Page 140 of He Should Be Mine

“Less talking, more working,” says Dante.

He sets his large carryall bag on the floor, unzips it and starts taking out the clean up supplies. His movements practiced and unhurried.

He is right. Now is not the time to fret about what my men think of Molly and me. That will come later. Right now, we have a body to dispose of.

I walk towards the blanket covered lump. A blank range head shot is messy, but I can’t bring myself to have any regrets. Still, it is going to make this trickier than it needed to be.

A snap behind me catches my attention. I turn around, just in time to see Molly snapping on a second disposable glove. Dante is still holding out the box like an offering.

I glare at him and open my mouth, but Molly speaks before I can.

“I’m good at scrubbing,” he says, with a defiant tilt to his chin. “Because I’m a scrubber.”

Nicolo laughs. I glare at him. He stops laughing. “It was a good joke,” he protests.

What on earth is he talking about?

Nicolo sighs. “Scrubber is English slang for a …” he trails off and pales. “Um… let’s get to work!” He bends down and hastily picks up a sponge.

I shake my head and turn my attention back to Molly, who is still giving me a defiant look.

“No, Molly. You don’t have to do this. You can go to your room.”

He is going to be my boy, a gangster’s moll, but that doesn’t mean he ever has to get his hands dirty. Far from it. I’m going to treat him like the princess he is. His life is going to be softness and luxury and I’m never going to allow the darkness to touch him.

Molly puts his gloved hands on his hips. “I’m sorry I freaked out earlier, but I’m over it now. I’m ready to help.”

His blue eyes blaze into me. I stare back at him.

He huffs. “I’m not saying I’m ready to saw a leg off or anything, but I can handle scrubbing blood off the wall.”

“I like him,” Dante says, with a gleam in his eyes.

Dante turns to me with a faint smile on his lips. His eyes meet mine and his smile drops. The gleam in his eyes disappears. He holds his hands up in surrender.

“I know he is yours, Boss. I was just saying.”

Nicolo chuckles and starts laying out a large plastic sheet. Molly steps forward and helps him. Dante goes to his bag and fishes more things out.

I inhale through my nose. I should have known that Molly not listening to me wouldn’t change. The damn boy is impossible. Infuriating and wonderful.

I shake my head and get to work. I’ll let him have his way. This time. Though I have a feeling that’s probably a foolish thought. Molly is more than likely to always get his way. Forever and ever.

I duck my head so no one can see my smile. The future sounds like everything Molly deserves.

We work in silence. Efficient. Coordinated. I don’t need to give Dante or Nicolo instructions. They know what to do. Molly watches, quick and observant, mimicking Dante’s movements as he scrubs. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t gag. He’s calm. Steady. Like he’s been doing this his whole life.

God help me, I love him.

I keep watching as he chats to Dante and Nicolo, flashing them shy little smiles that grow bolder with each one returned. He’s winning them over like he wins everyone over. With that impossible, irresistible charm.

Something tight in my chest eases. They like him. My men, my brothers in arms, accept him. They see what I see.

Molly’s forgiven me for murder. He’s agreed to be mine. And two of my most trusted men are smiling at him like he belongs.

And Dante and Nicolo have accepted that I’m gay with barely a ruffle of their feathers.

Maybe, just maybe… everything is going to be okay.