Monster: Made & Broken (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance) (13 page)

A vague memory from last night brushed through my mind—the faintest whisper of the things Marcus had said about seeing me pregnant, and for a second I imagined myself swollen with his child. What it would feel like to have a little one to care for—and a man like Marcus to share it with.

Yeah, because getting pregnant with a mafia son’s child—a mafia son you’ve known for a grand total of two days, no less—would be the best idea ever.
I mentally slapped myself, hard, until whatever idiotic seed all Marcus’ baby talk had planted in my brain withered and died. Two days ago I’d thought of the man as a monster, and while I was beginning to understand that that was far from the truth, I also wasn’t some harebrained girl looking to settle down with the first man with enough cash to want a dedicated housewife.

I pressed a hand to my abdomen and refocused on my more immediate problem. I’d managed to take a pill yesterday, so as far as I understood basic biology, last night’s sexcapades wouldn’t end up with a surprise pregnancy. Which meant my problem was just moving forward—and ensuring I didn’t fall for Marcus’ devious lips and that innate fire that went straight to my ovaries whenever he looked like he wanted to devour me.

All right. With some planning, a lot of self-control, and a good heap of luck, I might be able to get through this without giving in to Marcus’ demands for a baby.

Damn that man.

I got dressed, wrapped my feet as best I could on my own, and left the bathroom, and when I heard noises of pots and pans and detected the delicious scent of bacon spreading through the penthouse, I steered myself in the direction of the kitchen. I found Marcus in front of the stove, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. His feet were bare, and when he spotted me, he offered a relaxed smile. “Morning.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, forcing the softness in my heart back when I realized it was the first time I’d seen him look so… content. The cloud of darkness that usually loomed behind his gray gaze was nowhere in sight.

“
Yeah, morning to you too. Quick question—when we made that deal about me being your companion in return for your protection… you really only cared about the baby part, didn’t you?”

He shrugged as he stirred what looked like a pan-full of scrambled eggs.

“
You’re a real arse,” I growled. “You can’t just force me to have your kid—it’s not the fucking forties.”

“
I’m not forcing you. You agreed to the deal.” Despite my crass language, he remained infuriatingly calm.

I balled my hands into fists by my sides, hating that he was right. He hadn’t forced me… I just hadn’t had much of a choice if I wanted to not get horrifically murdered by Brigs. Part of me wanted to push him, to demand what he’d do if I refused to have sex with him again, but the smarter part thankfully shut that down before I opened my mouth. I didn’t much relish the thought of spending my foreseeable future locked up in a basement somewhere.

I sat down on the bar stool by the kitchen island and glared at his perfect, broad back while he continued cooking what looked like would end up as a full English breakfast. Mid-glare, my gaze snagged on the black phone that lay on the island just within my reach.
His
phone.

A stab of vengeance made me reach for it as inconspicuously as I could, and to my surprise I managed to snatch it without him noticing. I swiped the screen and was greeted by a picture of a tall, dark-haired man who looked a lot like Marcus with his arm around a small woman with chestnut hair, a happy smile, and a baby in her arms that looked a lot like the one in the frame by the TV. It had to be his brother, Blaine, and his family.

Hmm.
I hadn’t had much of a plan when I grabbed his phone apart from just violating his privacy a bit as petty revenge for him getting rid of my birth control, but the image of his brother made me remember our talk last night, before things got… carnal.

I wondered if he’d been in touch with Blaine, or any of his other brothers while I was sleeping, and flicked my way into his call logs. Nothing since yesterday. I found my way to his texts and scrolled through them. Nothing there, either. In fact, when I snooped a bit further, all his texts were one-word answers to someone else texting him a time or a place, either confirming or denying.

I recalled the fear and pain in his eyes when he’d talked about his family being splintered if they found out, and my heart broke for him all over again. But if he didn’t do this… I’d only known him for a few days and he might be trying to get me pregnant despite my obvious reluctance, but one thing I was sure of was that I didn’t want him to be hurt by the gruesome man I’d seen in that video.

I scrolled through his contacts and found the one marked
“
Blaine”
. With skilled swiftness I typed,
“
Can you come by today? We need to talk about dad.”
and hit
“
send”
before I quickly slid the phone back to its original position.

The small sound it made against the marble made Marcus turn around, his questioning expression turning into mistrust as he looked from me to his phone. “Did you touch my phone?”

I shrugged, pretending like the sudden darkening of his handsome features wasn’t scary in the least. “Maybe.”

“
Evelyn.”
There was an unmistakable warning in his deep voice, and my attempt at bravado cracked like an egg.

“
I texted your brother and asked him to come by.”

Marcus stared at me as if he wasn’t sure I’d lost my mind.

“
You said you’d tell them about your dad, but when I looked, you hadn’t been in contact with anyone. I’m just making sure you don’t make a mistake you can’t take back because you’re afraid,” I explained, and then paled when I realized what I’d said. I’d commented on the moment of weakness he’d shown me last night, and judging from the way Marcus’ nostrils pulled up, it wasn’t appreciated.

“
That was not for you to do,” he growled, and I could see the anger flickering behind his gray eyes. He no longer looked content, and I felt a stab of guilt. I pushed it aside and returned his dark look, pushing out my jaw to steel myself.

“
Were you going to do it? Honestly? And if you were, when? I know it’s a big deal, and I know it’s none of my business. But I saw what was on that video, Marcus. I may not know your family, but I know a man capable of truly despicable things when I see one. Your dad… he could choose to hurt any of your brothers and you might be too late to stop it. He could choose to hurt
you.
You know this needs to happen, I know you do.” I slid off the bar stool and walked the few steps around the kitchen island so I could reach out for him, placing my hand against his warm arm.

He stared down at me, at where my hand was touching his skin. “Why do you care?” he asked, lifting his burning gaze to mine. “Why do you care what happens to me, or to my family?”

I swallowed thickly, unable to look away from his eyes. Why
did
I care? It wasn’t just the guilt of how I’d deceived him to steal that video from him, that much I was pretty sure of. I’d done much worse to other men while working for Brigs, even if he was the first I’d gone all the way with. But then what was it? The weird pull I’d felt toward him from the first time we’d met?

Was it the fact that, behind the darkness and danger that radiated off him and kept everyone else at bay, I’d seen the gentleness and longing he kept so closely guarded? That he was the only one who had gone out of his way to care for me and protect me since my mother got sick?

“
You’re a good person,” I said softly. “You don’t deserve to carry all that pain on your own.”

Marcus stared down at me for the longest time before he finally said, “I’m not a good person, Evelyn. I’m a monster.”

The way he said it, so calmly, it almost masked the flicker of pain in his eyes, made my heart break for him. Hadn’t I thought the same thing, when I saw him tear Leo apart? He’d been an animal, slave to his rage, and he’d scared me so much I’d run as fast as I could to get away. But what he’d done, he’d done to the man who’d hurt me.

Despite my initial fear of him, I’d felt safe in his hands since the first night we spent together. I’d felt safe enough to offer him my companionship, and I’d gratefully taken the protection of his presence in return. As I looked up at him, I realized I felt safe with him because that’s exactly what I was.

“
You’re not a monster. Whatever else you are, you’re not that. Even after what I did to you, you’re still making sure Brigs won’t hurt me again. No monster would do that.” I gave his arm a squeeze and offered him a faint smile. “And no monster would have his brother’s family as his phone’s background.”

Marcus looked at me in silence for a long moment before he gently grabbed my chin and tipped my head up. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me, and my heart sped up until I could feel it beating hard against my ribs. But he just searched my eyes, an expression of curiosity and something I couldn’t decipher playing across his handsome face.

A sharp beep from his phone shattered the moment. Marcus let go of my face and grabbed the phone, and I drew in a shuddering mouthful of air, realizing I’d been holding my breath.

“
What is it?” I asked when a small frown formed between Marcus’ eyebrows.

“
Blaine’s coming over in an hour,” he said, not taking his eyes off the phone. “To talk about our father.”

* * * *

Chapter 15

Evelyn

I don’t know why, but the knowledge that I was about to meet one of Marcus’ family members made butterflies the size of albatrosses take up residence in my stomach.

I spent the first half hour dashing around the flat trying to figure out how to make myself useful, and finally settled on filling the dishwasher and putting on a load of laundry. Perhaps it was Marcus’ brooding energy that set my nerves on edge, or maybe it was the knowledge that I didn’t quite know how he was going to introduce me to his brother—and if he went with
“
This is the girl Brigs hired to steal from me,”
I wasn’t entirely sure his protection would extend to shield me from his family’s wrath.

“
What are you doing?”

I stopped wiping down of the sink and looked over my shoulder at Marcus, who had lifted his head for the first time since he got Blaine’s text.

“
Cleaning?” I gave the cloth in my hand a shake for emphasis. “We’re getting company in a second.” And also, it was what I did when I was nervous.

He arched an eyebrow at me. “You don’t need to do that.”

“
I’m pretty sure that’s what my part of the deal is,” I countered. “I’m your companion, if you recall. Isn’t cleaning and cooking part of the job?”

“
It’s not. Come here.”

Hesitantly, I obeyed, putting the cloth down by the sink. When he motioned for me to take a seat on the bar stool next to him, I did. “Then what am I here for?”

“
Company,” he said as he bent to snatch up one of my feet. He lifted it up in his lap and gave the bandages a careful inspection. “You shouldn’t be on your feet so much.”

“
They’re much better already,” I said, and then sighed when he undid the strip of gauze to adjust it. “You’re fussing.”

Marcus only grunted in reply, and then grabbed my other foot so he could fix that bandage too.

I watched him work, his large hands surprisingly nimble and gentle as he wrapped my damaged feet, and I wondered if he meant that I was here for company, or if it was just a nice way of saying that all he really wanted from me was to breed me like livestock.

A knock on the door startled me. Instinctively, I pulled on the foot still locked in Marcus’ grasp.

He gave me an admonishing look before he finished wrapping the bandage, ensuring it was exactly how he wanted it. Only then did he get up from the stool and walk over to open the door.

The man on the other side was nearly as tall as Marcus, with the same shade of black hair and approximately the same wide build. He was also flanked by a short woman with a fussy toddler in her arms. I recognized them all from the picture on Marcus phone and frowned. Seemed Blaine had brought his family.

“
Mira,” Marcus said. He sounded surprised too, but nevertheless bent to brush a kiss against her cheek and press one to the head of the toddler.

“
Hi, Marcus,” she chirped happily, and then shoved the kid into his arms without preamble. “He’s been a right pain this week. I think he’s teething again.”

The baby gurgled and twisted in Marcus’ arms, dropping the rattle he’d been happily chewing on to grasp at his uncle with both hands.

“
Who’s this?” the man in the door asked, his eerily familiar gray eyes zeroing in on me. They looked so much like Marcus’, only without the looming darkness. It wasn’t that Blaine didn’t look like he could be pretty damn dangerous if you crossed him, but there wasn’t the same viciousness just behind the surface.

“
Oh, hello!” the woman—Mira—said, her head popping up as she finally spotted me. She’d been focused on her kid and Marcus up until then.