Broken Saint : a mafia romance (Mafia Mayhem Series)

by E. M. Gayle

  Was that supposed to be a real question that he expected me to answer? I ignored it and Ronin laughed. If I wasn't sure before about the rumors about him, I was now. Although I had a feeling he'd gone easy on Luca because of my presence.

  As two more of my father's men came through my suite door and collected Luca's body, I didn't miss the look of hatred my father shot both Ronin and me on his way out. This wasn't over.

  Not by a long shot.

  Chapter 22

  Nova

  "Are you all right?"

  Ronin appeared in front of me seconds after my father left the suite. I didn't know what to make of the way he looked at me. Mildly concerned maybe? Curious? Pretending to be polite? It was impossible to read him. And exhausting.

  "Stay there," he said, disappearing into the master suite, only to return minutes later with a washcloth and towels in hand.

  I tried to take them from him and he brushed my hands away. "I've got this."

  I didn't want him to have anything, but I owed him for coming to my rescue. I didn't know how far my father would have allowed Luca to go. Although I had gotten off easy compared to my sister. I almost opened my mouth to ask Ronin for help when he touched the warm cloth to my cheek.

  "What in the fuck is going on here?"

  My gaze flew towards the door to find Rock filling the doorway, his face morphed into an angry mask. Holy hell. Could I not catch a freaking break today? The last thing I needed was another fight to break up.

  "Just fixing the mess you made, lawman."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Good question. Wait. “What?”

  Ronin ignored me, his anger focused on Rock. "I wouldn't push it. I already had to take care of one asshole. I could be tempted to take care of another."

  Rock crossed the room to where I sat in a chair, moving with the grace and speed of a deadly panther. He definitely had the quiet part down. "Are you hurt?" He squatted down in front of me, crowding out Ronin. "Who did this?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  Rock gave me a hard glare and I knew I wasn't going to get away with that answer. When he looked over his shoulder at Ronin, I could imagine all the questions written on his face.

  "Don't look at me like that. I didn't do this." I could see clearly that despite the obvious hatred Ronin harbored towards my father, he wasn't going to freely offer any information to Rock. There was a code among made men, no matter which family they were loyal to, and it included not talking to outsiders of any kind. Talking outside the family led to the kinds of problems no one wanted to deal with.

  "My father came to visit me. Somehow he found out about you and I." I wasn't going to use the same vulgar words my father had. When he said them they were offensive and disgusting. I wouldn't dare repeat them.

  "Your father?"

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In the chaos, I'd almost forgotten that Rock, and the rest of the world for that matter, did not know I was the daughter of an infamous crime boss. Although I'd known this moment would come, I still didn't want to deal with it.

  "Don't do that, Reed." Ronin interrupted. "She doesn't need your bullshit. You Feds think everyone else in the world is stupid, but it's you who is an idiot."

  A headache was starting to pound behind my eyes. As I tried to read between the lines of what Ronin had said and decipher the emotions playing across Rock's face, the light finally dawned.

  "Jesus Christ. He called you lawman and a— You’re a federal agent?”

  "Finally. Someone give this girl a prize."

  "Shut up!" Rock and I yelled at Ronin in unison.

  “And you know that Anthony Cullotta is my father? How?"

  "Yes, Reed. Tell us how you knew. Our girl here did a damn fine job of hiding that information. And I would know because I looked."

  I glared at Ronin. His interference here wasn't helping. "Can you excuse us?"

  "No," he replied simply, not bothering to elaborate.

  What had I done in this life to deserve this man from my father? I was going to do something drastic if Ronin didn't stop antagonizing Rock. In fact, he needed to leave now. I would have said something to that affect if Rock hadn't opened his mouth and said about the most offensive thing he could.

  "I'm good at what I do, and I already told you, I make it a habit to know the woman I am fucking."

  My eyes grew wide with disbelief. Was he kidding me right now?

  Ronin whistled long and low. "That might be true, but I'll bet Nova here just took offense to that. Right, honey?"

  I didn't know which one to punch first.

  "Get out. Both of you." I stood to storm out of the room and wobbled on my feet. Rock grabbed me to steady me and as soon as I had my bearings I jerked out of his grasp. "Let me go." When he didn't, I whirled on him. "If you know about my father, then you knew all along this thing between us could never work. So, what, you fucked me to get closer to my father?”

  "Good girl," Ronin interjected.

  "Seriously, shut up!" I screamed at Ronin. I'd had enough.

  "I did come back here tonight with a plan to talk about your father. He's part of an important case I've been working on for a while. But I'm at an impasse, and I need your help."

  Ronin snorted. I ignored him.

  "I don't understand."

  "Of course you do," Ronin interrupted again. "Agent Reed has been using you all along. He needed more information about your father, and what better place to get it than in the bed of his estranged daughter. Am I right?"

  "What did you say?" Panic seized my chest.

  "I'm sure I don't need to repeat myself, Nova darling. It can't come as that big of a shock that your lover boy has been playing you all along. The fact he got his dick wet while doing it made it a sweet deal if you ask me. Sex is a powerful weapon and using it for information is one hell of a great way of getting a job done. Did the idea not ever enter that pretty head of yours?"

  If I wasn't about to be sick, I would have punched Ronin in the mouth. I didn't care how dangerous he was. I could only take so much.

  "Shut the fuck up," Rock growled, taking several steps in Ronin's direction. "You don't know what you're talking about."

  "Don't I though? You don't intend to deny the truth, do you? I thought you were a Boy Scout. Scouts don't lie."

  Rock lunged at Ronin, catching him in the jaw with a fast right hook. Despite what looked like a painful punch, Ronin turned back around with a smile on his face.

  "Guess I hit a nerve. Although if you touch me again, I'll carve my name into your fucking forehead. See what your Fed buddies think then when they realize who owns you." The venom that dripped from Ronin's words sent a sharp chill down my spine. I didn't doubt for a second he would do exactly what he threatened.

  "Look." I said, stepping between both men. "That's enough. Rock, I think it's time for you to go."

  "No," he said simply, his face looking as ominous as Ronin's words. "I'm not leaving until we hash this out. I didn't get involved with you because of your father. I should not have gotten involved with you because of him. But our investigation into some missing diamonds has resulted in one roadblock after another, and now I need your help.”

  "Diamonds you say? That's what this is about? Or should I say that's what I'm worth to you?"

  "No, I don't think—"

  "You're right, you don't think. But if that's all that matters to you, and it gets you out of my life, then fine." I threw the washcloth down on a nearby table and I stomped out of the room and straight to the safe on my wall. If he wanted diamonds, I'd give them to him. The fucking bastard could take them and go. They were turning out to be more trouble than they were worth.

  Rock followed me. “Nova, what are you doing?"

  "Getting you what you want." I reached inside the safe and pulled out the black velvet pouch. What I'd thought would be my saving grace had turned into my worst nightmare. My father was never going to negotiate with me. He hated me.

&nb
sp; I fought back the tears threatening to fall. I would not give either of these men the satisfaction of making me cry.

  "What the hell does that mean?"

  I took a slow breath and then turned to him, my face a mask of emotionless stone. Later, I would cry and wail and throw some sort of insane fit, but for now, I would feel nothing. Other than relief to watch him go. "You want my father's blood diamonds, right?"

  "Well, yeah. But I don’t under—"

  I threw the pouch as hard as I could at him. He didn't even make a move to catch them. They caught him square in the middle of his chest and crashed to the floor. "Then take them!" I screamed. "Take them and get the fuck out." I fell to the floor and landed on my hands and knees. I couldn't even hold myself up anymore. It was too much.

  "Nova," Rock touched my side and offered me his hand. I recoiled.

  "No!" I roared. "Get out now. We are over. I'm marrying Ronin, and that's final."

  "Nova," Rock repeated.

  "No! Go! You got what you wanted. I never want to see you again." I was screaming at him to leave, but the rip in my heart was begging for him to stay and fix this. I needed him, didn't he know that? Of course he didn't. Because that wasn't the kind of relationship we had. He'd been hoping to use me for information, and using sex in an attempt to control me.

  And I’d fallen for it, hook line and sinker, making me as clichéd as my thoughts. I'd been swept into this mess for the sex, too. Until it had become bigger and not so simple anymore. Now it was all going up in flames and would soon be nothing but ashes at my feet.

  He bent and picked up the diamonds. "I can see you're upset, so I'll go for now. But this isn't over. We have to talk this out. I'll call you."

  "Don't. I doubt my future husband will let me talk to you anyway. Not if I want to stay healthy, anyway."

  Ronin choked at my words. Where he found humor, I found nothing but pain. But there was more at stake than just my heart.

  I had to save my sister.

  Rock gave me one last look and it tore deeper into my heart to see that look on his face. But I couldn't trust him, and he couldn't trust me. Like it or not, it had to be the end of our story. He would move on.

  The threat of tears still burned at the back of my eyes as he slipped from the suite as quietly and quickly as he entered it. Ronin glanced at me and thank all that is holy he must have finally seen something that managed to keep him quiet for once. Once the door closed, I turned on my heel and disappeared into the master suite, locking the door behind me.

  Something as simple as a door lock wouldn't keep Ronin out if he wanted in, but the symbolism of it meant everything to me. As the first tear splashed onto my cheek, I realized that I had just lost a piece of me that I could never get back.

  Rockford Reed had walked out as easily as he had walked in.

  Chapter 23

  Rock

  I pressed a slab of frozen meat to my swollen jaw as I tried to figure out what the hell to do next. Returning to my apartment after being kicked out of hers had left me angry, frustrated, and more than a little confused.

  Although I could tell you for certain that no way in hell did the near future, or any future for that matter, include Nova marrying that fucker. I'd kill him myself first.

  If that meant I had to lose her forever, it would be worth it. It hurt like fucking hell to say that, but what I wanted wasn't nearly as important as her safety. She deserved a long and happy life, with a family that loved her and that wasn't going to happen in her current circumstances. Anthony Cullotta deserved to be behind bars for the rest of his life, and Ronin Kavanaugh wasn't good enough for prison.

  Then there were the diamonds...

  What the fuck was I supposed to do with them? How could I explain that Nova had had them, when I didn't have the first clue how the hell that had happened? I needed answers and I needed them now.

  I fished out my phone from my back pocket. I was about to call in every favor and marker I'd collected over the years, and then some. Fuck those diamonds. I'd been so hyper focused on finding them, I'd let the world fall apart around me and screwed up with a woman who was a lot more than a fucking case. Now that I finally had them in my possession, I no longer cared. I still couldn't believe she'd stolen them out from under my nose. A sick sort of pride twisted in my chest. I guess if I had to lose to anyone, it should be her. That, I could at least live with. She was smarter than anyone seemed to give her credit for, including me.

  I still didn't trust Ronin would keep her safe, though. His reputation for playing games with his prey was legendary. And if all of this was some sort of twisted game for him did not bode well for anyone, least of all her. Bystander or not, she would get burned and I refused to allow that.

  In fact, every possible scenario that I ran through did not give me the outcome I wanted.

  For now, I had to hold onto these gems a bit longer. Gathering them up, I slid them back into the bag, refusing to linger on the fact they were worth millions of dollars and more than one player in town wanted them. I needed a plausible story of where they'd come from before I turned them over to my boss for processing. Just as I'd pressed the call button on my first contact a loud knock sounded at my door.

  Fuck.

  I quickly pressed the end button on my call, grabbed my gun from the counter and proceeded to the door. I wasn't expecting anyone and there were less people than I had fingers on one hand who knew this place existed. And if any of them were here, then the world was about to come to an end.

  As I approached the door, I brought up the app on my phone that was connected to the cameras in my hallway. The giant of a man standing in my hallway filled my small screen, but he knew what he was doing and had hidden his face from my cameras. But I didn't need to see his mug to figure out his identity, so that wasn't what he was hiding. The giant skull patch on the back of his leather cut gave him away. As did the one on the front that identified him directly.

  The unease from before amplified. He had no business here.

  I popped the locks, one by one, and jerked the door open. Seeing the man at my threshold for the first time in years wasn't anything like I'd expected. For a second, time fell away, and the past came rushing forward. Bad memories of blood and death filled my mind.

  Then he lifted his head to greet me. He might have attempted to smile, but I couldn't tell between the swollen skin, cuts, and blood dripping from everywhere. He was damned near unrecognizable.

  "Jesus Christ!" His face was a fucked-up mess. "Dad?"

  "Hey son. Sorry to barge in on you like this." His words were slightly slurred from his injuries, but the anger in them made them clear. "But I am supposed to deliver a message to you. Although those fuckers can burn in hell before I do a damned thing they want. I'm here to deliver my own message. I don't know what the fuck you've gotten yourself into with the Cullotta family, and that stupid fucker Anthony in particular, who mistakenly thinks he's some sort of king, but we're here to help you finish it."

  He could have saved his breath. Seeing my father, the President of the Sins of Wrath motorcycle club beat to bloody hell and on my doorstep this far from home, with several of his men now flanking him, meant only one thing.

  Anthony Cullotta had started a war.

  And signed his own death warrant.

  Thanks so much for reading. Get ready for the explosive conclusion between Rock, Ronin and Nova in Fallen Angel. Preorder your copy of FALLEN ANGEL now.

  Want to read some fun and twisty behind the scenes information on all the characters featured in this book? Sign up for my newsletter here and I’ll send you the link to download.

  What hotel in Vegas inspired The Sinclair?

  What picture inspired Nova’s birthday cake?

  Just how many books has Gabe Michaels appeared in? You’ll learn in the behind the scenes extra and I think you’ll be surprised.

  Find out these things and so much more!

  Also by E.M. Gayle

  Contemporary R
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  Mafia Mayhem Duet Series:

  MERCILESS SINNER (also available in PB)

  SINNER TAKES ALL (also available in PB)

  DIRTY LITTLE SINS (also available in PB)

  DIRTY BIG SINS (also available in PB)

  BROKEN SAINT (also available in PB)

  FALLEN ANGEL

  Outlaw Justice Series:

  SAVAGE PROTECTOR (also available in PB & audio)

  RECKLESS PAWN (also available in PB & audio)

  RUTHLESS REDEMPTION (also available in PB & audio)

  Purgatory Masters Series:

  TUCKER'S FALL (also available in paperback & audio)

  LEVI'S ULTIMATUM (also available in PB & audio)

  MASON'S RULE (Also available in paperback & audio)

  GABE’S OBSESSION (Also available in paperback)

  GABE’S RECKONING (also available in paperback)

  Purgatory Club:

  ROPED

  WATCH ME

  TEASED

  BURN

  BOTTOMS UP

  HOLD ME CLOSE

  Pleasure Playground Series:

  PLAY WITH ME (also available in paperback & audio)

  POWER PLAY (also available in paperback)

  Single Title:

  TAMING BEAUTY (also available in paperback & audio)

  WICKED CHRISTMAS EVE

  Books Writing As Eliza Gayle

  Southern Shifters Series:

  DIRTY SEXY FURRY

  MATE NIGHT

  ALPHA KNOWS BEST

  BAD KITTY

  BE WERE

  SHIFTIN’ DIRTY

  BEAR NAKED TRUTH

  ALPHA BEAST

  ONE CRAZY WOLF

  Enigma Shifters:

  DRAGON MATED

  WOLF BAITED

  BEARLY DATED