Beast (Creatures of the Mafia Book 1)

by Eva K. More

  Copyright © 2020 by Eva K. More

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: evakmore@outlook.com

  Cover art by Elvins Acurero (@Acurerox on Instagram)

  FIRST EDITION

  www.evakmore.com

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  SYNOPSIS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Kat’s life has always been full of privileges, but her beautiful mirage is shadowed by the promise of what awaits beyond the bars of her golden cage. When she finally grasps freedom, it's cut short by a brutal murder that turns her world upside down.

  Once more, she finds her wings clipped, but this time it’s not due to the coddling of her over-cautious grandparents. Instead, Kat is captured by a group of men who've made ruthless domination their life's work.

  But her powerful attraction to one of them might just be the most dangerous liability of all.

  t smelled of cold cigarette smoke and dirty dishes, a repugnant odor that manifested itself in one's nostrils.

  He hated breathing it through his nose, but in his mind, breathing through his mouth might have made him taste the smell. And then, he was sure he would have puked.

  Just like that time.

  He became sick with the belly-flu, and his mama had held a bowl in front of his mouth. She didn't go to work that day, deciding to stay with him.

  That night she kissed his sweaty forehead and held him tight whenever his body started shaking with uncontrollable tremors. He sank further into his chair.

  Maybe he should get sick again.

  Maybe it would make his mama quit work for the night again. Or it wouldn't change anything.

  Lately, her hugs had become loose, her kisses on his forehead cold and her eyes had become kind of glassy. Their small flat had never been as big or fancy as the apartment of his favorite TV show, but it had been tidied at least.

  His mama had made him a special place, a small corner in the tiny living room adorned with his favorite toys. A blackboard was leaning against the wall with his plaited blanket – made by his mama years ago – lying in front of it. But this month, his mama hadn't remembered to buy him new chalk, and his blanket lay dirty and crumbled on the floor.

  She hadn't cleaned the kitchen for a long time, and he had started eating his cereals in glasses. He had watched his mama wash dishes with that liquid yellow soap, but that bottle of soap was also empty, so he couldn't try to do it. Besides, there was no space left on the kitchen counter to put the clean dishes on.

  His mama also hadn't washed the dirty clothes, and although he had sat in front of the machine for a long while, he could not make it work. So, he has been wearing his last clean t-shirt for a week already.

  Well, now it is not that clean.

  But most of all, his mama didn't stop to play with him anymore.

  Now, the moment she was back from work, she went to lie in front of the TV, sometimes watching it without seeing anything, her eyes fixed on the screen, but her mind in a place where he couldn't reach her.

  She hadn't taken him to work with her in the past few weeks, and he missed his mama's friend Darla who always took the time to sing a song with him. The other women in the house ignored him, but Darla and his mama had always found time between their work to play with him.

  Now, even his mama ignored him.

  The only other human contact he had had in the past few weeks were the few shallow 'hellos' and 'goodbyes' from his Uncle Tony.

  Although, he knew for a fact that he wasn't his real uncle.

  He would always say hello without glancing in his direction as if he was doing it for his mama's sake and then disappeared into the only other room, the sleeping room.

  And every time they'd go back outside, his mama would look worse. His mama had always had bruises on her fair skin, but lately, they looked more vicious.

  He didn't know precisely when it had happened, but sometime in the past few months, his mama had changed. And he refused to cry about it, but his nose was burning because Uncle Tony's cigarette was cooking something in the full ashtray... that's why his eyes were misty; it was NOT because of his mama. He was a strong boy. His mama used to say that to him all of the time.

  But not anymore.

  Sitting on the small couch, he touched his aching belly, remembering the times when he didn't suffer from this hunger. His ears were hurting because of the noises coming from the bedroom - Uncle Tony was saying some naughty words, his chest hurt too. Now he couldn't control the tears anymore. He wanted his mama back, and for Tony to get out of his house. He wanted –

  "Shit!"

  The loud cry startled him, and he sniffed. When Tony stumbled out of the bedroom, he was only half-dressed and his full-face was red and blotchy.

  "That fucking bitch! Fucking slut!" Tony put on a shirt on his massive body, his movements fast and edgy.

  Somehow, he knew that something was wrong, especially when his mama failed to come out of the bedroom.

  It was eerily quiet in that room.

  Some unknown force made him jump down the couch and run forward. He needed to see his mama. Tony lunged at him, but he managed to step inside the room and stop dead in his tracks.

  There was his mama, lying on her belly, her head turned to the side with her eyes wide open and her mouth hanging loose in a silent scream.

  He ran to the bed and shook her naked shoulders. The tears started running down his cheeks faster as she failed to respond. He cried 'mama,' begged her to say his name, but he knew… somehow, he knew that something was very, very wrong.

  "Fucking kid!" Tony said and gripped him hard around the shoulders. He was screaming, but he didn't notice it. Then there was a pain in his face, and everything went dark.

  ***

  He awoke to two voices talking. One belonged to his Uncle Tony, the other one he hadn't heard before.

  He was lying on the floor, his head felt fuzzy, and his mouth hurt. His eyes could barely discern anything at first, but he was able to see again after a little while. His gaze traveled from two shiny brown shoes to gray slacks, and then he saw a bright white shirt.

  But his stare stopped at the face of a man he had never seen before. The man's eyes were looking at him with a peculiar expression that he had seldom seen before. It was a strange mix of regret… and pity.

  "Jesus, Tony! What have you done?"

  oday is the day.

  That was the recurrent thought on Kat's mind since she woke up. Today she will break the iron chain
s her grandparents had held her with all her life. She would live and breathe and drink and dance and fuck… well, maybe fuck.

  But, walking into a club half-naked? That seemed a step too far.

  "No way!" Kat exclaimed while looking at the dresses strewn across her bed. The three that Andrea chose to lend her were all too much. The black one was backless, and it ended so low that Kat was sure the beginning of her ass-crack would show. The red one had a dip on her front that probably reached her navel, and that shade of red just screamed “TACKY.” And the golden one was so short that if her purse fell, she would end up showing her black, lacy underwear to the world.

  Andrea sighed. "Kat, we've been over this already. You said you wanted to – and I quote, 'shake my ass like a stripper on coke and forget all about my nun-like upbringing.'"

  Appalled, Kat threw the cloth at Andrea's face. "Dee, I never said that!" Well, at least not technically. She knew that this would escalate into another argument, so holding her breath, Kat decided to sit against the headboard of her bed.

  "Okay, maybe I paraphrased," Andrea said, snickering. "But it doesn't change the fact that you've been living alone for the past few weeks, and you have done nothing even remotely fun. I'm starting to think you like that dull, boring, prudish life."

  Kat pushed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and played with her fingers while looking at the sequins of the golden dress. "That's not it. As long as I remember, I’ve wanted to do what you've been doing the past few years."

  "Then what's holding you back?" It was always like this. The never-ending discussion about why Kat let her grandparents rule her life was about to start. She knew that Andrea would be armed with a series of arguments about freedom, feminism, and modern times that, to be honest, were tiresome.

  Kat shrugged, and Andrea sat down on the bed, back straight, a small frown on her forehead, and pouty lips set in a firm line. These were all the signs; she was preparing herself for a new battle of wits.

  "I don't know..." Kat said, "it still feels like I'm betraying Baba and Dedo." She could never understand why her guilty mind was always active. Even in her teenage years, when ordinary people seldom thought about their actions, her mind would forever get stuck with her grandparents' feelings.

  The reincarnation of a martyr, Andrea called her.

  "You know I like your grandparents, but they did a shitty job raising you," Andrea said. Thank God that Kat loved her as much as she did, or she would have squeezed Andrea’s slim neck a long time ago.

  "That's not true!" Baba and Dedo did everything they could, given the circumstances; after all, it’s not easy to raise a small child shortly after losing their only daughter.

  "Obviously not in every aspect, but they never treated you like an adult. They never let you experience life to the fullest." This same line had come out at least once a week since Kat’s 18th birthday. At that time, it was irrelevant because she had barely reached adulthood, but now? Now it was just a painful reminder of her inability to step up for herself when it mattered the most. Her failure to finally grab the keys of her golden cage and set herself free once and for all. But that was on her. She was the one at fault.

  Hmm, how fitting. A golden dress for the girl who has always been inside a golden cage.

  "I went with them to nearly every country in the world. I've seen plenty of life."

  ‘Plenty of places’ would be a better description, and she knew it, but her natural stubbornness and the faithfulness to her grandparents will forever be ingrained in her discussions with Andrea.

  "Yeah, they showed you the world through their golden bars, but they never let you see things on your own, make your own mistakes, do something for fun."

  Kat bit her lip and glared at Andrea. The other girl just raised her eyebrows, daring her to contradict what she knew was nothing but the truth.

  "You are twenty-three years old," Andrea stated. She was becoming a little bit impatient, and Kat could notice it because Andrea’s nostrils started to expand, and her stare was becoming a little bit condescending. Yep, same old Andrea.

  "I know that." Kat rolled her eyes. She wanted this discussion to end.

  "And you've never even been drunk." Kat didn’t know what Andrea was talking about.

  Did Andrea suddenly forget about ‘Camp Disaster’?

  "I remember you feeding me vodka until I spent the night hugging the toilet seat." That was one of Kat’s best AND worst days. It began as something fun, of course, and she felt free like never before, but the vomiting and subsequent hangover was NOT fun.

  Andrea rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count; it was ages ago, on a school trip. You've barely sipped a beer ever since then."

  Kat furrowed her brows. "I don't like the taste of beer."

  Andrea shot her friend a disbelieving look. "And you're a virgin."

  "I am not!" Kat reached for the red dress hanging off the edge of the bed and threw it at her friend. This time it hit Andrea in the face and rumpled her stylish bob.

  "Sure." Andrea smiled, and Kat felt relieved because she was in a healthy, funny mood now. "You know, sex with nerdy Peter basically still leaves you a virgin, because that small dick couldn't have made it right anyway."

  Nerdy Peter… Andrea had never been a fan of Kat's former neighbor. She thought he was slimy and dull at best. Frankly, Kat might admit that the statement rang true somewhat. He had been kind to her, but his good manners couldn't forgive his lack of passion…or skill. But that didn't matter in that discussion.

  Kat had had sex. It might have been only once, and it might have been wrong in Andrea's eyes, but it had been sex, and she had lost her virginity.

  "Technically, I'm not a virgin, and that counts." That one time could have been awkward, painful, and too fast for her taste, but still, she had intercourse.

  "In comparison to the rest of our friends and me, technically, you are a nun," Andrea teased. She had that face now, the one that told a story of mischief. Kat adored how much Andrea made her laugh 99% of the time.

  A nun surely never read the sort of steamy novels that could be found a dime a dozen on Kat's Kindle, but she didn't voice that thought.

  "But," Andrea clipped sharply, "let's move on. We need to focus on an outfit that will attract a boyfriend." She stood from the bed and started rummaging into Kat’s makeup bag. The black dress she had on could leave any guy – or girl - without a breath. Short, sensual, and it brought out her mesmerizing azure eyes.

  Kat shook her head. It didn’t matter how beautiful she was, sometimes her best friend was just a little too much, really, just a tad. "I don't want a boyfriend now."

  Andrea opened her mouth as if to say something, then clapped it shut with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You’re right," she said and put her forefinger on her chin, "you need a good lay, no boyfriend to tie you down during your rite-of-passage into adulthood."

  "Gods, Dee!" Kat could only shake her head in exasperation. She was NEVER going to admit that indeed, she WANTED a good lay.

  "What? Don't you wanna attract a hot guy and have that steamy sex you only read about in one of your sexy books hidden away under your bed?" Andrea raised her head and gave Kat a wink, followed by her typical eyebrow movement.

  Kat's face turned a lovely shade of red, so she decided that looking through the window would be much better than letting Andrea perceive her nervousness. She kind of regretted spilling her secrets to her when they were younger. "I do, but-"

  "No, buts." Andrea interrupted her firmly.

  Kat turned to Andrea with a stern look. "But I don't want to look like a hooker." She finally stood from the bed and started signaling all of the dresses.

  "These dresses are short, not cheap. Showing your legs doesn't make you a hooker," Andrea said. "Besides, these are my clothes. Just because your grandparents never let you out of your nun's habit doesn't mean everyone else is a slut." And now her eyebrow was raised.

  This is what happens when you forget that you’re ta
lking to a dormant dragon.

  Kat sighed. "I didn't want to insult you." And that was the truth, she didn’t want to insult her best friend, but sometimes, feeling trapped made her say things without thinking of the consequences.

  It was ironic that this defensive mechanism always came to the front with everybody else… and not with her grandparents.

  Andrea looked at her friend in the eyes. "Then wear that dress." She pushed the golden scrap of material into Kat's hands. "And let me take care of you. You told me you want to live a little, and I guarantee you'll finally have fun in life."

  Kat contemplated her friend's words for a moment. It wasn't easy. When she had moved out of her grandparents’ apartment, she had been adamant about starting a new life. But she hadn't anticipated the accompanying guilt whenever she thought about crossing the invisible restraints her Baba and Dedo had indoctrinated her with all her life.

  "Fine," Kat said eventually. She would push that guilt aside for now. It was time to grow up.

  Andrea beamed at her. "You'll love it, you'll see! Now hurry, the others are waiting."

  ***

  ‘Insanity,’ that was the name of the club.

  How fitting… Kat felt a bit crazy herself.

  Somebody whistled, and Kat swiveled her head to the side.

  "You clean up pretty nice," Lorry, Andrea's cousin and also a good friend of Kat's, said.

  "Thanks," Kat grinned bashfully, enjoying the other's appreciation. Lorry was the mother hen of the group, always being the voice of reason.

  Andrea wound an arm around her shoulders. "That's my doing. After I persuaded her for half an hour, it finally turned out pretty well, huh?" It was noticeable that she was pretty proud of herself; finally, Kat took control and got out of her golden cage.

  "Don't you think the dress is a bit too tight in this area?" Kat motioned to her bosom, which she used to believe were unimpressive. Now they looked rounded and more prominent.

  Andrea rolled her eyes, but the small and playful smile gave out the fact that she was having fun already. "That's because you insisted on wearing a bra. It would have been perfect without it."