Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Patrick

"What are you doing?"

I shift my gaze away from my computer screen and blink a few times. Shit, I need some eyedrops or something. Staring at the monitor so intently hurts. It's for a good cause, though. Destroying Joseph Clayburn and making him suffer before I really make him suffer is the greatest pleasure. I can hardly wait until the day that I get to watch him bleed out slowly while the life drains from his body.

"Ruining someone's life. What are you all doing? In here. Where I'm trying to work."

Cali, Scarlet, Chloe, Paisley, and Katie stare at me from the other side of my desk. The fact that I didn't hear them come in worries me. Normally, they can be heard from a mile away.

"Why haven't you brought her yet?" Cali asks, folding her arms over her chest.

I narrow my eyes. "Who?"

The girls scoff and roll their eyes. It's so easy to get a rise out of them. It's also a lot of fun messing with them, especially because they do the same with me.

"You know exactly who." Chloe raises her eyebrows, and it's a struggle not to laugh. I think she's attempting to give me a stern look, but instead, she looks like she's eaten something sour. Fucking adorable.

"We want to meet her." Scarlet puts her hands on the desk and sticks her bottom lip out dramatically. "We've been so good all week. We haven't done one single prank because we thought if we behaved, you'd bring your girl over."

My chest warms, and I lean back in my chair to stare at the five of them. They are a lot of things. Bratty. Mischievous. Loud. Obnoxious at times. Pushy as hell. They're also some of the sweetest women I've ever met. They open their hearts to every new girl who joins the mafia family. It's really special.

"Did you know that my mom and Declan's were friends way back when? There was a whole group of girls in the family who were friends just like you are." I smile softly, thinking about them causing havoc around the estate.

Paisley glances at the women and then back at me. "Okay, that's really nice. We are asking about something different, though. Have you been drinking already?"

Chuckling, I shake my head. "Not a drop. Why do you want to meet her so badly?"

"Because we already know we're going to like her. And she's going to love us. It's going to be great. The six of us will be besties. Then all we have to do is find Ronan a girl and we'll be one big happy family." Cali throws her hands in the air as she ends the sentence, a huge grin plastered on her face.

I don't remember exactly what her past was, but I don't think she and Scarlet had much of a home life. They've both thrived being in our family.

"She's scared," I finally say. "She's not mine willingly."

Katie's mouth falls open. "You kidnapped her? How could you do that? I thought the Irish protected women."

Fuck. Now Katie is going to hate me.

"I didn't kidnap her." How do I explain this? "I mean, I kind of did. Listen, I'm not hurting her or anything like that. I took her from a bad situation. She was being abused."

Scarlet's eyes become watery, and I'm almost to the point of calling their men in because it's about to become a cryfest in here. All because of me.

"She doesn't talk much, and she's still afraid of me. I've left her at my place each day so she can relax and start to trust me."

"Is it working?" Paisley asks.

I shrug. "I don't know."

As much as I'd like to say yes, I'm just not sure. She's said some words to me here and there, and she meets me in the kitchen at six every night to eat dinner. She's even taken a bite of food from my fork once when I offered it to her.

Then, when I think it's getting better, she'll do something to make me think otherwise, whether it's trembling if I get too close or quickly moving her gaze to the ground so she's not giving me eye contact.

It's confusing. I shouldn't have feelings for her, but I do. It doesn't matter that I don't know her. I care about her. I love itwhen she gives me a brief smile or when her face lights up whenever I suggest she go relax in the bathtub. I might be her captor, but she's capturing me at the same time.

"We'll be gentle with her. Besides, she might feel better about you after talking to us." Cali motions toward all of them. "We'll say nice things about you."

Jesus, fuck. When did I become a softie? I'm melting for these brats. I also really want to bring Ana to meet them.

"I'll see how this weekend goes. Maybe I'll bring her over with me on Monday, but I'm not promising anything." I point at them and shoot them a stern expression.

Ignoring me completely, they all start jumping up and down with excitement. I already know if Ana isn't with me on Monday morning, I'll probably get a face full of Silly String by the end of the day.

* * *

Laughter.

It's coming from inside my penthouse. And it's not just from Helen.

I stand outside the door for several seconds, just listening. I can't make out the words being said, but I do know that one of those voices belongs to Ana.

Finally, when I start to feel like a creeper, I let myself in. As soon as the door closes behind me, both women turn to look at me. Helen shoots a smirk my way while Ana freezes completely.

The cords in my neck tense. I fucking hate that she's so afraid. All because of him .

"What are you two up to?" I ask as nonchalantly as I can.

Helen stands and sways. She's drunk. What the fuck? I glance at Ana and narrow my gaze. Her eyes are glazed over. Is she drunk, too? Shit.

"We're gossiping, and you're interrupting," Helen says as she shrugs and looks around the room as if searching for something. "Where the hell is my purse?"

I keep my focus on Ana, who won't make eye contact with me. She's leaning heavily against the back of the couch. Yeah. They're both plowed.

"You got her drunk?" I gesture toward my girl. Because that's exactly what she is. Mine .

"Yes. We had a lovely time. Although you really should have told her that you're in the mafia when you kidnapped her. All this time, she thought you were a kindergarten teacher." Helen bursts out laughing at that, flapping her hands like she just said the funniest thing ever.

I glare at my housekeeper. A look that makes most people tremble. Not her, though. She just smiles.

"I should fire you," I murmur.

She throws her head back and cackles. "But you won't. Because you love me. Now, I need someone to drive me home."

Letting out a sigh, I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Charlie, asking him to turn around and come back to the building to get my drunk housekeeper.

Out of the corner of my eye, Ana moves, so I turn to look at her just as she slithers down to lie on the couch with a soft smile on her lips.

"Jesus," I mutter. "How much did you have to drink?"

Helen's phone dings, and as soon as she looks at it, she lifts her shoulders and walks past me. Although walks is putting it nicely. More like staggers in a zigzag toward the front door.

"I don't know," she sings, then holds up her index finger and turns toward me with a wicked smile. "But I do know we drank your most expensive whiskey and it's gone. Have a good night!"

And then she's gone, and I'm left staring at my front door, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

Did my housekeeper just tell me off? After she drank my best whiskey which costs over five thousand dollars a bottle.

Soft, bubbling giggles snap me out of my thoughts. Peering over at Ana, my lips twitch right along with my cock.

She covers her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh.

"What's so funny, little girl?"

"I don't know. But I think I like whiskey."

I chuckle and lower myself to the opposite end of the couch, her feet right by my thighs. My fingers ache to touch her, but she just said more words to me in one sentence than she's ever said before, so I don't want to startle her. The last thing I want is for her to clam up on me right now. Why didn't I think about getting her drunk to get her talking? Helen is a genius. I need to give the woman a raise.

"Yeah? Did you have fun with Helen?"

Like a light switch, her eyes widen, and she scoots to sit up. Unable to stop myself because I want her as close to me as possible, I grab her ankle, keeping her from getting away.

"Relax, Anastasia. I'm glad you spent time with her. She's a pain in my ass, but she's a good woman. You can go to her for anything."

When she doesn't try to pull away from me, I release her and rest my hand on her leg.

"What did Helen tell you about me?"

Ana stares at me, her long black eyelashes fluttering with each blink. The light streaming in through the windows makes her glassy eyes sparkle like diamonds. She's breathtaking. And each day she's here, she looks a bit healthier.

"She said you're in the mafia."

I slowly stroke my thumb over the exposed skin on her ankle. "I am. I was born and raised in the mafia."

I'm not sure what else to tell her.

"Are you going to have sex with me?"

My head snaps up and whips to the side to look at her. She doesn't appear afraid. It makes me wonder if she's been worrying about this since I first brought her here. I should have put her in an apartment alone, so she didn't have to live with that kind of fear. The thing is, I want her close to me so I can watch over her. Take care of her. Protect her.

"Not unless you wanted to, Ana. I've done a lot of bad things, but forcing a woman will never be one of them."

Why didn't I say no? The only thing I should want to do is help her. And I do want that.

I also want to make her mine in every sense of the word.