Read Online Mobster's Gamble: Chicago Mob Series Book 1 by Amy Rachiele, Christine Leporte - Free Book Online

that they can, they lead me to the room that I share with Missy. Kylie flips the lights switch on. Curled in a ball on her bed is Missy, staring at the wall.
    I’m not sure what happened because I wasn’t there, I was locked in the basement, unconscious, but whatever it was has shaken the entire group. I hobble to the bed with help, using my arms to support myself to gingerly place my body upon my bed.
    “She needs a doctor,” Kylie says to Simon.
    “You know the rules.” He sighs, confused and helpless.
    Kylie gets a determined look on her face. “I’m getting her to a hospital. There is some money in Priest’s room. I’ve seen it. I’m taking some and I’m going to use the phone in there to call a cab.” She walks to the doorway, ready to leave. She turns back around. “Get her into clean clothes.”
    Tipping my head, I scan myself. I have on the nightgown I was wearing before I was attacked and it is bloodied and ripped. Priest must’ve put it on me before those men tossed me in the cellar. Their faces flash before me, cold and soulless.
    “I can’t touch Anya! Priest will kill me.” Simon’s panic radiates, shaking his body.
    “Just do it!” Kylie shoots a glance at Missy’s still, catatonic form, and walks away to fulfill her mission.
    Simon goes to the closet, picking out a blouse and slacks. He comes back over to me, hesitant.
    “I’m going to lift you and slip your nightgown over your head. Then I’m going to put this one on you.” He holds it in front of my face so I can see it. I nod, bracing for the pain. Once he’s gotten the torn article over my head, he slips a new one on with his eyes turned away. He reaches for the pants. “You’re going to have to lift up. Can you do that?” I nod again. I steady my forearms on the bed and lift my hips, helping him to slip them on. His brown eyes turn away again as if he is ashamed of what he is doing.
    Kylie returns with a wad of bills crushed in her hand.
    “Let’s go. I’d like to get her outside while we wait.”
    Like they did earlier, each one of them grabs me under the arm, and I recoil at the stinging it sends through me but I push through it, wanting to get out of here. The physical pain is all encompassing but the emotional freedom outweighs the physicality. The three of us stumble for the front door. No one is in the kitchen or the meditation room as we pass. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the entire compound was void of life. But I think everyone is hiding in their rooms like Missy.
    The three of us make it two steps from reaching outside. I can taste liberation on my tongue but the door before us flies open. Standing directly in it is Priest. Simon perceptibly cringes and Kylie sucks in a harsh breath, knowing full well we’ve been caught and punishment imminent. I don’t have the strength even with the power of the two of them beside me to give us the will to fight past him.
    Priest’s face is unreadable, unusual; I’ve always been able to get some sort of signal from him of what to expect.
    I freeze, waiting for what’s coming. I picture another punch to my face causing all the sores on me to erupt with aches. I close my eyes and on a deep level wish to be dead than to endure another beating. I keep them shut, deciding that not seeing what’s coming is better. My heart races, leaving me immobile.
    Very gently, arms wind around my waist and a head rests on my stomach. I peel my eyes open and glance down. Priest is kneeling before me, caressing me. It’s a surreal moment and when he looks up at me I see regret. Kylie and Simon move aside when Priest stands, scooping me up in his arms and cradling me to his body. He carries me through the compound to his chamber and slowly deposits me on top of the covers that have been neatly fixed on his bed.
    Confused and hurting, I don’t speak. He leaves me, going into the bathroom. I hear rushing water. He’s turned it on, filling the tub. After a few moments, he