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My stomach tightens.What the fuck! Did he just say he’s a ‘mafia don’?
Well, thankfully, he hasn’t noticed me. Clutching my bag closer, I turn around and keep walking, my heart pounding a little harder now. Whatever this conversation is...I know it’s dangerous. And it’s happening right in the middle of the FBI headquarters.
My phone suddenly vibrates in my hand. The unexpected jolt causes it to clatter out of my hands, landing only a few feet from where he is standing.
Oh, God! Please… not again!
I am torn between running for my dear life from this incredibly sexy man, who I just found out is a murderous mafia don, and picking up my phone before he gets to it.
I figure, either way, I’m screwed.
I cannot tell if my heart is racing from fear or desire as he turns back and almost closes the distance between us. I open my mouth, but my words are scurrying away from my mind like ratsdeserting a sinking ship. He scoffs, grabbing my goddamn phone that kept ringing in his hand, and silences it.
“I knew you were trouble from the minute I set eyes on you. Now, tell me, how best do we resolve this?” My mouth goes dry as I look into his eyes. They are darker than I remember them to be. I can feel the hotness of his breath on my nose.
Fuck! Elio Donatelli, the dangerously charming so-called business mogul, is actually a mafia don.
“I’ll call the cops.” My frown deepens, and his stare turns deadly as he grips my phone even harder in his hand, his knuckles now all white. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t call the cops on you right now,” I sneer, mimicking the tone he’d used when he asked a question earlier.
He takes one more step towards me, now standing as close as it gets, lips tightening into a thin line, “You’re playing with fire, Princess. And you don’t even know that you’re about to burn yourself.”
His breath is hot against my face, eyes boring holes into my head. His lips are only a second’s breath away from mine. If this man so much as lowers his head, he’s going to lock me in a kiss.
But then−still holding my gaze−he grabs my hand, puts the phone in my palm, and just turns around and leaves without another word!
Damn! Aria Abruzzi, you’re definitely in deep shit this time.
Chapter four
Elio
A light knock on the door interrupts my thoughts, and the door gently swings open with my second-in-command, my half-brother−Cortez, striding in.
He is the son of a woman my father had impregnated. We used to live together until his mom died. I later found out my father had sent him to a boarding school. I’d looked everywhere for my brother, and when I finally found him, I wanted him under my care. My father had mistreated us when we were younger, and I promised that I’d do whatever the fuck it took to protect him.
Now, he works with me as my right-hand man. It’s my own way of making sure he has the power, exposure, and wealth this mafia family has to offer. As long as he’s with me, he’ll lack nothing.
Cortez’s tall and lean build catches my eye as he advances towards me. His honey-brown hair is cropped in the same way mine is, cut to a moderate length and left to shape his face perfectly.
“Capo(Boss).” He lowers his head a little, and I wave him into the chair opposite my mahogany desk.
“Talk to me.” Even beneath his bangs, I can see his piercing brown eyes are as alert as always, his shoulders tensing as he holds his phone in one hand.
“That courthouse meeting is in an hour…”
I raise a brow. “That’s today?” The nasty thoughts of a sexy would-be lawyer whom I regret not fucking seize my mind on the very day I have been invited to watch her father try to take down one of my rival mafia families.Classic!
“I can arrange for you to meet with Don Salvatore if you would like to skip the court meeting instead. We still have thatarmi da fuoco(firearms) deal, which, when sealed, can give us a five percent increase in our general profit.” He taps his phone briefly, checking what I assume to be my schedule for the day.
If there’s anything I like about my second-in-command, it’s his ability to make swift decisions. Five years ago, I made the decision to recruit him into the mafia, and not once have I regretted it. He’s helped me in establishing legal businesses and rebuilding the mafia.
Holding his gaze, I say, “Preparati(Get ready). I want to be at the courtroom on time.”
Cortez knows he’s dismissed, so he rises, does his little bow thing again, and walks out. My eyes trace his steps until he’s out of the door, and I push all thoughts of the lawyer woman to a corner of my mind.
It’s impossible to forget. This is my reality, a powerful mafia don who has subordinates to lead…a mafia to run, and a name to keep. I will never be caught off guard by anyone, let alone some silly lawyer, because women are nothing butweaknesses—that’s my principle—and I don’t plan on having that again.
When Cortez knocks on the door again, I grab my silver-colored suit jacket, take another glance at my reflection in the mirror, and then swagger my way out.