Page 191 of Vows of a Mobster

Declan’s rough hands were on my ankles and I would have never thought that to be a sensitive spot but the way he held my ankles as he ate me up, made me want to scream out in pleasure. I was so close to orgasm but I held it back.

Then through the haze of pleasure, the ankle reminded me. My husband kept a knife in a holster around his ankle. I pulled Mateo’s head to me and met him for a kiss and traveled up his cheek, then nibbled on his earlobe.

“Your ankle knife?” I whispered, so only he could hear me.

“Yes.” His voice in my ear was raspy, desperate.

Mateo took my hands that fisted his shirt and guided them beneath his jacket, wrapping them around him. That’s when I felt it. He had his knife sheathed in the back of his pants instead of his ankle. My heart could have burst out of my chest the moment my hand found Mateo’s knife. My fingers wrapped around it tightly, the blade of it cutting into my palm. None of it mattered. The pain grounded me. I prayed to God Mateo’s jacket was shielding what I was doing from Angelica’s view. I slowly inched my hand to the front of Mateo, both of our bodies hiding the knife.

My eyes locked on Mateo’s gaze, waiting for his signal. It was a risk. If he missed, Angelica would shoot one of us. Or worse, Marissa or Emma. I hoped if someone had to die, it would be Angelica. She was too far gone and crazy.

A shocking gasp interrupted the entire messed up scene, and an undignified shriek turned our heads in that direction.

“Brianna!” My mother’s scolding voice sounded the same as it did when she reprimanded me my whole life. Her appalled expression at the sight of Mateo, Declan, and I was almost comical. Except my heart was pounding so hard against my chest, my ribs were hurting.

I barely had a moment to blink or process what was happening. Mateo took the knife from me and all I heard was the swish of it flying through the air. A piercing agonizing scream and a gun went off.

My eyes roamed my husband but there was no blood on him, he didn’t seem hurt. I checked Declan and he was unarmed too. Then I saw it.

Glancing over Mateo’s shoulder, I found Angelica gasping, blood gurgling out of her mouth. Her gun was on the ground, way out of her reach. She must have dropped it and maybe it went off. Mateo’s knife was lodged in her chest. Mateo had a deadly aim. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her body. She would die, although it would be slow. I didn’t have to wonder whether Mateo would grant her medical attention. He wouldn’t. The only glance he spared her was to ensure she was no longer a threat.

“Don’t touch my wife again,” Mateo gritted, glaring at Declan. It wasn’t his fault but I wasn’t going to point out the obvious. I heard Declan mutter something about crazy exes under his breath, and I glanced over my shoulder, giving him a warning glare just as he straightened himself up.

“Now, Mrs. Williams,” Mateo’s voice was cold, his eyes on my mother. This Mateo scared the shit out of me. “Finally we meet.”

My mother’s eyes darted between my husband, Declan, and I. The two men had me sandwiched between them, protecting me with their bodies.

My mother and I locked eyes. It has been over five years since I last saw her. I had my mother’s eyes, hair color, and her body type. But that was where our resemblance ended.

She looked the same as the last time I saw her. Only meaner, colder. Despite her age, she was still slim and fit. She took great pride in her appearance. She always had. Her hair was still dark, although colored black instead of dark brown like mine. But nothing could erase the cruelty in her eyes.

“I should have known you’d end up like your damn father,” my mother spat out.

I swallowed hard. She didn’t matter anymore. She was just the woman that gave me birth.

“Better him than you,” I replied in a calm voice, holding her gaze. There wasn’t a need for me to tune out what she was saying anymore. I did it my entire life so her words couldn’t hurt me. But her words would never hurt me again. “I’d take him over you any day, Mother.”

Surprise flashed in her eyes. I rarely spoke back to her. My whole life Dad, Stepdad, and I put up with her cruel words and bashing us into her idea of shape. The only time I rebelled against her was during the college years. It was easier to stand my ground when she was thousands of miles away. But now, she only stood a few feet away.

“Getting brave, I see.” Her voice was mocking. “And who do I have to thank for that? That old witch of a grandmother?”

I watched her in silence. She only had to take two steps forward and one of Mateo’s snipers would get her. I didn’t like it but she brought it onto herself.

“You have caused quite a mess on my turf, Mrs. Williams,” Mateo spoke casually, seemingly relaxed. But I knew him well by now. It was when he was the most dangerous.

“Smart plan attacking both sides, and having the Italians blame the Irish and vice versa,” Declan commended. He was in killer mode too.

My mother didn’t seem worried at all.

“I thought so too,” she retorted. “Too bad all of you didn’t just kill each other. This world would be better for it.”

I couldn’t comprehend how she could be so cruel. “And Emma and I?” I asked her. “Would the world be better without us too?”

She barely spared me a glance. She looked over to Angelica who was choking on her own blood. The sight was disturbing but my mother didn’t seem troubled at all. The moment her eyes locked on the gun on the floor, I knew she’d go for it. I didn’t have to look at Mateo to know he knew it too. He wanted her to go for it, appearing non-threatening.

“You and your damn bastard daughter were in my way.” The glare she shot me was full of hate. “You have been in my way from the moment you were born.”

I took a sharp inhale of breath. She always knew what to say to hurt me. “Then why take me along when you married my stepdad? You could have left me behind.”