The Mafia Contract Series

I’m not sure how long I remained locked in my den. Certainly, until the fire died, and the whiskey bottle emptied. Alone with my demons, I tried to bring them in line. My body still throbs from her touch and reminds me what a fool I am. I sought control over her and am fast realizing she is the one who has it all. Just one glance from those sparkling eyes that change color with the light. Her lavender hair that makes her resemble an ethereal goddess and the soft white skin that wraps around her body like the finest silk. Her gentle sighs and loaded looks brought me to my knees and, as I worshipped her body, I couldn’t believe my luck.

An innocent angel in heels stood alongside me and I wanted to cling on tight. When I close my eyes, she is the only thing I see, which is why I shot down her hopes with a cruel reply. She has already stepped inside my heart and mind and I’m the fool who left the door open, before trying to slam it shut when I realized an intruder had made its way past my defenses. But it’s too late. I know that already because as I try to force her out, she just won’t go.

It’s why I dismissed her, coldly and cruelly, like the bastard I vowed never to be.

It’s why I drained the bottle and tried to dull the demons circling because I won’t allow her any control over my emotions, for both our sakes.

In the early hours I drag my drunken body up the stairs, intent on sleeping, but as I hesitate outside her door, I wonder if she sleeps soundly in her bed. Just picturing her soft body curled up in the silk sheets makes my traitorous cock raise its head in the hope of a warm bed for the night. Angry with myself, I move on past despite the fact my body is screaming at me to find her and park myself for the night. Even my own body hates me right now and my heart is joining in the witch hunt. Only my head is on my side because this ends now. It must. I can’t picture her any other way than as a companion and a fuck toy. No emotion, no pain. I recite the mantra that is beginning to sound emptier the longer she’s here.

As I shower, I close my eyes and she is there. Swaying before me like a siren, coaxing the blood to my cock, making me grasp my shaft and pump furiously, my spunk shooting against the shower wall and running like a river toward the drain. I open my eyes to banish her and see a fool staring at me from the reflection in the steam. I look fucked and wrecked and it’s all self-inflicted, because I will not let emotion into my world.

Slipping between my silken sheets, once again reminding me of her and it strikes me how lonely my sanctuary is without a warm body wrapped around mine. My own stupid words come back to haunt me when I told her nothing could be changed on the contract. The part where she sleeps alone is not sitting well with me right now. As I lie on my back and stare at the chandelier glittering overhead, I wonder if she is sleeping peacefully. Probably exhausted, satiated, and congratulating herself on getting off lightly.

She is free to a degree. I will never enjoy that luxury. I have locked myself in a madness that I never expected. An emotionless marriage that is flooded with it. It flows all around me as I struggle to keep it from taking me under. I won’t let it win because I wasn’t kidding when I told her I may not have a long life. Some bastard will end me and now my only fear is that Jasmine will join me and that madness causes me to groan out loud because now I have two knives sticking in my heart, ruthlessly twisting as I struggle to work out how to keep them safe. My sister and now my wife. What the hell was I doing allowing myself to feel? Jasmine has changed everything, and she must never discover what she has done.

When I join her for breakfast, it’s as if I don’t give a fuck. I am dressed in my customary black suit and white shirt, my Rolex strapped to my wrist and the black shades in my top pocket. I have business to attend to and need to eat and leave and yet my heart lurches when I see the soft dreamy eyes watching my approach from where she sits. Today her hair looks newly washed and hangs shining like a silk curtain around her shoulders. The gorgeous lavender strands sparkle as if she’s an angel and her soft smile that makes me weak reveals a set of perfect white teeth, making her appear fresh and unspoilt. As if life has yet to deal with her and bring her in line. No worries, no fears, just innocence that has no right sitting at my table.

“Morning, Angelo. Did you sleep well?”

She bats those lashes and I growl, “I never sleep well. I hope you did, at least.”

As I take my seat, I try to focus on the food I need, and I’m surprised when she pours me a mug of coffee from the pot and slides it across the table. “I guess you could use this.”

“Thanks.”

I snatch it away and stare down at my plate, wishing I had thought this through. I shouldn’t have insisted we eat together because I haven’t hardened my heart enough around her and all I can think of is spending the day with her. Not just sex either. A walk in the grounds, hand in hand perhaps as I talk and explore the mind of a woman who intrigues me, discovering what she loves and hearing her laugh.

Allowing her to love me.

“Fuck, is that the time?”

She looks up in surprise as I push back in my seat and say abruptly, “I must leave. Enjoy your day.”

As I head out of the room, I don’t look back, hoping like hell my tortured thoughts remain at the table with her. Distance is what I need the most right now and I’ll grab breakfast on the go.

As I head to the door, Roberto races to my side and says fearfully, “Has something happened?”

“No. I’m just keen to start the day. Do you have a problem with that?”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

He shakes his head and falls silent, and I can tell he immediately knows the kind of mood I’m in.

The kind to find my inner bastard and carry on with life. That’s what I need today, and I know just what will deliver it.

We head downtown to my club by the river. Word has reached me that the takings are down and I’m wondering why. It has a new manager, one that came highly recommended and yet the dollars aren’t finding their way into my bank account.

A surprise visit is what’s needed here, and we sweep inside the club as one unit of menace, straight to the office of Diego Ramos, the manager.

The door bangs open, and I walk inside, followed by Roberto and Keegan, a man I trust with my life. Of all my father’s men, he is closest to me in age and there is something about him that tells me he’s on my side. The jury is still out on Roberto, who believes I know nothing about this business and questions every decision I make.

Diego looks up and I watch the blood drain from his face as he struggles to his feet. A squeal from underneath the desk alerts me to a visitor on her knees and as he zips his pants, he says roughly, “Leave.”

A flushed face pops up and gasps with horror when she sees who’s come calling and as she races from the room in nothing more than a scrap of material, he shrugs, “Interview for a stripper. It went well. She got the job.”

He is trying to make light of a situation we both would agree is anything but light and I growl, “Sit down.”

His pale face tells me he’s shit scared, and I kick out the chair opposite him and sit astride it, leaning forward and staring deep into his eyes.

“The takings are down.”

He begins to sweat.

“It’s tough, the economy, prices are rising…” I drive my fist down hard on the desk and he jumps. “Do you take me for a fool, Diego?”

“No, Don Sontauro.”

“Then tell me why of all my establishments operating in the same economy and in the same town, yours is the only one twenty fucking percent down. Tell me why you took delivery of a new Ferrari last week and have put a down payment on a villa in Hawaii.”

“Sir, I…” Roberto steps in. “I would speak now while you still have a tongue. Don Sontauro is not a patient man.”

Keegan moves behind Diego and places his hand on the top of his head and Diego looks as if he’s about to piss his pants as his voice shakes. “The money was an inheritance. My grandfather died and left me half a million dollars. I can prove it.”

“Maybe you can, but that doesn’t explain why my takings are down, does it?”

“But I paid like you asked me to.”

“Paid what?”

This is getting more confusing by the second and he stutters, “I paid the money to your sister when she came in last week. She told me it was a new policy and to expect a regular visit and make sure the money is ready. Cash in used bills.”

A prickle of unease filters through my soul and I don’t miss Roberto’s eyes boring into me right now.

“My sister?” I shake my head. “You’ll have to do better than that. My sister has nothing to do with the family business.”

“Please, I have evidence.”

Ignoring Keegan’s grip on him, he taps on the computer and turns the monitor around to face me.

“Here. It was recorded. I’m telling the truth.”

The world spins away from me as I stare at the screen with that fucking knife twisting in my heart.

He’s telling the truth.

I watch my beautiful sister, Winter Delauren, heading into this same office dressed like the most successful businesswoman in existence. She is wearing a black dress that touches her knees with a sharp matching jacket. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and her heels are high, on which she walks steadily.

“Turn up the volume.”

My voice is low and outlined in terror and soon her familiar voice fills the room. The soft tone I hear drives that knife deeper as she speaks firmly and with no emotion. Nothing like the girl I love.

This woman may be Winter on the outside, but her soul is missing. I see it in her eyes.

“Diego, do you know who I am?”

He answers, “Y es, Miss. Sontauro.”

I watch as her eyes flash with displeasure and she hisses, “It’s Winter Delauren, you fool. Y ou may think you work for my brother, but I am one half of this empire, and you will pay me accordingly. I require twenty percent of the takings every Friday in used dollar bills. If you refuse, you will meet my husband and he will not be in a lenient mood.”

As I hear the exchange, an icy trail runs through my body and I see, or hear, nothing else. I may as well be alone because I was not expecting this. My sister is working for Massimo and taking what’s mine from right under my nose and this visit was the battle cry. As I study the confused man before me, I feel the rage darkening my reasoning and I hiss, “You give them nothing.”

“But…” “Nothing!” I nod to Keegan, and he grabs Diego and with a swift move, holds a knife to his throat as I hiss, “Die by our hand, or my sisters, I couldn’t give a fuck, but you give them nothing at all. To make it easy for you, I will increase your security and offer you protection and just so you know, I am your only boss, and you answer to me. End of story and the end of your life if you betray me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Don Sontauro.”

His terrified eyes stare at me from across the desk, but I don’t have any pity for his situation. He is just a means to an end because Massimo Delauren is making a point. I may be the new Mafia boss of the Sontauro family, but he is still the head of the biggest family in the country. The fact he married my sister merges our two families, and he now thinks he can dip his hand in our bank account and withdraw at his pleasure and there is absolutely nothing I can do about that.

Nodding to my men, I stand and leave without another word, because I need to process this information. I now have a bigger problem than I first thought because it’s not just my sister Massimo seeks to control. It’s me too and I know how this works. This was a warning, and the real test will soon be set. I must be prepared for that and now I need to call the only men who can help me.