Page 14 of Mafia Toy

Laila gazed up at me, slightly arching her brow, as if she was scolding me. She had told me not to threaten Sage, and I hadn’t. But that didn’t mean Sage hadn’t needed a little convincing to sign that contract and bring it to me.

I had killed men before for even looking at my wife wrong. I had taken care of countless people to protect her, including her own family members. I didn’t have a problem giving someone abetter opportunitythan their previous job.

Sage would never find out anyway.

Her ex-boss wouldn’t speak a word to her about it. He had almost shit himself when I walked into his office Thursday night, held a gun to his thick, balding head, and told him that Sage Stonewell’s last day would be Friday.

Glancing at the iPad, Laila smiled nervously. “I didn’t know that you draw.”

Sage blushed. “Yeah, I do.”

“Do you do it for fun?”

“Sorta,” she said, teetering from foot to foot. “I had a job at an animation studio, but they just laid a couple of people off, including me. So, I …” Sage looked up at me. “I really appreciate your offer andthis.”

Fuck.

Laila cut her gaze to me and snatched my handhard. She knew.

“Maybe you could show me sometime,” Laila said, turning back to her.

Strands of dirty-blonde hair fell into Sage’s face. She smiled softly and nodded. “Maybe.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, and then Laila swallowed hard, the way she did when she didn’t know what else to say. The alcohol I had smelled on her breath earlier tonight must’ve worn off.

“We should get going, doll,” I said to save her.

“If you need anything,” Laila said, “we’re just a few floors up.”

I gently tugged Laila to the front door. “She knows where to find us.”

Once I shut the door behind us, Laila marched to the elevator with her arms crossed. She didn’t speak a single word until the elevator doors slid shut. Then, she threw her hands up. “You got her fired?!”

“No,” I lied.

“Oh, so it was a coincidence that the same day she decided to accept our offer, she got fired from her job?” She stared at me through wide, angry eyes. “I told you not to coerce her into joining us.”

“I didn’t coerce her into anything. All I did was pay her boss a visit last night.”

Laila’s angry expression contorted into one of sadness, her brow furrowing and her eyes getting big. “Why did you do it?” she whispered, drawing her arms tighter around herself. “What if she finds out?”

“She won’t find out, doll,” I said, sliding a hand around the back of her neck and tugging her forward. “I’ve done worse for you, and you know that. Why are you becoming so emotional about this? Do you regret what we did with her?”

Laila stayed quiet for a few moments, then pulled me tightly to her. “No, I don’t regret it.”

“Then, what is it?”

“I’m just nervous,” she whispered. “The same way I was with you when we started seeing each other. I don’t want her to find out that you had her fired just so she would accept our offer. I don’t want her to be angry with me.”

Laila always had this whole fear of people leaving her. She didn’t want to be alone, didn’t want people not to love every bit of her. I wasn’t complaining, but she gave too much of herself away to other people to please them.

Like that fucking Bethany bitch.

“If we’re going to do this, you need to be honest with me. Tell me if anything she does or if how I act with her bothers you.” I took my wife’s face in my hands and forced her to look up at me. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said, slightly nodding. Then, she stood on her toes and kissed me. “Thank you for this. For all of this. I don’t know any man in this family who would willingly invite someone else into the bedroom and not be a total creep about it.”

I tucked some hair behind her ear. “Everything I do is to make you happy.”

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