Page 94 of The Mafia And His Angel: Part 1 (Tainted Hearts 1)

The lamp cast a soft glow on her face, making her look so peaceful.

Leaning forward, I lightly brushed a finger over her soft cheek, moving the few strands of hair away. At my touch, she moaned sleepily and shifted a little. I froze, waiting for her to wake up, but instead she kept sleeping.

Sighing in relief, I felt my lips twitch in a small smile as I stared at her sleeping form. My eyes moved from her face, down to her shoulders, and then her chest.

She was holding my suit jacket against her chest, her fingers wrapped tightly around the fabric.

I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. So, it was true.

Walking out of the room, I made my way to Ayla’s, deciding to check on her. But when I saw Milena coming out, looking affronted, I stopped in my tracks. She seemed surprised to see me, but then bent her head down in respect before walking past me without saying a word.

“What the fuck was that?” I muttered to myself, before resuming my walk to Ayla’s room. Stopping by her door, I was about to open it when I heard Maddie’s voice.

“Ayla, what were you doing with Alessio’s jacket?”

At her words, I froze, my eyes widening in shock.

What the fuck?

Leaning forward, I placed my ear against the door, hoping nobody was roaming the hallway.

I waited for an answer but instead all I heard was silence.

“You don’t have to…” Maddie said.

“I sleep with it.”

“What?” Maddie sputtered. I had the same reaction.

“I sleep with it,” Ayla repeated, making my heart flip again.

And then her next words were enough to bring me to my knees. My hands tightened in fists against the door and I closed my eyes.

“It keeps the nightmares away,” she admitted, her voice so soft that I barely even heard it. But I did. I heard it as if she’d whispered it in my ear.

Rubbing a hand over my face, I paced the hall outside of her door, trying to come to grips with what I had just heard.

My eyes widened when I heard Maddie at the door, telling Ayla that she would come back soon.

I quickly rushed into the piano room and closed the door behind me. Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, feeling uncertain about whether I should act on this new revelation.

When I felt Ayla shift under my hand, I snapped out of my thoughts. I knew one thing for certain.

If my jacket kept Ayla’s nightmares away, that was all that mattered.

I rubbed my thumb over her cheek one last time before stepping away. Ayla sighed in her sleep, a small smile playing across her lips.

“Sweet dreams,” I whispered.

Giving her a final glance, I turned around and walked out of her room, closing the door softly behind me.

***

I stared at the beige walls. Mark’s house was homey. Toys were spread out over the carpet.

“So far, Alberto’s made no move toward the clubs I’m taking care of,” Mark said. My attention returned to him as he leaned back against his sofa. “I’m surprised. They are the most popular places. If he wanted to go big, those would have been his first targets.”

Alberto had some kind of plan, but every lead my men followed brought them to a dead end.

Every time we made a move, he was ready for them. Whoever the insider was, he’d been getting the information back to Alberto quickly, barely giving us time to put our plans in actions.

“What are you going to do?” Mark asked.

I scoffed. “The question should be, what am I not going to do?”

He raised an eyebrow and then chuckled. “Well, you definitely have something planned.”

“Always. I want you to keep a close eye on all the clubs. Every single one of them. If you can’t do it alone, I will send one of my man to help,” I said, my voice hard.

“I can handle it. I have been doing this for years, boss. But I think it would be better if you send another man. This way, we can keep a better watch.”

Nodding, I sat back against the couch. Just then, a small girl came running in the living room, a bright smile on her face.

She was wearing a purple dress, her short black hair hanging loose on her neck. She smiled up at us.

“Sophia,” Mark admonished softly. “You aren’t supposed to come in here.”

But the little girl paid no attention to her father. She was only two years old. All her attention was fixated on Nikolay, who stood stoically beside me.

Sophia took a step closer toward him and stopped right in front of him. I looked up to see his jaw twitch at how hard he was grinding his teeth.

He moved his eyes down to the small girl in front of him and I saw him swallow hard. Sophia raised her arms and said, “Up.”