Page 14 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

We open the pizza box and grab a can of soda each as I tell her everything. When I finish, she takes a bite of pizza, chews, and swallows. “Are you crazy? And what’s this about a promotion when you got one three months ago?”

I laugh. “I’m quite ambitious. I need another promotion.”

“Do you? Quit trying to fool me, Jane. I know you better than anyone else.”

Right, she does. We’ve been friends since we were first graders. Kim can see right through my bullshit and just like Bel, she can call me on it, too. “Alright. You’ve got me. I’m just trying to see if it could link me to my Dad’s killer.”

Concerns mars her face. “What if you get hurt?”

I shake my head. “I won’t. I’ve had an earful from Bel, don’t you try to dissuade me, too.”

After a moment of visible struggle, Kim exhales loudly. “Fine. Do whatever you want, but you’re not allowed to get hurt. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

I smile and throw my arm around my friend, hugging her tightly. “I promise. You’re the best.”

“I know,” she boasts, hugging me back. Then she pulls away. “So, the mafia guy you’re working with, what is he like?”

My stomach flutters because I haven’t really thought about what kind of guy Marcus is.

What kind of guy is he?

A image of him forms in my mind. His crooked smile, the rings on his fingers, his tall muscular body and those piercing green eyes. I nod at Kim's question, taking a moment to organize my thoughts about Marcus. “He's... complicated, Kim. A bit of a bad boy, you know? Dangerous, mysterious, and maybe a little arrogant.”

Kim raises an eyebrow, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. “Bad boy, huh? You're falling for the dangerous type, Jane. Be careful, those relationships never end well."

I chuckle nervously, unsure of how to respond. Falling for Marcus is the last thing on my mind. I mean, I can’t deny I’m attracted to him, but falling for him is a bit of a reach. “It's not like that. It's strictly professional. I just need his help to catch a criminal.”

Kim studies me for a moment, her expression unreadable. “Girl, you didn’t see the way your eyes sparkled when you described him. Doesn’t look professional to me.”

I tap her nose. “You’re so silly, aren’t you? I’ve met his guy twice. You really think I’d fall for that kind of guy and especially when I’ve met him just two times? No way.” I wave the idea off, but it lingers in my mind.

I can lie to Kim, but lying to myself is impossible. I can’t pretend my heart didn’t skip a beat when he mentioned making me moan at the café. He says the darndest things and while I’d kick any guy in the balls for uttering something so ridiculous, I let Marcus get away with it.

Even I find it strange the way I blush around him. And he smells so good I literally imagined how he would react if I just hugged him and sniffed him in. I’m like a female husky on heat when I’m around him.

That is not good.

“Keep lying to yourself. I’ll find out the truth someday.”

I pinch her cheeks playfully. “You wish.”

I’m a twenty-seven year old virgin who hasn’t even been in a proper relationship before because I’ve spent most of my life trying to become a cop, and once I became one, I needed to climb higher to get what I wanted—justice for my father.

Dating and sex were always at the bottom of my priority list until they somehow stopped existing. But now, whenever I think of Marcus, my body begins to long for things I know I can never have.

I don’t know if my attraction to him is just my body’s way of telling me it’s ready to let lose, or if I’m actually attracted to him.

Maybe both.

Or neither.

He is not a good guy, I can’t risk falling for him.

Bella joins us when we go to the living room. We spend the rest of the night watching true crime documentaries and chatting about things that have nothing to do with my adrenaline rush.

The next morning, I’ve barely made it to my desk at work when Josh appears from God-knows-where and walks up to me. “Morning, Detective Sullivan.”

“Hey.” I notice the worry on his face. “Is there a problem?”

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