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An Unexpected Lifeline
Last Updated:
2024-01-19 07:52:05
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Taken by the Mafia King Let Her Starve
KillianI pursed my lips as I watched the grandfather clock in the corner of my office. It ticked and ticked away, each second like a breath I imagined Giuseppe de Luca taking as he arrived at his father’s house after a long night with whores and dice.My mouth twitched into a smile at the thought of what he’d find.The clock chimed seven, and I looked up as Francesco Abate entered the room, his face twisted in exhaustion. Francesco was a few years my junior. Tall and burly, he dripped with brute force and a violent disposition that had taken years to rein in. He was still working on that, but I was in no hurry to tame him. Terrifying man, truly.Francesco crossed his thick arms over his chest. “He knows.”“Well, that didn’t take long,” I said.A maid hurried in with a tray of coffee, her eyes flicking up to Francesco for a split second before she bristled and hurried over to me. She poured me a cup and I arched my brow at Francesco, who glared at the maid.“Thank you,” I said, but sh
Last Updated : 2024-01-19Taken by the Mafia King Daddy's Princess
SeraI mulled over my options as I took a shower, washing the blood and grime and the feel of Gabriele’s skin from my body. Food had been laid out, but I hadn’t touched it. An assortment of cheeses, breads, and cured meats sat alongside freshly washed green grapes and dried apricots. The sort of meal I’d have ordered off a menu to share with a friend. Or with Jim on our date, had a date ever come to fruition. As soon as Jim’s name skittered through my mind my chest tightened.Don’t think about him. A nice older man, possibly a butler, had cleaned and bandaged my wrists and a few other cuts and scrapes on my head. I’d been worried about being alone with a strange man again, but he’d brought a maid with him.He’d asked if I’d been… touched. I’d known what he meant. I only had the sense to shake my head and look down at the fresh, clean bandages covering the broken skin along my wrists as he gently told me I would heal. At least, my physical wounds would.But my mind had been elsewhere.
Last Updated : 2024-01-19Taken by the Mafia King She Fell For It
KillianDelaney Lombardi’s bleach-blonde hair stuck to her tear-stained cheeks as she rounded her bed, her body clothed in nothing more than a thin silk chemise the color of roses. I crossed my arms as I leaned against the door to the bedroom. She approached me slowly, her throat bobbing with serious effort as she took several calculated, but nervous, steps.“Does the-the nightgown suit me?” she asked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she slipped a shaking finger across her breasts. “Do you like it?”“Where is your father?”“He’s not here,” she answered, swallowing hard again. “But you are.”I kicked off the door and stalked toward her. She yelped in surprise and moved away from me, climbing up and over the bed. Not so confident now, was she?I grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her to me, pinning her legs against the bed.“Don’t toy with me,” I spat, my lip curling over my teeth as I watched her tremble. “Where the fuck is Eduardo?”“I swear,” she sobbed. “I-I don’t know where
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SeraA maid walked into the room. She wore her glossy black hair pulled back into a low, messy bun at the nape of her neck. She smiled at me with thin pink lips and shook a pill bottle.“Antibiotics,” she said. “I swear. I can take one to prove to you it’s not something to knock you out.”“It’s okay,” I cut in, my heart hammering in my chest. I’d almost been caught with the phone. Thank God it hadn’t been Killian who’d come in. He would’ve seen right past my strained expression and known I’d done something I shouldn’t have.The maid frowned and clicked her tongue when she spotted the charcuterie board sitting on the dresser. She moved over to it, her skirt rustling with every step. “You didn’t eat. No bother. I’ll have something else sent up for you. You need to eat with the medication, even if it’s just a bit of milk. Okay?”“I will,” I said, only agreeing with her to get her out of the room so I could make another desperate call.She smiled and set the pill bottle on the table next
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SeraI woke to my bedroom door opening. My body ached so severely I barely had the strength to turn my head to see who’d come in.Tommaso gingerly stepped into the room with his hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers. “Morning.”“What time is it?” My voice cracked and scratched at my throat. I needed water.“Close to ten.” He leaned against the door to close it and settled his weight against it, watching me.I ran my hand over my face and blinked several times. “How long have I been asleep?”“Roughly a full day,” he said.I’d been asleep for an entire day? I looked down at the covers, clutching them between my fingers as a sudden sharp realization rippled over my body.“No one disturbed you,” he said, realizing my panic. His confirmation did little to calm my nerves. “But we are getting a little worried that you haven’t eaten anything… in several days.”“I don’t even know what day it is,” I replied.“It’s Monday morning,” he said after a moment.“My classroom,” I said weakly to
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SeraCaged in against the door, his hands on either side of my shoulders, Kilian looked at me, taking me in with a silent question lingering behind his eyes that I couldn’t read.“It was a test, wasn’t it? The phone,” I said, my voice trembling.“Smart girl.” His voice dripped with menace. “Not smart enough, apparently. Don’t you think I know everything that happens in this house? Did you think I wouldn’t find out you made a call?”Just one call, then. But which one?I lifted my chin. “I had to try.”“You’re beyond that, Sera,” he rasped.My heart skipped a beat as his scent hit me like a freight train. I could smell his faint cologne. Something expensive and warm. But beneath it, I inhaled a fragrance that had my knees going weak and my head spinning. Sharp and heavy, like the smell of the air after a storm, like something electric. If a dark, rainy night had a smell, that would be it.“Are you going to kill me?”“Not yet,” he said pointedly.“I have nothing to offer you.”“I’m sure
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SeraMy body thanked me for finally eating something and not totally giving up on myself. It spurred me into desperate action. I chipped at the seams on the windows with my fingernails until they cracked and bled. I went through every drawer in the room looking for something to pick the locks with, going as far as to pull a corner of the carpet up to search for nails. Nothing worked.Eventually I crumpled to the floor and hung my head in my hands, letting the tears fall again, sniffling pathetically as I thought of Emma and Killian’s warning about how stupid I’d been to risk her. The same could be said for Jim, I realized. Emma would tell him, no doubt about it.I could only hope that Fred would be willing to protect him. He’d always been like a father to me when my own Dad was incapable of doing so. He’d worked for my dad for a long time as a caporegime, tough and powerful and loyal to a T. He was one of the rare few that ever retired from the mafia, and even after I’d left, cut ties
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KillianFred Bagnoli leaned forward in the chair in front of my desk, eyeing me behind his black-rimmed glasses.He was an old man—wise, long-lived. I didn’t know many caporegimes that made it into their sixties, especially when they ran with the Bianchis over the course of their careers.Fred wasn’t my enemy. But I knew that could change in an instant. This man could have been a boss. I didn’t take that lightly.“She’s just a kid,” he said, his expression darkening as he looked me right in the eyes. Not many people had the nerve to do that. “She left this life years ago and made a new start for herself. You have some nerve taking that from her.”The corner of my mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile. “I wasn’t the one who started this.”“Well, you have her now.”“And I will continue to have her. I am not letting her walk out of this house, Bagnoli. You knew what my answer would be before you decided to come here and face me.”“What I want to know is,” he said with the firmness onl
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Taken by the Mafia King Epilogue
PaigeI stood in the vestibule outside of the chapel, clutching my flowers, my heart hammering in my chest. Organ music belted through the doors, and I was just waiting for my cue.We all were. My two bridesmaids, in simple maroon dresses, stood ahead of me. Like she could feel my eyes, Lauren turned back and winked. I smiled. The dress looked spectacular on her, and I’d promised up and down that Tom would invite enough handsome men for her to go home with a date. This, of course, had been complicated by Tom choosing Killian and Stan as his two groomsmen. While I liked the older man, and he kept Lauren laughing, I didn’t exactly see the two of them as a couple.Mom stepped up next to me with a smile. Her mother-of-the-bride dress, a deep burgundy gown with gold accents, caught the light and sent it dancing. “Are you excited?”I inhaled sharply. “I kind of can’t stop thinking about the seating chart for the reception. Who have I become?”She laughed. “Your father.”Tears beaded in my e
Taken by the Mafia King Old Time's Sake
KillianI sat behind my desk and looked out over my men. Tommaso took his usual seat. Adrian hovered in the corner like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself yet, just like he had at the beginning. Patrick was still laughing about spilling his wine. Just like old times. I stood and started pouring everyone drinks.“So,” I said, “do you have an update on the warehouses, Adrian?”He started toward my desk, then paused. An odd moment passed. It wasn’t really my desk anymore. I’d left the hunk of wood behind because I had no need for it on the island, and he’d loaded it down with computers in my absence. Despite that, I’d never seen anyone sit behind it but my father besides me.I offered Adrian a drink. “Sit.”He nodded. “Didn’t want to step on your toes. The situation is pretty simple, all told, but I can tell there’s a certain amount of grace I’m supposed to be handling this foreman with, and I don’t—”Tommaso joined me at the bar to pour. “Do you remember that foreman in the so
Taken by the Mafia King Big News
PaigeI tucked my arm through Tom’s and straightened my long, floral romper. He kissed me on the cheek, then knocked on the door. Joyce swung it open.“Hello!” She welcomed us both in with hugs. “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci are in the drawing room. Please, come in.”We let ourselves be bustled through the door, the wine we’d brought carried off to the kitchen, and our coats taken to some closet somewhere in the mansion. Adrian used it as a base of operations when Killian and Sera weren’t home, so I’d been here a few times since the wedding, but I’d never felt comfortable here. Finally, we were led to the closed doors of the drawing room, and Tom opened them with a smile.Inside, we found not only “Mr. and Mrs. Ricci,” but also Olivia and Patrick, Adrian and Penny—who still wouldn’t even talk about their dance at the wedding—and Sera’s mother and brother, as well as Lauren. Sera leapt up to greet us, and Killian followed a few paces behind. I threw myself into the hug just as much as Sera did—I
Taken by the Mafia King Checking Up
SeraI folded a T-shirt and put it into Killian’s suitcase. “Are you sure we need to leave so soon?”He chuckled and took the T-shirt back out, then replaced it with a suit shirt. “Very, unfortunately. Adrian is in the middle of a difficult situation with one of the warehouses, and he needs a steady hand to guide him through.”My stomach churned at the thought of leaving the villa. We’d only been here for a couple of months, and we’d promised everyone we’d return, but dammit, I wasn’t ready yet. Lazing around the villa and having sex whenever the mood took us was way too fun to stop after only a few months.“But we’ll be back soon, right?” I asked like I didn’t already know.“Cara mia.” Killian took my hands. “What is happening in that head of yours?”I sighed. “I don’t know. The thought of leaving just make me kind of sick. We just got away from all that. I don’t want to be scared again.”He studied me for a long moment. “You do look a little pale. How sick is this making you exactly
Taken by the Mafia King Humdrum Excitement
PaigeI squeezed Tom’s hand in the car on the way to the airport.“Sad to be leaving?” he asked.I smiled. “Always. It’s so magical here.”He laughed. “Not just saying that because we’ve spent most of the vacation in bed?”I ran my free hand up his leg. “No, we have weekends for that at home.”“Fair enough.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I do like going on these little vacations, though. It’s a nice escape for a few days.”I nodded. I really was going to miss Paris, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stay much longer anyway. Lauren had been texting me updates about the shelter, especially the new one as women settled in. I kept thinking about how much I was missing, how much they needed me there. And I knew Tom was feeling the same. Apparently, Lyle had his sights set on someone new, and Tom was itching to pull the trigger. Anybody else would probably think we were freaks, desperate to leave a luxury vacation to get back to our grueling jobs. But those people didn’t realize just how much
Taken by the Mafia King Perfect Fit
TommasoWhen I told Paige I’d set everything up for another two days in Paris, she’d immediately insisted we spend a day shopping. I put up a cursory front of complaints, but in truth, I was perfectly happy following her from store to store and carrying her bags. Even better, she loved it when I made jokes about some of the worst, frilliest, most French things we came across. She laughed and joined in. For years, I’d heard men complaining about shopping with their girlfriends—fiancées—saying it was the most boring thing in the world, but even if we weren’t laughing up a storm as we paid our way through the most expensive boutiques in Paris, I still would’ve been having a ball. The sun was shining, she kept looking at the ring I’d put on her finger with a soft wonderment I’d never seen in her eyes anymore, and my face hurt from smiling. Paige and I could’ve made a hell of an afternoon out of reading the phone book.“Stop!” she said.I froze, my free hand twitching toward the gun I’d hi
Taken by the Mafia King Beginning of Forever
PaigeI didn’t know how long Tom and I lay there, listening to the fireworks and seeing the very top of their arcs through the sliver of windows accessible from the floor. I pillowed my head on his chest and enjoyed the steady beat of his heart. Engaged. The last time I was here, I’d been on the cusp of recovery, just starting to make strides toward the person I was today. Now, I wasn’t done—I didn’t know if there was a done for traumatized people or people in general—but I was so much better, stronger, happier than I had been.The last time Tom and I were in Paris, I’d thrown myself at him and chickened out. As much as I could stay at a private view of the Eiffel Tower, I wanted to show him just how much had changed. Just how much I meant the “yes” that had fallen so easily from my lips. I rolled on top of him.“What do you say we take this back to that hotel room you picked out?”Tom grinned and pulled me down for a kiss. I pressed myself against him, feeling every line of his body.
Taken by the Mafia King The Only Ones
PaigeI sat across from Tom in an empty, stunning restaurant in the middle of the Eiffel Tower with my head spinning like the three sips of wine I’d had with the appetizer were enough to make me drunk. He’d really rented out the Eiffel Tower. And not one floor, the whole thing. We’d ridden an empty elevator, the two-Michelin-star chef kept coming out to tell us why he’d selected particular dishes based on the information Tom had given him about our preferences, and I couldn’t hear anything but the soft classical music over the speakers. It felt like a dream.Tom took my hand. “So?”“So what?” I asked.“Was the surprise worth it?” He grinned.I looked over his suit, a forest green that brought out his eyes, worn without a tie. His dark curls tumbled into his face. I’d never seen him look so perfectly put together and so casual. He looked…well, he looked exactly like the man I’d fallen in love with. Nothing like the one who’d scared me so badly all those months ago in Cairo.“I get the
Taken by the Mafia King Peace Time
TommasoDespite how much I wanted Paige to keep that little black dress on, we had a few hours before the Tower officially emptied out for our use. I talked her into putting on something a little more walkable and keeping the lingerie on. As if to punish me for my restraint, she picked a pair of tiny, wide-legged shorts that showed the tops of the garters attached to her stockings every time she moved and a fitted blouse. I changed and somehow convinced myself to leave the hotel room instead of stripping everything off her and spending the hours in bed.She took my hand as we stepped into the lobby. “I should’ve known. When you plan a surprise, it’s never just one thing. Where are we off to first?”“So nosy.” I smiled.“You’re right, I’ll stop asking.” She slid the room key out of her pocket and fiddled with it for a second, then dropped it. With a small smile, she bent at the waist to pick it up, exposing those garter straps again.I grabbed her waist and hurried her the final few st
