All Chapters of LAID BARE: A Dark Mafia Romance/Organized Crime Thriller: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I guessed we all had skeletons in the closet.“I wish that things didn’t have to be like this,” I murmured. “For years, I’ve been praying that this will all come to an end. To this day, I still don’t know why I haven’t taken my own life. It gets so hard for me sometimes, and I feel weak. Like nothing will make me feel better. I feel like I have nothing left to live for. Like I’m trapped in an endless spiral that I can’t get out of.”“I’m so sorry that this happened to you,” Lazarus breathed, cupping my face in his hands, drying my tears with his thumbs. “I’ll do everything within my power to help you.” He broke off, letting out a deep sigh.“You have everything to live for. I’m here for you now. You’re strong, and you’ve made it this far. I know it can sometimes feel like the world’s against you, and that everything that happens to you is bad…but it’s your past that shapes you into a stronger individual. Everything happens for a reason. Suicide isn’t the answer, baby. You’re loved. Wh

I cautiously opened the gate and made my way down the driveway, Sophia following closely behind me. Suddenly, I heard voices in the back garden.It sounded like Lazarus’s voice, in a heated conversation with a few other men.I tiptoed to the garden, making sure not to make a sound. Me and Sophia hid behind a bin, crouching downwards so that we wouldn’t bait ourselves.I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, as I watched the scene play out in front of me. I couldn’t believe my eyes.Lazarus was wearing a cop outfit, and he was standing between two men. One of the men was dark-skinned with dreadlocks, and was wearing tracksuit bottoms. The other was white, his blond hair tied in a manbun, with a rugged beard, and scars all over his face and body. His white t-shirt was soaked with blood, and I had no idea why.“Have you disposed of the body?” Lazarus hissed.“Yes, Boss,” said the blond man, dusting himself off.“Okay, good,” Lazarus confirmed. “Both of you need to get out of here as soon as

“No, I dressed like this for you!” I pleaded, sobbing. “I wanted to look nice to see you!”Lazarus rolled his eyes, not caring what I had to say. I didn’t know what I could say or do to fix this.There was no fixing this…“It’s not okay to fucking follow me around and interfere in my private business!” Lazarus barked in a low voice that caused my skin to burn as I quivered underneath his gaze. “I barely met you a few weeks ago, and this is how you behave! Now you’ve heard everything and you’re a goddamn liability!” He broke off, seething, rattling his fists angrily.“Why are you shouting at me like I’m in the wrong?” I snapped back. “You run the drug cartel whose members harassed me all those years ago! Who took my sister away from me! I poured my heart out to you, and you acted oblivious the whole time. The whole time, you were part of the criminal organization…”“Go take the sorry act somewhere else, you’re just a pathetic little stripper,” Lazarus snarled, not caring whether he wa

“And I tell you, none of the shit she just heard here will fucking matter. She won’t have it in her to leave. She’ll turn a blind eye to it, give me chance after chance, no matter what I throw at her, no matter what she finds out. She’ll cry like a bitch, wallow in self-pity. But the bitch loves me. She has nowhere else to go. She’s so stupid…as if I’d have feelings for a fucking stripper.”I could feel the corners of my mouth form into a smirk. I hadn’t had this feeling for a long time. The feeling of a woman being completely at my submission. Completely at my mercy.I fucking loved it.Tariq and Luis found this just as amusing as I did. They roared with appreciative laughter beside me, hanging off my every word. Even they were my fucking lapdogs. They knew if they so much as looked at me the wrong way, I’d put a bullet through their fucking brains.“Boss, that’s cold, man. But I rate you. With all that lying, you got to bed one hot chick.” Luis laughed.“Well, I ain’t got time to d

“Babe, I’m so happy to see you so smiley all the time,” she exclaimed, causing me to snap out of my thoughts. I smiled back at her, a blush creeping on my cheeks. Me and Lazarus had been good as ever for a while now, it was like I’d never found out about those things that day. I preferred it like this, with the bad stuff out of sight, out of mind. We could just focus on each other.Being crazy in love.“Thanks, babe.” I giggled.“He must really be something, huh?” Lucy grinned. “You haven’t been able to wipe that smile off your face for weeks.”I laughed, unable to stop blushing as I thought about Lazarus and the last few weeks we’d spent together. In bed, on dates…“I love him, Lucy.” The words rolled out of my mouth.“I know you do, babe.” Lucy giggled. “Just know that if he ever breaks your heart, he’ll have me to answer to.” She pointed her fingers up pretentiously.I smiled.“Man, I haven’t been out in so long,” I admitted. “Ever since I left the strip club, I’ve been in bed eve