Lahat ng Kabanata ng Taken by the Mafia King: Kabanata 471 - Kabanata 480

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

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

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

TommasoBarely a week had passed before Paige gave the news to her staff at the shelter, hired a handful of new staff, and was ready to begin moving women into the redone Mansion. I’d barely seen her in the flurry of activity, other than when she dropped into bed next to me at night, but every time I’d seen her, she wore a wide smile. I pulled up the driveway of the new shelter in between meetings and grinned. The blue had actually been Mel’s idea, inspired by the other house’s colors, and it was a stroke of genius. In one step, it took the imposing old house from the place that held an auction every year to somewhere people could go to feel safe.The banner I’d come up with at the last minute had disappeared from over the door. I wasn’t surprised. Writing with a paintbrush turned out to be a lot harder than a pen, and I’d used a random drop cloth as a base. Paige probably wanted something a little more professional. I climbed out of the car and headed up the stairs. The front door st

Sera“I love you, too.” I stared up at Killian, trying to understand his mood shift. “I’m always glad to hear that, but what’s going on?”“You can go, Olivia,” he said without looking away from me. I heard the unmistakable shuffle of her exiting as fast as she could. “Kil—”Before I could even finish the word, he claimed my mouth again. I gasped up into him and let desire wash away my confusion. He took the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth, exploring every inch. I wrapped myself around him. With all the wedding craziness, we’d barely had time for each other lately, and I missed him. He ran his hands up the front of my blouse, then grabbed both sides and yanked. Buttons scattered in every direction. I pouted against his lips.He pulled away to rake his gaze over my chest. “I’ll buy you a new shirt.”I fought down a smile. If Killian bought me a shirt, it would cover less than most of my bras. But that thought fled my mind too as he pulled both of my bra cups down beneath