Page 19 of Bound By Her Mafia Bosses

“Well, you just agreed to marry us,” Lucky reminded. “I think that we can throw together a little ceremony with some pizza for the reception in a day or two, right? I mean, Mila is a natural at planning this stuff. How about it, you want to marry us when we get back home?” he asked Jules.

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” Jules agreed. Zan and Lucky framed her body with their own, trapping her in the middle of them, and that was exactly where Jules belonged. She was bound to them, and now, they were going to be a family. He and Lucky were finally going to be free from their mafia ties and the Gallo family was finally something that they could put in their rearview. They might never be able to stop looking over their shoulders, but Zan knew one thing for sure, with Lucky by his side, they’d find a way to keep Jules and their new little family safe from the mafia threats that would always keep coming for them.

The End

I hope you enjoyed Jules, Lucky, and Zan’s story. Now, buckle up for a sneak peek at K.L. Ramsey’s second book The Bound Series-Bound by His Mafia Princess is coming in early 2024!

Cola

Nicola Gallo wasn’t sure how the hell he was going to keep on fooling the rest of the Gallo family into believing that he hated his only brother. Lucky had left him, sure, but he couldn’t blame his older brother. In fact, he envied him because he was lucky enough to get out and find happiness. Sure, Lucky had tried to get him out of the family, but Cola was a stubborn fool who believed that the Gallo family had his best interests at heart. Yeah—he was a giant fool for believing them, but he made this mess for himself by going back into the organization after Lucky and his new brother-in-law, Gabe, had gotten him out.

Cola was recruited into the Gallo family a few years back and when Isabella Gallo, the bitch in charge of the family, wanted Lucky to do something for her, she had Cola held as collateral. That all ended when she was shanked in prison, but his work for the family didn’t stop with Isabella’s death. No, that could only end one of two ways—with him running or with him dead. He preferred the first, but as long as the Gallos held Capria, he wasn’t going anywhere.

Capria Ballerini was the daughter of one of the biggest mafia families in Chicago. It could be argued that since Isabella’s death, the Ballerini family was the largest syndicate in the state of Illinois. That was exactly why Isabella’s crazy assed sons thought that it was a good idea to kidnap her and hold her until they got what they wanted from the Ballerini family. The problem was that the family wasn’t going to budge an inch. It wouldn’t matter to old man Ballerini if they had his only daughter or not. He wouldn’t give them what they were after—top mafia family billing in the greater Chicago area.

Cola had been put in charge of guarding Capria and he had to admit, at first, she grated on his last nerve. She was a snotty bitch who complained about everything, and why wouldn’t she? Capria was being held prisoner basically, even if she was in a nice room with an en suite attached. She was being held against her will, and that had to be scary as shit.

He started sneaking her things that he thought she might like—chocolate bars, lip gloss, even nail polish, without the other guys knowing. Capria told him she thought he was the sweetest boy on the planet and even gave him a kiss. He’d been with other girls and even women in his twenty-five years, but he never met anyone who made him feel like she did. And now, all he could think about was saving her. Well, saving them both because if he helped her to escape, he’d be putting his own life on the line and Gallos would come for him too.

That was where Bruno’s cabin would come into play. He’d use it as a safehouse until his brother could help him come up with a better plan. Maybe they’d have to stay in Colorado, hidden away from the Gallos forever, but he really didn’t care as long as he got to be with Capria.

“Cola, can I see you for a minute?” his boss asked. Ever since Isabella’s death, her three sons were trying to fill the void left in the Gallo family. The oldest, Tony, Jr., was the one he reported to, and probably the dumbest one in the bunch. He hated the guy with a passion but needed to play cool if he wanted to stick around until he could get Capria out.

“Yeah, Boss,” he said, following Tony into his office.

“I have some news on the prisoner,” Tony said. They never called Capria by her name. It was usually either the prisoner or the Ballerini girl. “Her father won’t negotiate for her release. He told us to just keep her or sell her off to the highest bidder.”

“You’d do that?” Cola asked.

Tony looked him over as though he had lost his mind. “Yeah, we’d do that. You think we’re going to fucking keep her around if her father doesn’t want her back? We need you to get her ready for auction in a week. We’ll sell her off and be rid of that fucking princess.” Shit—that only gave Cola a week to get her out of the compound, which was a lot less time than he planned. He’d definitely need Bruno’s help if he was going to get them both someplace safe to lay low.

“Right, sorry, Boss. I guess I’m just a little out of the game today. I slept for shit last night,” Cola covered.

“That’s not my fucking problem,” Tony spat. “You need to be ready to roll when you come in here, got it?” he asked. “Or are you going to turn out like your loser big brother and ditch us? I can tell you that if that’s your plan, you’ll end up in the bottom of the river.” That was exactly what his plan was, but there was no way that he’d admit that to Tony or anyone else for that matter besides Bruno. His brother had gotten away from the family. He was one of the lucky ones, and no one from the Gallo organization could touch him because his new wife worked for the Commissioner. Bruno was lucky that he got to start over. He was even in the security business now—something that Cola always dreamed about doing, but never had the means. He was just a dumb kid from the wrong side of town. Good things didn’t happen to guys like him, and the sooner he learned that the easier his life was going to be.

“How about you check in on the Ballerini girl and then head out? You look like shit and if you say you need sleep, you should go and get some,” Tony said. “Just have her ready to go in a week, got it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it, Boss,” Cola mumbled. “I’ll head out soon. Thanks.” He only lived a couple of miles from the compound, but since meeting Capria, he had been sleeping in one of the spare rooms, or his car. He’d never tell his boss that, but that’s why he was so tired. He didn’t feel right leaving her to go home to his place each night. He wanted to stick close in case she needed him, not that he’d be able to help her—not yet. But in less than a week, he was going to get her out of there and there would be no looking back for either of them.

He was going to get Capria someplace safe, and then, he was going to beg her to start a new life with him. One that didn’t involve mafia families or parents who didn’t give a shit about their own kids. He was going to take care of Capria and hopefully, she’d let him.

Capria

Capria Ballerini wasn’t about to give up her fight to be free from the Gallo monsters who held her prisoner. She knew that playing Cola for the fool might not end well for her, but she really didn’t care. The guy seemed to care about her, for some odd reason, and if she was correct, he was her ticket out of the hell hole she was being held in. Now, all she had to do was play her cards right, and her plan might just fall into place.

She knew that Cola liked to come to visit her every evening after dinner, to bring her a special treat, as he liked to say. The gaudy nail polish and candy were getting to be a bit too much for her to stomach. Capria learned to be patient with the guy, even pretending to be a sweet, helpless wildflower, that he seemed to really need her to be. He bought her act, and now, it was time for their final scene. Then, she’d be able to head home to her family.

She could see Cola through her window, making his way across the courtyard. Capria knew that she had to act quickly if her plan was going to work. Earlier, she had filled her wastebasket with paper and found the matches that she had stolen from Cola’s jacket. She pulled the can over to the ugly green drapes that lined the window and set it underneath them. It took her two tries to successfully light the matches and when she finally got one lit, she tossed it into the bucket full of paper. It went up like a house built of old timber and when the curtain caught fire, she worried that she might have overplayed her hand. There was no one at her door, waiting to rescue her. Cola might have gotten sidetracked, and then what? She had no back-up plan and burning alive in the same room she had been kept prisoner in wasn’t the way that she planned on going out.

Someone banged on her bedroom door, and she screamed for them to help her. Smoke was quickly filling the room and her lungs, and she couldn’t stop coughing long enough to shout for help a second time.

As if on cue, Cola came barreling into the bedroom and lifted her into his arms, just like the hero that he always seemed to want to be. He carried her out of the room and sat her down in the hallway. “What are you doing?” she asked. “We need to get out of here.”

“Right, just let me catch my breath,” Cola said.

“We have no time for that,” she insisted. Capria knew that the Gallos would be searching for them in no time flat. The fire might buy them a bit of time, but not much. She grabbed his hand and took off down the long corridor. “At least tell me if we’re heading the right way,” she insisted.

“We are, take a right up here, and then, we’ll come out in the courtyard that leads to the underground garages. My car is down there,” he said. She quickly made her way to the courtyard when Cola stopped her.

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