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Waiting in the Wings
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Taken by the Mafia King Clean-Up Crew
TommasoI slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked around the basement. Dead bodies lay everywhere around me, but thankfully, all of them were men. When I left Stan, he’d taken the guys directly down here and cleaned up before any of Killian’s allies—who might be supportive but also might not take the same care—could reach the room first. A few of the men milling around were just piling bodies off to the sides so the women could exit their cages onto something other than dead flesh.They reminded me of Hal, on the ground outside in a puddle of his blood. He might not have been the brightest bulb in the box, but he was ultimately a good kid who’d gotten roped into this mess by nothing more than a couple unlucky family ties. I made a mental note to take care of Hal’s mom. Anonymously, of course.“Conti!” one of the men called.I looked at him, and he tossed me something. I caught it on instinct. A sparkling ring of keys he’d clearly found on one of the bodies. I nodded to him and
Taken by the Mafia King Deja Vu
PaigeStanding in the basement of the Mansion, I handed the last woman a set of clean sweats and stepped back as she began to change. The ceiling, padded to reduce noise traveling upstairs in a way I hadn’t understood last time I was here, pressed down on me.No, it didn’t. It just felt like it did. I scrubbed my hands over the goosebumps on my arms and forced myself to stop looking. I didn’t need to see this place through all new eyes. Riccardo Marino was dead. No one else would ever be kept in the tall, metal cages I hadn’t known to appreciate when I was last here.That was another train of thought I didn’t want to follow. I turned to a couple of women, who’d already been checked out by Sera, sitting on the floor together and crying.“Is there anything I can get for you?” I asked. “We’re moving out soon”—as soon as Sera finished checking over the last few, if I had my say—“but if there’s anything immediate, I’ll see what I can do.”One of them looked up at me with her lower lip quiv
Taken by the Mafia King Clean Sweep
TommasoI watched the last van, with Paige in it, pull out of the Mansion’s driveway. In the end, I’d counted forty-five women. I knew she’d been ready for a lot, but that might overwhelm her shelter, no matter how prepared she’d been.Stan walked up to me. “All the bodies on the first floor have been stacked up. Do we have a disposal plan, or are we sending them back to families as a final threat?”Lyle leaned back from the laptop Killian had found in the panic room Marino was trying to escape into. “If we’re, um, sending bodies back, I wouldn’t make that list until I’ve, you know, finished up here.”I nodded. “Makes sense. Marino’s neighbors will know not to say anything by now. Does he have a walk-in freezer?”Stan frowned. “I think so, but we’re probably talking about too many bodies.”“Of course.” I scrubbed a hand through my curls. “All right, put everyone you know belongs to another syndicate in the freezer for now, and come find me when you hit capacity. Lyle, keep at that lap
Taken by the Mafia King Not Yet
PaigeNearly half the women we’d rescued from the Mansion crowded into the main common room at the Haven a few hours after we’d left. They’d all showered, dressed in outfits of their choosing, and most of them had already had brief conversations with Lauren. But they still refused to go to sleep.The brunette woman who’d been crying about going home in the basement, whose name I’d learned was Luci, swiped at her eyes. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I just don’t understand why you won’t let me call my family.”A murmur of agreement rippled through the room. I glanced at Sera, who just shrugged. We’d told these women every excuse we could come up with, and nothing was working.“I promise you’ll feel better after you sleep,” I said.“She definitely will.” The blonde, whose name was Natalia, wrapped her arm around Luci’s shoulders. “In her own bed at home.”Sera stepped forward. “You guys don’t know everything—”“Maybe you don’t know the meaning of the word loyalty, but there’s nothi
Taken by the Mafia King Missing
Tommaso“So, um, I have decoded this.” Lyle turned the laptop screen toward me. “It’s not everything, but, you know.”“It’s a start.” I stared at the table on the computer. Names, descriptions, locations of retrieval, all laid out in plain black and white. Worse, in a final column, Marino had made initial notes on who he thought might be interested in specific women. I scrolled down the page to try to keep the snarl off my face. Even though he’d said this was only a start, it looked like Lyle had found definite information on forty of the forty-five women. Paige would be thrilled to see this.“Good work,” I said. “Can I take a deeper look, or do you need to keep working?”Lyle looked at the four other computers sitting on the desk in the little room he’d become king of. “I’m okay.”I laughed and pulled the laptop closer. Most of the women had little links in their descriptions, which turned out to be pictures when I clicked on them. I siphoned through quickly, trying not to think of t
Taken by the Mafia King Not So Silent Night
PaigeI trudged down the stairs after getting the last of the women into bed for the night with Beth and Sera at my sides. After Sera’s reveal, none of them fought us, but the mood was somehow even lower. At least six of them had still been crying when I left them, and that one silent girl still hadn’t even blinked, as far as I could tell. I would’ve given just about anything to trudge right out the door and home to bed, but I couldn’t leave my morning staff in a lurch.Beth nudged me as we reached the first floor. “Hey, we did a pretty good job tonight.”“You absolutely did,” I replied. “And Sera, you, too.”She shook her head. “And you didn’t?”I shrugged. It just didn’t seem like time to celebrate yet. Killian and Tom had sent over another van full of guards because our new occupants weren’t just random women who’d been kidnapped this time, but valuable mob relatives. I’d made a few security improvements in advance of the auction for exactly this reason, but we still weren’t nearly
Taken by the Mafia King Snipe Hunt
TommasoI shoved my phone back in my pocket and stormed out of the little room that had become Lyle’s office, past Killian.“What the fuck just happened?” Killian demanded.“We took out a fucking kid,” I hissed. I knew the men around us were allies he trusted enough to bring in on enough of the plan to help us, but I only trusted them that far. The last thing I needed was anyone finding out that we’d accidentally kidnapped or killed a seventeen-year-old, or that Sophia fucking Marino was in the wind.Killian nodded sharply, seeming to go through the exact same train of thought. Without another word, we split in opposite directions. I headed for the basement.Fuck, I hadn’t seen Sophia Marino since she was, what, ten? I remembered her uncle Niccolo bringing her to a family event one of the more friendly syndicates held, after Freddie, Riccardo’s eldest, her father, died in that raid, and obviously wanting nothing to do with her. I kind of felt bad for the kid. She was so tiny, and she
Taken by the Mafia King Summers on the Shore
PaigeIn the months since Lauren stopped being my therapist and became my best friend, I’d seen a lot of new sides of her. I’d seen her drunk, furious at the city regulations that kept us from adding additional protections to the Haven, flirting outrageously with a random musclehead at a bar. But never, in all that time, had I seen her cry. My stomach dropped instantly to my toes. She sank to take a seat on the stairs, and I sat instantly next to her. Sera, seeming to sense that, while she and I were closer than we used to be, that friendship didn’t transfer, passed me a box of tissues from the same hall table where Natalia left her phone and disappeared.I rubbed Lauren’s back and offered her a tissue.“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t…shouldn’t be reacting like this.”“It’s okay,” I said. “This stuff is intense. You don’t have to be perfect all the time.”She shook her head and scrubbed at her tears. “I don’t want to be perfect, but—”I smiled. “Nope. You taught me about
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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
