Page 29 of Merciless Attraction

“I have a tow truck coming to take it to a private garage. We can have your insurance company send out the adjuster and have a rental waiting for you tomorrow.”

I let out a sigh of relief as I throw my arms around Antonio’s neck. There's something to be said about not having to worry about anything in a crisis. That’s who Antonio’s been from the start. He takes charge and takes care of me like we’ve always been meant to be.

“Fiancé, fake or not, Gemma, you belong to me. I’m going to take care of you. Are you working tomorrow?” he asks.

“I’m supposed to, but I have to be honest, I’m not exactly in the mood after today.” I let out a breath of exhaustion.

“You don’t have to work if you don’t want to,” he says as we wait for the tow truck to arrive.

I tip my head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “You want me to just stay home, bare foot and taking care of my soon-to-be wifely household duties?”

“No,” he chuckles. “I can take care of my house just fine. I meant that if you didn’t want to work while we stave off a war between rival mob families, you don’t have to. You can have some time to figure out if you want to stay where you’re at.”

“I just wanted time to figure out who I was away from my brothers. Any job will do. I just need to keep my mind off what I left behind.”

“Can you tell me more about that?” he asks. “Helping your family out of situations which have a tendency to rise out of the past happens to be one of my specialties.”

There’s nothing he can do with what I’ve done.

Instead of telling him everything, I rest my head on his shoulder. We wait in comfortable silence for a tow truck to pick up the remains of my car. The car was a symbol for me and Natalie going after our independence.

Natalie hates being beholden to the path her parents have laid out for her. I wanted to get away from my brothers because their lives bled into mine. Being a mafia princess forced me down a road I’m sure I would have never traveled had I been born into any other family. Yet here I am.

I had an eight-month head start on my brothers coming out here. Technically, they were never supposed to take over. It’s only after Armande relinquished his title as don and our cousin Julian refused to take the helm that Bash came out here to manage our family’s interests.

We were actually leading very separate lives until I decided to finger bullet holes and piss off the wrong soldier of a rival family. Where do I go from here?

Chapter 12: Antonio

The sun rises with Gemma in my arms. Soft blonde strands fall effortlessly over her beautiful face. Her full, pink lips beg to be kissed, but I opt to get out of bed. It takes every bit of self-control in my body to not impale her with my morning wood.

A part of me wonders about waking her up with my face between her legs. But given everything Gemma’s been through the past few days, I let her sleep. Besides, I’m certain my mouth of minty freshness won’t deliver a wakeup call she’ll appreciate. Unless she’s into that. I’ll find out when she’s awake.

Breakfast is the most important task on my mind as I head into the kitchen to cook something up for us. She cooked for me and it’s only right that I return the favor. The only thing that stops me is my phone chiming to life.

“Fuck, it’s not even seven yet,” I yawn and reach for my phone on the kitchen island. The number flashing across the screen makes me send the call to voicemail, but Dr. Melanie Stavros is persistent. She calls endlessly until I answer the call.

“What?” I hiss into the line.

“You left my office before we could finish talking about your career path. I expect you to be on site to work your overnight shift, Antonio.”

“I told you I was taking a leave of absence.”

“No, you’re supposed torequesta leave of absence. Your request has been denied.”

I shake my head. “Why are you being this way?”

“Because I'm tired of my talented doctors being wined, dined, and stolen to work at these other hospitals. You still have time to be sculpted into a magnificent surgeon and I want you. I want that face of yours to be the face of our new surgical residency program.”

“No.”

Melanie laughs into the line. “You said that as if I asked you. I told you what’s at stake. I know what you did. I know what you hid during your review in front of the medical board. I know—”

“You don’t know shit. I’m not taking this leave of absence to search for another job, Melanie. My family is in shambles and my fiancé needs me. If you don’t approve my leave, then you’ll have my resignation,” I tell her.

“Oh really?” Melanie challenges.

“I’m going toaskyou again. Can you please approve my request for a leave of absence? I’m only asking for three months, Melanie.”

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