Page 80 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

Jane

I wince from the throbbing in my head and peel my eyes open.

My vision is blurred. I can’t make out the faces in front of me, but I know I’m in a dimly lit room. Given how cold and hard the surface I’m lying on feels, I can tell it’s not my bed or Marcus’s. I’m lying on the floor somewhere.

My vision is clearing and I try to peer around. I recognize one of the voices in the room.

Taylor?

I’m sure it’s Taylor’s voice. Am I in the office? No way. I can’t hear the clicking of keyboards or the smell of coffee. I can’t smell Josh’s cologne, that grungy amber smell which always turns my stomach.

I try to raise myself but I seem to have lost control of my body. It feels heavy and sluggish, as if I’m nothing but a dead weight dragging myself down each time I try to sit up.

How did I get here?

Pushing through my fogged memories and the pounding headache, I try to remember what happened.

My memories return with the speed of sludge. I remember storming into Chief Smith’s office and him giving me my dad’s case file. I also remember talking to Taylor and him saying something about bringing me to Victor Valentes’ warehouse.

I gasp and a shiver runs down my spine.

That is it.

Victor Valentes. I met him in front of the warehouse and I shot at him. His bodyguards protected him though and that was when I passed out. That was when…Taylor drugged me.

I shake my head. Taylor wouldn’t betray me like that. I’m sure I’m mixing things up. Maybe someone else did. It couldn’t have been him.

“Awake already?”

I turn my head to the voice. A face appears in front of me. I can make out his thick brows and pointed nose. I don’t remember this face. “Who are you?”

He grabs my jaw, tilting my head from side to side and looking at me like I’m a specimen in a science lab. “Looks like you aren’t back to normal yet.” He turns his head to someone sitting at the other end of the room. “She’s awake. What should I do with her?”

The person sitting there stands. His shoes clink against the floor as he nears me. I try to crawl away, but the one holding my jaw doesn’t release his grip. When the other person comes closer, I recognize the smell of his cologne. “Taylor?”

He lowers himself in from of me. “How do you feel?”

“I can’t…my body feels strange. What happened? Why am I here?”

I hear him swallow. “You shouldn’t have trusted me, Jane.”

“I shouldn’t have trusted you?” I don’t want to believe the very thing I’m thinking is happening right now—that Taylor…that he works for the mafia. “Who are you?”

Terror prickles my scalp when his lips quirk in a smirk. “I’m Victor Valentes’ nephew.”

I shake my head in denial. “That isn’t true. You’re not Camorra. You’re not Victor’s nephew. You’re Taylor, a detective, my partner.”

“I killed your father, Jane. I’m responsible for the Hell Kitchen’s murders. I wanted to use you to bring the Romano’s down but you stupidly went and fell in love with Marcus even after I sent you that text to stay away from him,” he says in awickedly calm tone. “I killed Rodriguez when Marcus got to him and he became an obstacle—courtesy of my uncle’s order. And it was my idea to bring you here.”

“No, that can’t be.” I feel like I’m breaking apart. I don’t even realize my eyes water until hot tears streak down my face. “You wouldn’t work for a monster like Victor.”

He shakes his head. “That is where you’ve got it all wrong, I don’t work for my uncle. Just like you, Jane, he allowed himself be deceived into thinking I worked for him.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re not that kind of person.” I close my eyes, trying to absorb everything happening right now. This can’t be real, it has to be a dream.

“But I am. You just trusted me too easily because I was nice to you.” His touch is gentle as he dabs my tears with his handkerchief. “Shh. Don’t cry. It’s breaking my heart to see you cry.”

I slap his hand away, surprised my arm is able to move. “How long have you been deceiving me?” I ask with a trembling voice. “Why did you join the police force?”

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