Beauty & The Crime Boss (Foster Family Book 1)

by Zavi James

  "I'm sorry," Stefan said realizing his mistake. "I'm an idiot."

  "No! No, it's fine. Honestly," I assured him. He had no idea about my life or what it consisted of, so he didn’t realize he was putting his foot in it. "I was working at a care home. I think if I could do it, I'd have loved to be a nurse."

  Stef chewed thoughtfully on his slice of pizza. "I could see you as a nurse."

  "You don't know me," I told him.

  "You must have a lot of patience to deal with my brother," Stefan commented.

  "Luc?" I said with a raised eyebrow. "He's not that difficult to deal with." Not once you knew how to deal with him. There were days when we were on shaky ground, but I was beginning to understand how Luc ticked.

  "High praise for him."

  I shook my head. I had noticed the way Luc and Stefan had short, sharp conversations devoid of warmth and I wondered what had happened between them. Being an only child, I had always dreamed of having a sibling, the chance to have company and a friend by blood, but the Foster brothers left a chill in any room they interacted in.

  Stef's phone vibrated on the table and he looked at it before declining the call.

  "You can get that if you want," I said.

  "It's not important," Stef assured me. "Plus, it would be rude of me taking a phone call while I have a beautiful girl in my company at dinner. People would think I'm mad."

  I felt the blush creep in and ducked my head. "I won't think you're mad,” I said, ignoring the compliment. “I'll think you're someone who has a life and friends and is nice enough to take me out without it being a pity thing."

  He laughed, "Trust me, it's not important."

  We finished the pizza and I was surprised at just how easy it was to talk to Stefan. I was glad to find out he would be staying at the house rather than campus because it gave me someone else to talk to while Luc was busy at work.

  "How about we go and get some ice cream?" Stefan suggested.

  "How am I meant to say no to that?" I replied with a smile.

  The waiter brought the bill over and I reached for my bag.

  "Mia, what are you doing?" Stefan asked me.

  "Grabbing the bill.”

  "Um, no," Stefan replied.

  "Um, yes. You weren't planning on coming out tonight. I'm not letting you be out of pocket because of me."

  "Mia, I'm not letting you pay."

  "Split it?" I offered.

  "I don't think so," Stefan said as he put the money down on the table.

  "Okay, well then I'm getting the ice cream."

  "I think I can allow that."

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Stefan

  Out on the street, I offered Mia my arm. I was still baffled at how this woman considered Lucas to be her friend. She was sweet and gentle, and I was concerned that if she spent time with my brother, she would end up caught in his work. I couldn't tell Mia what to do, but while I was home I could and would keep an eye on her.

  "What do you want?" Mia asked me. We had ventured into the ice cream parlor and she looked at all the containers through the glass. "What's your go to flavor?"

  "Rum raisin," I answered.

  "Ew, Stefan. Seriously?" Mia looked at me with a crease in her brow and I laughed.

  "Alright, Miss Griffin please explain to me what's wrong with rum raisin ice cream?"

  "It contains raisins," Mia told me simply in a way of explanation.

  "It's in the name."

  "You're basically eating old people."

  I looked at her as if she were mad. "What?"

  "Raisins," Mia said. "Small and wrinkly like old people."

  "And your go to?" I asked.

  "Mint chocolate chip." Mia beamed.

  "So, you like to eat toothpaste. Noted."

  We ordered ice cream and I let Mia pay before we walked back onto the street. It was a cold October night, but neither of us seemed to care as we dug the small plastic spoons into the tubs of dessert.

  "Sure, I can't tempt you?" I asked as I held out a bite of rum raisin to her, but Mia shook her head violently, long hair fanning out with the motion.

  "You keep that devil food away from me," she told me.

  Mia and I laughed as she dug into her tub and took a bite, but her laughter died abruptly. When I followed her gaze, I saw Lucas standing at the end of the street looking as if he was ready to murder someone.

  "Oh no," I muttered.

  Luc came charging towards us and I braced myself for impact, but it never came. Instead of going for me, Luc had stopped in front of Mia and held her face in his hands. The gesture held the most tenderness I’d seen him possess in his life.

  "What did I tell you?" he asked her. "Mia, what did I say? You go nowhere without Dom!" Luc turned his attention to me, fire in his eyes. "Are you stupid?!"

  I noted that something had spooked him. He didn't want Mia out of his sight or without someone who reported directly to him. Luc didn't want her to be alone, and I had the sinking feeling that he had already involved her in something shady. We would be about to repeat history.

  "I don't think I'm the stupid one," I shot back.

  "Luc," Mia said.

  "You have no idea," Luc hissed at me.

  "Luc!" Mia called his name louder this time.

  Luc turned his attention back to Mia, her face still in his hands. "I got home, and you weren't there. No one was. I have no note. Nothing. Do you know what went through my head, Mia?" Luc pressed his forehead against hers. "Why didn't you wait for me?" Luc asked her.

  Mia pushed away from him slightly. "I did. We didn't leave the house until... when Stef? 8:30?"

  I nodded and took a step closer to Mia. Luc drew himself up to full height. He was taller than Mia by a foot but only had a few inches on me.

  "You don't leave the house without me, Dante or Dom," Luc told her. "No one else. Understand?"

  "Luc, I'm with Stefan," she tried to reason with him.

  "Stefan can't keep you safe!" Luc told him firmly.

  "Stefan wouldn't have put her in danger in the first place," I mumbled loud enough for Luc to hear.

  His head snapped towards me and I sensed the age old fight starting again. Luc stepped away from Mia and invaded my personal space. I couldn't afford to get into a physical fight that might jeopardize my college place and any hospital placements afterwards.

  "Mia," Luc said, still looking at me. "Get in the car."

  Dante idled in the car not far off and I balled my hands into fists. Given half the chance, I would never have chosen Luc to be my brother.

  "Luc, please," Mia said. "Stefan was just doing something nice. He was keeping me company."

  We looked at her and Mia took Luc's hand and laced their fingers together. Luc glanced at me again, but Mia tugged at his arm and he turned away and walked with her to the car. I followed behind them, eyes on their clasped hands as I wondered just what exactly was going on between the pair.

  Chapter Thirty

  Lucas

  Sliding into the back of the car beside Mia, I swore I wouldn’t let her out of my sight again. I kept silent on the way home, not trusting myself to speak. I was grateful Dante had read the situation and kept his mouth shut for once.

  I refused to let go of Mia's hand for the whole drive and Mia made no attempt to pull it away. She looked upset, staring down at her lap and chewing on her bottom lip. When we got home, Dante left, leaving the three of us alone.

  "Mia, I'll come speak to you later," I told her. My anger wasn’t directed at her, but I struggled to contain it.

  "Luc," Mia started.

  "Please!" I said. I needed to deal with both of them separately.

  Mia gave Stefan a look and he nodded at her in return. I felt like I might pop a blood vessel at the exchange. Mia sighed and walked up the stairs. Only when I heard the door to her room close in the silence did I round on my brother, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

  "Next time I call, you answer your fucking ph
one," I told him through gritted teeth. Stefan wasn’t new to any of this. He knew if I called there would be a reason, never for a casual social conversation. We were too different to warrant even faking an interest in each other’s life.

  "Or what, Lucas?" Stefan sneered.

  Our relationship had mildly improved when Stefan left for college because I didn't have to see or talk to him as much. I had paid for his tuition fees. It was my work that allowed Stefan to live out his dreams of becoming a doctor, and he repaid me with attitude and disdain. If it continued, then living under the same roof would quickly become a mistake.

  "Stefan, I mean it," I warned him. "Stay away from her."

  "I think we’re getting on pretty well," he informed me with a smirk. "Plus, I'm not the one who's going to hurt her."

  I dropped him from my grasp. "Don't push me, Stef."

  I straightened up and adjusted my shirt, walking away from Stefan before I knocked some sense into him. That wouldn’t help my case with Mia or Mom.

  "She's going to end up like Isa," Stefan said.

  I turned on him and hissed, "Don't you dare."

  "You know it."

  Stefan was pushing his luck and I could hear the blood thundering in my ears. "It's different."

  "Isa got caught in the crossfire and she didn't deserve it," Stefan reminded me. If Stefan and I’d had a strained relationship before, everything regarding Isabella had ensured that we would never be family in anything other than an unfortunate circumstance of blood.

  "I'm not going to let that happen to Mia," I told him.

  "Then why were you so worried?"

  I didn't need to explain myself to Stefan. I left my younger brother standing there as I took the stairs two at a time to get to Mia's room. When I opened her door, she was sitting on the bed looking as upset as she had in the car. Walking over, I sat on the bed and for a few moments there was only silence between us.

  "I didn't mean to—" Mia started.

  I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight. Mia shifted until she straddled my lap and returned the hug.

  "I thought something had happened to you," I murmured into her hair.

  "I literally just went for dinner with Stef," Mia told me again, as if I would suddenly see reason.

  "Leave a Goddamn note, Mia."

  "I'm so sorry. I didn't think. I didn’t think there would be a problem and I was worried and a little mad at you for not letting me know you were running late. I thought I was being stood up."

  I pulled away to look at her properly. My hands rubbed up and down her back, grateful that she was sitting in front of me.

  "You were mad at me and you thought you'd pay me back by giving me a heart attack?" I asked her.

  "No!" Mia said. "Of course not." Her hands came up and cupped my face and I let out a shuddering breath. Mia was in my head a lot more than I would like to admit.

  "I was running late," I explained. "I wasn't trying to stand you up."

  "I know, Luc. This might be easier if I had my phone."

  "I'll sort it out. Now, come on." I patted her ass and Mia climbed off me and got under the covers and I stood up. I was ready to bring this day to an end. Stefan had managed to make a dismal day a complete shit show.

  "Please don't be mad at Stef," Mia said looking up at me.

  Running my hands through my hair I assured her, "We'll be fine."

  "Luc," Mia said. "Who's Isa?"

  For the third time that night, I felt my heart stop in my chest and my blood ran cold. "You heard?" I asked her, standing there. This was not a chapter I wanted to open.

  "You were both pretty loud. Who is she?" The curiosity is written across her face.

  "It's not your business, Mia. Drop it," I told her coldly.

  "I think it's kind of my business if it affects you," Mia told me gently.

  "I have a life that doesn't involve you, Mia," I said. "I don't have to tell you everything."

  Mia narrowed her eyes. My hostility had coaxed out her own. "Maybe that's half the problem! You keep trying to separate me from your life, Lucas. You need to let me in. Stop compartmentalising.”

  "No, I don't," I told her. "And I'm not having you tell me what to do."

  "Oh, but you can tell me what to do?"

  I hadn’t wanted to fight with anyone tonight, but it looked like I was walking into round two of the evening.

  "You know exactly why I do that," I told her.

  Mia sat up straight. "You are such a hypocrite!"

  "Please enlighten me as to how," I said, spreading out my arms.

  "You want respect. You want people to listen to you, but you aren't willing to give any of it back." Mia's voice was getting louder. "I'm sick of it, Luc!"

  "You don't even try to listen to me!" I told her, exasperated.

  "Why would I?" Mia asked. "You have all these secrets and I have no clue who you are. You're like two different people. I spend time with you and you're so... and then as soon as things get tough it's like some switch gets flipped and you're an asshole."

  "I'm allowed my privacy, Mia."

  "You're keeping secrets."

  "If I am, they are mine to keep and mine to tell."

  "God! How are you and Stefan even brothers?"

  Mia had done it. She had drawn the comparison and there it was. Saint Stefan had swooped in and took her out when I couldn't. Even tempered Stef who was open with everyone because what did he even have to hide?

  I felt myself shutting down. Between Mia going missing, the topic of Isa and Stefan coming out on top again, I had no desire to keep the argument going. If Mia wanted to think the worst of me then why should I bother proving her wrong?

  "Maybe you should go and share a bed with him," I told her with an icy tone.

  Mia looked surprised that I had said something so awful to her, but I didn't wait to hear a response. I left the room, slamming the door shut behind me forcefully.

  It took me a long time to fall asleep that night and when I did it was a deep sleep that was filled with dreams of a young, blonde girl covered in blood.

  My demons were back to haunt me.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Mia

  “Run, rabbit. Run, rabbit,” I mumbled the words to the old song Dad used to sing to me whenever I raced around the park as a child. A strange tune to have picked but nothing had been traditional about us.

  My feet pounded the pavement and my body felt the impact of each step. I needed to get out of the house. I couldn't keep up with Luc’s mood swings. Everything was done on his terms and there was no discussion. I needed to clear my head and running had always been what helped me best.

  "Such an idiot," I talked to myself as I ran the streets, taking paths that Dom and I were used to. The streetlights illuminated the way. "Won't tell me anything."

  I wanted to clear my head, but I couldn't stop thinking of everything. I didn't know why he wouldn't just sit and talk to me. Was it too much to ask from him to answer questions that I had? How was I meant to know Luc when he hadn’t just built a wall but an entire fortress around himself?

  "I could go home," I panted as the thought popped into my head. It was true. I could go back to my Dad and we could leave as he had planned. I had no idea where we would go but it would be a chance to leave all of this behind.

  As I tried to navigate the finer details of the plan, I ran out into the road as headlights blinded me and a car screeched to a halt. I froze in place expecting to feel the impact, but it never came. The car was inches away and my heart was in my mouth. There was the sound of a car door slamming and I squinted at the figure that came towards me.

  "How serendipitous," Marco said. A fine mist of rain had started, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable with being out at this ridiculous hour.

  "Now, what are you doing out this late?" he asked me. "On your own, no less."

  My instincts told her to lie. "I'm not on my own. Dom..."

  "Is still on his honeymoon," Marco finished my sent
ence. "Unless he left his husband on his own."

  I had forgotten that Rodrigo did some work for Marco.

  "I need to go," I said but Marco's hand shot out and grabbed my arm in a tight grip.

  "Why?" Marco asked me. "Maybe we can finish that conversation we were having the other night."

  His fingers sank into the soft flesh of my arm as I tried to pull out of his hold. "You're hurting me," I said.

  "I could make it worse, darling."

  Marco's hand disappeared into his jacket and pulled out a blade. It glinted in the headlights and my heart sank.

  "Better get in the car, Mia," Marco told me with a sinister grin. He tapped the flat of the blade gently against my cheek and led me to the passenger side. My feet felt like lead blocks. Marco got into the driver's side and locked the doors before driving off.

  We arrived outside a strip club and the moment Marco opened the door I felt my adrenaline kick in and tried to make a run for it. The rain was coming down heavier now. Marco was quicker than I gave him credit for, chasing after me, grabbing me by the waist and picking me up. I lashed out against him, but he took every blow as he walked us back towards the building.

  "Let me go!" I screamed.

  "Not a chance, sweetheart."

  The rain that hit us suddenly stopped as we entered the club.

  "Make sure we aren't disturbed," Marco said. A man behind the bar gave a curt nod as I continued to struggle. We disappeared into a room in the back that Marco had claimed as an office and I let out another scream.

  "Less of that," Marco said, placing me down. I made a mad dash for the door, but Marco grabbed a fistful of my ponytail and yanked me back. The pain in my scalp was severe enough for me to yelp and my eyes watered. I felt something cold and sharp against my neck.

  "Please just let me go," I pleaded, realizing I did not have the upper hand in this situation.

  "I will, sweetheart," Marco crooned. "Just as soon as I get what I want."

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Lucas

  "Where's Mia?" I asked.

  "In bed, I assume," Lydia answered me. "She hasn't come down for breakfast yet. Neither has Stef. Is he alright?"