Page 12 of Kidnapped By the Mafia

But it’s more than that. It’s the way she looked at me, the way she saw through the walls I’ve spent years building around myself. She saw something in me that I didn’t even know was there, something I’m not sure I want to acknowledge.

We didn’t use protection. Was that a deliberate choice? I’m getting old and I have no heir for my billions. Jake wasn’t lying about the party.

There were dozens of eligible women there, all mafia princesses. I could have had any of them for a bride. But I don’t want any of them.

What if Emily’s pregnant?

I push myself harder, my breath coming in sharp gasps as I sprint up the great hill, the incline burning my legs. The pain is a welcome distraction, a reminder that I’m still in control of something, even if it’s just my own body.

But the harder I push, the more the memories come flooding back—memories I’ve buried deep, memories of a time when I was still capable of feeling something other than this emptiness.

7

LUCAS

Ireach the top of the hill and slow to a stop, my hands resting on my knees as I catch my breath. The view from up here is breathtaking, the city stretching out before me like a sea of steel and glass, but it does nothing to calm the storm inside me.

I can still feel Emily’s touch, still hear her voice, still see the look in her eyes when she left me.

I stand up straight, shaking off the lingering thoughts, and reach for my phone. I need answers—about the firm she worked for, about why I can’t seem to get her out of my head. I dial Jake’s number again, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me.

“Did you find anything?” I ask as soon as he picks up.

“It’s only been thirty minutes,” Jake replies, his voice crackling through the line. “Give me a chance.”

“Anything?”

“The firm she worked for is run by a guy named Vince. Debt collection over the phone. Standard sleazy op.”

“That’s all you got?”

“You’re not going to like the rest.”

“Go on.”

“Business is owned through a shell company by Victor Albrecht.”

The name sends a jolt through me, a cold spike of anger that cuts through the haze of my thoughts. Victor Albrecht. Of course, it would be him.

The man who’s been a thorn in my side for years, the man who’s responsible for more than just petty crimes and underhanded business deals.

The man who killed both my parents because they refused to get into human trafficking with him. Told him there was too much misery in selling human flesh. He told them he respected their decision. Then he cut their fucking brake pipes.

I grit my teeth, my hand tightening around the phone. “I want it shut down.”

“It’s complicated,” Jake says, and I can hear the tension in his voice. “Shutting it down would stir up a lot of trouble. Could lead to a full-blown war between your operations and his.”

“I’m supposed to let him run a business in my new building?”

“I’m saying watch the place, see what leaks out. Could give us something we can use against Albrecht.”

I frown, thinking for a moment. “You might be right. Get the place bugged, cameras and mics. See if they give us anything useful. I want the boss hurt though, and the asshole that took her last paycheck. Make it look like an accident.”

There’s a pause on the other end, and I know Jake is weighing his options, trying to decide how much to tell me. “There’s something else,” he finally says, his tone more cautious now. “The guy from last night, Mr. Do you know who I work for? Evan Wilson. He works for Albrecht too. And it gets worse.”

I can feel the anger simmering just beneath the surface, a dark, familiar presence that I’ve spent years learning to control. “Tell me.”

“Albrecht’s running a skimming operation all over the city,” Jake explains. “He’s got people like Evan planted in businesses everywhere, stealing credit card information and funneling the money back to his accounts. It’s a big operation, and it’s hard to trace because it’s spread out across so many places. And he’s got cops on his payroll, making sure anyone who tries to prosecute is silenced.”

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