Free Owned by the Mob Boss by Ashley Hall Page B

he treated me.
     
    And Ivan…well, I didn’t know what to think about him. I turned on my phone and did a little research, but all in all, there wasn’t a ton of info on him online. Now he didn’t have a hand in that, did he? He was obviously powerful, but no one could control the internet.
     
    I put my phone away and stared out my window. Gradually, the houses grew wider and wider apart, as well as taller and more elegant. I’d never been to this part of town before. All of the stores had me way priced out, and the restaurants that had a price tag of at least one hundred a plate weren’t on my agenda either. And the houses? They were worth way too much for me to even look at.
     
    The bodyguard turned down another street. At the top of a hill stood the most majestic house yet. It had four stories and stretched so wide it might be big enough to have its own zip code. A tall, wrought iron gate greeted us. The bodyguard stepped out of the car and imput a code into a metal box. The gates swung open noiselessly. He climbed back in and drove up the driveway. Through the rearview mirror, I watched the gates close behind us. It was ridiculous, but I felt trapped and closed in, and my chest grew tight, and I couldn’t catch my breath.
     
    “Are you all right?” the bodyguard asked.
     
    I nodded. The panic subsided slowly as I stared at the mansion. The walls were perfectly white, and there were even pillars on the front porch. The lawn was precisely cut without a patch of dead grass anywhere. The front of the house was full of beautiful flowers. Along the side of the driveway were shaped bushes. Most were made into shapes like triangles or squares, but a few were more intricately shaped, and a few were cut into animals. Far to the left was a fountain.
     
    “Wow,” I murmured.
     
    “Impressive, right?” The bodyguard grinned at me. “Just wait until you see the inside.”
     
    He pulled in front of a four-car garage, but he didn’t park inside it. He climbed out, and even though he probably planned on opening my door for me, I got out by myself and closed the door.
     
    “If you would follow me.”
     
    I trailed behind him, looking everywhere, soaking in the sights. I felt like I was a tourist, about to walk into a historic home of someone important.
     
    Ivan is important. An important mob boss.
     
    I shuddered. Would I ever forgive myself for agreeing to do this? Yes, it was necessary, and I didn’t have a choice, but it still felt wrong to be paid to have a man’s baby. It was worse than just being a prostitute. This was giving up a child. Giving life to a baby and then abandoning him or her to what kind of a life? His or her father was a mobster!
     
    If I kept thinking like this, I would never be able to go through with it. I had to stay focused. My mom had a nurse staying with her. She was being taken care of, and by doing this, it ensured Mom would be able to continue her treatments even though my health insurance would run out soon.
     
    The bodyguard carried my suitcase for me and opened one of the two massive front doors. I walked inside to a breathtakingly beautiful house. Exquisite artwork lined the walls. The floor was a beautiful black-and-white geometrical design. Every so many feet were small tables with vases on top. No photographs, I noticed.
     
    “Your coat?” the bodyguard asked as he opened a closet.
     
    I shrugged out of it and handed it to him.
     
    “This way.” The bodyguard walked down the hall, and I followed close behind.
     
    To my disappointment, we bypassed several rooms, and I realized he wasn’t going to give me a tour. Of course not. I’m not important. I’m just a walking uterus. Baby maker. Nothing more.
     
    Still, I was disappointed. The person who did the interior design of this place did a phenomenal job, and I would’ve loved to see how each and every room was laid out.
     
    We climb a massive staircase, and down a low-lit hallway, the bodyguard opened the