Page 1 of The Mafia's Desire

Chapter One

Ethan walked into the back door of one of his family’s restaurants and was pissed. No one stole from the family and got away with it. It was pathetic when they did try to betray them because they knew what would happen when, notif, they got caught

He didn’t mind this assignment. The good part of tending to this robbing bastard that Alastair sent him was that he would be able to hurt and kill someone. It might help the built-up fury and pain in him.

Fuck, he hated what he was turning into. But ever since he found out his sweet mother was a sociopath and serial killer, and had been his whole life, it fucked up his brain. He knew blaming all women for the actions of one was wrong, but he had yet to figure out how to get past this. Fortunately, his brothers were doing better than he was.

His brother, Drew, had brought up getting counseling, but he’d have to be half-dead and chained to a bed before he’d talk about his feelings to a stranger. Hell, he had a hard enough time with people he knew, loved, and respected.

A few of his men walked in front of him, but he could tell when Harvey Owens, the restaurant manager he had hired three years before, saw him, and by the way the man turned pale-white, the fucker knew what was coming. His men made a perimeter around the room, just in case the bastard tried to run, while he stood in front of the weasel.

“Sharp, check the front,” Ethan said.

Ethan waited but stared intently at the manager. He was pleased to see the fucker get more and more anxious, and sweat dripped down his face. The guy deserved every bit of discomfort Ethan could give him.

“Everything is clear, Boss,” Sharp said.

“Good. Now we can talk,” Ethan said. “I don’t have much time, so let’s get to it. We both know what you did, and you know it’s not a good thing to steal from the family. I’ll give you one chance. Now, if you tell me the truth, I’ll be merciful and just put a bullet in your head. If you lie to me, you’ll be feeling some pain before you die. Either way, you’re dying tonight. Which is it?”

Owens sputtered and held his hands out in front of him. “Ethan, please. I’ve always been loyal to you.”

Ethan sighed. “Fuck, you can’t do anything right?” He pulled out a gun and shot the manager’s knee.

The guy screamed and dropped to the floor, making Ethan smile. Most of the time, he hated hurting people, but lately he was getting way too much enjoyment out of it. He kept asking himself if he was as sick as his mother and hadn’t known it. It was a thought he hadn’t been able to vanquish and he grew more disturbed about it every day.

“One of you gag him, and then a few of you put him in the trunk of my car.”

“You got it, Boss.”

Ethan waited until the screaming man was taken out, and it was finally quiet again.

“Sharp, can you tell if he had tallied tonight’s sales?” Ethan asked.

“I’ll go look. Do you want me to bring everything in here?” Sharp asked.

Ethan wiped a hand down his face. “Yeah. We can always deal with it later. Who’s the assistant manager?”

“Ray Bishop,” Sharp said.

“Call him and explain that Owens had to leave town, and we need him to step up and take over. Do you think he’ll be good?”

“Hell, yeah. I was shocked when you didn’t pick him the first time.”

“I had a reason, or I wouldn’t have done it,” Ethan said. At the moment, he couldn’t remember what that was.

Sharp snorted. “You’ll be pleased with him.”

“Good. Go get the till for the night.”

He watched Sharp leave, and he wanted desperately to sit down and close his eyes, but there were still a few of his guys in the kitchen with him, and he knew better than to show any weakness.

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He straightened immediately when he heard something drop in the back pantry. The room was dark, and the door was half closed. Ethan pulled out his gun, walked over, and yanked the door all the way open. He didn’t see anything at first because the light wasn’t on, but when he turned it on, he saw a young woman in the corner trying to make herself as small as possible.

Fuck. He needed sleep because he would have never made this mistake otherwise.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ethan asked. The woman was small and incredibly beautiful with her long brown hair and light blue eyes.

“S-Sara.”

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