Page 55 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

Shivers prickle from my neck and down my spine. The mere thought of Jane being in danger brings me to the edge of losing my goddamn mind. “Why is he after her?”

“Because she is yours, and…”

“And?”

He coughs up blood and spits it out on the ground. “You don’t know her true identity. She’s George Sullivan’s daughter.”

George Sullivan.

The name rings a bell, but it’s a memory that has faded in my mind because asmuch as I try to remember where I heard that name before, I can’t. “Who is he?”

Rodriguez laughs. “Someone you should have never forgotten. You’re killing for her, but she’s going to betray you.”

I nod. “I see. Who else works for Victor?”

“Chief Smith.” An evil smile makes his eyes crinkle, but the pain on his face is evident from the way he is squirming. “He’s going to make her life hell. He knows she’s working on the case without his permission. All of this is part of Victor’s plan.”

“What plan?”

“You’ll find out when it hits you. I can imagine the look on your face when you discover what Victor has in stall for you.”

Turning to Antonio, I order, “Finish this up.”

Rodriguez speaks once more as I’m about to leave. “You’ve got to let me go, man. The police won’t let this slide. They’ll find out what happened and you’ll go to jail.”

“Letting you go was never an option. Maybe a quick death, but you won’t even get that, now,” I say over my shoulder.

His cry follows me as I leave the tent and return to my car. Removing the gloves, I slam my palm on the steering wheel. Whatever Victor is up to, I have to get to him before he gets to Jane. I need to protect her.

Starting the car, I drive to Dominic’s mansion. I can hear Kira’s cry all the way from the foyer and Lucas’s soft words as he tries to soothe his baby sister.

Elena is the first to notice my presence. She’s wearing pink pajamas, her hair tied up in a messy bun and a towel draped over her shoulder. She smiles widely when she sees me. “Marcus, what are you doing here? It’s so good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Elena. How are you?” I want to offer her a smile, but I can’t. I’m too troubled to even fake it and she’s family, I can’t fake a smile with family.

“I’m fine. Except your baby niece won’t let me have a moment of rest. Good thing her brother helps out a lot, since she won’t let her nanny take care of her.” Her gaze falls to my ring. A stone is missing from one of them and she seems to notice. “Are you okay? What happened to your ring?”

Dominic made it clear when he and Elena got married, she would not be involved in the dark side of the mafia. She’s too innocent, too nice, to know anything of what we do. She reminds me of Jane.

“Nothing, it was loose and fell off.”

She doesn’t look like she believes me, but she gives me a nod anyway. “Oh, well, you should get it fixed.”

“I will.”

“Your brother’s in the living room being a dad. I think you should consider getting married and having kids. I think it’ll help you loosen up a bit.”

I used to cringe when she said things like that, but now, all I do is think of how happy I’d be starting a family of my own with Jane. I imagine our kids looking like her, beautiful and without a trace of darkness. “Dream on, that won’t happen,” I reply as a joke.

“Someone I know used to say that, guess where he is now?”

“Where?”

She giggles. “In the living room. Word has it he is a good husband and great dad to his two lovely kids. I’m sure you will be the same, you two aren’t very different.”

Clasping my shoulders, she whispers, “I think you’ve met that someone, too. You weren’t pissed off when I spoke of you getting married. It’s unusual.” She saunters off and I’m glad she does because she doesn’t get to see my reaction—I’m almost smiling.

Dominic is watching a cartoon with his daughter when I walk in. Lucas is on the center rug, playing a game on his iPad. I swear I can’t believe the man I’m looking at is my grumpy, Capo brother. He is a different person when he is around his family.

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