Page 22 of Bound By Her Mafia Bosses

Victor Thorne got the call from Savage that he had a gig for him, and he wanted to tell his club’s Prez, no, but he also knew that was something he just couldn’t do. He had just worked a double shift and he was dog-tired.

Since going undercover to root out the trafficking rings in the area, he was burning the candle at both ends. When he joined the CIA, he had no clue how many hours a week he’d be working, and when they stuck him on undercover work, those hours doubled. He barely had time to sleep anymore and that’s what he had planned on doing for the next six hours until he had to show back up to work. He was so close to cracking the trafficking ring that he had been working for, he just needed a few more days and then, he’d have the evidence that he’d need to bring down the whole organization and put every scum bag that worked for it behind bars.

He had been doing undercover work for almost eight years now because his boss said that he had the look for it. He knew that his boss took one look at his full upper body tattoos and decided his fate. He was right, Thorne had the look and that was because he used to live that life. He used to be the criminal that he now played, and that gave him a leg up. He knew how the assholes who ran the trafficking rings thought and being able to get into their sick minds was a big part of what made him a damn good CIA agent.

His orders from Savage were that he was supposed to meet him and Bowie over at their house tonight at about six. He knew that turning down his Prez’s invitation to come over would be a huge mistake, so he agreed to be there. Apparently, Savage had a family member in trouble, and his skills at hiding people away were needed.

Thorne took a quick shower and got dressed, pulling on a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Hopefully, this thing for Savage wouldn’t take too long, and then, he’d be able to catch a few hours of sleep before heading back to work in the morning.

He drove over to Savage’s house and parked behind Bowie’s pick-up. Savage walked out and met him on the front porch, which was never a good sign. It usually meant that he was going to have to talk to Thorne before they got inside and that usually involved some news that he wasn’t going to like.

“Hey Savage,” he called.

“Thanks for coming out on such short notice,” Savage said. “We have a little bit of a situation.”

“What kind of situation?” Thorne asked.

“My cousin, Rose, and her two-year-old daughter, Sadie, need to get away for a bit. Her ex is bad news, and she needs to lay low while Bowie and I look into his extracurricular business activities.”

“What kind of business activities are we talking about?” Thorne asked.

“He’s supposedly a car salesman, but according to my cousin, he’s made too much money for the number of cars that he’s selling. Rose is betting that he’s involved in a human trafficking ring, but we need time to figure it out.”

“I’m guessing that will take a bit of time,” Thorne said. “Should I plan on this being a long-term thing?”

“Possibly,” Savage admitted, “is that going to be a problem?” Thorne wanted to tell Savage that it was going to be a huge problem, but he wouldn’t dare. He’d just have to figure out how to juggle his crazy work schedule and help out Savage’s cousin, at the same time.

“Not at all,” Thorne lied, “I’d be happy to help.”

“Great, because I need a place for her and her daughter tonight. She thinks that someone’s following her and if that’s the case, I can’t let her stay here with my family. I won’t put them at risk,” Savage said. Thorne didn’t blame the guy. He would have felt the same way if he had a family to protect, but he didn’t.

“Of course,” Thorne agreed. “How about I meet your cousin and her kid and if they’re comfortable with everything, I can get them into a safe house tonight?”

“That would be wonderful. I’d owe you one, Thorne,” Savage said.

“No big deal,” Thorne lied. He was sure that helping out Savage’s cousin tonight would only lead to him getting no sleep.

Savage nodded, “Follow me,” he said. Thorne did as ordered and followed Savage into the back of the house to the kitchen.

“Hey, Thorne,” Bowie said. Dallas kissed his cheek and asked if he wanted some dinner, and he lied and said that he had already eaten. The sooner he could meet Rose and get her, and her kid settled, the sooner he could crawl into bed and get some shut eye.

Savage nodded to the petite woman in the corner holding a toddler. “That’s my cousin, Rose, and her daughter, Sadie.” He took a step toward Rose, and she backed further into the corner. “Rose this is Thorne. He’s a friend and you can trust him.” She looked at Savage as though he might have lost his mind and Thorne wanted to laugh. He knew what she saw when she looked at him. He was covered in tattoos and looked more like a criminal than someone who was there to save her.

“Good to meet you, Rose,” Thorne said. He smiled and waved to the toddler, “You too, Sadie.” The little girl smiled back at him and waved. Well, at least one of the women he was going to have to protect seemed to like him.

“You’re going to protect us?” Rose asked.

“I am,” Thorne said. “If that’s okay with you both. I’m good at what I do, and I will have no problem keeping you both safe.”

Savage stepped between them and turned to Rose. “Listen, I know Thorne’s a bit rough around the edges,” he said.

“Gee, thanks for that,” Thorne muttered. Savage shot him back a look and turned back to face his cousin.

“We all are,” Savage covered, “but, I’d trust Thorne with my life, and I know that he’ll keep you and your daughter safe if you’ll let him.”

“I trust you, Savage,” Rose said, “it’s why I came to you in the first place. If you say that Thorne will help us, then I trust you. Sadie and I will go with him.” She turned to face Thorne and pasted on her best smile. “Thank you for offering to help us.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

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