Vicious Devil (Kings Of Mafia #9)

Chapter 1

Laurie

After locking up, a tired sigh escapes me as I glance up and down the street.

I can hear a faint beat of music coming from the club, Fallen Angels, that’s situated on the corner. My eyes glide over the long line of people waiting to get in. Even though it’s chilly tonight, most of the women are wearing short dresses.

Wrapping my cardigan tighter around myself, I begin to walk toward the intersection.

I’ve been working late the past two weeks, crunching numbers and putting together next year’s budget for all the current and upcoming jobs.

I feel it’s a waste of time, though. The construction company I work for never sticks to the budget. I swear, Heather only makes me do them because she knows how much I dislike them. Ever since I started dating Austin, her younger brother, she’s been bitchy toward me.

I’ve tried bringing it up to Austin, but he always takes her side and tells me I’m too sensitive. He works on-site with Jason, the owner and Heather’s husband, so he’s never around to see how she treats me.

To make matters worse, I don’t even get overtime. When I think of my crappy salary, that hasn’t changed over the past three years, bitterness crops up in my chest.

The itch to look for a new job creeps under my skin.

Things haven’t been great between Austin and me. I feel like nothing more than his glorified maid. Even when I work late, he doesn’t bother helping around the house.

When we started dating, he wasn’t my type, but I gave him a chance because he seemed like a good guy.

The first year was great, then things got a little stale the second year, and over the past few months, it feels like I’ve faded into the background.

It’s as if I’m just another piece of furniture instead of the woman he’s supposed to love.

Am I the problem?

It’s the same with my family. After my parents got divorced and married other people, their new families were all that mattered, and I became the mistake from their past they were forced to keep around.

Stopping at a traffic light, a black G-Wagon draws my attention as it stops right in front of the club’s entrance.

Some of the women standing in the line become visibly excited, and when the back door of the expensive SUV opens, they start to shout, like the person getting out is some big-name celebrity.

Curious myself, I look at the man as he climbs out, and when he adjusts his leather jacket, my eyebrows lift with appreciation because he’s very attractive. The next instant, he glances in my direction and our eyes lock.

It’s only for a couple of seconds, but something about the dark expression on his face makes all my alarm bells go off, and while the other women lose their minds for him, I tear my gaze away and quickly cross the street when the light turns green.

I keep my head lowered and my arms wrapped around myself, but my curiosity wins out, and as soon as I reach the curb, I sneak another glance.

The man ignores all the women as he walks to the entrance, and I wonder who he is. He pats the bouncer’s shoulder, and just as I’m about to lose sight of him, his head turns, and once again, our eyes meet.

Shit.

My face turns beet red as I pick up my pace, darting down the street and away from the club.

During the forty-minute commute, my thoughts turn from the attractive guy at the club to Austin and the chores waiting for me at home.

Checking the time on my phone, I see it’s almost ten pm.

I have to do a bundle of laundry before we run out of clothes.

When I’m near the house, I dig my keys out of my handbag before stopping by the mailbox to check if there’s anything.

Seeing two envelopes and a bunch of flyers, I grab them, and when I go into the house, I’m met with the sound of a man’s voice droning on about ancient pyramids on the TV.

I place the mail and my keys on the side table near the front door. “Austin?” I call out while digging my phone out of my bag before setting it down as well.

“What?” he mumbles from the living room.

“I’m home.”

“Mm.”

I notice there’s a text from Elise, my only friend. I met her in a reader’s group, and we got along really well. One thing led to another, and after four years, she’s the only person who really cares about me. Even though she lives in Belgium and we’ve never met in person, I love her.

I open the text.

Elise: So, here’s the plan. You marry some rich old dude that’s about to kick the bucket, and when he dies, you buy us an island. I’m so tired of working. Take one for the team.

I let out a chuckle.

Laurie: Nope, you know my track record with men suck. You’ll have to do it. I just got home. Work sucked. I wish you were here. I know you hate touching, but I could really use a hug.

She reads my message immediately and texts back.

Elise: I’m sending you all the virtual hugs. I know things are difficult right now, but just know, I’m here, and you mean the world to me.

Laurie: Thanks, bestie. How’s work?

Elise: If Sven changes my graphics one more time, you’ll have to come to Belgium and bail me out of jail. I don’t look good in orange.

Another soft chuckle leaves me.

Laurie: Let me do the chores. I’ll talk to you later.

I see that she hearts my message before I walk to the doorway of the living room and look at where Austin is lying on the double-seater couch, busy doing something on his phone.

There’s a crumpled brown bag, an empty burger container, and a super-size soda cup on the floor, and on the coffee table are two open bags of potato chips.

“How was your day?” I ask as I move closer to put the burger box in the bag.

Without looking at me, he replies, “Okay.”

I can’t remember when he last asked how I am. Just like every other night, it hurts, and after picking up everything, I stare down at him.

His mouth tips up in a smile, but when he realizes I’m beside the couch, he quickly sets his phone face down on his chest and frowns at me. “What?”

“Nothing.” I shrug. “What did you have for dinner?”

“You’ve got eyes.” He gestures with a chin lift at the trash in my hands, then gives me a questioning look, making me feel like I’m a nuisance. “Don’t ask me stupid questions.”

Getting out from under his feet, I go to the kitchen and throw away the trash. A sigh drifts up from my chest when I see the open pizza box on the table, a fly sitting on the single leftover slice.

This has become a habit as well. Whenever Austin gets something for himself to eat, he never thinks about me. Especially when I work late. It would mean so much to me if he’d saved the pizza slice in the fridge or microwave where the flies wouldn’t get to it.

Slamming the lid of the box shut, the urge to cry and lose my shit almost overwhelms me, but I somehow hold it in.

I don’t even have an appetite, so what does it matter anyway.

Wanting to get all the chores done, I open my favorite playlist, and being a little petty, I put the volume up as the first song starts to play.

In the laundry room that’s attached to the kitchen, I sort the colors from the whites and get the first load going before taking the already dried clothes out of the dryer.

Dead on my feet from the long day, I softly sing along while I sort Austin’s socks in pairs.

“You’re making a fucking noise!” Austin suddenly snaps from the kitchen, and the next second the music stops. “I don’t want to listen to this shit.”

Stalking back into the kitchen, I level him a glare I can’t contain anymore. “I don’t care.” I press play again while looking him dead in the eye. “Just like you don’t care.”

His head jerks back. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Would it have killed you to save me a slice of pizza?”

“I did!” He points at the box.

“You left it open for flies to get to.”

“I didn’t.”

I turn around, walking back to the laundry room while snapping, “I’m the only one doing chores around the house. You could help.”

“You sit in an air-conditioned office all day while I’m working like a dog out in the sun. I’m fucking tired when I get home, and I’m not in the mood for your nagging.”

Grabbing the socks, I walk back to him and shove them into his hands. “And I’m not tired after putting in all the overtime? You get off at five! Did you even notice that Heather is making me work until nine every night?”

“Don’t bring my sister into this,” he snaps angrily.

“It’s your fucking job, Laurie. If you have a problem with it, quit.

” His tone drips with bitterness, and he looks at me with disgust. “We’ll see if you can find anything better out there.

If it weren’t for Heather and me, you’d be out on the street. ”

Sadly, he’s right. Every dollar I earn goes toward food and bills. If I had savings, I’d leave and find something better.

A triumphant light shines in his eyes, and as he leans down, a sneering smirk pulls at his mouth. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He stops the music again before walking away.

Standing by the kitchen table, I glance down at the floor that needs to be mopped as hopeless emotions spread through me like dark shadows.

I can’t do this anymore.

I suck in a quivering breath, and picking up my phone, I browse the available jobs. It’s a waste of time, though. I only get thirty minutes for lunch. I can’t commute to other areas and go for interviews in such a short amount of time.

The trapped feeling I’ve been getting more frequently grips my chest.

It’s like my spidy senses are telling me I’m running out of time.

All the times Austin has hid his phone screen from me flash through my mind. The empty distance between us. The way he looks at me. The way we talk to each other.

A lonely feeling mixes with the hopelessness wrapping around me, and not wanting to complain to Elise again, I do something I know I’ll regret.

I bring up my mother’s number and send her a text.

Hi, Mom. It’s been a while. How are you?

It’s been more than a while. I haven’t spoken to her since I called her on Mother’s Day.

I had to leave a message, and she only replied a week later, saying they were on a cruise.

She went on and on about it and how good Ashley, my stepsister, is doing with her studies. Her Dad’s paying for medical school.

It’s been five months since we last had contact.

And even longer since I spoke to Dad. I only exchanged the generic ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’ messages with him.

What are you going to do if Mom replies? You can’t ask her for money, and even if you have the guts, she’ll say no.

I also can’t go home. Mark, my stepfather, won’t allow it.

I was nine when my parents divorced and started their new lives.

Mom had full custody, but that didn’t mean she wanted me.

Instead, she started dating almost immediately, and I saw more of my babysitter than I did her.

Once things got serious between her and Mark, she fawned over Ashley, who is five years younger than me.

By the time I turned thirteen, Dad had stopped making time for me.

At first, there was always some stupid excuse.

Either Tracey’s family was visiting, or Emily wasn’t feeling well, or Dad had a deadline at work.

There were also all the times they made plans to go away for a weekend, accidentally forgetting about me.

Dad would always promise we’d do something soon, but there was always another excuse.

I remember sitting on the porch one Saturday morning with my backpack ready to go, because Dad was finally coming and I’d get to see him after eight long months.

I waited all day, getting excited whenever a car came down the road.

By seven that evening, Mom finally told me to unpack my things because he wasn’t coming. She sounded annoyed, like I was the inconvenience, not him.

After that, the visits stopped completely, and I haven’t seen him since. He built a life with his new family.

I saw the matching Christmas pajamas photos on Tracey’s social media pages. My stepmother loved posting everything. The vacations at the lake. Family dinners. Birthday celebrations.

At fourteen, I learned the hard truth that no one wanted me. Mom focused on Mark and Ashley, while Dad poured everything into Tracey and their kids.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped being someone my parents loved and started being the leftover part of their old life they both wanted to forget.

As soon as I graduated, I packed my clothes and left. I used my savings from working every weekend and during vacations and moved to New York.

When I told Mom I was leaving, she looked very happy.

She was finally rid of me.

The first few months in New York were tough. Mom never asked how I was doing or if I needed anything, and that only made me more determined to survive on my own.

Then I got the job at Mitchell’s Construction, and for the first time, it felt like things might work out.

Honestly, it felt like I’d won the lottery, because I also found a room to rent near work. It was affordable, and I was finally able to take care of myself.

My thoughts come full circle back to Austin, and once again, I regret starting a relationship with him because I know if we break up, Heather will fire me.

Feeling downright miserable, I decide to take a quick shower while I wait for the washing machine to complete the cycle.

I’ll get up early to mop the floor and wash the few dishes.

As I walk to the bedroom, I hear Austin chuckle, and the seductive tone to it makes the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise.

God, I think he’s cheating on me. What do I do if he decides tomorrow we’re over?

Panic flares through me, and while I shower, I try to think of a plan.

Maybe I should wait for payday, and instead of buying food and taking care of the bills, I could use my meager salary to rent a room somewhere? I’ll be able to survive on my income for a month, maybe two if I’m careful.

Hopefully, I can find a new job quickly and finally get out of this suffocating situationship with Austin.