Page 8 of Bound By Her Mafia Bosses

“I’ll find a way to get over you, Jules, but I thought that you should know how I felt about you—I still feel that way, but I’m not going to beg you to change your mind about me. I understand how important your career is to you. I won’t ask you to give it up to be with me, honey.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she breathed.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he assured. “Can we just all shut the hell up and drive?”

“Fine by me,” Zan said. “I was getting a little nauseous hearing you declare your undying love to Jules.”

“Shut the fuck up, Zan,” Lucky shouted.

“I agree with Lucky,” Jules said. “We should just be quiet and get through the rest of this road trip.”

Zan

They rode in silence for the next hour and Zan was kicking himself for pushing Jules and Lucky to admit their feelings for each other. How could he be so stupid? He wasn’t kidding when he told Jules that he liked her, but how could he compete with Lucky when it came to trying to win her affection? He couldn’t. Lucky was right—they had a past and there would be nothing that he could do to erase it. He was just hoping that Lucky would act like a jealous ass and push Jules into his arms, but his plan backfired, and he was beginning to feel like a fucking third wheel. He hated feeling that way, and the first chance he got to skip out on this whole shit show, he was going to take it.

He thought that he had a shot with Jules too. She was eyeing him from the backseat the whole time he was driving. Hell, even Lucky noticed the way that she was checking him out. He knew how women responded to him. Between his beard and tattoos, he had a look that seemed to drive most women crazy. Add in the mafia persona that he had to adopt to go undercover with the Gallo family, and he couldn’t seem to keep the women off him. He wasn’t complaining. Hell, he liked the way that women responded to him, and seeing Jules checking him out made him want to ask her for everything that Lucky was begging her for.

They were about two hours out from the safehouse when they hit a wicked snowstorm. It was near white-out conditions and Lucky finally pulled over when he found a little motel just off the highway. “Looks like we’re going to have to stay here until the storm passes,” Lucky said.

“Will we be safe?” Jules asked. Zan hated hearing the fear in her voice. He wished he could convince her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Not only was protecting her his job, since he worked for the Commissioner, but he felt a responsibility to Jules outside of that obligation.

“We will be,” Zan assured. “Lucky and I will take turns staying up. All you have to do is get some rest and try to relax. We won’t let anyone touch you, Jules,” he promised.

“Thank you, Zan,” she said smiling back at him over her shoulder. Every time he looked at her the way that she currently was, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He wasn’t lying earlier when he told Jules that he felt an unexplainable draw to her.

“No problem,” Zan said. “I’ll take the first shift since I was able to get some shut-eye while you drove, Lucky.”

“I’d appreciate that, man. I’m exhausted. I haven’t had to drive through a storm like this for a long time. When we get into the lobby, let me do all the talking.”

“I think that it would be better if you let me go in alone,” Zan insisted. “You are a pretty recognizable guy. Most people wouldn’t miss finding you in a line-up, Lucky. I can slip past their radar and look like any other guy renting a room for the night. Plus, Isabella’s men will be looking for two guys and a woman. If I go in alone, it might throw them off the scent.”

“You’re right,” Lucky agreed. “We’ll wait here while you go in and get us a room.”

“Two rooms, please,” Jules said. “I’m not sleeping in the same room as you two.”

“It’s only for a night, Jules,” Zan said. He could see Lucky’s temper rising and that was the last thing that they needed right now. “It’s the only way for Lucky and me to keep you safe. We’ll get a room with two beds, so you’ll have your own.”

She looked as though she wanted to give him a fight, but sighed, seeming to back down a bit. “Fine,” she agreed. “As long as you two keep your distance, we’ll all get along just fine.”

“That works for me,” Lucky lied. Zan knew that sitting around discussing feelings was only going to make his night longer than it needed to be.

“You two can sit here and hash that all out while I go get us a room. Stay put,” he ordered. He stepped out of the toasty SUV, into the storm howling on around them and shivered. He wasn’t dressed for this kind of weather and suddenly regretted making fun of Jules doing some online shopping for warm clothing. He was going to have to do the same if he wanted to get through staying in Colorado for however long they had to.

Zan walked up to the lady behind the counter; her smile was forced, but he really didn’t care. “Can I help you?” she asked. She sounded like the last thing she wanted to do was help anyone.

“I need a room for the night, or longer if this storm doesn’t let up,” he said.

“You’re in luck,” she said, “we have one room left. It’s two hundred and fifty-three dollars a night.”

“I’ll take it,” he quickly agreed. Zan pulled a wad of cash out of his wallet and handed it over.

“I’ll need a credit card for incidentals,” she said, taking the cash from him.

“That’s enough for about four nights. You can keep it all, even if we only stay one night. I promise I’ll pay cash for any incidentals that might occur. Do you have a restaurant?” he asked, looking around the small lobby.

“No, but there is an all-night diner next door.” He hadn’t seen it on his way in, but that was most likely because of the storm.

“Great, I’ll have to go back out into this storm,” he grumbled more to himself than to the girl.

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