When an agreement that only a blood relative of the LeTale family can negotiate the end of their ongoing war is endangered by an ambush on their warehouse causing many family fatalities, and landing the Don in intensive care, Maria LeTale is flown home to take the reins she has never asked for. Tasked with keeping her safe, the Don's favourite Capo, Tony Calcolo, vows to protect Maria at all costs. But what would the cost be if he got too invested in his latest project?
View MoreTony nodded, his shoulders tense as he tried to hold himself from her whilst…her mind caught up? He wasn’t even sure what that fully meant but he knew it was important to respect her decision.“Hey, you take all the time you need” he told her, giving her a quick wink as he sat back, picking up his wine just for something to do.Maria smiled at his willingness to just press pause so quickly, though mentally scolded herself for applauding him on giving her basic body autonomy. “I thought we couldn’t have more wine” she teased, watching him gulp from his glass.“No-one is questioning my decisions, there is not one person whose going to ask me if I was willing. They will definitely just assume” he chuckled.“How rude of them” Maria smirked as he drained his glass. Her heart was still hammering against her chest, she didn’t know how to explain to this gangster that she didn’t like to rush things. That she may be attractive but that didn’t mean she’d been bed hopping since she became of ag
Tony’s lips were gentler than would be expected as they moved slowly with Maria’s soft ones. His hand had moved to cup her neck and a shiver ran down her spine in appreciation for the gesture. As her hands moved to his broad shoulders, they lightly glided to the nape of his neck, her fingers lightly tracing small circles there. She felt lost in the kiss as their lips moved together, forcing herself not to move her body against his in her current straddled position. She was becoming more and more sure that if she did, she’d find out just how much Tony was enjoying the kiss as well but she didn’t want to lower the tone of the moment.Tony let out a low, soft groan in response to her fingers tickling the back of his neck and though he wanted to do far more, he pulled back, his eyes instantly moving to meet hers. He didn’t want to push things with her, she wouldn’t be the first pretty, young woman to be seduced by the mafia’s bad boy persona and he didn’t want Maria to regret her actions.
Maria took the glass of red that Tony poured for her and looked at him expectantly.“So you saw warning signs…” Maria prompted Tony with an arched eyebrow as he sat himself in a nearby chair with his own wine glass. He was on the edge of his seat and clearly nervous, Maria couldn’t decide if that was a sign he was being honest or not.“Warning signs” Tony muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. He felt on trial and he wasn’t confident if he was defending himself for Maria’s affections or for his place in the LeTale family.“ Eve was…really attentive. She would remember lots of details about what I’d said to her and then occasionally, she would say something that I didn’t think I had said to her” Tony explained, taking a sip of his glass then setting it down as he got into the flow of his story. “But the couple of times I called her out on it, she made me think I was the crazy one”“She gaslit you?” Maria asked and Tony shrugged his shoulders simply. These young folk and their slang
Maria’s heart was pounding and she was truly in overdrive as she leant against a small pillar on the dock, awaiting Tony to appear. Her eyes glimmered slightly with tears she refused to shed as thought about what had just taken place. Hand self-consciously covering her cut cheek, she felt lost and alone. Her mind was racing over what had just happened, how could she trust Tony after this? Frankie had mentioned his wife but not that she was from the Luca family. Did her father know and would she need to be the one to rat on him once he woke up?As Tony steps out into the cool air from the heated yacht, his eyes land on Maria, leaning against a small pillar on the dock and waiting for him. He noticed the way her eyes were cast downwards as she hid her cut and his heart constricted at the idea of her hurting.“Maria” he started softly but she just rotated herself 90 degrees away from him. “You did really well in there” he told her as though she hadn’t moved away. “Can I take a look at yo
“It’s Eve Calcolo actually”Her words reverberated around Maria’s head as she raised an eyebrow slightly. Frankie had told her he was married, so why did this still surprise her? Why did seeing this gorgeous specimen of a woman in front of her make Maria’s inside curl up in jealousy? Suddenly this yacht, that Eve had just said she honeymooned on, seemed to have a thousand secrets. Newly wed promises would have been whispered to each other on that couch, fingers would have laced over breakfast at this table, their eyes shining brightly in the after effects of enjoying their wedding nights together. All with a man who merely hours before had Maria pressed against the side of a building ready to kiss her, who had been prepared to shoot a man because he’d almost had that privilege. “Oh, Mrs Calcolo” Maria said with a kind smile. She could tell Carlos was practically bouncing as he brimmed with excitement at the prospect of either Maria or Tony slipping and showing them that they had inde
The door opened and the Luca brothers both entered the room, striding over to the small dining table and gesturing to Maria and Tony to take a seat. Maria moved, trying to appear confident and un-shaken by the events of the day. Just knowing that Tony had been spooked by something set her even more on edge though. Tony followed and sat down opposite Maria, hoping being in her direct line of sight would play to their benefit somehow.“Isn’t it nice to just be able to sit and eat and meet without one of the buffoons waving a gun around?” Carlos conversationally asked Maria as he sat down next to her. Whilst Maria did her best not to bristle at having him beside her, Tony felt relieved. He’d much rather Carlos be sat next to her than his much larger brother.“I think it would be much nicer if one half of the dining party weren’t armed when the other wasn’t” Maria noted, arching an eyebrow at the slimmer brother who let out a short laugh, slapping the table.“Is she always this hilarious?
The sensory deprivation of the cloth bag was disorientating Maria as the car rallied through the city, going God knows where. She could hear gun shots, mostly firing from the car she was in. Instantly, Maria knew it was because they knew she was in there. The odd swerve of the car told her that whichever of the LeTale soldiers were chasing them had been ordered to be cautious of shooting at the vehicle Maria was travelling in.She was breathing quite quickly, trying not to go into full blown panic mode but they had been driving at least 15 minutes and she still had no clue whether the body next to her was alive or not, whether it belonged to Tony or someone else. She should have shot Ricky when she had the chance, Carlos seemed much easier to evade. Now was the time to gather herself, she had to be strong, she was going to have to negotiate herself out of this mess. She stiffened sharply as she felt the body beside her shuffle a little and then she felt it, the lightest touch from a
“Most definitely this one”Maria’s breath haltered slightly at his words as a slight blush spread across her cheeks. She felt…giggly. That was the last thing she wanted to be considered as, a foolish young giggly girl. Tony’s playful attitude towards her, tinged with the danger she knew he could cause, had Maria wanting to prove just how grown up she was. Her mind strayed to that first day when he’d told her that no-one needed reminding she was all grown up, her heart beating a little faster. Would they pick up where they’d left it earlier once they were in his apartment? Shaking her head she realised Tony had stopped the car and was holding the door open for her.“Miss LeTale” he said politely and in an almost clipped voice as she started to gracefully slide out the car. Her brow creased slightly, why the sudden drop in temperature and pick up of her title? Tony’s light eyes looked into hers, with purpose, as she caught his gaze and she realised they weren’t alone. Someone was here
Tony stayed silent until he heard Maria get in the car, looking down on Jerry who was lulling in and out of consciousness. What was it about Maria and not wanting violence, didn’t she realise the business they were in? Didn’t she understand what Jerry had been hinting at?“You’re f**ked” Jerry spluttered, blood in his mouth as he did so yet he still managed a bleak laugh. “I ain’t never seen you look at someone in that way,” Jerry coughed through his laugh, “He will kill you Tony” the man warned him gravely.Tony tensed slightly, his brow furrowed as he looked towards the door where Maria had left moments before.“It was a slip” he told Jerry gruffly, “I’m not an idiot, I know shes off limits. She’s just so damn interesting… not to mention beautiful and she had a rough night, shes hurting” Tony grumbled in an explanatory way, standing up from his position of straddling Jerry to hold him to the ground.“Are you going to tell him?” he asked Jerry point blank, his hand resting on his gun
The LeTale family had never been witness to so much unease around their future. Coming from generations of fierce, fearless leaders they had long dominated their city and didn't often come up against the competition in any of their excursions.That was until recently. The Luca family were a young but fast-growing community that were beginning to become more than a nuisance to the LeTales. Not only were they interrupting their areas of business, but they were also intruding onto the LeTale turf, trying to scare LeTale associates and, most aggravatingly, seemed to be out to cause trouble with family members. Damon Letale had a simple no-hassle policy on his turf and his response was always the same. One Strike.You got one strike, he forgave once and then he washed his hands of you and the responsibility of what happened to you. Mercy had no place in a busines- like theirs, family was everything and if you worked for Don Damon then his family had better top yours in yo
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