Page 203 of Morally Gray Daddies

“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 it when 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.

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