the dress Sean had put me in.

“Much better.” Sean clapped his ringed hands together. “Almost pass for a princess again.”

I shot him a glare just as another man I’d never seen before walked in. He didn’t look like a soldier, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a woolly sweater and khaki pants.

“Evening,” he said with a London accent. He nodded towards Sean and then glanced at Monster.

Monster moved over to the wooden chair in the middle of the room as the man opened a silver briefcase filled with foam that protected a small vial of reddish-brown liquid and a needle. I frowned, stepping closer, but then Monster’s eyes shot to mine in warning.

I paused. The man bent over, shining a light into each of Monster’s eyes before checking his wounds. “All looks good. He healed well.”

I gritted my teeth because clearly this man was some kind of doctor. So where the hell was he when Monster was battered black and blue after the last fight?

“He had a nurse,” Sean answered with a grin.

The doctor withdrew the liquid with a syringe, checking the dosage, and I frowned deeply, meeting Monster’s gaze. He sat tense, every muscle in his body coiled tightly as if ready to pounce, but otherwise he looked completely detached.

The doctor lifted the side of Monster’s shirt and stabbed the needle into his hip. Monster didn’t even flinch while my eyes widened. What the hell were they drugging him with?

“It gives him a little boost,” Sean said, as if reading my mind, but I didn’t tear my eyes away from Monster’s face.

He wouldn’t look at me, his shame-filled gaze pinned on the floor in front of him until the doctor crouched down and started a countdown on his hands. Physically, nothing seemed to change, but when the doctor reached the last few seconds, I noticed Monster’s hands clenching into fists and his body subtly vibrating as if he were a live-wire. The words were lodged in my throat, dying to rocket ‌out of me.

What have you done to him? What have you given him? This is sick.

When his eyes finally lifted to mine, they were completely black. His pupils had doubled in size, and he looked satanic. He stood up, seeming somehow larger and more deadly than before. A soldier uncuffed his wrists, and Monster started strapping knuckle tape around his hands, every movement fluid yet aggressive.

I gulped, visibly watching the darkness consume the man I’d spent the last few weeks with as he retreated within. I accepted this side of him, but knowing that they were drugging him, forcing him to lose control of it, that was vile.

“Showtime.” Sean nodded for me to step forward. “Wig on and let’s go take our seats, Princess. You won’t want to miss this.”

As I walked past Monster, I hesitated. I wanted to reach out to him, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react.

Fuck it, he needed to know I was there, and I still saw him for who he really was.

I placed my palm on the side of his face. He flinched away from me, and my chest tightened. Black eyes filled with only rage and pain stared into mine. My lips trembled, but before I could change my mind, I leaned up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. He stiffened. He didn’t kiss me back. But he didn’t push me away either. I took that as a small win.