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Packing Up
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Taken by the Mafia King The Life
PaigeBefore the first hour of the flight passed, Tom fell asleep. Between the last bit of pain medication the doctor had given him before we left and his injuries, I was honestly surprised it took him that long. I dropped my head back against the seat and let the quiet flow over me. In the cluster of four seats across the plane from Tom and me, Killian watched a black-and-white movie using headphones, and Carp and Stan bickered quietly over a card game I didn’t recognize. It was nothing like the rambunctious flight to Egypt, when I’d spent half the time clinging to the arms of my seat to keep from freaking out.Not least because the dragon I came to slay lay dead behind me, just as I’d hoped. Well, not just as I’d hoped. If I could do it all over again, I’d skip the part where Zahur almost got me again. And the one where a scared woman nearly collapsed Tom’s lung. I flexed my fingers and remembered the smell of the bastard’s blood, of Tom’s blood when we landed in Lebanon.“If you’re
Taken by the Mafia King Sleeping in My Own Bed
TommasoI jolted awake with my heart in my throat as the plane wheels hit tarmac. Only slim fingers surrounding mine kept me from freaking the fuck out. Paige. Holding my hand like she always did. I rubbed sleep from my eyes with my free hand and found her smiling at me.“I was wondering if we were going to have to get one of those wheelchairs to drag you to the car,” she said.My smile felt strained as the plane taxied to a stop. “I’m not that hurt.”As if to prove me wrong, a slow burn seared across my side. Shit! Maybe I was that hurt, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from enjoying my success, my life with this beautiful woman. Just as soon as we got off this godforsaken plane.“I told her none of us could move your sorry ass,” Stan said.I shot him the bird as the plane finally stopped moving. Thank God. After a few minutes of shuffling outside, they got the stairs lined up, and I leapt to my feet.The walls spun around me, my chest ached, and I caught the back of the seat f
Taken by the Mafia King Never Done
PaigeAfter a full night’s—and afternoon’s—sleep, I managed to get up to go check in at the shelter the next day. I’d kissed Tom before leaving, reminded him to rest, and told Miranda to stop him if he tried to get up for anything more than a bathroom break, but I didn’t really believe he’d last long. Honestly, I’d be stunned if he was in bed when I got home. Part of me understood the impulse. I’d woken this morning itching to get back to my life. But I didn’t have a pneumo-whatever-the-fuck that could kill me if I wasn’t careful.I parked in front of the shelter, shook out my shoulders, and put Tom’s inability to sit still behind me. I loved him, but I couldn’t live my whole life doting on him. Other people needed my doting.I strode up the stairs of the shelter and blew a kiss to the picture of Dad on the wall. For the first time, I understood why he’d gotten out of the mafia and why he’d gotten in in the first place. But before I could even finish putting my keys in my pocket, Laur
Taken by the Mafia King Clandestine Meetings
Tommaso“You know that I’m an adult, right?” I demanded.Miranda crossed her arms, standing between me and the freedom of the rest of the house. “Paige was very clear. You stay in the room, if you won’t stay in bed.”I scraped a hand through my hair. “I pay you, not her.”She smirked. “She told me you are both on the accounts.”I barely resisted the urge to stomp my foot like a toddler. I’d lain in bed all morning, very reasonably. I’d watched an episode of a shitty crime drama. I’d read at least three pages of a book. I had a syndicate to run, and I couldn’t very well do that from my goddamn bedroom!Or could I?I smiled sweetly. “I understand. Can you just bring me my laptop? I want to watch something I can’t get on the TV.”She eyed me suspiciously. I focused all my energy on looking angelically innocent.“Fine,” she said. “But I’m telling Paige it was your idea.”“Deal.” I closed the door between us and hobbled back to bed to catch my breath. I might not be in the best shape of my
Taken by the Mafia King Rest and Relaxation
PaigeI trudged up the stairs after a long day at the shelter, exhausted but pleased with the work. Cat had begun helping with dinner after weeks of refusing to come down during mealtimes at all. I’d take the progress. And Miranda had sworn to me on the way in that she’d stopped Tom from ever leaving the room. I pushed open the door quietly, trying to catch him out of bed if he was.Tom sat, propped up with a few pillows, in the middle of our bed with the TV on. I smiled. “Did you survive your first day of bed rest?”“Somehow.” He switched off the TV. “But it’s a lot better now that you’re here.”I dropped my bag and headed for the bathroom. “I’m proud of you. I really thought you wouldn’t be able to—”On the tile floor sat a discarded suit. And not the one he’d been wearing when we got home yesterday. I turned slowly back to him.“What?” he asked innocently.I snagged the tie off the floor and held it up. He went pale.“I’m sorry!” He held his hands up. “Do you have any idea how bori
Taken by the Mafia King Top Dog
TommasoI wiped sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand, and the now-old injury on my ribs tugged. Not painfully. Just enough that I could never really forget how close I’d come to meeting the reaper and seeing what my old man thought of the other side. According to Paige, Cora sent a letter a few months ago. She’d quit the force, just like she’d promised, and taken up some private investigation and bodyguard work. When she’d told me that, I’d made a mental note to stay out of Upstate New York as much as I could. Eight months after being stabbed by the woman with a mirror shard, I still ached. I didn’t exactly need to see what the hell she could do when she made it her job.“So we’ve got two shipments of weapons coming in tonight, and a third shipment of luxury cars going out,” Stan said.I nodded. “And the cars are going?”Stan tapped the tablet Lyle had finally convinced him to use at least while walking the warehouse floor instead of the reams of paperwork my right hand pref
Taken by the Mafia King Slammed
Paige“Hey, Annie has the talking wand,” I said over the clamor of three women speaking in group. “We all agreed to respect that.”They quieted, but Theresa looked at me sullenly. “How the hell are we supposed to be healing together if we don’t all get to talk?”“You’ll get your chance. We still have”—I glanced at the clock in the corner—“two minutes left.”Theresa huffed a sigh and sank lower in her seat.Annie paled. “I don’t have to—”Someone knocked on the door. I turned and found Lily easing it open.“I know you’re wrapping up here, but we’ve got a… situation in the common room.”“I’m done!” Annie dropped the talking wand, a ribbon-wrapped stick Lauren and I had made when there stopped being enough time in the hour-long groups for the sheer number of women we had to just speak freely, into the middle of the circle and shot to her feet. “Paige can go. No problem.”Theresa scoffed. Lily met my gaze with an intensity that promised she really, really needed me in the common room. Wit
Taken by the Mafia King Reclamation
PaigeTom led me up the stairs to the Mansion, the building where my nightmare started, and I dimly remembered just waking up in the basement the first time around. This close, I could see the banner much more clearly. Raphael’s Angel Haven – North Philadelphia. The sign looked hand-lettered and sloppy, like Tom or one of the contractors had painted it at the last minute. I ran my hand over the outside, trying to convince myself the sky-blue paint was real.“I’m sorry I hid this from you,” Tom said as he pulled out a ring of keys. “It just took so long, and you kept getting more and more stressed, so it seemed smarter and smarter to just make the aesthetic decisions and let you change them if you wanted.”He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The foyer of the Mansion spread out in front of me. The beautiful wood floor remained, and so did the sweeping staircases, but everything else had been changed. The dour walls became pastels much like the ones Sera and I had agonized over for
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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
