Page 75 of Owned by the Italian Mafia Boss

“Okay,” I say, with a fall of my shoulders.

“It will be okay. We will be okay.” He leans over the middle console and grabs me by the back of the head, smashing his lips against mine. “We will talk to your professor. I might threaten him if he says no.”

I giggle, leaning into his palm.

“And then we will go home, where I’ll rub every inch of your gorgeous body. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like a dream.”

But that’s Carmine. He’s always wanting to make my dreams come true.

Chapter Twenty-One

Carmine

It took everything I had not to inflict pain on Delilah’s father, but here I am, trying to be soft like Gianni suggested. His advice plays in my mind a hundred times a day.

Soft.

Stay soft.

Be softer.

So instead of putting a bullet through anyone’s head that makes Delilah unhappy, I think about her and how she’d feel.

Well, I think about how much she’d hate me if I killed anyone she cared about, and that right there makes me want to be soft. So, it’s progress. On the inside, I’m still a raging killer with a hotter temper than flames, but Delilah helps with that. She cools the anger constantly flowing through me.

There’s a small coffee cart in the science building, and Gianni is there ordering coffee for everyone.

“Ryan, I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got you a caramel…something.”

“Thank you,” Ryan says in a small, fragile voice, as if he’s wary of Gianni possibly tossing the hot coffee on him.

Delilah gets hot chocolate, and the rest of us get plain black coffee.

“Are we ready?” She chirps nervously. “What if he says no? I don’t want him to say no. I need this exam to graduate and attend medical school.”

“I think the whole being kidnapped thing will be reason enough, but if he doesn’t say yes, I have this to change his mind.” Carmine flashes his gun that’s tucked in his pants. “No one says no to me, and no one will say no to my wife. Ever.”

“I want to throw up,” she groans, taking my hand as she leads me down the hall and then up the stairs where her class is. Everyone follows behind us, and Ryan looks spooked. He looks like he’s going to run any second.

When we get to the top of the stairs, Ari whistles when a college student with long red hair walks by. She gives him a flirtatious grin, and he tries to go after her but Gianni stops him with a hand on his chest.

“We are here for something else. Don’t lose focus.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“

The woman you want one day; I hope she gives you a run for your money,” Delilah says over her shoulder.

Ari scoffs. “Please. I’ll never be tied down.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see your downfall.” Delilah takes a left down another hallway, and we come to a closed door with her professor’s name on it.

Matias, Gianni, and Ari have their hands on their weapons. Ryan is leaning against the wall, staring at the floor, not wanting confrontation. Delilah takes a breath and knocks, waiting for the professor to say something.

“Get back,” Gianni whispers, lifting his gun when he points to the floor.