Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 35

EMMA

“For God’s sake, Ben, I’m working!”

“You wouldn’t answer my fuckin’ texts,” he growls over the phone. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know—wait, maybe? At least until I came back home!” I glance nervously at Ruslan’s door. If he comes out here and sees me on yet another personal call, I’m a dead woman. He’ll rake my ass over the coals for the sheer thrill of it.

I wince at the mere thought of my rear end. Every time I sit down, I’m reminded of the punishment I received at Ruslan’s hand last night. The whole day, I’ve oscillated between feeling sore and aroused.

I guess, when you’re sleeping with the boss, that’s just an occupational hazard.

Ben’s voice jolts me back to reality. “I don’t know how long that’ll take and I need money now!”

I bite my tongue to stop the steam of expletives from bubbling over. “You already have courtside Knicks tickets and a fridge full of beer. What could you possibly need money for now?”

“I have fucking needs, Emma.”

I have no idea what that means and I have no intention of asking. “I’m hanging up now, Ben.”

“If you hang up, I’ll just keep calling.”

“Then I’ll just keep hanging up.”

“Don’t make me come down there.”

I nearly gag with fear. “You wouldn’t!”

“Just watch me. I will—”

“Okay,” I hiss. “You blackmailing bastard. How much do you want?”

“Two hundred bucks.”

I answer automatically. “I don’t have that.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m serious—”

“Okay, see you at the office, in like, half an hour?”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Just transfer the money directly into my—Caro, Rae! Shut the hell up, I’m on the phone—into my account.”

“Don’t swear at them!” I hiss.

He just ignores me. “Go ahead and do it now. I can stay on the line with you while you make the transfer.”

You have got to be kidding me.

The thing is, I can’t afford to have Ben come down here and stir up shit. So I cave, which is probably the worst thing to do, but I can’t really see another way out.

I open my work laptop and pull up my personal banking page. “I’m transferring the money now. But seriously, this is the last of my cash for the month.”

“Sure, sure.” His voice goes muffled as he holds the phone away from his mouth. I hear mumbling, a few punctured screams in the background, and the sound of skittering footsteps. Then the line clears and his voice comes through again. “Are you doing it? The money hasn’t come through—Caro, stop crying, I barely touched you… I don’t know… just ignore him—shit, where was I? Oh, right, the money. Done yet?”

I click the transfer button and it starts to process my request. The screen is hijacked by a big rotating circle that informs me not to close the page.

“What is Caroline crying about?”

“Huh?”

“Ben, what is your daughter crying about?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Um… dunno, something about this creepy guy following them.”

“What creepy guy?”

“Fuck if I know. Just kids being kids. Josh probably made it up to scare the girls.”

For goodness’ sake, does this man know his kids at all? “This is Josh you’re talking about, Ben. That boy wouldn’t scare a fly, let alone his sisters. And he doesn’t lie.”

“Bingo. Just got the payment. Later, Em.”

“Ben, hold on! I need to know who this guy—”

But it’s too late. The line goes dead and I’m left staring at the picture of Josh, Caroline, and Reagan on my screen, wondering if I should be panicking.

No need to panic. Just stay calm and gather more information.

Knowing that Ben is a lost cause, I call Amelia. She picks up immediately, but she’s not her usual chipper self. I want to ask what’s wrong, but I need to check in on the kids first. “Amelia, can I talk to Josh, please?”

“Of course. Hang on.”

My knee is bouncing wildly when Josh takes the phone. “Auntie Em?”

“Hey, bud, I was just on the phone with your dad. He mentioned that Caroline was crying because some guy was following you? Is that right?”

Josh hesitates. “Yeah…”

My heart drops. “Are you sure he was following you?”

“He was watching us from outside the gate at school yesterday. And he followed us home today. He tried saying something to Caro at recess, too. I don’t like him.”

Okay, I’m very close to full-on Panic Mode. “What did he look like?” “Um, I dunno, normal? Skinny and blonde. He just didn’t look nice, though.”

I want to vomit. That’s that reporter. Remmy something.

“The next time you see this man,” I say as casually as I can, “I want you to call me immediately, okay?” He’s quiet for a moment. “Josh? Did you hear me?”

“He’s standing out on the street, Auntie Em. He’s been watching the apartment since we got home from school.”

Panic.

Panic. Panic.

I jump to my feet. “I’ll be home soon, honey, okay? Now, can you hand the phone back to Amelia?”

I arrange with Amelia to make sure she will stay with the kids until I get there. Then I grab my purse and beeline for the elevators.

“Where do you think you’re going, Ms. Carson?”

That icy snarl freezes me in my tracks.

Of course he chooses this moment to step out of his office. I’m starting to think he has a security camera aimed at my desk so he can keep track of my every movement.

“I’m leaving.” The panic is eroding all my more diplomatic sensibilities. “I’ve got a family emergency. The kids need me.”