Beast (Creatures of the Mafia Book 1)

by Eva K. More

  “Yeah, yeah. And I bet staying with me at the cabin was really hard.”

  His intense glare made her skin burn. “So hard, I nearly strangled you.”

  Kat choked on the piece of potato she had just swallowed.

  “Did you like the cabin?” Maryan asked, interrupting their misguided conversation. Gabriel had noted that Maryan had watched their little dispute with interest. “When you were a little child, I used that place to spend time with you, sometimes even taking Gabriel with me. Before even that got too dangerous,” Maryan continued.

  “It’s very secluded… and private.” Gabriel ignored the sly look she sent him. “How could Ivo find me there?”

  Gabriel grimaced. “That was my fault. Apparently, I didn’t do a good enough job in pretending to look for you, and he put a fucking tracker in my car. I don’t get why he would get that suspicious, but I think that Lina might have hinted at-”

  “Don’t try blaming others for your mistake,” Maryan demanded rather than tell him and Gabriel bit his lip. It wasn’t often that he disagreed with Maryan, and he did take the blame full-on, hands down. It had been a mistake to neglect Ivo like that, but what exactly was his issue with Lina?

  Gabriel knew that the old man cared for the old whore more than he let on, but usually, his daughter was more important than anybody else. And yet, he had hindered Gabriel on taking her on in the factory, letting her simply go with Ivo. Now, Maryan was looking at him like he’d rather throw him to the lions than discuss this further. It was boggling his mind.

  “In the end, though, it turned out well. I’m alive,” Kat said suddenly, surprising them with her mild tone of voice.

  Maryan contemplated her with a slow nod of his head. “Could have turned out worse, though.” His haughty gaze met Gabriel’s stony face. “But you are right, all that matters now is that you are alive.”

  “And Ivo is still alive, too,” Gabriel said, but this time his cold stare was directed at Maryan, who narrowed his eyes at him.

  “Yes, and we will deal with it,” he said sternly.

  “And I can return to my normal life,” Kat said abruptly, halting the men’s impending debate.

  Thank God for that! Because Gabriel had been about to question Maryan in front of an audience. Had Kat fucked him up more than he was willing to admit? Yeah, the thought about fucking her wasn’t helping his disposition much at this precise moment.

  Concentrating on Maryan to get his mind off track, he noted that the older man’s eyes swept over Kat lovingly. “Yes. And if you’d like, now that you know about me, we can arrange to meet again once you have settled.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, slowly easing her glass down. She didn’t look at either of the men, and it irked Gabriel that she didn’t even care enough to look her father in the eye when rebuffing his approaches.

  Maryan looked crestfallen for a moment but regained his composure quickly, as usual. Gabriel might not have agreed with some of Maryan’s choices, but he was still his mentor. It angered him to see him hurt.

  “It’s- so many things have happened, and I don’t want to be part of this … world.”

  Gabriel observed Kat absentmindedly fingering the bandage on her throat. The gash hadn’t been very deep, but the skin of her throat was very sensitive and needed a long time to heal.

  “I understand,” Maryan said in defeat, mirroring Gabriel’s feelings.

  “Good.” She nodded her head once. Then she met Gabriel’s steely eyes. “Can I have my purse back?”

  “Sure,” Gabriel said and looked pointedly at the glass he was holding tightly with one hand.

  “Very well, now that’s settled, I’m going to bed. Thank you both for your hospitality and well, for saving my life.” She looked at them both with sincerity; this at least was a nice thing of her to say. “But I’m excited to go back home.” She bolted and left the room in complete silence.

  That stung, Gabriel thought. She couldn’t fathom how much her father cared for her; only he knew the lengths of Maryan’s sacrifices.

  He stood up and squeezed the older man’s shoulder, offering what little support he could.

  “You think it’s a good idea to let her go?” he asked skeptically, reigning in his more aggressive tone.

  Maryan sighed as he looked straight ahead. “I don’t have a choice. She doesn’t want to be here, and she will hate me even more if I keep her here against her will.” He squeezed Gabriel’s hand tightly. “This time, though, you won’t let her out of your sight for even a second.”

  Gabriel nodded solemnly. Of course, he would be back as her secret bodyguard again.

  he next morning, breakfast was precisely the same, filled with awkward stares and the rising tension preceding Kat’s imminent departure. So when she stood up and left to grab her things, he waited a few seconds before he also left the dining-room, taking two stairs at a time, rushing up to catch Kat. With little grace, he snatched her arm and pushed her through the door of her bedroom.

  “Ow, you brute, let go of me.”

  He kicked the door shut and then pulled on her arm until she collided against his chest.

  “What are you doing? I’m sure Maryan would disapprove of you-”

  “Quiet!” Gabriel hissed. “Now you listen to me.”

  “I see, without the mask, you’re still a beast. You were right; after all, you are not the hunter but the wolf.”

  Gabriel made a low, growling sound and tightened his grip on her arm. The other hand gripped her jaw so she couldn’t move her head away.

  “I know you’ve had to take a lot in, and you’ve been angry ever since the beginning. But it’s not all Maryan’s fault.” He murmured, but the tone he used left no room for her to misunderstand how serious he was.

  “It’s not mine either!”

  “Tough shit, little bird. Now you deal with the cards that life gave you.” He spat, but then his voice softened. “I know you’re not the ice princess you’ve been playing in front of us.”

  She shoved at his chest, but he didn’t budge and knew that the light enhanced his feral features.

  “What do you know about me? You don’t know me just like I don’t know anything about who you really are.”

  Gabriel gritted his teeth. “You know that’s not true. We spent some time together in that cabin, as children, and now adults. I know you.” And really, she knew some part of him as well.

  “I remember.” She raised her voice and tried freeing her chin of his grasp with a fast shake of her head. “Did daddy dearest hire you to… fuck me too?”

  He was too aggravated to be amused because of her use of such a vulgar word. Gabriel took a deep breath and loosed his grip slightly, as it had surely become numbing.

  He took another moment to assess the situation. Kat didn’t exactly glare at him, but it wasn’t a welcoming look she was bestowing upon him either. Oh hell, she is not about to cry, is she?

  He leaned his forehead on hers, wanting to feel her closer. “Is that what you think?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think,” She whispered, her voice crumbling.

  “It matters to me.” He replied and grabbed the back of her head with one hand.

  “Nothing matters to you except for your job.”

  Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “True. And my loyalty to your father. Is that what you want to hear?”

  She separated her forehead from his. She was breathing fire, glaring daggers at him, and God help him, but Gabriel thought that she felt so damn good in his arms. That was probably the only reason he did not follow his insane desire to strangle her.

  “Then the reason you slept with me was to please him?” She asked, disregarding his question and looked away.

  He wanted to put that proud chin a notch down, wanted to howl at the moon, but he held back and snaked one arm into her hair.

  “If he knew what I’ve done, I’ll be a dead man.” When he was sure that her attention was back on him, he lowered his face to hers. “Besid
es, you came on to me, I warned you.”

  Her laugh was a little more than a whisper, sardonic, filled with irony. Her eyes shone in the sunlight, but he felt her body give away to his. She didn’t yield to him, but she felt softer, not so tense, and the hands at his chest weren’t pushing so hard anymore. “Yeah, little old me just overpowered you. You had no chance to stop it.”

  If she only knew what kind of power she held, he reflected. “Maybe I didn’t want to stop it.” Gabriel conceded silently.

  “Then, why did you?”

  “What?” He asked, confused by her question. Gabriel felt Kat hold her breath before answering him.

  “Fuck me,” she said, her breath fanning over his lips.

  His eyes had slid down to her lips as he had watched her talk. She had bit her lower one as if tasting the ‘F,’ and his pants had become as tight as a fist. Gabriel wanted to tell her that he had done it because he had wanted to; because at that moment, he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. But despite her bravado, he could see the vulnerability in her eyes, and he didn’t have the heart to be as blunt as a sailor. So he remained silent, stoic, and she averted her gaze.

  “Did you… did you ever really care about me?” she asked, looking at something behind his shoulder.

  The hand in her hair wandered to her nape, fisted, and pulled on the soft strands until she looked back at him. Gabriel took a moment to study her, rolling her head from one side to the other; her nose was small, perfectly shaped, and bowed down to her lips – full lips, kissable lips.

  But whatever Kat had seen in his eyes during his slow perusal, she had misjudged it because before Gabriel could answer her question, her hands balled into fists, bunching up the material of his chest.

  “Why did you do this to me, Gabriel? You played me, lied to me when I trusted you with my life. Did you laugh at me all of those times when I spoke about my childhood?” The way she said his name sounded like she wanted to cry.

  This girl was driving him to his limits!

  He pushed her head against his, breathing fire through his nose. “Can’t remember having a laugh at you. But you know what? I might have played you a little, and can’t remember having a taste of you either.”

  “You are disgusting.” She hissed.

  “That’s new. You didn’t think so back in the cabin.” He saw her swallow and then narrow her eyes at him.

  “I don’t ever want to see you again. You and Maryan, I hate you!”

  In response, he meshed their lips together.

  His lips were soft and challenging at the same time, bruising hers, demanding entrance, and dominating her into surrender. When he felt her melt beneath his finger, he waited for her to protest, but instead, she surrendered to him. And he groaned in sweet agony.

  But then, he let go of her.

  “You can go back to your little fantasy world and pretend your adventure with the mob never happened, but try forgetting me.” He rasped and stormed out of the room.

  Sweet Jesus, but she was killing him!

  ***

  “You’ve been living like a hermit ever since that trip.” Andrea pouted. “I still think it’s so unfair how you just abandoned me to travel to some secluded part of the world with your grandmother.”

  “Sorry.” Kat blanched at the lie. “It was a surprise trip.”

  “Surprise trips are on weekends, and this was a few weeks’ worth of vacation, woman!”

  “You know my grandparents,” Kat offered meekly.

  “Yeah, life’s unfair. Next time just visit an internet café or something and inform me about your whereabouts. I was a bit freaked out when I couldn’t reach you. And let me tell you, I so do not enjoy talking to your grandmother. She was as uptight as ever.”

  “I’m sorry, Dee.”

  Kat couldn’t look her friend in the eye. She hated lying, even if it was for a good cause. That’s why she ignored the snide remark regarding her Baba.

  Reuniting with her grandparents had been fantastic. Her Baba hadn’t scolded her, but cried and had hugged her for hours, and four weeks later, she could still barely believe that she had gotten a second chance in life. She had spent the first week in her grandparent’s apartment, relishing in their company, pampering them, and only asking a bare minimum of questions about Maryan.

  And eventually, she had faced her fear of being alone and had gone to her flat.

  She still thought about Gabriel, and sometimes she couldn’t keep her mind from wondering about Maryan, her father. At first, she had remained angry, but gradually she had started to lose some of her resentment and started processing what she had found out.

  Was it strange that she had become more curious? What she had told Gabriel had been the truth. She didn’t like the mafia and their business, and she hadn’t wanted to see either him or Maryan again at that time. But contrary to what everyone believed, Kat wasn’t as naïve and gullible anymore. Somehow, she was okay with the darker side of life existing; she just didn’t want to participate in it. Frankly, it frightened her.

  “Kat! Earth to Kat.”

  She shook herself out of her stupor and looked at a grinning Andrea.

  Kat had been gone long enough for her friends to worry, so her grandparents had told them that she was on a long vacation with her grandmother. And because her grandparents had always been very uptight, they had discouraged any contact between her and her friends; after all, it hadn’t been the first time she had had to turn off her phone during what was considered family time. That’s why none of her friends had questioned it.

  Ever since the meet and greet with the mafia, there was guardedness back to her leaving her own four walls, so much so that the first few times she had been out on the streets during daylight, she had looked around every five steps.

  Slowly she had adjusted back into her life, and now, for the first time since being back, she had gone out with her friends. In the evening. This time, though, Kat would see to it that all of them took a cab back home.

  Looking out the windows of the bar into the lively street, she couldn’t deny feeling a little queasy, so she didn’t plan on staying much longer. She would never stray from the main street again, and she would avoid all the small alleys even during day time, as she has been doing.

  “I’m fine. I was just thinking about my studies; I missed a few courses.” Kat hoped her smile was convincing enough.

  “Well, next time maybe you’ll think about that. That’s called karma. The last time I was on the beach was years ago, and you just lived a high life somewhere off the map.” Andrea shot her friend a calculating look. “A place that doesn’t even exist.” But then her smile turned warm. “Remember to take pics next time you’re there.”

  Andrea was a good friend; she really was, and Kat loved her even more for keeping her suspicions to herself. There was no way she could involve her friend into this.

  “I-”

  Suddenly, Andrea leaned forward, cupping Kat's hand with one of her own. “Just tell me one thing.” She sounded all serious. “Were you hurt wherever you were?”

  Kat held her breath. How could she answer that? “Not really,” she said as truthfully as possible.

  “You can tell me anything, you know. I won’t judge you.” Andrea softly said.

  Oh, Kat wanted to wrap her arms around her friend and kiss her cheeks, to ease her thoughts, but whatever she was speculating, the truth needed to be kept out of it.

  “Dee,” Kat said, smiling. “I know. I’m fine, and everything is fine now.”

  “Then why do you look over your shoulder like you’re afraid the boogeyman is going to jump at you from behind? Why do you spend even more time at home than before you moved out of your grandparents’?”

  For one, she felt like the boogeyman was spying on her from every corner. Sometimes, the hairs on the nape of her neck stood so upright that she thought for sure that Ivo would suddenly appear and kill her on the spot.

  “Look, I’ve just been very busy wi
th catching up on my studies,” Kat said. “Really.” She squeezed Andrea’s hand, telling her with her eyes that this part of the conversation was over. “I’m anxious to meet your new boyfriend. I still can’t believe that it happened in such a short time.” Kat quickly changed the topic.

  Andrea nodded once, and all seriousness left her face.

  “Love at first sight, I tell you.” Andrea giggled and blushed. Kat was delighted to see her friend in such a state.

  With Gabriel, it had been fright at first sight. His mask had literally scared her into fainting.

  “And where is that lover boy of yours?” Kat asked.

  “He is- Oh! There he is.” Andrea beamed. “Now be nice, his friend is gorgeous and single. Lorry is now on vacation – damn you both – so it’s your turn first.” Before she could protest, two young men approached their table.

  Kat should have known that Andrea would use any opportunity to pair her up with a potential date. But with Gabriel still fresh on her mind, she didn’t want to seek out the company of another man. Although, maybe something so starkly normal was exactly what she needed.

  Andrea stood to greet her boyfriend with an intense kiss. He was tall with a slim build, reddish hair, and friendly eyes. His friend was a bit smaller but broader, with a pleasant boyish grin, and she deciphered the spark in his eyes for interest. Gabriel had never looked at her like that; he had always been more intense, drawing attention to himself with a mere tilt of his head.

  She would have loved to see him smile, but she concluded that he had worn a permanent scowl even underneath the mask.

  “Kat, this is Mark.” Andrea introduced her boyfriend. “And that’s Eric, his best friend.”

  Kat shook their hands as they settled down, and Eric took the seat next to her.

  “Kat, finally! I’ve heard a lot about you already,” Eric said.

  “Oh?” She cocked her eyebrow.

  “Only good things, I swear,” Andrea said with a wink.

  “Yes, I can attest to that,” Eric said and smiled charmingly.

  He was trying to charm her. For a change, it was nice to be pursued by a nice guy, not somebody as dark as Gabriel had been. And he hadn’t pursued her because, if her memory served her right, she had initiated both sexual encounters between them. He had only kissed her that one time in Maryan’s penthouse, a kiss that was more punishing than sought out to seduce her.