Page 8 of Mafia King's Forbidden Vows

I curl my lips and flash a fake sneer. How dare he try to calm me down? He releases a deep breath and takes my hand in his.

“I’ll be more careful, okay? This…” his voice hitches, and I grab the cup of water again, fearing he might go into another coughing fit. “This is part of the job. My friend, Connor, got shot in the back one time, and we all thought he wouldn’t make it…”

“Dad!”

I don’t expect him to explode with laughter, but since he does, my chest rumbles with mirth, and I soon join him.

“Seriously, Dad, justice needs to be served.” My abrupt switch from laughter to dead serious tells him that I wasn’t joking. “I mean, Mom died from cancer when I was seven. Then Mario was killed by some politician who thinks the issue is over now. Am I going to lose the rest of my family, too?”

More tears seep out from the corners of my eyes as I recount how I tragically lost almost all my family. My brother…the man I looked up to and loved so much, was murdered five years ago. He’s the main reason I’m studying law, and regardless of my efforts, I’ve still not been able to bring his murderer to justice.

And now, it seems Dad—

“I understand your concern, Aria, but my men are already looking into it at the office, so they’ll come to book soon.”

“No, Dad. I’m going to look into it myself! It’s been almost a week already, and they don’t even have any leads yet. I’m not taking any chances on this one.”

“So what do you want to do? Knock on the door of every mafia lord in town and demand a confession?”

I know he’s trying to dissuade me from finding the culprit. He prefers me to focus on my life…my work, and not carry his burdens. But I work at the DA’s office, and Icanget information.

“No.” I stand up as a brilliant idea hits my mind.

“Uh-oh, when one of your lips is curled up like that, I know you’re up to no good.”

Surprisingly, a deep, belly-shaking laugh seizes through me. Dad joins in, too, releasing a chuckle that’s half hoarse and half wheeze.

His face contorts into a wince, and he wraps his hands around his ribs.

“Are you okay?” I ask, roaming his frail figure to see if there’s any cause for alarm.

“Oh, don’t worry. My ribs hurt a little when I laugh. I’m okay now.”

“I’m so sorry, Dad.” I run my palms softly on his forearm to soothe his pain.

“Dad, I have this friend in the FBI. He works with the crime investigation unit. I can call in a favor. His team would be faster and more effective. No offense, but I’ve given your team almost a week now, and they couldn’t come up with anything.”

I pick up my maroon purse, the one he gifted me when I turned twenty, and lower myself until I can wrap my arms around his bandages.

“I’ll get them, Dad. I promise.”

“Be careful, Aria. I love you.”

I blow a final kiss in his direction and walk out of his hospital room. Those bastards will never see me coming.

***

The first day I met Dennis Finnegan, I thought I had come across the most timid male in existence. He kept pushing his over-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and chuckling nervously at every single word I said, but the minute he opened his mouth to speak to me about crime, I knew I had met a genius.

I almost clicked on the ‘block’ button when he called me one evening and told me he could do just about anything for me because he had a crush on me, but I decided against it.

Thankfully, I didn’t block him, and that has given me the privilege to walk straight into his office −within the FBI headquarters, mind you− at 2 p.m., when every other person waiting to see him has to sign in with his secretary.

“Hey! Come on in!” He pushes his glasses up his nose, exposing his entire mouth in a grin.

A man is sitting across his table, but I don’t mind. If it isn’t important, Dennis would send him right out to attend to me. Especially since I’m planning on tucking loose strands of my hair while speaking with him and exaggerating the blink of my lashes while at it.

“Hey, Dennis,” I open my arms to fit into his and catch a glimpse of the other man’s face just as Dennis is patting my back.

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