Page 8 of Shackled By the Mafia Boss

My panic vanishes, my lungs fill with air and my heart begins to flutters like there are a million rainbow-colored butterflies in there.

It’s wrong for me to feel this way. I should be creeped out that he even texted me, but I can’t help the warmth which spreads over my cheeks, or the lust-filled thoughts that bubble up in my mind.

One thing my father’s death taught me, was to never trust anyone and I’ve stood by that rule. Never trusting anyone. But this murder is similar to my dad’s and I’m determined to find the killer.

Maybe…just maybe I can finally find my dad’s killer as well.

If Marcus is who Josh said he is, then I’m quite certain he would help make my investigation easier.

The problem is that I’m not yet certain if I can trust him.

Is he a foe or an ally?

Chapter Three

Marcus

“You drove all the way to Hell’s Kitchen and came back with nothing?” Dominic asks, his hands tucked in his Tom Ford and a frown knitting his brows.

My brother is wearing a deep violet-colored suit. Can you believe that?

I’ve known Dominic all my life and not once has my brother worn anything as disgusting as what he’s wearing right now and I know whose idea this was.

“What’s that you’re wearing?” I plop down on a couch across from the one he is sitting on and peer around for Lucas and Elena. It’s Monday morning and they’ve most likely left for school and work, but it doesn’t stop me from looking. It’s become a habit. “It’s disgusting!”

Dominic smooths the jacket of his suit and gives me a lopsided grin. “Not my fault you’re still stuck in the dark ages, kiddo.”

Itsk, reach for the glass of whiskey on the table and sip from it. “Better that than dress like joker. Is it fucking Halloween?”

He smiles again, but it doesn’t reach his eyes this time. “Careful, boy.”

Besides Elena and Lucas, Vincent, Dante and I are the only people who can get away with teasing Dominic. To the rest of the people in the dark underworld, he’s a heartless, ruthless monster.

But to us, he’s a big softie who only became what he needed to be, to protect his family.

Our parents’ death hit all three of us in a hard way. Vincent grew rebellious. He’d always been, but it only got worse. I became more distant and detached and Dominic…he had toput everything behind him and take over the Cosa Nostra throne despite not being ready to. He never shows it, but I can he’s still hurt by it. It’s evident from the way he avoids speaking of them. We’d thought getting rid of Kirill and Peterson would make things better, but it never did.

“How’s business in Hell’s Kitchen?” he asks, loosening a button on his waistcoat.

“So,so, aside from the 100kthat son of a bitch stole from us.” My mind drifts back to Jane and sends static shooting down my spine. I’m not one to easily remember a woman’s face, but hers is already embedded in my head.

It’s impossible for me to forget those green eyes and raven-black hair.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Dominic asks, raising his brows.

I take one last sip of whiskey before I set the glass on the coffee table in front of me. “The cops visited the club. Apparently there was a murder in an apartment building ten blocks away and an unknown caller tipped them that the weapon found at the crime scene was one of ours.”

He rubs his temple, a telltale sign the news is hitting closer to home than he'd like. “Damn it, Marcus. What the hell happened?”

I shrug nonchalantly, masking the unease clawing at the edges of my composure. “I don't know the details. They just showed up, questioned me, and left. It's a mess.”

Dominic's eyes narrow, and for a moment, then he sighs and clutches the armrest of the black-leather sofa. “We can't afford any more attention from the cops. We need to find out who's behind this and shut them down.”

His words resonate with a familiar urgency. But my mind isn't solely occupied by the family business which is very unusual; it keeps drifting back to Jane.

I think she’s charmed me or something, not just with her beauty, but with her fierceness. I’ve never met a woman as assertive as she was. One who could look me in the eyes and not shiver or want to plop down and suck on my cock.

She amuses me, I admit, but I can’t let myself get distracted by her. She’s a cop, one who is investigating my family’s business.

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