Page 31 of Room Twenty-Three: Tangled & Teased

“Don’t you fucking dare finish that sentence,” Atty says.

Sometimes, I hate this job. The more I’m with Erin, the more I can see myself with her. Yes, she is too young, too vibrant for my old soul. But she’s also got a sassy mouth that I’d like to hear just before I spanked her ass.

But the job has ruined my sex life, my personal life and any chance I have of becoming a father, a husband... Oh, I know I chose it, but it’s days like today I really feel it. Unfortunately, this is a dangerous life. Atty, Beau and I have each other’s backs and we never let our guard down unless we are one hundred percent in tune with each other.

She sighs. “I’m going to my room,” she says, trying to sound unaffected but failing miserably. She doesn’t turn and look at Atty, or Beau, certainly not to me. Her shoulders slouch as she walks away. There’s a darkness washing over me and I want to scream, but I know I can’t.

How can I?

Beau sighs beside me, just as his cell rings. He walks away as he answers.

“We can’t do it to her,” I say, waiting for Beau to return. “She is too fucking pure for us.” I shake my head.

“And Lia?”

“Forget Lia. Erin is not right for us. How can we bring her into our world? You heard Lia talking about her. How perfect she is. How can we bring her into our lives?”

“She is on the run from the fucking Mafia. How fucking imperfect is her life?” Atty hisses.

“This is temporary. She isn’t the target. Lia is. Erin can go back to her perfect world. Work for her father and meet a nice man.”

Atty shakes his head. “You haven’t got a fucking clue what she was about to say, have you? Erin hates her father. He treats her like garbage. Wouldn’t let her be the dancer she wanted to be. Even getting her ballet teacher to tell her she was too fucking fat to dance for a living.” He takes a breath. which I am happy about as I wait for my heartbeat to regulate. “And now she has body issues because of it.”

“What?” I look up to the ceiling for a moment, before turning back to Atty. “And how do you know?”

“Because...” Atty exhales deeply, closes his eyes as his tongue swipes over his lips. I know he wants to tell me, but he knows now is not the right time. He knows I’m right; what is the point? We can’t taint Erin with the darkness of our lives. “We needed to know everyone involved with Lia, including Erin.”

“I’m sorry, Atty.” I’m not immune to his feelings. I hate these men I work with are experiencing this pain.

Atty sighs. “Me too. I feel we’re going to be dealing with this forever. None of us ever want the same woman, which means we’ll never find love,” Atty says, taking a slow sip of his amber colored drink as he thinks earnestly.

I made the rule we could never date clients, probably because I knew it would be a client that at least one of us would fall in love with. I also made them promise that this business would only thrive if we waited for the day we found a woman that suited all of us, all our needs.

I don’t believe it’s possible to find that woman. We’ve spent the past three years with Lia and many other clients over the years. We’ve also spent a handful of occasions at Club Sin in London. Not enough time to find the one who suits our needs. Truthfully, I don’t believe we will ever find her.

“What if it’s Erin?” Atty asks. It’s as though he knows my thoughts.

I turn to him, but I don’t reply. Because I can’t give him an answer.

What if she’s the one?

I like Erin. Of course I do. She’s gorgeous, bubbly and when she smiles, I feel like I lose myself in her gaze.

I don’t answer him. He sighs and walks away, before sitting on the sofa at the end and staring into the glass gripped in his hand.

I swirl my glass of bourbon, wanting to knock it back and feel the burn as it glides down my throat.

Beau comes into the room, waving his cell.

I think the worst. “Has another girl gone missing?”

He shakes his head. “No, our team has found the girl who went missing two years ago.”

Chapter 11

Atty

It’sbeenagreatday. Finding out the girl who went missing two years ago is still alive is something we’re still elated about. Because we normally deal with clients who have some involvement with the Mafia. And when someone goes missing in those circles, there is a macabre reason. Meaning, they’re either never seen again or worse, they’re a grisly find.

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