Owned by the mafia boss

MIA

Alessio had left me alone.

For days, I didn’t talk to him, but I felt him everywhere. His weight creaked the floorboards under my feet. He was in my skin, my marrow, haunting my thoughts. He was a looming shadow, out of reach, yet too close.

He got inside my head.

I hated him for it.

I settled into a dull routine he must’ve memorized. Wake up. Shower. Eat. Explore. Nothing, including his drawers, was off-limits. Plenty of hiding spots presented themselves, but the solarium became my favorite room because it was the brightest and stayed warm despite the glass.

A heavy mist descended over the green lawn. Beyond the walls, I searched the tree line for an escape-Alessio’s cop bodyguards kept watch on the house. Two police officers parked beside the curb all night until another team relieved them at sunrise. I hadn’t yet discovered a deviation in their schedule, but escaping would never be as simple as walking off the property.

How the fuck would I leave?

“There’s no way out,” a graveled voice boomed behind me, making me flinch. “My bodyguards will catch you. I’ve alerted businesses that my missing fiancée might show up. Nobody will help you.”

“I thought she was your missing fiancée.”

“Not anymore.”

I palmed the freezing wall, wishing the sting could ease the hurt blossoming from those words. There was no inflection in his speech. He’d never given a damn about my sister.

“You don’t have to beat me down.” I swallowed, turning from the frigid scenery to an even less welcoming sight. “I won’t run.”

“Giving up already?”

Alessio joined my side, buttoning a red shirt over his damp chest. He sucked in air and tucked the fabric into his charcoal gray slacks. His skin glowed from a shower, and he’d buzzed his beard.

I hated that I noticed. “Yeah. Disappointed?”

“Very.”

“What does that say about you?”

“That I’m an asshole, I guess.”

Sandalwood and leather scent clung to him. He kept pushing the locks back, and I imagined how wet and warm they’d feel. He always smiled after holding my gaze for three seconds, as though it took him that long to read my thoughts, which would not get over his good looks. He made me want to check the mirror.

“Sorry to let you down, but I don’t see the point in humiliating myself.”

“I wasn’t looking forward to that.” He weighted my shoulder with his arm as he played devil’s advocate on my neck. The light brushing teased me with a vengeance. “Might’ve been fun to drag you home and teach you obedience.”

I gathered he didn’t mean a stern lecture.

Heat blistered my cheeks. “Well, my dad beat you to the punch.”

“Not for what I have in mind.”

I stepped away, hissing when my shoulders hit the glass. Alessio soothed the fierce bite, pulling me from the frosted walls.

“Mia, you’ve got to relax.”

“Hard to do that around you.”

“If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it already.”

“That’s not reassuring. It’s hard to reconcile… this gentle stranger with the ugly gossip.”

“We can debate morality all year, but it’s not an argument I’ll win, and I don’t care. When you’re facing a loaded gun, I promise you won’t either.” Alessio’s touch tickled my palm as he led me upstairs, my breath hitching when he stopped in our bedroom. “Judge me by my actions, not by what you’ve heard.”

“I am.”

“I’ve barely touched you, Mia.” He hovered behind me, his hushed voice awakening a long-dormant ache. “I’m trying to ease you into this relationship slowly. But we don’t have long until the big day.”

The wedding.

A lump lodged in my throat as I pictured Alessio slamming the door to our hotel suite, ripping off my dress, pushing me onto the mattress where he’d grab my wrists and wedge my thighs open.

Our first real night together.

My heart pounded as he surrounded me, his hand gliding across my waistband. The intimate gesture dragged my attention to his shapely mouth, thick hair, and the sexy shadow under his jaw.

“We don’t have to wait.”

It was more than a suggestion, with his thumbs tracing my hips and the bed right there. It beckoned like a siren leading me to my doom. I’d always been attracted to him. The need wetting my panties proved my desire was going nowhere, and my chances of escaping without succumbing to him seemed dim.

Alessio’s hawk eyes pierced me, seething with impatience. He was so much older. His confidence made me feel like a clueless girl.

How the hell would I handle him? God, I needed out of here before I did something stupid, like fall into his arms and beg him to fuck me.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I ripped from his hands and put the furniture between us. My pulse thudded as he let me slip away.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Not yet. I can’t.”

Alessio accepted my rejection with a dark smile. “Time’s running out for you, Mia.”

HE WAS RIGHT. I had no time.

Between my dwindling window for escape and Alessio’s refusal to budge on my independence, I was screwed. Withdrawing bricks of cash wouldn’t work because I couldn’t sneeze without Alessio finding out.

I needed his trust.

For now, Alessio seemed to be true to his word. He hadn’t raised a hand against me. It didn’t mean he never would, but there was no imminent threat to my body. No, the risk was all psychological. He clearly meant to kill me with kindness or seduction or whatever his fucked-up mind assumed this was.

Alessio opened the passenger door, and the cold bit my ankles as I stepped onto the sidewalk. My Givenchy dress kissed the ground, the side slit tempting the chill to freeze my legs.

Alessio drank me in, admiration written in his raised brows and upturned lips. I flexed my fingers in his, the words stuck in my throat. We headed down the block toward a lounge with blackened windows. Alessio stopped before we approached the doors.

“You might hate everyone in there.”

No shit. “I’ve dealt with mobsters my whole life, Alessio. I can handle lewd jokes and ass grabs.”

“Nobody but me will touch you. Promise.”

“If you say so.”

“Don’t be surprised if I’m an asshole. In there, Mia, I’m a bastard. With you, I’m Prince Charming.”

Pretending to be, at least.

His gentleness had to be an elaborate ruse.

“You’re more like Hades.”

“Wouldn’t that make you the girl who makes it snow when she’s with her husband?” He caught a flake from the air, the tiny flurries dancing around us like fairies. “Hmm.”

I rolled my eyes, smiling. “So… what should I do in there?”

“Have fun and mingle.” Alessio’s grip tightened as we crossed over an icy patch. “Try to enjoy yourself and remember what I said.”

“You’re a bastard-I mean-Prince Charming in disguise.”

“Exactly.”

Alessio approached the door and opened it, his sweet smile disappearing. We drifted into a Costa-owned lounge.

A local artist’s black-and-white photography lined the brick walls. Gothic-inspired furniture-all black-filled the space and low-hanging iron lamps pulsated dim light from Edison bulbs. People packed the bar. It was hard to tell who was connected and who was a customer, but everyone seemed to know Nico. Fucking Nico. They raised their cups as the fat ass sauntered into the middle of the bar with a stunning blonde attached to his hip.

“Good evening, everybody!” he roared above the din, the music simmering down. “Thank you so much for coming to celebrate this beautiful young lady’s twenty-second birthday. In honor of Krista, the first round is on me.”

The lounge exploded with cheers. He turned his big face toward the giggling girl and pressed a disgusting kiss onto her cheek.

“Happy Birthday, honey,” he croaked with a surprising amount of emotion. “I love you.”

Alessio clapped with the rest, beaming.

I whispered into Alessio’s ear. “A party for his mistress? What a decent guy.”

“Mistresses. And yes.”

Gross.

As the bar erupted with fanfare, Alessio brought me deeper into the chaos where he must’ve introduced me to a dozen Paulies. Over and over, I parroted pleasantries to Costas, whom I hated on principle. Then Alessio tugged me into a quiet backroom where a guard vetted men at the threshold. Deep orange lights cast a sunset-like glow over the counters, leather stools, and suits. Smiles flashed in my direction. I felt as though I’d stepped into a pool of testosterone.

Alessio ushered me to two men who leaned upright on the counter.

“Guys.”

They straightened, greeting Alessio with curt nods. I could’ve spotted them in a room of dozens for their wolfish stares and commanding stature. They were the sort who always sized up people around them, searching for weakness. Alessio’s calm energy tempered their flames, but without them, they were volatile.

Especially that one. His glare dipped down from my tits to my toes, his insolent gaze swarming with a wild fury. He caught my stare with interest.

“Mia, this is Michael.” Alessio gestured to the less intense one. “Michael, my fiancée.”

He was in his thirties, attractive, with light brown hair and a smile that put me at ease. He seemed like a guy who smiled quickly and often. My only warning that he was a wolf lingered in his blasé admiration.

I shook Michael’s hand.

“Lovely to meet you.” He winked at me. “If you ever get tired of Alessio-”

“Flirt with my fiancée, and I’ll chop off your arm.”

Michael’s playful arrogance was more palatable than Alessio’s darkness, which eclipsed Michael’s but was second to him.

Alessio squeezed my waist, dragging my attention to the other man. “Vinn, this is Mia.”

If I had to pick an animal to describe Vinn, it’d be a bird of prey. Shadows cast from his massive back expanded like wings as he spread his arms. He didn’t just break hearts. He carved them out of chests, ate them, and sent the remains to the mother. Men that handsome and angry spelled the worst kind of disaster.

He scared me. I’d never want to be alone with him.

“Pleasure,” he boomed in a graveyard voice.

“All-all mine.”

“Michael and Vinn are my captains. You can trust them. If something happens to me, they’ll take care of you.”

Warmth leached from my limbs at the thought of Alessio being out of reach while these hunters watched over me.

Michael grinned at me. “You would love that, wouldn’t you?”

“Probably,” he blurted, answering for me. “Don’t give her any ideas.”

They laughed. The sound set my skin on fire. Life twitched on Vinn’s frozen face as he smirked. The men were like three opposing forces balanced in a harmonious power structure.

“If you can’t find me, call them. They’ll know where I am.”

I looked from the dead-eyed Vinn to the more playful Michael. They would take care of me?

Sure, I’ll believe that. “Okay.”

Vinn still examined me, his smile growing under his palm. Alessio noticed, slapping his head with a hard cuff that might’ve been posturing.

We exchanged numbers, and then Alessio crammed me to his side.

“See you guys later. Have fun.”

“Wow,” I whispered when he led me away. “Vinn scares me.”

“He’s all right,” Alessio said dismissively. “I just have to remind him who’s boss once in a while.”

“Both of them. I don’t understand how you sleep at night.”

“Because they know I’ll make their lives short and painful if they so much as sneeze on me.”

The lounge filled with guests and Alessio broke from me to chat with Nico. He encouraged me to mingle. Meet my new family. I watched as he and Nico retreated to the sunset room. They argued, and I was curious about what, but Vinn’s presence prevented me from following.

So I nursed a gin and tonic in one of the leather wingback chairs, bored and overwhelmed with the chaos. Dad’s events were mild compared to these, with an old folks home appropriate level of noise. Everything about the Costas screamed excess.

A greaseball Italian dropped onto the chair next to mine, his nose bright red as he leaned over and shook my hand. “I’m Paulie, and you must be Carmela Ricci.”

I didn’t expect to hear my sister’s name.

A fist seemed to wrap my throat. “No.”

“But aren’t you engaged to Alessio?”

“Yes, but I’m Mia, Carmela’s sister.”

“Oh.” His boozy words tumbled over themselves. “So he was engaged to her, and now he’s with you.”

Please fuck off. “Yes.”

“Wow.” He laughed into his whiskey tumbler. “Lucky guy.”

“Excuse me?”

“Wait.” Paulie put the drink aside, swaying. “I forgot. Your sister was murdered. Did they ever catch the son-of-a-bitch? Do you know what happened?”

My throat clenched. “No.”

“The cops have some idea, right?”

Probably a local rapist. “No.”

“No? What do you mean, no?”

Paulie disappeared into a blur of shifting colors. I blinked away the mist as the well of grief overflowed. It was like he had ripped the lid containing my sadness. This was what everyone remembered about Carmela-not her fantastic voice or her kindness of spirit-that she was killed.

My response was lost in a haze of tears. I stood, grabbing my purse.

“Shit.” Paulie grimaced, yanking balled tissue from his pocket. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to upset you-”

A sharp tone cut through his babbling. “What’s going on?”

Horrified, Paulie glanced at my fiancé. “Nothing.”

Alessio melted from the darkness, Vinn and Michael flanking him like attack dogs waiting for his command. My fiancé gave me a cursory look, taking in my agony, my wet cheeks.

He seized Paulie’s neck, crashing him headfirst into the coffee table. Glasses shattered as he ground Paulie’s face into broken shards. Vinn pounced, ripping Paulie’s arms back. Alessio’s fingers whitened against Paulie’s flesh, but more terrifying than his over-the-top rage was his instinct for brutality. Paulie sputtered, his eyes gleaming white.

“The fuck did you do to her?”

Alessio didn’t give Paulie a chance to answer. He ripped back Paulie’s head and smashed his jaw with a vicious right hook.

I was a veteran to violence, but I still hated being around it. So I shot away, nudging people as I burst through the door. Cold enveloped me as I stepped outside.

Signs for the metro pointed me across the street. My body tensed as I approached the crosswalk, but the glistening roads were free of bodies. Maybe I could escape, but what was I running from?

The man who didn’t really scare me?

White blazed as the sign flickered. I followed it halfway before I heard footsteps. Dread climbed my stomach as I turned around.

Alessio.

He stood at the crosswalk, head cocked.

Fuck.

I shuffled toward him, tail tucked between my legs. “I wanted to get out of there. That’s all.”

Alessio’s handsome features were smoothed from the ugliness I’d witnessed. He was a fucking chameleon.

“You headed straight for the subway.”

“There’s a park by the station.”

“Strolling the park in this weather without a coat?”

“Yeah. So? I’m not going anywhere, Alessio. You took my money.”

“What happened with Paulie?”

I crossed my arms. “He was just a drunk asshole. You didn’t have to choke him.”

“Paulie Valente is a loudmouth who doesn’t know when to shut up. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”

“Ever since my sister’s death, I’m not sorry for anyone. Not much, anyway.” I moved away from Alessio because he was like a bright flame that hurt my eyes. “Mostly… I feel like this.”

“Like what?” he said, right behind me.

I spread my arms at the wintry streets.

“Cold and numb.” The flickering candle I kept alive for my sister was guttering out. “I miss her. But it’s less and less every day.”

Alessio wrapped my waist, his cheek like a brand against my skin. “Do you know what I wish for more than anything?”

“World domination?”

“No. For you to be happy.”

He was full of shit. Had to be.

But my throat tightened nonetheless. “I don’t know what happiness looks like anymore.”

“Yes, you do. You had a backpack filled with pictures.” He turned me around, his palms hot against my face. “You can have that, Mia. You can have whatever you want, so long as it’s with me.”

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not.”

I dug my fingers into his chest, willing myself not to cry, but his kindness was drawing poison from me. I kept shaking as the weakness left my body. I’d never allowed myself to be vulnerable. How did he slash through my defenses?

“Why are you nice to me? What’s in it for you?”

He pressed his lips into the corner of my mouth, and then my ear where he whispered, “A life with you.”

I melted like butter in his palm, burrowing into the crook of his neck. I screwed my eyes shut and tried not to howl with the agony that fought through, and Alessio being the supportive fiancé that he was, held me more fiercely.

He was lying.

But it was a beautiful lie.