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This Feels Real
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Taken by the Mafia King Cozying Up
SeraSoft light poured from frosted windows as Killian’s hand slid along my lower back, his other hand grasping the handle and pulling open the door that led into the restaurant. Hidden away from the masses, we’d had to go down an alleyway and a short flight of stairs to reach it. The intoxicating fragrance that wafted through the open door told me it was worth it. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath, my stomach rumbling in response.Killian tugged me inside. I smiled up at him as we entered a dimly lit, small space with a handful of booths and a few tables sprinkled around the center. It was cozy, nonthreatening. I liked it already.“Ricci! My boy.” A handsome older man rounded a vinyl counter and walked toward us with open arms. He kissed Killian on one cheek, then the other. “Look at you, so healthy. How is your mama?”“Alive, unfortunately.” Killian smiled. A real, genuine smile. “Sera, this is Yiannis Ariti.”“Hi.” I felt my cheeks go warm and pink as the man’s blue eyes met
Taken by the Mafia King Dance With Me
KillianFucking Yiannis and his ouzo had my angel feeling like she owned the night.I wasn’t about to stop her fun. I liked seeing her eyes light up with excitement. She gripped my hand and tried not to bounce on her toes while we looked out over the second floor balcony at the dance floor below, her red lips parted in a grin. It was evident she wanted to be here, with me.I also hated that I liked it, because that feeling was dangerous for both of us.“She’ll have water,” I said to the waiter from my private booth in VIP.“A gin and soda, with two lemon slices, please,” she corrected, shooting daggers at me.“Bring the water, too.” I waved the waiter away and met her glare. “What are you looking at me like that for? You were hungover for two days the last time I took you here.”“Well, it wouldn’t have been a problem if you’d let me dance a little longer. Maybe even, I don’t know, joined me?”“I came here for a meeting.”She inched closer to me in the booth. “You’re not in a meeting n
Taken by the Mafia King Everything Comes Crashing Down
SeraI left the lingering effects of the ouzo on the dance floor, feeling free for the first time in what seemed like ages. Killian dancing with me, his body against mine, set fire to my blood and all I wanted to do was climb into his lap.His fancy sports car made that exceedingly difficult.“Do we have to go home so soon?” I pouted.A flicker of amusement danced over his face. “Yes. I’m a busy man, Sera.”“Too busy to spend the rest of the night with me?”He glanced at me, his shoulders relaxing as he looked back at the windshield. “If you continue behaving yourself, maybe.” His hand slid over my thigh, then higher.My breath caught in my throat, but the soft moan I whispered was abruptly cut off by Killian’s phone ringing. He cursed under his breath and pressed the touchscreen on the dashboard.Tommaso’s voice echoed through the car. “Boss, we gotta issue.”“What?” Killian’s voice was sharp, but his hand was warm and heavy on my thigh. I shifted my weight, trying to arch into his t
Taken by the Mafia King In the Back of an SUV
KillianThe fuckers had a bag over my head. I couldn’t see shit, but I could hear them talking as I spat blood inside the hood and ran my tongue along my teeth, checking to make sure they hadn’t knocked any loose.“Where’s the girl?”“Didn’t see one.”“Not just anyone, asshole. The girl. Seraphina Bianchi. Where the fuck is she?”I couldn’t tell who was talking from where I lay on the floor of the SUV, but one of the voices sounded vaguely familiar. If my head wasn’t throbbing so fiercely, and the roar of the engine didn’t send a thrumming vibration through the entire SUV, I might have been able to discern what syndicate I was dealing with.We’d wiped the De Luca’s off the map.Were these Andre Bianchi’s men?Unlikely. This wasn’t Andre’s style. Andre liked to make deals first, and so far, the man hadn’t so much as approached my capos asking for a face-to-face about his daughter.The toe of someone’s boot thudded against my sternum. I grunted, teeth bared. I couldn’t see a fucking thi
Taken by the Mafia King Born Into This
SeraThe roar of sirens made my thoughts jumbled as I sat with my back against a brick wall, hidden in the shadows of the alleyway. Red and blue flashing lights gleamed off every surface. Their engines slowed but never stopped. I sat up on my knees, watching them slow as they approached Killian’s wrecked car, but they went past, hopefully in pursuit of the SUV.Once they were gone, I stepped barefoot into the street, hugging my coat to my chilled body as the cops sped off. I prayed they’d go get those bastards. But then, about a half mile away from the scene, their lights abruptly disappeared, the whirring noise gone with the click of a button.Of course they wouldn’t intervene. They never did. They must’ve ran the plates, realized the car belonged to a mob boss, and decided to stay out of it.I swallowed back a sob as I approached Killian’s car. Next to the driver’s side, a pool of blood mingled with the dirty snow. “His blood.” Fear and anger jumbled together inside of me. I had to
Taken by the Mafia King Unreasonable Captor
KillianGravel crunched under heavy boots as I came to. Pain radiated down my neck and spine in rhythm to my pulse. Groaning, I tried to shift my weight from my left side to my right to relieve pressure, but the SUV door abruptly opened, and a burly man with a thick beard and a set of brass knuckles on his left hand grinned down at me.“Hello, pumpkin,” he taunted.He grabbed me by the shirt and hauled me out with one massive tug. He let go, letting me land heavily on the gravel on my side.Fucking hell.“Get him into the warehouse,” Niccolò sneered just as the toe of a boot slammed into my lower back. “The plane will be here in an hour. We got to him earlier than expected.”“You don’t want to take me on a plane,” I panted. “You won’t get off it alive.”“Shut the fuck up,” he growled.All of these men were dead the second they untied my hands, but I assumed Niccolò knew that. Despite the bite in his voice, there was notable fear and apprehension in his tone.“Warehouse, now.”I was li
Taken by the Mafia King Tracking The Enemy
Sera“What do you see now?” Tommaso asked over the phone, dragging out his breath.“The road ends and there’s a sharp turn with an incline. I can’t see anything through the trees.” I put the car in park and killed the engine. “I’m going to get out and take a look.”“Sera, don’t.”I’d been on the phone with Tommaso for twenty minutes listening to him go back and forth between allowing me to help and telling me to turn around and go home. That wasn’t an option for me. Even if I had an idea about how to get back to Killian’s massive property, I wasn’t leaving here without him.Tommaso kept an eye on the tracker, and after a while it had stopped moving somewhere down this dirt road where I’d seen the SUV turn.“You said I was practically on top of it, so I’m going to check it out.” I tore through the duffle bag, pulling on three pairs of thick socks and the thermals over my legs, rolling up the waistband so it fit. I glanced around before pulling my dress over my head and sliding the ther
Taken by the Mafia King Sale of the Century
Killian“I’m telling you the fucking truth, Andre.” Niccolò paced the floor a hundred yards away from me, over in the corner near a desk and some filing cabinets. I could see him out of the corner of my eye and noticed the desperate, erratic behaviors I’d seen it before on full display. Something had snapped inside Niccolò’s head when he’d joined forces with Giuseppe, which was a shame. I had a lot of respect for the man’s father, but now it seemed like Niccolò was going to have to die.Especially after what he’d done tonight—trying to take Sera and grabbing me instead. There was no fucking way I’d let him live after this.Knowing that Andre Bianchi didn’t think he was capable of kidnapping the Hand of Death might’ve made me chuckle under other circumstances, but my entire body ached. I tried to close myself off, to become numb to the world so I didn’t feel the pain, but I had to stay aware of my surroundings. If my calculations were right, Tommaso should be leading a charge very soon
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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
