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Nothing Can Be Done
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Taken by the Mafia King Distractions in the Aftermath
Killian“We’re about an hour away, Boss,” Adrian said from the front seat.The SUV was a basic model, something I equipped most of my lower soldiers with when they joined my ranks. There was no partition to award Sera and me any privacy, but that didn’t particularly matter right now. My mission was to keep Sera from falling to pieces.To my surprise, Adrian’s presence seemed to have already been doing the trick. Adrian had the same likeable, innocent qualities about him Mikey had, which made someone like Sera instantly like him. She’d had questions dancing behind her eyes when she’d met him, but now it seemed they were getting along just fine. Maybe he had even distracted her from the night’s events.I’d rather her mind be off Mikey’s death and Francesco’s betrayal. The thought that she would likely be gone right now if she’d gotten into that car with my alleged associate sent a chill down my spine. Once again, she would’ve found herself in a fucked up situation, kidnapped and sold, a
Taken by the Mafia King Heartbreaking News
Sera“Where’s my husband?” Penelope said, her voice shaking. She looked between me and Killian with a pleading expression that shattered my heart. Killian looked like a menace in his bloodied, torn clothing. It had to make Penelope think the worst. “I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry, Mr. Ricci. I just felt like something was wrong. Mikey usually checks in. He called while I was sleeping earlier to tell me that he had to go out. But now, you’re back. If you’re home, then he should be too.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, and bent at the waist, her hands on her swollen belly.“Penelope?” I stepped forward, my fingertips prickling with adrenaline as I looked her over. “Penelope, what’s wrong?”She gasped, her eyes squeezed shut before she blew out her breath and steadied herself against the wall.“Oh, my God,” I whispered to myself. “Pen, are you having contractions?”“I’m just stressed,” she whimpered. She met Killian’s gaze, tears welling in her eyes. “Where is he? Please?
Taken by the Mafia King Remember Who You Are
Sera“I need boiling water, antiseptic, towels,” I said hurriedly as I followed Killian down a hallway as he carried Penelope like she weighed nothing. Two maids I’d never even seen before walked on either side of me, listening intently. “Anything you can get your hands on, okay? Heating pads, uhm, anything you can think to keep her comfortable. Ice chips? A comb!” Isn’t that what they always got laboring women in the movies? I stared at the older of the two maids with pleading eyes. Help me, I have no idea what I’m doing. I prayed she’d understand.The maids broke off and disappeared into the recesses of the house to grab the items I’d requested. Penelope whimpered and hissed in Killian’s arms. She was in so much pain. I could almost taste it in the air. I thought this night couldn’t get any worse than it already was, but I’d been wrong.I’d rather be elbow-deep in Tommaso’s bleeding chest again than risk losing Penelope and her baby.Killian laid Penelope down in a large bed in one
Taken by the Mafia King Birthing A Baby
SeraOlivia gripped Penelope’s hand and whispered assurances into her ear. I stood at the foot of the bed, trying not to shake. Joyce stood on one side of me, and Fiona on the other, the two of them holding Penelope’s legs as her son came into the world.The scene felt like something out of a movie, except I wasn’t cozy on a couch eating popcorn and delighting in the drama. I had Penelope’s life in my hands—and the life of her son.I’d never experienced anything like this, but I was doing it. Time stood still and the room blurred as I coached Penelope through contraction after contraction.“You’re doing it, Pen,” I said, my voice cracking. I reached down, feeling the baby’s head in my hands. I could see the crown and knew it wouldn’t be much longer before she had him out. With every push, he became a bit more visible.Without letting go of Penelope’s leg, Joyce leaned down to have a look as well. She sighed in relief and said, “That’s the right presentation. She’s doing fine. You’re
Taken by the Mafia King All Of You
KillianI felt like I hadn’t taken a breath in over an hour. Watching the paramedics leave was like a shock to my entire system, like I’d been dunked in frigid water and fought my way to the surface. That first breath brought me back to reality, and at the moment, reality sucked.During the twenty minutes it had taken for Penelope to have her baby, nothing had gone right. I’d paced in front of the door the entire time, my phone pressed to my ear as I called Tommaso, Alonzo, and whichever capos had feet on the ground at not only the warehouse but the safehouses.No one had seen Francesco or Bixby until the moment I heard that baby cry for the first time. At that moment, I got the news I’d been waiting for.Tommaso had called and told me Francesco was on the lam, which I expected. What I hadn’t expected to hear was that Bixby’s car had been found twenty miles north of Philly, its tires shredded and Bixby hanging halfway out the open driver’s door with several bullets in his chest.He di
Taken by the Mafia King Taming the Hand of Death
SeraMy fingers fanned over Killian’s bare chest. His frame shielded me from the spray of the water as he towered over me, his eyes closed as he pressed his forehead to mine.Bruises peppered his skin all the way down to his hips. I winced at the sight of his injuries, my chest convulsing painfully as I closed my eyes against the fury that someone had hurt him.“Sera,” he whispered into my hair. He dragged his hands down over the swell of my hips. “I’m fine.”“I don’t want to hurt you.”“You could never hurt me.”He lifted his head, and I tilted my head back to look at his face. His eyes were dark, hooded with fatigue, but his hands rested on my hips and squeezed as he pressed his body against mine.Every time we’d come together like this it had been hungry, desperate, hard and fast. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him gently, tasting him, my fingers tracing the angles of his face, of his jaw and neck. I took my time touching him as if memorizing him, burning him into my
Taken by the Mafia King I Can't Love You
KillianThe words I’d whispered to her were a lie. Sera could hurt me. She could hurt me more than she realized, though not physically.Maybe she saw that knowledge in my eyes, even when they were shielded in near total darkness, because she pulled away and perched on her knees, looking down at me.I winced as I sat up, sensing a conversation was coming that I wasn’t in the mood to have. “Lie down, Sera. You should try to get some rest.”“What is this between us?” She pulled the shirt I’d given her back on and frowned at me.I ran my tongue along my lower lip and sighed, pulling on my boxers as I discarded the used condom. “What do you want it be, Sera?”“That wasn’t what I asked.” I reached for her, but she pulled away. “You almost died tonight. We lost Mikey.”“You don’t have to remind me.”“I do, because you just fucked me like you loved me, and I can’t just sit here anymore and pretend like everything is okay. That I’m okay, or that you’re okay.”I sat up straight, ignoring the bi
Taken by the Mafia King Cruel And Complicated
SeraSleep lingered just out of reach as I flipped over in bed, curling myself around a pillow. Killian’s abrupt rejection tangled in my grief-stricken brain while I shut my eyes and prayed some semblance of sleep would find me and take me under into a dark, dreamless abyss.Why did he always do this?Being with Killian was like a cruel, complicated dance where the steps changed every time I finally felt confident in them. After the night we’d had together, I felt confident that I’d learned the new version of our same old dance, but now, everything had fallen apart again, leaving me clumsily traipsing around the dance floor unable to find my partner.Every time I got close, he pulled away. I did my damnedest to pry the deepest, most hidden parts of him open just to have him snap them shut again. Every layer of himself involved breaking through another lock. Another layer of iron. I hated it.I hated myself for falling for him. I’d allowed myself to do the one thing that could kill me
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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
