Page 77 of Demanding Mob Boss

I put my hand out and shake my head vehemently. "No, thank you. I'll use the line I have with my service to activate it again with a new number and give it to a friend of mine."

Both Ini and I will feel better if Mrs. Hart has access to a cell phone.

I don’t see or talk to Cian over the next couple of days, but there's an air of tension around the building. Even Jimmy isn't his usual affable self. So, I know something is going on.

Cian sends me texts though. Screenshots of me throughout the day to show me he's watching me. Every time I get one it gives me a warm tingly feeling, but I still miss seeing him. I want to breathe the same air as him. I want to inhale his scent and block out all the other scents that make me feel anxious.

I want to touch his penis again and feel his hands on my body. I want his strong arms around me blocking out the world. I want him to tell me to leave my bra off, but not until I'm back in his office working. There's no point when I'd have to wear a jacket or sweater all day in Jimmy's office for modesty's sake.

I get a text ping in the middle of the night and see it's from him. I grab my new phone and check the text. It's not a picture this time.

Cian:Take off your sleep camisole.

I don't think about denying him.

It's hot in our apartment. We don't have air conditioning and summer temperatures in Chicago can make it stifling. Even so, I've been using my blanket lean-to every night so when my phone's screen lights up with a text it won't bother Ini.

Besides, I like the feeling that Cian and I are in here, in our own little world. Even if he's somewhere else in the city, his texts let me know that he's watching. That he's with me.

I don't like sleeping without a blanket. It feels wrong, but tonight I'm trying to make do with just my sheet. I push it off and pull my nightie up my body and toss it to the end of my mattress, leaving me in only my panties.

Making no effort to cover my breasts, I lie on my bed and let myself feel the weight of Cian's eyes on my body. Despite the warm air, my nipples bead from pure arousal. My panties are wet.

My phone pings with another text and I check it.

Cian:Beautiful. Sleep well,mo chroí.

And I do, without the sheet or my camisole. I dream about Cian's hands on my body.

~ ~ ~

The next day, Jimmy sends me home early, saying he doesn't have anything for me to do. I get the sense that he's lying, but I don't press him. As I exit the elevator into the parking garage, I see two big SUVs pulling into spots. Arlo and Tommy both step forward and flank me, sort of frog marching me to the car.

As we pull out of our parking spot, I watch as several men with grim faces and the aura of danger I'm coming to recognize get out of the SUVs.

Did Jimmy want me out of the building before they got there?

"Today is bookstore day," I tell Tommy, who is driving. "I'll go early since I have the time."

He nods. Unlike Arlo, Tommy doesn’t talk much, which I appreciate. Arlo is not exactly chatty, but he usually responds verbally. Tommy doesn't unless he has no choice but to speak. I rarely see my other guard, Eoin.

I spend an hour browsing in the bookstore. I find a used book on Irish history and another about the mob in America, but one of my favorite authors has a new release out too. It takes me most of that hour to decide which book to put back.

Asking the clerk if she can hold the book on Irish history for me for a week, I put the other two on the counter.

"No problem, Anna. But you know the policy. One week max and then it goes back on the shelf."

"Thank you." I don't get paid again for ten more days, but maybe if I skimp on something else. I sigh, knowing it's unlikely, but I don't tell her to put it back on the shelves.

Maybe Ini will lend me the money, if she has it. She knows I'll pay her back with my next check.

Stepping outside, someone grabs my arm. "Anna Lake?"

Trying to pull my arm away, I don't answer. Why aren't Tommy and Arlo stepping in to help? Isn't that what bodyguards do?

"You are Anna Lake?" It's a different voice. A woman. She steps in front of me and I see the shiny badge on her belt, right next to the not so shiny gun.

I swallow and nod.

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