Page 16 of Bound to the Crime Lord

I remained silent. Even if my tongue had been capable of formulating coherent enough words, I wouldn’t even know what to say.

Not only had this man just told me that I had some psychotic mafia gang after me, he’d also just told me that he was my only hope.

“And as I had promised you before, I will pay for your brother’s treatment in Switzerland and make sure that he is kept under 24/7 security. All you need to do is say yes and I will protect you, Juliette. It’s really that simple.”

But was it that simple?

You did say you were willing to make a deal with the devil.

Dammit. Curse my inner self for reminding me just how far I had been willing to go that day. But now the opportunity had finally presented itself. What was I going to do now?

I steeled my back and mustered up what little resolve I had. For all my pretending, I knew just how dire my situation was. I was backed into a corner with nowhere else to really go to.

Manuel was throwing me a lifeline, and turning it down would be stupid.

“Fine,” I opened my mouth finally. “But seeing as you got me into this mess, I expect you to fix it. I will not be staying with you forever, Manuel. There will need to come a time when my life goes back to normal. Take care of these ‘enemies’ of yours so that I can get back to my regular life.”

He pondered over my words for a moment. “I never intend to leave my enemies running amuck for too long, Miss Ballard. It’s bad for business.”

I didn’t care for his tone. “It’sDoctor, Manuel. I didn’t go through excruciating hours of med school to not be addressed by my hard-earned title.”

The man had the nerve to smirk, and I wanted nothing more than to reach over this large desk and rub it off his face. But I needed to keep calm. Assaulting the leader of the most powerful mafia gang in the state was not a very good idea.

“Of course,Doctor.” Why did the word sound so… provocative, coming from his lips? It moved something inside of me. Something that I was unwilling to acknowledge.

Three days later…

“Juliette,” Ethan grumbled. “You’re embarrassing me.”

Ethan’s eyes cut to Manuel, who stood behind me. I followed his gaze and saw the leering mafia man off to the side with his shades on, looking as delicious and deadly as sin. He was on the phone speaking to someone in Spanish. Though I could understand the language well enough, I couldn’t pick up on what he was saying.

“Can you not look at him, please?” I grabbed my brother’s cheeks and forced his gaze to meet mine. “I’m not going to be seeing you for the next three months.”

It was Ethan’s departure day. He was starting his treatment at the end of the week, but he needed to go in early to get some tests done. It had all happened so fast. From the moment I had agreed to this plan to this moment right here.

“We can FaceTime, and when you’re free, you can come visit me.” He smiled, trying to ease some of the sadness that had lodged itself in my throat. “And besides, when I come back, I’m going to be healthier.”

The joy in his eyes was evident. Though I had not been comfortable relying on Manuel for anything, his giving my brother this opportunity was a godsent. My brother deserved this chance at life, and I was glad I had taken the damn deal.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Absolutely not.”

“So… he’s you’re sugar daddy?”

“Ethan!” I looked over my shoulder to make sure that Manuel hadn’t heard him. Manuel was still busy on the phone, thankfully. I turned back to my brother and gave him a good whack upside the head. “He is not my sugar daddy. I’m in no way, shape, or form, intimate with that man.”

And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.

I mentally palmed my forehead. No, I was not attracted to that man. He was the devil, and I stayed away from all things evil.

Ethan gave me a knowing look, but held his hands up. “I’m not judging you, sis. But I will say that he is better than deadbeat Pete.”

I blushed. “I thought we had agreed to never talk about that man again. That was a horrendous mistake in my life that will never again be repeated.”

Ethan threw his head back and started laughing at my expense. “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that. I won’t mention your weird ex with no job and who used to smell like corn chips.”

My cheeks got even hotter. I prayed that Manuel was too absorbed in his call that he wouldn’t pick up on our conversation. The last thing I needed was Manuel to also join in teasing me.

---