The Mafia King's Bride

Escape and An Offer She Can't Refuse

"Are you alright?" The King of nightmares asked, his eyes taking in the bruises marring her skin.

Pearl stared at him with a stupid look on her face as her brain tried to deduce why a man like him, who was said to use the ground bones of babies to season his food, saved her and was concerned about her well-being.

"Miss..."

"Pearl," she added quickly, snapping out of her daze.

"Or should I say, Mrs McCarthy?" He asked and her heart dropped to her stomach.

She was dead. He was going to kill her and stick her head on a spike in some kind of twisted show of power.

Pearl had jumped from frying pan to fire, it seemed and she doubted anyone would rush in to save her like he had saved her from her would-be r*pist.

She shuffled away from him, her hands crossing protectively over her naked chest. She hissed when her left breast throbbed and pulled her hand away from it with a pained expression.

"You McCarthy boys are a different breed of animals," the armed man sneered, his grey eyes taking in the pink and quickly purpling globe.

"Please, Mr Stone. I-, I-, I'm innocent. I never wanted to be a part of this life but I had to." Pleaded her attacker and Pearl turned to look at the begging man who had tears running down his face.

Satisfaction in his misery made her shiver and she turned away from him, still too shaken to deal with her newfound cruelty.

"Take it back," Mr. Stone instructed, holding out his gun to her.

Pearl frowned in confusion. "Take back what?"

"What he took from you when he dragged you in here," he held the gun out to her more insistently and she stared at it like it was going to come to life any minute and attack her.

"I can't do it." She shook her head softly, her eyes fleeting over to the whimpering man standing across the room, feeling disappointed in her weakness.

Mr Stone hummed as he withdrew his hand, more understanding in that vague sound than she had ever expected someone like him to give.

She watched silently as he stared down her attacker who was now sweating profusely, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to hold in tears.

He raised his gun, pointing it at him, and the whimpering man began to panic, scrambling for ways to save his life.

"I have information! I know things. I-, Important sh*t that not just anyone can know," he screamed as he stumbled backwards until his back met the wall, like it would save him from the other man's famous wrath. "I'll tell you! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW!"

"Go ahead then," the grey-eyed man urged with a motion of his gun, "give me a reason not to paint the wall with your brains."

Pearl frowned as he brightened up and began spewing what might as well be gibberish to her.

The little she was able to grasp was something relating to stolen weapons and military equipment, and she shuffled awkwardly at the reminder of the kind of life both her saviour and attacker lived.

"Is that it?" Mr Stone asked with a small c**k of his head at the end of his victim's verbal spiel, a bored look on his face.

"What do you mean is that it?! People have died to get that kind of information..."

"Then I think it is only fair we balance out the equation," he pulled the trigger.

Pearl flinched, violently at the sound.

The young woman gagged at the sight of blood and pink goo that trailed down the wall as his body slid down at, and swayed on her feet, forcing the nonchalant murderer to gently steady her.

"Boss, we have to leave! That crazy b*star... Oh."

Pearl looked up to stare at the newcomer, a blonde-haired man with tattoos up to his neck and down to his wrists who was staring unabashedly at her chest.

She tucked herself into Mr. Stone's side to hide what she could and that seemed to snap him out of his daze.

"That's a nasty bruise and you appear to be internally bleeding," he diagnosed with a thoughtful look then turned to the other man, his expression growing serious.

"We have to leave right now, Mcb*tchy whipped out a b*mb and is threatening to 'take us down with him' if we don't surrender." He rolled his eyes like an exasperated mother talking about her unruly baby.

"Put this on and take off those shoes," Mr. Stone instructed her as he tucked his gun into the holster on his belt and tugged off his suit jacket.

He handed the jacket over to her and she received it with a soft 'thank you', putting on the warm, nice-smelling suit.

She winced when she tried to crouch down and unclasp the shoe buckle, and straightened up with a pained moan.

The sound of approaching voices caused them to stiffen. The blond whipped out a gun from his belt and peeked into the hallway then turned back to them with a heavy furrow of his eyebrows.

"You should probably carry her, boss."

"It's fine," she pushed the dark-haired man's hands away when he tried to pick her up and began making her way over to the bed. "I just need to sit down and..."

Bullets suddenly sprayed the door frame, nearly hitting the tattooed man who had pulled back just in time. Pearl made no further protests when she was picked up in a princess carry and held on for dear life as he raced to the balcony and out the door.

A car was waiting for them as they made their way down the short flight of stairs and Pearl did not have time to question its presence as their companion came running after them with a group of armed men hot on his trail.

She wheezed when Mr. Stone all but threw her into the car and clung onto him when the driver swerved and immediately zoomed off, the blonde man hanging halfway out of the car and cursing in a language she couldn't understand.

They sat in heavy silence for the first few minutes of the ride, Pearl stressing about what would be done to her now that she was in their custody.

It was soon broken by the blond man or 'Predator' as he introduced himself with shiny white teeth on full display, and soon both of them were conversing like they were old friends.

"So, did you meet Leonard at work or..." He trailed off when her face sank.

"My dad's a..." She laughed, humourlessly and Mr Stone, who was seated in the middle, finally looked up from the tablet he had been working intensely on.

"Did he sell you to him?" He guessed, casually.

Pearl's first instinct was to deny and defend her dad like she had always done but the events of today had worn her down.

"Sort of," she answered, seeing as there was no use sugarcoating it.

"That's f*cked up." Sympathised Predator with a soft shake of his head.

The redhead smiled, amused at the thought of her potential killer comforting her about her horrible dad.

"Did you hold any affection for McCarthy?" Mr Stone asked and she blinked up at him, wondering who talked like he did in her day and age.

"He slapped the sh.t out of me on the altar, so no."

"Then it's a good thing we got to you, eh?" Said Predator with a friendly smile. "No one's smacking anything out of you when you have the boss' protection." He nodded at his superior who was staring at Pearl with a scrutinising gaze.

"Does that mean I get to go home?" She asked, carefully, not wanting to offend the man who had her life in his rather nice-looking hands.

"Do you have anyone waiting for you?"

She frowned and glanced out the window, noticing for the first time how dark the day had gotten. "Leonard made me leave my baby behind."

"On its own?" Mr Stone asked, his eyebrows raised in alarm.

It was the most expressive he had been since they met.

"Yeah..."

"Jesus Christ! Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" The tattooed man screeched

"How old is he and how long have you been gone?" The grey-eyed man interrogated and Predator jumped in.

"Did you leave him with someone you know or..."

"Will you two calm down, it's not that big of a deal," she laughed and they stared at her like she had lost her mind. "He's two years old and I've been gone for about two weeks or so. I did not have the time to give him to someone but he was a stray before I found him so he's good at surviving on his own and my neighbours know him well enough to look out for him." She reassured but the looks on their faces only grew more alarmed.

"She's lost her mind," Predator muttered and she huffed in annoyance.

"I'm not the one losing my mind over a cat that fights animals three times his size. Baby is fine, trust me."

"Baby," Mr. Stone repeated. "You have a cat named Baby," he sounded out slowly.

"Yes," she nodded and they settled down, both looking a bit embarrassed.

"Unfortunately you can't go back home because that is the first place Leonard would look for you." He paused, considering his next words then continued, "unless you want to be found by him."

"NO!" She protested, violently, grabbing his forearm in a hold that crinkled his shirt and then let go, awkwardly. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"It's fine, you don't have to explain yourself. My men will go get your things from your apartment and search for... Baby, and they will be brought back to the compound which will be your home from this moment on."

"The compound," she whispered to herself.

"You'll love it there, don't worry," Predator tried to comfort in his awkward way and she smiled, thankful for the effort.

"Pearl."

"Yes, Mr. Stone?"

He frowned then smiled in amusement at the address and she realized this was the first time she had said it out loud.

"Taking you back to the compound does not automatically make you a member of my group but it does mean something important. A person can't just waltz in and out of it which is why I have to ask, is this life something you want to be a part of?"

"That choice was taken away from me the day my dad met Leonard," Pearl responded with a small shrug. "He'll come after me sooner or later and I think... I will be safer if I stick with you, so that's just what I'm going to do."

She smiled, shyly at him. "That is if you're willing to put up with me, Mr. Stone."

"Everest. You may call me Everest, when it's just us three."

"Oooooo. Someone's moving up the ladder pretty quickly," teased Predator as he flung his hand over Everest's shoulder. "Do I hear wedding bells..."

"Watch yourself," the grey-eyed man growled with a warning glare and an unshaken Predator exploded into infectious laughter that found Pearl giggling along.