Saved Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Gavin
Clara wasn’t at her home. Her landlord practically slammed the door in my face when he saw me standing out there and didn’t offer me any information about where she might be.
Storming away from her shitty apartment building, I make my way down Main Street, keeping an eye out for any other bakery that might be hiring. She made it clear to me when we met that she was super excited about working for a bakery, so I’m hoping that I’ll come across her getting a job at another one.
By the third block of walking, though I’m beginning to think that this is a terrible idea. I have no idea where the fuck she is, and although I have her last name, that’s not going to be helpful in hunting her down. Sitting down on a bench, I stare across the street for a moment to try to think.
If she wasn’t going to work at a bakery, then where the hell would she work? I’m wracking my brain when flashing lights across from me catch my attention.
“Fucking strip clubs go all damn day, don’t they?” I mutter, standing up and stretching. This one is different, though, with a flashing picture of the next dancer about to take the stage. I’ve never seen that shit before and I wander across the street to see why so many men are pausing outside the club and then hurrying in the door.
At first, I don’t recognize Clara. She has on too much red lipstick, the color so bright that she looks pale and washed out. The name Lola flashes at me, but I’d know Clara anywhere even though we barely met once before.
“What the fuck?” Before I know what I’m doing, I’m in the strip club, handing over twenty bucks to the bouncer. He glances at me, his eyes flicking up and down my body before moving out of the way. Like he could stop me. If that’s really my Clara getting ready to get on stage and strip in front of these assholes then I’ll burn the place down to get to her.
The small hallway I’m in opens up to a large room with a huge stage on it. Bright lights flash and loud music thumps as I wind my way through the tables full of leering men. When I reach the stage I wait, standing right in front, to see what the hell’s going on.
“She’s brand new today,” a voice announces over a loudspeaker, “a jewel that we swept in for your enjoyment. Lola’s never been on stage before, so make sure to give her your warmest welcome.”
The men clap and cheer and I wonder why the club isn’t holding onto her for later, when there might be more customers coming by. She’s new, and that’s exciting, but they pushed her out here faster than I would have thought they’d want to.
But those thoughts disappear from my mind when the room darkens and a bright spotlight appears on the stage. The music is louder now and picks up in beat, but I don’t look around the room to see the other men enjoying themselves.
I’m staring at the entrance to the stage. Heavy curtains hang there, obviously designed to keep people from being able to see back there, and they twitch open. A woman stands in the dark of the curtains, clad in a heavy coat, and I feel my breath catch in my throat.
Clara?
She stumbles forward like someone has pushed her and steps into the light, long legs leading up into a coat that she has wrapped tightly around her body. Even though she looks as out of place as a hooker in church, I recognize her immediately.
“Say hello to Lola!” The person speaking is practically vibrating with excitement and my jaw drops as Clara fumbles with the tie around her coat.
This isn’t fucking happening. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to let my Clara strip down in front of this room of animals. My hands tighten into fists as I watch her eyes sweep across the room. She’s looking for something that she can focus on that will give her some strength for what she needs to do next.
Her eyes lock on mine and her fingers freeze. I can’t help but enjoy it when her mouth drops open a little bit and she takes a tiny step back from me.
“What are you doing?” I ask, making sure that my voice is loud enough for her to hear me. “Stop this, Clara.”
She shakes her head and adjusts her gaze to the back of the room, the music pumping and swirling around us. Someone throws a crumpled up bill on the stage but she doesn’t look at it. She’s breathing hard, obviously trying to gather up the strength that she needs to do what she thinks needs to be done.
But I’m not going to let it happen.
She undoes the knot and throws her shoulders back, letting the coat slip from her small frame to fall behind her on the floor. Men start cheering and more bills are being thrown, but I ignore all of that as I jump up onto the stage.
Clara turns to me, her eyes wide with fear, but I don’t give a shit what she thinks right now. I don’t give a shit what she wants or what she thinks is going to happen. Before she can move, I grab her, drop my shoulder, and scoop her up so that she’s hanging over my back.
“Sir!” The voice on the loudspeaker sounds shocked. “We will have to call the police! Step away from Lola!”
“Fuck you,” I growl, jumping off the stage. Lola makes a soft oof sound when I land but I don’t slow down to check on her. She’s gong to be fine with me and there’s no way in hell that I’m leaving her in here with these animals.
The thought of any man looking at her is enough to piss me off and make my blood boil. I have to get Clara someplace safe and make sure that I’m the only man who ever gets to touch her.
“Let me go!” It took her a moment, but she finally comes to her senses, slamming her fists down hard on my back. “You can’t fucking do this, Gavin! Let me go!”
“You called me for help,” I remind her, striding confidently past the bouncer. He looks shifty, but when I touch the piece at my hip, he steps to the side without saying a word. “You wanted my help, Clara, and now you’ve got it.” I hit the door at a solid pace, letting it slam way open before walking through and turning to carry her to my car.
I was all ready to head home until I knew that my sweet Clara needed me, but now there’s no way in hell that I can leave without her.
“I need that money!” She screams the words at me, pounding her fists into my back like that’s actually going to be enough to make me put her down. There’s no way in hell that I’m leaving her behind, not when I saw the way that the men in there were looking at her.
I know what they would do to her, and that’s not going to happen.
“You need help,” I remind her. My car is in sight, parked just a couple blocks down. Luckily for me, the street isn’t as busy as it was earlier, because I can just imagine what the police would say if they saw me carrying her down the road kicking and screaming. The Accardi men might have freedom to do whatever the fuck they want in town, but my name doesn’t carry that much weight here.
But at home it does, and that’s exactly where I’m going to take her.
Putting her down, I pin her against my car with my hips, making sure that she can’t move. She sucks in a gulp of air like she’s going to scream, then looks down at where I have my hip pressing into her. My cock is hard and I’m sure that she feels it judging by the way she swallows hard and turns bright red.
“You can’t just take me out of there,” she says, like I didn’t just rescue her from a terrible situation.
“Yeah? Why the hell not? Why shouldn’t I take you, Clara? You wanted my help, you called me to save you, and I’m here now to do just that.”
She shakes her head. “I have to work.” Planting her hands on my chest, she tries to push me away from her. “You don’t get it, Gavin, but I need that money.”
“I have money.” Pulling my keys from my pocket, I hit the unlock button and grab the door handle, pulling her with me so that I can push her inside. “You tell me how much you need, Clara, and I’ll make sure that you have everything. All you have to do is ask.”
She’s fighting me, trying to get out of the car, her nails scratching my arms, but I slam the door shut and stalk around the front of the car. Inside, she yanks on the handle, but I have the child safety lock on so that she’s not going to be able to get out. I’ll let her out when I’m good and ready to, and not a moment sooner.
“Why won’t you let me go?” She screams the words at me as I start the car. I’m ignoring her and it’s pissing her off. “Can’t you see that I need this? I need the money, I need you to let me go, and I need to give it to him!”
“Who? Who do you need to give it to?” I turn to her, looping my arm around her shoulder so that I can pull her closer. Her lipstick got smeared when I threw her over my shoulder, but she’s still gorgeous. She smells amazing and I nuzzle my face into her neck, taking a big sniff of her before pulling back and waiting for her to answer.
“I can’t tell you.” Her voice is suddenly quiet and she refuses to look at me, instead turning her head to stare out the window.
“Great. Then when you’re ready to talk, just let me know. Until then, Clara, you’re mine. You belong to me, I get to keep you safe, and I won’t let anything happen to you, got it?”
She doesn’t answer. Anger pulses off of her in waves but I’ve never gotten hurt by someone being pissed off at me. She can be angry all she wants, but I always get what I want.
Clara may not realize it, but she belongs to me now.
