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Rat Trail
Last Updated:
2024-08-06 10:44:16Related chapters
Indebted to the Mafia King Loukoumades
EleniI blink awake in the morning with my mouth watering. Cold sheets. No Dante. I check my phone and find the usual text. At Piacere today, had to leave early, news when he gets home. I drop my phone with a groan. My stomach grumbles. I think I spent all night dreaming about loukoumades, these honey puffs Mama used to make for my birthday, or whenever she was in a really good mood. The air even smells like them, as if I brought the memory from my dreams into reality.If Dante was here, I could have convinced him to drive around to find some. Instead, I’m just going to have to throw myself on Seb’s mercy. Or, more accurately, the mercy of Seb’s alarm clock. He’s rarely awake before noon.My mood sours as I get dressed and discover my favorite T-shirt fell out of the laundry basket before it got taken this week, so it’s still dirty. I pull on one of Dante’s and scowl at myself in the mirror as I brush my teeth. Today sucks. Maybe I’ll skip schoolwork and catch up with a few of my cap
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Why?
EleniMama doesn’t like the news I’ve fallen in love with Dante, judging by the lecture that follows. Still, I sit politely and listen to every word, smiling at the sheer joy of having a mother to scold me again. After that, we talk over police procedurals, her favorite show and how to watch them, for a few hours, catching up on everything we haven’t had time for in our last few calls. Gianna shows up because I forgot we made lunch plans, and unlike Dante, Mama took to her instantly. Before an hour passes, she has Gianna in the kitchen with her hair pulled back, walking her through the steps of properly seasoning lamb for gyros. I sit at the kitchen island, correcting Gianna’s technique when Mama isn’t fast enough. She smacks my hand away when I try to steal a bite of pita, and for a moment, I think I know what it was like to be Christos when we were kids. She means the smack, but so much affection sparkles in her gaze that I know I have nothing to worry about. My heart squeezes. I
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Yes
EleniDespite how tired he seemed a moment ago, Dante comes alive when I kiss him. He grips my hips like the last anchor in a storm, and I undulate against him like the waves he’s trying to hold on through. I don’t know what to do with this warmth in my chest. It’s something more permanent than love, more certain. So I just wrap myself around him, slide my hands into his hair, and try to find a place where everything makes sense to me again.Dante pulls back. “I’m a little sore tonight. I don’t know if I have the whole routine in me.”That home-warmth flares.“Okay,” I say. “I don’t mind.”He smiles against my lips. “I love you.”“I love you too.” A giggle bursts from my lips. “Do you want me to…?”Dante trails his kisses away from my mouth, down my neck. “Only if you need it. I’m happy just to feel you tonight.”He’s nearly liquid underneath me, languorous and slow. I shake my head. I’ve never seen this side of Dante, not straining against his own iron control or forgetting about it
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Best-Laid Plans
DanteThe next morning, Eleni lies splayed across my chest, her naked shoulders peeking above the blanket. Her hand lays open, and the ring I picked out for her glitters on her finger. I smile. It was time. Being “just a girlfriend” in this life put her in so much more danger. At least, that’s what I told Tony and the other guys. But who the fuck was I kidding? The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and my fiancée is drooling a little. My ribs hurt with how full my heart is.Or with the weight said fiancée is putting on my still only mostly healed bullet wound. But I’ll let El wake up in her own time. I brush a few curls back off her face.She wakes up with a snort and blinks up at me in total confusion for a second. Then, she touches the corner of her mouth where the drool was coming from and turns bright red.“It’s okay!” I try to say before she can freak out.She buries her head beneath the pillow. “Forget the proposal. I’m moving to Alaska.”I roll over top of her, caging her
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Here and Gone
EleniA week after Mama arrived, we walk along South Beach with our sandals in our hands, looking out over the water at the Verrazano.“—and then Adriani said, ‘if you get another orange from that man, I’m going to nail them to his front door and let the streets run orange with the juices!’” Mama says.I laugh so hard I actually have to stop walking. The sand burns my feet, but I don’t mind. Mama and I have spent nearly every day together since she arrived, and as much as she complains about Theia Adriani, she tells stories about her younger sister almost constantly.“Theia Adriani should meet Tony,” I say when I get my breath back. “I think they’d either fall passionately in love or hate each other on sight.”Mama smiles. “Tony is the one with the very stiff hair, yes? And those lovely eyes.”I swallow down another burst of laughter and decide to tell everyone about the “stiff hair” comment later. “Yes, he is.”She nods. “And he is the right hand. Capo supreme.”“Caporegime,” I corre
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Saying Goodbye
DanteI stand on the porch of my safe house upstate, fidgeting with my watch. When Eleni told me she mentioned Christos to Mama, I nearly stopped breathing. I expected demands for answers about why I killed her son. I didn’t expect tearful requests for his last words, college stories, and to leave from the airstrip upstate when she returned to Greece a few days later. I can just see the two of them through the trees, standing in front of the half-hidden grave. Eleni holds Mama, and both of them shake. For the first time in a week, I can actually forget about Camila. I stand on the edge of a towering, personal grief, knowing I was the one who caused it. Still, I’m never really sure if I regret shooting Christos. I miss the devil-may-care freshman, the once-in-a-generation running back, the bastard who made me laugh and carved a line through parties with me. I fucking hate the memory of the taste of his blood, the gunpowder that stained my hands for what felt like weeks after. But the
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Shots Fired
EleniI stand on the wrecked stage of Piacere and turn in a slow circle. The two bars glisten under thick drifts of broken glass, and puddles of spilled alcohol drool away from them. Not a table stands upright. More than half of them are splintered. Under the brilliant daytime lights of the club, goosebumps pepper my skin. It feels like looking at a ghost.It feels like looking at The Greek Corner, the day after Baba’s murder and my rescue, when Tony took me back.Dante storms up the stairs. “They took a good fucking chunk out of the basement, but either they couldn’t find the secret door, or they couldn’t get through.”His eyes dance with rage. I step over one of the poles, ripped from its mooring to lean against the stage, and close the distance between us. Still, I don’t touch him. There’s an electricity radiating off him that I can’t catch up with yet. My anger feels dull, faraway. It’s too much like that day, the day my whole life changed, for me to touch it yet.“Anyone hurt?” I
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Turnabout
DanteI check the cylinder on my second pistol—full—and slide it back into place with a click. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I put my eye to the sniper sight Tony set up on the apartment roof across from the Russian warehouse Cal showed us.“We’re trusting Cal Duncan?” Tony asks.“You got another fucking option?” I reply.His sharp sigh behind me tells me I’ve already won. I knew I was going to. If we give the Russians more than twenty-four hours, we look weak. But we don’t know shit about their operations, other than this warehouse. Assuming Cal was telling the truth. And if I’m being honest, I think Cal’s more likely to give us the warehouse of another syndicate, on the off chance he lied, so at least I don’t have the deaths of civilians to worry about. I lean back from the sight.Tony stands behind me, along with Seb and three other capos. Seb’s just about vibrating out of his skin, being taken on an all-capo mission. Tony said it wasn’t a good idea, but his induction is n
Last Updated : 2024-08-06
Latest chapter
Indebted to the Mafia King Wedding Day
ChloeThe first few days after I learned that Mateo was no longer on this planet were a bit chaotic. Tony and his men had so much to do: cleaning up the mess, assigning the new positions each one of them would take when it came to protecting our family and the house, determining who would go back to dealing with the Saints’ businesses, and so on. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve managed to create a routine for myself and Ellie. It took me a while to process that I wouldn’t have to continue hiding or running away anymore, but eventually things just became… easier. It’s funny how easily and quickly humans get used to things. In the first few days, I was still scared to leave the house by myself, even with a couple of guards accompanying me, or Rocco taking me from place to place inside a bulletproof car. I would always watch over my shoulder, expecting someone to jump out of a bush or something and kidnap me–or worse–kill me.But Tony assured me he wouldn’t get rid of the security s
Indebted to the Mafia King Imperfectly Perfect
ChloeOur warm kiss turns into something more passionate as our hands begin to roam each other’s bodies. There are so many emotions bottled up inside us that it is hard to express them with words. Tony’s hands explore my body while he devours my mouth in a heated kiss, suffocating my moans. My head is still spinning from his confession that he loves me, and I can barely focus on what he’s doing. My distraction seems to catch his attention because he pulls away from me, his eyes studying my face carefully. “Is everything okay? We don’t need to do this if you don’t want to. I–”My lips are on his before he even finishes his sentence. Like hell I’d let him stop right now. I urge myself to be present, storing his confession for later, when I have time to dwell on it over and over without being interrupted. I wish I could’ve recorded it so I could listen to it whenever I need reassurance about how he feels about me.But this is Tony. I know he will shower me with affection and love whenev
Indebted to the Mafia King Confessions
ChloeAfter I welcome Tony home, I make sure to wake Ellie up so she can have dinner with us. She needs to eat something since she has been sleeping the whole afternoon, and she also needs to wake up now so she can get some sleep later. I’m not looking forward to staying up all night because she slept too much during the day.The three of us have dinner together as a family for the first time, and it just feels… right. Like how it’s always supposed to have been. Neither one of us brings up the elephant in the room. I’m sure we’ll have time to talk about it, but right now, I just want to enjoy this moment while I can. Watching Tony feed our daughter, playing with her, and getting her to laugh is just so adorable that my heart can barely take it.It’s a dream coming true right in front of my eyes.“Come on, baby. Let’s show Mommy how you’re a good girl who eats all her dinner,” he muses, making airplane sounds as he flies the spoon toward her gaping mouth.Ellie chuckles and opens wide
Indebted to the Mafia King Empty House
ChloeReuniting with Ellie and my mom felt overwhelming, although bittersweet. Even though I was beyond relieved and grateful to hold my daughter in my arms once more, my heart was shrinking by the minute, not knowing what Tony was up to.The Irish King’s bar I was brought to is surprisingly comfortable and welcoming. I was even more surprised when I found Cal playing with Ellie. The way she laughed at his exaggerated movements and jokes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this enchanted with another man before.After I settled down from the flight and kissed and hugged my family, Cal asked one of his employees from the bar to bring me something to eat. Mom and Ellie already had dinner since they arrived here earlier, and when the waitress returns with a tray filled with burgers, fries, and a chocolate milkshake, I almost let out a moan of pleasure.Only now have I realized how starving I am. I can’t even remember the last time I ate. So much has happened in the past twenty-four hours t
Indebted to the Mafia King Into the Enemy's Den
TonyMy vision turns red, and I clench my phone in my hand so hard that I hear it crack. “Send it to me. I’ll be on my way,” I inform him.Armando clears his throat, and I know he’s about to contradict me. “Shouldn’t we have a plan first, Boss? We have no idea what he’s been up to,” he wisely reminds me. I’m glad I have someone to make me see clearly now because all I can think of is putting a bullet hole through Mateo’s forehead and making sure he doesn’t take another breath in this world. “What do we know?” I ask, already starting the car.“They are in an abandoned warehouse outside the city. It’s not our territory, but that shouldn’t be a problem. No one really rules that part of town,” he explains firmly and professionally. “I have all men on hold, waiting for instructions on how we can best approach without being noticed.”“Do you think the cartel is waiting for us?” I have no fucking clue what Mateo was thinking when he invaded the safehouse to go after Chloe like that. It wa
Indebted to the Mafia King Scorching the Earth
TonyI warned Chloe not to even try and convince me of doing anything else other than going after Mateo and his men. I’d been doing my best to act cautiously, to consider every single possible outcome from this war, but after he ambushed Chloe at the safehouse, making her fight for her life, it left me blind with rage.My guilt didn’t help, either.I was so relieved when I found her on that dark street, wearing nothing but a robe covered in blood, that I could have cried when I held her in my arms. She felt so small, so vulnerable within my embrace that the monster dormant inside me snapped to life, and I simply couldn’t put this aside any longer. Even if I die, even if I don’t get to see her one last time, I will make sure to take Mateo down with me, so he never has the chance to lay a hand on my wife again. Or my daughter, for that matter.“Do I really have to go with Cal?” Chloe’s sweet voice asks from the bed, making me take my eyes off the phone and look at her. I promised her
Indebted to the Mafia King Out of Harm's Way
Chloe“Listen,” Tony continues, still focused on the road. The police sirens get more and more distant as we drive away from the city, but I still don’t ask him where he is taking me. “I know you don’t want to think about it now, but I need to know what happened,” he requests in a gentle voice. I hear a hint of pain in it as well, but mostly, I can hear the guilt behind his words.I want to tell him none of this is his fault, but we’ll have time for that later. Right now, we just need to make sure no one else gets hurt, or worse, killed.I inhale sharply, steadying myself enough to share the recent events with him. I am strong, and I can do this, I tell myself. I’ve always told Tony I could handle it all, and even though I was scared as hell back there, I still managed to save myself.I can do this.“After you left, I spent a few more minutes in the office before I headed up to take a shower. I don’t think I was in there too long, but as soon as I stepped out, I heard the alarm go off
Indebted to the Mafia King Fighting For My Life
ChloeI should be dead.I was certain I’d be killed the moment I saw Mateo by the front door.I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look as mad as he looked a couple of minutes ago.Somehow, by the grace of God perhaps, when I saw him approaching me with that gun pointed at my face, I managed to take it from his hand after sparring with him and shot him in the shoulder. I think.I didn’t stay there to confirm. I didn’t wait to see if he was injured or not. I simply ran out of the house, not daring to look back, not even once. It’s been a few minutes, and I’m still blindly running through the neighborhood, trying to think of what to do or where to go. There’s no one on the street that I can ask for help, and even if there were, I’d be so afraid that Mateo would kill them for helping me that I don’t think I would ask for help anyway.It’s cold outside, and I’m still only wearing my shower robe, and even though I don’t dare to look back, too afraid of what I’ll see, I know I’m being follow
Indebted to the Mafia King Failed Promise
TonyComing here was a fucking mistake.Seeing Chloe did everything to me that I was trying to avoid. It just left me even more confused than before. We haven’t spent more than an hour together, and I still managed to screw it up.Being with her felt natural as if this was the only place I could be. Whenever I’m with her, holding her in my arms and feeling her close to me, everything just seems to go away. Every concern, every fear, every bad thought I ever had… I finally feel at peace.That’s the sort of effect she has on me. But I was not expecting her confession. Hearing her say she loves me and not being able to say it back shattered my heart in ways I can't explain. The look on her face will haunt me forever. It seems to have become a pattern lately. I can't seem to be able to stop hurting and disappointing her. I know what she expects from me, but unfortunately, I can't give it to her.It's clear to me that I have fallen for her, harder than I could ever have expected. It's a f
