Page 5 of Bound By Her Mafia Bosses

“I am, but I thought that you’d give us more of a fight,” Jules said.

“Oh, so now you and Zan are an ‘Us’?” Lucky barked.

“I just can’t win,” Jules grumbled under her breath. She had known some stubborn men in her life. Her brother was the worst, but Bruno Gallo took the cake. “Zan and I are not an ‘Us’,” she insisted. “But he’s the only one who’s offering me solutions to the shitstorm that you’ve landed me in. I don’t want to be turned over to Isabella’s men and I agree that she won’t stop coming for me. Zan has offered me a solution and I’d like to take him up on it. I’m just surprised that your ego can withstand you admitting that you need his help too.”

“My ego,” Lucky challenged. “You’re a piece of work. Jesus, to think that I actually asked you out.”

“Right, and I actually turned you down, if you remember correctly, Bruno. How about we put all the past shit on the back burner and figure out a plan to keep me from being turned over to Isabella and you two from being killed by the family that you work for.” Zan cleared his throat and she groaned. “Or, supposedly work undercover for.”

“Supposedly,” Zan repeated.

“You two are exhausting,” she grumbled. “What’s the fucking plan, Zan?” she asked.

“I thought we’d head out to a safehouse that I have. It’s far enough out of town that Isabella’s men won’t be able to easily find us,” Zan said.

“How far away is it?” Lucky asked.

“It’s in Colorado,” Zan said.

“I can’t go to Colorado,” Lucky insisted. “What if I need to be here for Cola?”

“I will call in some back up to go in after Cola. They will have eyes on him at all times and will do their best to keep him safe. Right now, we have to worry about ourselves,” Zane said.

“It’s settled then,” Jules said. “We’re going to Colorado.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and started scrolling through some shopping sites.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lucky asked, looking over her shoulder.

“I’m shopping,” Jules said.

“What the fuck for?” he asked. “Don’t you think we have more pressing things to do than shop?”

“No,” she said. “None of us has any luggage, and I refuse to look at your naked asses until we come up with a plan.”

“I don’t know,” Zan said. “I think I’d kind of like hanging out naked with you, Jules.” She shot him a look and Lucky growled. She knew that he was marking her as his territory every time he challenged Zan, but she kind of liked it.

“If you stop acting like an asshole, I’ll buy you a few things too,” she said to Zan. “All I need is an address.” Zan rattled off the address of the safehouse and she put it into her phone for safe keeping. She was going to order herself some warm clothes and if the guys treated her nicely, she’d get them some too—maybe.

* * *

Jules found herself dozing in and out, using Lucky as a giant pillow. When he wrapped his arm around her and tugged her into his side, she wanted to protest, but she didn’t. She liked the comfort of knowing that he was close.

When Lucky helped her and Michael escape the Gallos the first time, she knew that he’d do just about anything to keep them both safe. Rescuing them might have started as a favor that he owed to Mila, Jules’s new sister-in-law, but after a few weeks together, she knew that Lucky was coming to her rescues simply because he was a nice guy. It was one of the things she liked most about him, not that she’d point out that fact to Lucky. Being a nice guy in a mafia family only ended up getting the guy killed. She knew that Lucky would only deny being nice, and there would be no arguing with the big guy.

The late nights that they had spent talking on the back porch, under the stars, while her nephew slept, were perfect. She found herself telling Lucky things that she had never shared with any other man. She shared her heart with him and the little kisses that he stole from her had her wish for more, not that she’d ever be able to act on those feelings. When Lucky finally told her that she and Michael were safe to leave, she wanted to tell him that he had to be mistaken. How would she live each day without having Lucky around? She’d have to because there was no way that she could keep her job and be with a man like Bruno Gallo. That was why she had to turn him down when he asked her to go out with him. Jules knew that she had hurt the big guy’s feelings, and that wasn’t her intention. It was inevitable though. She couldn’t change who he was or what his last name was, and she wasn’t willing to give up the career that she worked so hard to build—no matter how sexy she found Lucky.

Instead, Jules had spent the last six months pouting and wishing that she could change her life enough to accept Lucky’s offer to go on a real date with him. Her nights were spent dreaming of his big body wrapped around her own, holding her tight. Or him making love to her as she panted out his name, begging him for more. That’s what she wanted with Lucky but was too much of a chicken to ask him for. She wanted everything that he asked her to give and so much more, but there was no way that she’d ever be able to let go of her fears and let Lucky into her life.

“We’ll be at the house in about another eight hours,” Zan said, drawing her attention away from the way that Lucky was holding her. “We’re about halfway there, and I need a break. Plus, we need to stop for gas again.” They had stopped about two hours into their trip and Lucky kept a close eye on her while Zan filled up the tank. It was almost as if he thought that she was actually going to try to escape—as if that would do her any good. She knew that they were right. If she tried to take off on her own, Isabella’s guys would eventually find her, and they wouldn’t offer to help her escape their boss. No, she’d find herself dead in a ditch or an unmarked grave in the middle of a forest.

She drew the line at him wanting to follow her into the ladies’ room. Jules told Lucky that he could wait for her outside the door, but if he came into the bathroom, she’d scream and cause a scene. She knew that was the last thing that he wanted, so he abided by her rules for the time being.

“How about you stop at the next town, and we can get gas?” Lucky offered. “And then, I’d be happy to take a turn driving for a bit. I need to stretch my legs anyway.” Jules couldn’t help but look down Lucky’s big body and cringe at the amount of leg room the big guy had. He was practically bent like a pretzel, and she felt bad for him. “How about riding shot gun, honey?” he asked.

“Why?” Jules questioned. “I don’t mind riding back here. I’ll stretch out and take a nap while the two of you navigate our way to the safe house.” It would give her overactive libido a chance to cool off from being pressed up against Lucky for a while.

“Actually, I’d love to stretch out in the back seat and get some sleep. I’m beat from driving all day. That is, if you don’t mind, Jules. If you’d like, we can share the back seat,” he teased, bobbing his eyebrows at her in the rearview mirror. She couldn’t help her giggle. Zan was a charming guy and knowing that he played on the same team as her made her think even more of him. He might look the part of a mafia hitman but knowing that he played on her team made him even more desirable then what she first found him.

He was a good-looking man—dark hair and eyes, just like Lucky. He was a bit smaller than Lucky, but he had muscles that made his tightly fitted T-shirt bulge in all the right places. Plus, he had tattoos that had her questioning why she only seemed to fall for the clean-cut guys around town. And, he had the older man look that he seemed very capable of rocking. She never really had a daddy complex, but she was pretty sure that Zan could give her one.

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