MAFIA'S DOMINANT LOVE

Alyssa Russo’s POVI have no idea what to do with this change.Having Alessandro de Rossi in the mansion is worse than being here alone.I feel like I’m living with a tiger.When he’s around, the air is different. It’s charged, like before a storm. I know that I’m not the only person who feels it, because the staff moves differently around Brady.For one, people appear out of the woodwork to do his bidding. I had no idea that the estate had a garden staff, for example, until Alessandro appeared on the scene.The trees outside have never looked better.I have a feeling that the entire estate isn’t on the beach, as I had previously thought, but somewhere inland. Florida is a mess of bogs and muggy little spots that no one can find you, and the people who work for families like mine know this very well.There’s more than one body buried in the belly of a gator, that’s for sure.It’s been about a week since Alessandro appeared, and I’ve settled into another routine. Mostly, it involves av

By the time we touchdown somewhere outside of Newark, my heart is in my throat, and I regret all of the chicken that I managed to stomach earlier.What if something happened to her?I’m sure that Alessandro has been talking to Nico, the man on the phone who is clearly his highest ranking guy on the ground. I’m desperate to know what he’s found.Whether or not it’s Anne and Nonna Mia who live on the burned down farm.The plane finally stops on the runway, and the engines are powering down when I see two big black cars drive up.One of their doors opens.And a familiar small shape emerges.I don’t care about anything else at that point. I move like a robot, my body making decisions that I am not consciously aware of.The stairs aren’t even fully descended when I’m on them. My feet hit the pavement, the chill of New Jersey biting into my skin, and I run to my child.Anne’s eyes, that look so much like Brady’s light up. “Mommy!”“My baby,” I gasp. I kneel down and she’s running for me too

A woman in a housekeeper’s uniform sprints out of the house. She looks to be somewhere in the late 60s, early 70s range, but I could have no idea. There’s a smile on her face that’s a mile wide, and I can’t help but return it.She’s babbling in Italian a mile a minute as she runs (actually runs) down to where Anne and I are standing. My Italian being what it is, I only get about every fourth word, but from what I gather, she’s the housekeeper that’s been with the de Rossi kids for a long time, and she’s beyond thrilled to have Anne here.“Um. Thank you?”Her bright green eyes turn to me, and her face wrinkles into an even bigger smile. I stand stock still as she grabs my face and layers even more kisses on my cheeks.Continuing to pour rapid fire Italian on me, she grabs me by the elbow and drags me into the house.Meekly, I follow.She may not be related to Alessandro and Amara, but in my heart, I know that being welcome like that can’t be a bad thing.Maybe I’ll have an ally to find

We’re quiet for a minute. The air smells like lemons, which I assume comes from the blossoming lemon trees in huge pots lining the pool.Amara sighed, rotating so she’d lie on her stomach. “What’s it like having multiple siblings?”“Um…” I’m not sure how to answer that. “It’s fine?”“Okay, let me get more specific. What’s it like to have three brothers? One is plenty for me, so I’m not sure how you managed.”I laugh. “Well, it’s mostly like having… three brothers. Joemar Russo was so much older than me, by the time I was old enough to remember him he was just a cool older brother figure who protected me but he wasn’t like a playmate.“Dante was always in trouble, and Enzo and I are only ten months apart, so we’re the closest. I’d say it’s probably similar to having one brother but… three more times.”Amara makes a face. “Ew. No, thank you. Alessandro is plenty.”That makes me and I turn to look at her. “You said Brady had to grow up fast. Did you mean after…”I can’t bring myself to s

His company, sure. But I don’t have any sway there. I could try to win Amara over more, and see if I can get information from her. My mind, traitor that it is, supplies something else entirely. The image of Alessandro, outside of Anne and my room. His eyes dark, his jaw clenched as he leaned over me. The way he looked at me like he wanted…I shudder. Oh, he wanted something. A horrible, dangerous idea forms in my mind. My heart beats faster as I think about it. I could seduce Alessandro for information.No. I couldn’t. I…Jesus Christ, I don’t hate the idea.It makes me feel like when I was a kid, and my brothers brought me to the Empire State Building. Mom and Dad were doing something in the city, so Joemar brought all of us to the observation platform, and like a total asshole he made me lean over the side slightly. That same swirl in my stomach, the knife blade of danger and thrill, makes my heart pound. The prospect of sex with Alessandro again is, admittedly, pretty alluring. But