Page 42 of Demanding Mob Boss

But emotionally, she had a long road ahead of her. I don't know exactly what happened, but whatever it was put her in the hospital.

"I'll take you to see her when she gets home."

"I can go by myself," I mumble. "I'm not usually so…" I'm not sure how to term this sense that all my receptors have been opened, leaving me as defenseless as a newborn kitten to the press of humanity.

"You are exactly as you are meant to be, my Anna."

I wish I washisAnna, but it's a sweet thing to say, so I force a smile. "Thanks. I'll be better tomorrow."

He frowns. "I want to take you to my apartment."

"Will you be there?" I ask.

His frown darkens. "No."

He has to punish his sister's attackers. He hasn't said as much, but he told Lachlan to pick them up and take them somewhere that was not the police station.

"She didn't want to tell the officers who interviewed her who hurt her," I remark. "But she told your family."

"Mob justice doesn't have loopholes like our legal system."

I think even if Cian wasn't a boss in the mob, he would still mete out his own justice. He sees the world through a different lens. Like I do. Our lenses aren't the same, but they are both different than most people's.

CIAN

Anna decides she wants to go back to her apartment. I am not surprised, what did surprise me is that she considered going to my place. If I was going to be there, she might have been willing to return with me.

No matter how much I want to spend more time with my girl, I have two assholes to teach a lesson.

It takes us thirty minutes to reach Anna's building. She usually takes the L train and it makes me agitated every day thinking about her commute to and from the office on public transport. Anything could happen to her.

Anna is quiet. Lost in her own head, but she seems calmer than she was in the hospital. So, I spend the time on my phone, texting my men and checking my email. The dissonance between running the mob and our legit businesses is never more pronounced than today.

Images of my sister's bruised and broken body lying in that hospital bed keep flashing in my brain. Whenever my fury boils too close to the surface, I reach out and touch Anna. After a few minutes, she puts her hand on my thigh and I'm able to focus on my work.

Letting her return to her apartment after what happened in my office is harder than it should be. Even with my cameras in place. I want to assign a twenty-four hour protection detail on her, but the more people who know she is important to me, the more danger she is in.

Quinn, that bastard, suspects already. Who knows who the Murphy Boss told about my claim on Anna?

Just like Shea, Anna is now at risk because of her proximity to me. The selfish bastard that I am, I have no plans to distance myself from my girl either.

I'll know soon enough if my sister was hurt because of her connection to the mob, or if it was a random act of violence perpetrated by two college students that will have a degree in pain by the time Lachlan and I are done with them.

Looking down at Anna's small hand resting on my thigh, I can't ignore how vulnerable she is. Even more than Shea because Anna hasn't been taught to fight or how to handle a gun.

Fuck it.

I send texts to three of my most reliable men, Arlo, Eoin and Tommy. They'll work on rotation, so she always has someone alert on her. She won't need a guard at night, but they'll have to move into her building so they're nearby if there's trouble. I spell it all out for them in text. I expect them to get accommodation in her building by tonight.

How they do it is up to them. They know I'll pay to relocate tenants if necessary. They also know that failure is not an option and they need to use whatever form of persuasion necessary to get their asses in an apartment on her floor.

Chapter 14

CIAN

When we reach Anna's apartment building, I tell the driver to wait and I get out.

My girl looks up at her apartment building like she doesn't recognize it. That's a good sign. The less it feels like home without me the faster I'll get her moved into my place. Keeping her safe will be easier if she lives with me.

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