Page 18 of Owned By the Mafia

I know she’s spent, so I get up and open the bedding, helping her slip in before I slip in behind her. I slide an arm around her and spoon her, stroking her side softly. She falls asleep quickly, and I watch her sleep in the moonlight.

I must have been more tired than I realized because I jolt awake when the sun streams into the room.

“Good morning.” She’s standing across the room fixing her hair.

I sit up, and she throws a shirt at my head. “Time to get up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I grin, getting out of bed. My pants are on a chaise nearby, and I get dressed. She leaves the room, and once I’m presentable, I go to the kitchen to find her filling two cups with coffee. She hands one to me.

I kiss her forehead softly, but she pulls away. “We can’t, Robbie. We can’t do this, I’m sorry. I’ll arrange for a guard to protect me. We should be apart as much as possible.”

I set the coffee down and take hers from her before I take her by the arms. “We can make this work, lass. I can protect you just fine, thank you. Better than any man because you and I know I’ll lay my life down for you.”

I lean down, and we share a passionate kiss. She groans softly, but we pull away when my phone goes off. I pull it out and walk away from her. “Ronan.”

“There’s been an attack on Volkov soldiers.” My brother's voice sounds grim. “Nine dead, and they’re accusing us.”

I frown and look at Dina. “I’ll be right over.”

“Be fast. This is going to escalate quickly. I’ll send you the address.” He hangs up, and I look at Dina.

“Nine Russians dead. They suspect it’s infighting again. They think it was the Irish.”

“Where are we needed?” she asks, picking up her coffee and taking a deep sip.

“I’ll drop you at the office and sort this out myself, don’t worry,” I say, and down my own hot coffee. I gasped slightly once it was done and set the cup down to see her frowning at me.

“You seem to forget who's in charge,” she says. “Just because we had sex doesn’t mean you call the shots.”

“I’m not calling the shots. It’s a dangerous situation, especially because someone is out to get you.”

“I thought I was safest with you.” Her argument is good, but I shake my head.

“It’s not happening, Dina.”

“Robbie, either you take me there, or I will catch a cab. Consider which one is more dangerous.” She puts her hands on her hips, and I shake my head with a small smile.

“Alright then, you’re the boss.”

She smirks. “Now you’re getting it.”

I check the address on the phone and then show it to Dina. “I’m not familiar with this one.”

She nods and looks up at me. “I know exactly where that is. It’s one of Volkov’s joint operations with the Sorvino family. Mostly run by the Russians, though.”

We grab everything we need, and I lead her to my car and help her in. She looks at me. “We have to argue constantly. Otherwise, someone is going to figure it out.”

“We don’t have to pretend, lass. We constantly fight anyway.” I chuckle as I close the door and go around.

It takes a while to battle traffic to arrive at the laundromat. It’s closed, and there’s no sign of media or cops, which is always good. We don’t want people to think there’s something bigger going on. Other families might get ideas.

“They run drugs and dirty money through here,” she says softly as we walk toward the back door. “The men in here are working-class men.”

“Most of them are,” I comment. “They make up the majority of the families.”

As we walk in, we see a large group of Russian men standing around some tables with dead bodies. One sees us and directs his attention straight to me. He storms forward and grabs me by the shirt, pointing a gun at my head.

“We should kill you for what your fucking people did, you Irish asshole,” he shouts.

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