Out of Bondage
BWWM Mafia Romance Novel
Jamila Jasper
Jamila Jasper Romance
Copyright © 2019 by Jamila Jasper
ISBN:
All rights reserved.
* * *
This book is a complete work of fiction. If any of these names, events or situations resemble real life situations it is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Visit deniadesign.com for more information about the cover design and cover design services.
* * *
Please contact for more information:
[email protected]
Dedicated to my aunty, the woman as strong as a bear.
RIP.
Text “BWWM” to 31996
Receive this FREE interracial romance story when you text this number.
Series
Mad Mafia Love
The Family Secret
Out of Bondage
Contents
Prologue I
Prologue II
1. The Blood of the Convenant
2. London
3. Fight For Your Life
4. Guns And Roses
5. Avenging My Mother
6. Water of the Womb
7. Family Business
8. Second Baby
I. London Brotherhood I
Series
1. Chapter One
Text “BWWM” to 31996
Afterword
About Jamila Jasper
Patreon
Acknowledgments
Prologue I
Martina and Edoardo sat in the kitchen of their temporary studio after the Savelli conviction had been doled out. Martina hung up the phone, checking in on Eve and Nico one last time before returning her attention to Edoardo. The trial had ravaged him. He’d barely slept and he’d grown even more paranoid. Since the conviction they’d moved over three times. Martina loved traveling and she was easy going enough to put up with it, but she longed to settle down. She longed to have a long brunch at a bistro or to spend time in public without worrying.
* * *
“Edoardo,” Martina called to him.
* * *
“Mm?” He grumbled, barely looking up from his computer.
* * *
He was always on the computer these days, scanning the airwaves for something — Martina wasn’t sure what. She knew her husband and she knew that despite the trial being over, he was still worried about something.
* * *
“Look up from that machine for one moment, will you?”
* * *
Edoardo looked up from his computer and observed the look of frustration on his beautiful wife’s face. He knew that none of this was fair to her. But he also knew that the alternative would be far worse than what she was going through now. No matter what, it was still his duty to protect her. And while things were easier with the Savellis behind bars, they weren’t in the clear yet.
* * *
“What is it Martina?”
* * *
Martina folded her arms and pursed her lips. Her dark purple lipstick highlighted the beautiful shape of her full lips.
* * *
“You are obsessed. We need to start living, Edoardo. We can’t continue to exist like this.”
* * *
“I know.”
* * *
“Well, act like it. I’m patiently waiting for things to return to normal, Edoardo, but we can’t live like this. Getting the Savellis behind bars was supposed to make this easy."
* * *
Edoardo sighed. He knew Martina was right about that at least. Things were supposed to get easier. Except for the fact that somehow, a demon had found him. Not a real demon, but the man who had requested Edoardo’s presence was as good as a demon, as good as risen from the dead.
* * *
Edoardo feared not only for his life and Martina’s, but for his half-brother across the globe. Since Nico was returning to Italy soon, Edoardo wanted all of this sorted out. He’d been keeping all of this a secret from Martina, and that felt wrong. Martina was supposed to be his other half. He thought things through all the way, sometimes thinking too much. Martina on the other hand used her intuition. Instead of mulling over things, his wife went with her gut.
* * *
“I’ll tell you what’s going on, then. But you won’t like it.”
* * *
Martina sat down and rested her hand on her husband’s lap. Edoardo was a beautiful man, with gorgeous tanned skin and warm eyes, but he was troubled. Martina had known him to be troubled from the moment she met him, and as she uncovered more and more about Edoardo’s difficult past and dodgy family history, she began to see more depth and strength in her husband.
* * *
“Tell me everything.”
* * *
“I’m supposed to meet someone tonight… and I’m worried. Very worried.”
* * *
“Someone dangerous?”
* * *
Edoardo bit down on his lower lip and nodded.
* * *
“Yes, someone dangerous.”
* * *
Martina knew that she should be more worried about her husband facing danger. But she also knew Edoardo well enough to know that he could handle himself in situations that would make most men tremble.
* * *
“Someone who scares you?” She asked.
* * *
Edoardo nodded.
* * *
“I’ve met dangerous men before, but they’ve been dangerous and predictable. The man who I’m going to meet is neither of those things.”
* * *
“But you must meet him?”
* * *
Edoardo nodded.
* * *
“Yes. I must. And I must go alone.”
* * *
Martina wrinkled her nose. Her anthracite colored eyes emanated concern. Edoardo could tell that she was already filled to the brim with questions, but holding back as much as possible. Edoardo marveled at her ability to tell how much he was willing to share and how much he could handle.
* * *
“What do you need from me?”
* * *
“Prayers.”
* * *
“Tell me where you’re going and what time.”
* * *
Edoardo told her and then made her promise not to follow him. Martina promised. But she had no intention of allowing Edoardo to die if he was meeting with some strange, unstable, and dangerous man. This didn’t sound like him. It didn’t sound like Edoardo to put himself in danger. She remembered what had happened before Nico had left; Edoardo had warned him against returning to Italy but he’d never been specific about why.
* * *
Martina suspected that this clandestine meeting was directly connected to Edoardo’s warning to his half brother. Something was amiss here. Martina waited until evening time, patiently watching as her husband prepared for his meeting. She mostly ignored him and feigned as much disinterest in his evening activities as she could muster.
* * *
When night fell, Edoardo’s agitation raised. He barely ate his carefully prepared dish of dried okra, rice, and stewed chicken. Martina had slaved over dinner, hoping that some good food would calm Edoardo’s nerves. It did nothing to assuage him; he either paced or stared out the window with a furrowed brow as if he were expecting someone to show up at any minute.
* * *
Martina retired to bed
until she heard Edoardo leave the house.
* * *
Edoardo had a sense that Martina would follow him although he prayed that she wouldn’t. He’d been trying to quit smoking recently, but as he walked the path to the abandoned building where he was meeting this man, he couldn’t help but crave a cigarette. His fingers were trembling with anxiety. Edoardo instinctively reached into his pocket for a box of cigarettes. He pulled one out and lit up. After the first drag, he immediately felt a sense of relief.
* * *
This addiction will kill me one day if one of these gangsters doesn’t. Edoardo thought to himself.
* * *
He continued to smoke and walk, finishing the cigarette in record time. He hoped that Martina would have the good sense to stay away. He was sure he could handle this on his own and if he couldn’t, then he would have to pay the price. As long as Martina stayed out of this, she would be safe. She didn’t know what type of man she was dealing with. Edoardo knew. He knew this man had defied all odds. He knew this man was supposed to be cold in the ground, but he was living, breathing, rage personified. And he wanted vengeance.
* * *
Edoardo knew it might be foolish to test a man like this, but he needed to put this man off the trail. That, at least, he felt was his duty. He owed Nico this much, especially after how Nico had endangered himself and his soon-to-be wife for him.
* * *
Edoardo arrived at the location early. He never allowed anyone to get one up on him. He had a friend watching the place remotely. If anything went wrong, he’d have plenty of time to get out of there. Still, that didn’t stop the gnawing at his chest or his stomach’s non-stop spinning.
* * *
Another cigarette called to him and Edoardo answered, sucking back another cancer stick and then crushing the butt beneath the toes of his boots. He heard footsteps and knew that it was him. He entered the room and his visage hit Edoardo hard. The familiarity of his features was chilling. There was a scar where he’d been cut that sat like a thick worm across the man’s neck. Around his neck, he wore a silver crucifix.
* * *
He didn’t smile as he entered the room. His eyes were a chilling, icy blue, as if he had killed before and he would kill again… and again… and again…
“Edoardo. It is good to meet again.”
* * *
Edoardo didn’t reply. He kept a rigid expression and kept his body language just as stiff, not wanting to betray a lick of his true intentions here.
* * *
“Ask me your questions and I will answer you. Then I want you to leave me be.”
* * *
The man chuckled. His laugh wasn’t accompanied by a matching facial expression; the incongruence sent a shiver down Edoardo’s spine.
* * *
“May I have a smoke?” The man asked.
* * *
Edoardo nodded and reached into his pocket for a cigarette. The man took it and Edoardo lit the cigarette for him. He took in a thick drag that accentuated how hollow his cheekbones were. His gaunt appearance led Edoardo to believe that he’d been suffering in a state of mania, waiting for his opportunity to dig up information on the man he wanted to destroy.
* * *
“Where is he?”
* * *
Edoardo shifted uncomfortably.
* * *
“He’s in America.”
* * *
“When is he returning to Italy?”
* * *
Edoardo shrugged, “I think never.”
* * *
It was a lie. He didn’t know if the man could tell he was lying. If he could, he was sure he’d just signed his death sentence.
* * *
“You give these answers too easily. Are you lying to me, Signor Savelli…?”
* * *
“I don’t go by Savelli.”
* * *
“Now isn’t the time for a change of subject, is it?”
* * *
Edoardo sighed, “I am not lying. I have no idea what his plans are.”
* * *
“Then why don’t I believe you?”
* * *
“I told you where he is, didn’t I? He’s in America. Likely not Boston.”
* * *
The man chuckled, “Well thanks for narrowing it down.”
* * *
He moved close to Edoardo and bent his lips to Edoardo’s ears. The hairs on his neck stood involuntarily at attention.
* * *
“Tell me where he is or I swear to God…”
* * *
Edoardo pulled away.
* * *
“I’ve told you all I know. He’s too smart to stay one place for long.”
* * *
“Last known location then?”
* * *
The man reached for his pocket and pulled out a gun, thrusting it into Edoardo’s stomach. Edoardo inhaled sharply. He had no idea what to say. Betrayal wasn’t a part of his operation. Edoardo knew he needed to stall. A droplet of sweat rolled down his back.
A gun cocked.
* * *
“Watch yourself, motherfucker.”
* * *
Martina walked into the room with the gun aimed directly at the man’s head. He whipped around in surprise and Edoardo knocked the gun out of his hand and pulled out his own. He breathed a sigh of relief as Martina strode into the room wearing six inch heels and an all black outfit. Her gun was aimed at the man’s head and Edoardo knew that she would shoot if he made one wrong move.
* * *
The man raised his hands above his head.
* * *
“You disobeyed my command to come alone,” He said with a smile, more amused than anything that Martina was holding a gun to his head.
* * *
“One move and I’ll shoot.”
* * *
The man turned towards Martina and her finger squeezed gently on the trigger, not quite pulling it. He laughed out loud as he saw her edging closer and closer to shooting him.
* * *
“You won’t kill me. And when I do get out of here, I’ll come back and find you,” He replied.
* * *
“And do what?”
* * *
“I’ll make you into my dirty little slave…”
* * *
Martina couldn’t take it any longer. She took her elbow and slammed it into the man’s face, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the ground, clearly not expecting Martina to slam her elbow into his face.
“Martina…” Edoardo said.
* * *
She used her foot to kick the man and test if he was awake. He wasn’t.
* * *
“I’m sorry,” She said to her husband, putting her gun away.
* * *
“I had a handle on things.”
* * *
“He had a gun to your stomach. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
* * *
Edoardo sighed, “I knew you were too stubborn to let me go alone.”
* * *
“I couldn’t let you walk into this alone. And I didn’t realize who you were meeting.”
* * *
Martina looked down at the man who was unconscious and she craved nothing more than to kick him in the face again, beating him while he was down. It was uncanny, how he looked so much like a ghost, lying there on the ground.
* * *
Out of Bondage Page 1