Page 2 of Angel

Prologue – Angelo

Let’s be honest. I’ve had my pick of girls. I’ve seen them all. Tall, short. Ivory as sand, and dark as cocoa beans. Curvy and thick, small and petite.

I never had a type. Not really. Any woman, if she’s the right woman in the right place at the right time, can be Miss Ready for Angelo to Rock Her World.

But out of all the qualities that draw me in, I never thought I would be so compelled by pure innocence, delicate vulnerability.

That’s what I saw in Paige. There was a strength too, but it was packed away. It was the kind that only came out when needed.

I wanted to protect her. I wanted to sweep her up in my arms and keep the ghosts and demons away.

But she was on the ‘no-no’ list, and for a good reason.

Though I grew up alongside the Bianchi twins, Sophia was the one I remembered. Brash and commanding Sophie B. We’d always had a good enough relationship, but even though she and Paige were identical she wasn’t the one I wanted.

No. Paige’s real appeal went beyond the exterior.

By brother told me to stay away, warned me to keep my hands off the Bianchi goods. But how could I listen? Paige’s body spoke to me, begged me to touch it, to take it in my hands.

She had some kind of tie to our family. I knew that much. The Mafia world is a small one, but secrets managed to be kept fairly well. Most information is traded on a need to know basis.

Both my brother and father felt I had absolutely no need to know anything about Paige.

In that case, they wouldn’t need to know about my time with her.

I went for what I wanted. To say I took it would be crass and wrong. Paige wanted it just as much as I did. She gave me her body, gave me her passions.

But the next morning I knew something was off right away. Just sleeping over meant everything changed.

I never,everstayed at a woman’s apartment. It did things to their head, did things to my head, made us believe and feel things we had no need believing and feeling.

So, I grabbed my clothes and got out of her bedroom quick. Maybe when we ran into each other I could come up with some sort of good excuse for leaving.

Until then, I needed to focus on hitting the road undetected.

Not such an easy task when your cell phone is ringing away in the girl’s living room.

Dominic had an earful to give me when he found out where I was. My brother always was good at that. He kept up the quiet, broody act until it was time for real business. After that, he could rip me a new one like no one else.

But at least I finally got some answers.

Who is Paige, exactly? And why is she so officially off limits?

Dominic clued me into a few things. First of all, she’s promised goods. Years ago, a deal was struck in the Mafia world. On Paige’s twenty-fifth birthday, she would be turned over to crime boss Alfredo ‘The Pistol’ Moretti. She would become his wife.

My very own brother dearest would be managing the trade. There was a good pay off in it for our family.

But only if everyone played their parts right.

Only if I didn’t piss off Moretti by putting my hands all over his future wife.

Unfortunately, it was likely too late.

Moretti’s men were watching us, Dominic warned. They’re onto us.

I’ve screwed up a fair number of things in my life, but this was by far the worse.

And the saddest part about all of this?

Paige hasn’t got a clue.