Page 13 of Forbidden Devotion

He'd probably see the mess we were making of his office and think of exactly that. He never talked about it to us, but I knew taking over the family that way must have been a hell of a mountain to climb. He never even got to ease into the role I like was; he never actually worked under his father before he was suddenly running Chicago.

Well, most of Chicago. There had been that thing with the group that kidnapped me, but that had been solved a long time ago.

He didn’t get any of the guidance he was giving me. He didn’t get the benefit of someone to turn to when it all became overwhelming. All he had were notes.

I couldn’t imagine it. My heart went out to the younger version of him.

“He’ll be back soon,” I promised, “and then he’ll realize something could actually happen to him without warning, God forbid, and he’ll start keeping a damn notebook.” Mom laughed.

“He will be out soon,” she smiled at me reassuringly. “That lawyer you found—she’s good. I admit I was worried when she stepped into the room, she’s so young! But she proved me wrong in an instant.”

“Ha! Yeah, she seemed like a spitfire,” I said. “You know she literally chased me down to take the case?” Mom looked thrilled. “Yeah! She caught me before I could get into my car. She was determined. Actually straight up told me what she’d be getting out of it, no shame.”

“Good,” mom grinned, eyes sparkling. “She obviously doesn’t beat around the bush. What does she want?”

“To prove herself,” I shrugged. “Young woman in a male-dominated field—you know the drill.”

“Oh, I do,” mom rolled her eyes. She’d been a stripper for years to support me and her mother and her studies, but she’d eventually moved into a career in her real passion—astrobiology. How smart did you have to be to work in astrobiology? Her IQ was off the damn charts, and men in her field still tried to pretend otherwise on a near daily basis. If anyone could sympathize with a young female lawyer getting kicked around by her chauvinist bosses, it would be my mom.

“She’s intriguing, isn’t she?” I asked, finally returning to the pile of loose papers. We'd just been writing down whatever we remembered dad saying, so it was a complete mess. It was hard to know where to start.

“Oh?” my mom smiled, eyes turning sharp. I internally groaned. Goddammit. “What an interesting adjective, oldest son.” I rolled my eyes.

“Alright, don’t fish,” I said. “She’s very attractive, and she’s witty. If I met her in a club, I’d take her home. Are you happy?” Mom smiled like the cat who got the cream.

“I’m not unhappy,” she relented. “But I’ll drop it. She’s definitely smart and driven, so I’m sure we’re in good hands.”

I sighed in relief. I wasn’t stupid enough to think this wouldn’t come up again, but we had more important things to worry about right now, and I was glad mom didn’t harp on it. “We’ve already greased the wheels on our end, so we can take this to trial as soon as she’s ready,” I said. That was one of the major benefits of being who we were and having what we had, because if it weren’t for our status and money, we’d be waiting months or years for a trial, which was unacceptable.

Obviously, we’d bail dad out if that were the case, but he’d been clear with me when I became underboss that if he was ever arrested, I was to leave him incarcerated for at least a month before posting bail. Given our family’s resources and the fact that everyone and their brothers knew we were criminals, bail was guaranteed to be set insanely high, high enough to be a major hit even to our wallets. Prison guards were paid shit wages, so they were easy to pay off, and enough of our soldiers or allies were incarcerated that he basically always had watch dogs. Prison was dangerous for a crime lord, but he could last alright for a little while.

The logic, however, didn’t make it burn any less.

I hated leaving him there, constantly watched, constantly on guard. He had no rights, no say; it wasn’t up to him when he showered, exercised, or ate. All he got were orange jumpsuits and prison slop, even the toilet in his cell was visible from the door. It was the most extreme violation applied to such a proud man.

He’d never let me know how much it affected him, either. I already knew that he’d get home and act like it never happened, no matter how it changed him. I wanted to claw the walls down from the outside. Instead, I had to wait and hope I had made the right decision when I hired Attorney Lauren Kylin.

It was just then that my phone rang. The display read ‘Size 8.5.’

“Attorney Kylin,” I greeted with a slight smirk. My mom grinned at me teasingly when she heard how my tone immediately changed, and I frowned at her with a blush. She looked utterly smug and very entertained.

“Mr. Marino,” Lauren greeted me back, sounding like she was holding back excitement. Cute. “I have an update on your case.”

“Excellent,” I said, surprised. She worked fast, didn’t she? “My mother’s with me, let me put you on speaker.”

“Actually,” she said as I hit the button, “I feel it might be best to speak in person. For security reasons.” My eyebrows rose. I doubted she was being monitored already, but her caution was appreciated. Either she didn’t know how easy it was for us to bury something like a phone record, or she was paranoid, but I guess it was probably the first. A paranoid person wouldn’t come running up to a mafia heir in broad daylight, after all. “Would you and your mother be able to meet with me at some point tomorrow?”

“Hello, Attorney,” my mom said, leaning over. “I actually have a lecture tomorrow, so I’ll be out of town, but I’m sure you don’t need me there. It’s fine if you have the meeting with just Rich.” I squinted my eyes at her, but she didn’t notice.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, don’t worry about me. Rich will tell me all about it.”

“If you’re sure. Mr. Marino, are you available tomorrow?”

“First of all, call me Rich,” I said. “I appreciate the respect, but it’ll be easier to tell me and my dad apart this way. But yes, I’m available all afternoon.”

“What about in the evening?” she asked. “I can’t leave the office due to some pushback with my senior partners, and frankly, you wouldn’t get any privacy if you came here.”

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