Chapter 2
Angelo As Vittoria is escorted out of the office, I walk to my desk and take a seat behind it. My eyes flick to Giorgio, who looks like he’s about to shit himself. He was only twenty-one when he took over from Tony, but during the past seven years, he hasn’t done half the work Tony used to do for me. He also has a gambling problem that’s starting to cost me money. “I hear you like spending time at Fallen Angels,” I mutter. The strip club was the first business I opened, so I have a soft spot for the establishment. The club has three sections. Heaven, where customers can only watch the girls dance, and Hell, where everything goes. The gambling room is in the third section, called Purgatory. Needless to say, the place brings in a fortune. “Yes, sir,” Giorgio says. When he aims for one of the chairs by my desk, Tiny places a hand against the man’s chest before shaking his head at him. No one sits in my presence. Well, unless your last name is Rizzo, La Rosa, Torrisi, Falco, or Vitale. “What is his tab standing at?” I ask. I know the exact amount, but I don’t want to give Giorgio the impression I have any interest in his life. “Just shy of three hundred thousand,” Tiny answers. Lifting an eyebrow, I shake my head. Giorgio begins to sweat, the drops beading on his forehead and running down his temples. “I’ll settle the tab soon.” “Yes, you will,” I say. “Today.” His eyes go wide as saucers. “I can’t get the money that quick.” With zero mercy on my face, I mutter, “That sounds like your problem.” Tiny takes a threatening step toward Giorgio, which has him rambling, “I’ll get the money. I just need a month.” My eyes narrow on the fucker. His scared gaze darts between Tiny and myself, then he adds, “I’m the only family Tori has left. Please give me a month. I promise I’ll get the money.” I’ve heard that before. Usually, right before I kill someone. But the debt is not the reason Giorgio is standing in front of me. If it were, he’d be dead already, and truth be told, tomorrow would’ve been his last day if it weren’t for his little sister. Vittoria Romano. I’ve been so busy I haven’t realized the girl blossomed into a beautiful woman. I’m used to people looking at me with fear, but seeing terror in Vittoria’s eyes had my cock hardening at the speed of light, which was an unusual reaction for me. I wonder what it would be like to bend her to my will. I have a healthy sex drive, but lately, all the women seem to blur together. It’s become boring as fuck. There’s also the matter of my uncle, who’s been nagging that it’s time for me to take a wife. Then, the scared little fawn appeared in front of me, and her doe eyes had my pulse racing faster. “Vittoria is twenty-three,” I mention. Giorgio does a double take before his face lights up with relief. “Yes.” “She’s of marrying age.” “Yes.” His head bobs up and down. “I’m just waiting until she’s twenty- five before arranging a marriage for her.” Finding the fucker funny, I let out a rare chuckle. “What makes you think you’re allowed to arrange a marriage for her?” I lift a hand and wave at the desk. “Did I miss the part where you’re the one in charge?” Giorgio’s eyes widen again. “N-no, sir.” Why wait until she’s twenty-five? I push the thought to the back burner. Tiny can look into Vittoria’s personal life after I’ve dealt with her brother. Resting my elbows on the desk, I lean forward. “You’re not to arrange a marriage for Vittoria without my blessing.” I want my fill of the woman before she’s passed off to whoever I deem good enough. Giorgio nods, then asks, “About the debt, sir. Is a month okay?” For now. I nod and wave a hand at the door, indicating for the fucker to leave. As soon as he’s gone, I glance at Tiny. “I want to know everything about Vittoria Romano.” “Yes, boss.” He hovers for a moment, then asks, “What do you want me to do with Duncan’s body?” “Drop it off at his house so his family can bury him.” Pulling my phone out of the breast pocket of my jacket, I add, “Pay for the funeral and give his wife fifty thousand. God knows she needs it after putting up with him for so long.” Big Ricky comes into the office as Tiny leaves. “The girl left with her brother.” I nod as I scroll through all the emails and messages. “I don’t think she’ll talk,” he mentions. I nod again while I look at the meeting scheduled for Tuesday at five p.m. Every two weeks, the five heads of the Cosa Nostra meet. In the beginning, it was to keep the peace, but over the years, we’ve become friends. Now we play poker while talking business. My cousin was supposed to take over the Rizzo seat in the Cosa Nostra, but he was assassinated by the Quintero cartel when they tried to move into New York. I was nineteen when I took over so my uncle could retire as head of the Rizzo family. He still helps with the business in Sicily and keeps an eye on everything for me, which is something I want to discuss with him. It’s time for him to step away from the business so he can enjoy his old age. Fuck, has it already been fifteen years? Time flies when you’re making money. No wonder Uncle Maurizio’s been on my case about getting married. He’s scared I’ll be taken out before I get the chance to give the Rizzo family an heir. The only problem is the women from suitable families are either older than me or still in school. Uncle Maurizio’s been dropping hints that I should marry Valentina Toscano, who’s from an influential family, but that’s never happening. She’s six years older than me and batshit crazy. Vittoria’s beautiful face pops into my mind, but I shake my head because the Romanos are way beneath the Rizzos. At least she’s fucking Sicilian. I shake my head again because I sure as fuck don’t want Giorgio for a brother-in-law. My gaze lowers to my right hand, and I rub my fingers together as I recall the feel of her silky hair. She flinched as if she thought I was going to hit her. A woman only has that reaction when she’s been beaten before. My eyes narrow as my thoughts turn to my parents. Before they were killed in a hit-and-run, my father used to beat the shit out of my mother. Every other night, her blood coated the walls. The world I grew up in has made me a hard man, but I’ll never hit a woman. Again, the memory of Vittoria flinching ghosts through my mind. I begin to tap my fingers on the desk as she fills my thoughts. I’m easily twice her size. Her heart-shaped face is framed by golden brown curls that look like they refuse to be tamed. Her doe eyes hold a mysterious power that has the ability to grab my attention. The woman is fucking beautiful. “Boss?” Big Ricky says to get my attention. I forgot the man was still in the office, and shaking my head to rid my thoughts of Vittoria Romano, I tuck my phone back into my pocket. Letting out a sigh, I stand up and mutter, “Let’s head over to the club.” Every day, I’m surrounded by beautiful women, but none of them has grabbed my attention like the little fawn with her wild hair and doe eyes.Chapter 20SamanthaAfter I cried my heart out, I made myself a cup of coffee, which I’m sipping on while I sit next to my mystery man on the couch.He has his arm wrapped around my shoulder, and it makes me feel safe. “I had a bad day at the office,” I whisper over the rim of my cup.That’s the understatement of the century.“Want to talk about it?” he asks, his tone gentle and caring.Not wanting to put him in any danger by telling him about Mr. Vitale being a mafia boss, I shake my head. “I can’t.”I can’t tell anyone about what happened.It’s something I’ll have to stay quiet about until the day I die.Feeling exhausted and emotionally drained, I let out a miserable sigh and mutter, “I need to do something that will take my mind off what happened today.”My mystery man pulls his arm away from my shoulders and says, “I’ll be back in a few seconds.”He gets up and walks into the restroom.I rise to my feet and take the cup to the kitchen. Placing my hands on the side of the sink, I
Chapter 19SamanthaWith a fresh wave of fear flooding my veins, I yank away from Mr. Vitale.Our eyes lock, and suddenly, I see his ruthless nature written all over his face.One of the five heads. The other men.Oh God. I was surrounded by the leaders of the Sicilian mafia.It feels like I’m having an out-of-body experience, and what has been a pretty mundane reality until today, warps into something unrecognizable.Spinning around, I rush out of the restroom and into the foyer. Spotting the front door, I make a beeline for it.Suddenly, Mr. Vitale darts in front of me, and obstructing my escape, he says, “You can’t leave until we’ve talked about everything.”“The hell I can’t,” I shriek, my voice shrill from all the shocks I’ve had. I move away from him, and feeling bewildered, I say, “I work for a mafia boss. Great.” My hands fly to my hair and grip fistfuls. “Oh God. I won’t survive going to prison.”“You’re not going to prison,” he snaps.Hearing his annoyed tone, I spin around
Chapter 18FrancoIt’s been ten minutes since I pressed the panic button on my wristwatch.Renzo and the others have received my exact location and will be here soon.I grab hold of Samantha’s bicep and haul her to her feet before pulling her toward the stairs.I’m fucking worried about Milo and Lorenzo. With men getting past them so quickly, it means we’re being attacked by half an army.As we cautiously take the stairs up to the sixth floor, my phone starts to vibrate. I quickly dig the device out of my pocket, and seeing Milo’s name flashing on the screen, I answer, “Where are you?”“Third floor. You?”“In the stairwell. We’re heading to the sixth floor.” “I’m coming.”I end the call and put the phone back in my pocket, then glance at Samantha’s pale face.“How are you holding up?” I ask. She shakes her head. “I’m not.” “It will be over soon.”When we reach the door to the sixth floor, I gesture with my finger in front of my lips for her to keep quiet.Holding the submachine gun I
Chapter 17SamanthaGod, I can’t wait for next week. I need a vacation, even if it’s only a week.As I leave the subway and walk toward work, my phone starts to ring, and seeing it’s Mom, I smile as I answer, “Hey, Mom.”“Hi, sweetie. I can’t wait to pick you up at the airport on Saturday. I was thinking we could start your vacation with a spa day. What do you think?”My smile widens at the thought of getting a full body massage. “Yes!I’d love that.”“Great. I’ll make an appointment for us,” Mom says.“Thanks, Mom.” At the end of the block, I turn right and move closer to the buildings to avoid the other pedestrians before I admit, “I can’t wait to see you and Dad.”“We miss you too, sweetie. Unfortunately Matt won’t be here. He’s so busy with the new account he landed.”“Aww, that’s a pity,” I mutter. I haven’t seen my brother since Christmas and make a mental note to give him a call.When I reach the office, I say, “I have to go, Mom.” “Okay. Have a good day, sweetie.”“You too.”E
Chapter 16FrancoAfter having dinner with Renzo and Dario, I stop at Paradiso to check on things.Once I’ve changed into my uniform, I take a moment to send Samantha a message.MMM: How are you?While I wait for her reply, my thoughts go back to the panic attack she had. It was fucking bad, and it’s clear our meetings haven’t helped as much as I thought.My phone vibrates in my hand, and I quickly read the message.Samantha: Honestly? MMM: Yes.Samantha: Not so good.MMM: Do you want me to come over?Needing to be there for her, I whisper, “Please say yes.”Samantha: Please. I’d really appreciate it.“Thank fuck.”MMM: I’m on my way. Open the window.I’m up and out of my office at the speed of light, and as I rush through the back entrance to the club, Milo and Lorenzo kill their cigarettes and give me a worried look.“What’s wrong?” Milo asks.“Nothing. I’m going to Samantha’s place,” I say as I open the back door of the G-Wagon.My men pile into the vehicle, and when we’re on our w
Chapter 15SamanthaGod, I feel like death warmed over.Mr. Vitale has been relentless this morning. You’d swear he’s the one who didn’t get any sleep.Asshole.Just as the thought crosses my mind, an incoming call comes through from his office.Answering it, I try to sound upbeat as I say, “Yes, sir?” “My office. Now!”God, I hate him.“I’m coming.” He doesn’t hear my reply, because he’s already hung up.I let out a whining sound as I get up from my chair and have to resist the urge to stomp my feet like a two-year-old.Opening the door to the chamber of wrath, I go inside.“Cancel all my appointments for the next two days,” he barks. “And fix all the mistakes on this contract.”Papers fly across his desk, and I dart forward to catch them. Before I can stop myself, I snap, “Do you have to be such an asshole?”When he raises an eyebrow at me, my words register in my tired brain.I did not just say that to him!I start blinking at him, and then an apology falls over my lips, “Oh my God