Step Bride: A Bad Boy Mob Romance (Includes bonus novel Honored!)

by Hamel, B. B.

  “Call Arturo. Set a meeting for tonight.”

  Vince raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

  “Do it.”

  He walked off and I sat down with Carlos, pouring myself a hefty glass of wine. He grinned at me and I smiled back.

  The night was almost fucking over.

  We pulled up into the empty construction site in our cars. We were early, which was how I liked it. I nodded to Joey and Carlos, who both moved out with high-powered rifles to cover us from a distance and to make sure there wasn’t an ambush.

  I shoved Franklin down to his knees. He was duct taped and tied up, so he wasn’t saying much. Vince looked around.

  “Ominous,” he said. “I hate these places.”

  “They’re fine during the day.”

  “Noisy during the day.”

  I laughed and we waited. Ten more minutes we waited, until finally we saw lights come up the road.

  “Ready?” I said to Franklin, kicking him.

  He grunted in response.

  “You sure about this?” Vince said to me.

  “Not at all.”

  The cars pulled up and guys poured out of them. They were all in battle gear, holding rifles and wearing Kevlar vests. Finally, my father emerged from the center car and walked toward us.

  We were outnumbered ten to one at least.

  “This is a surprise,” Arturo called out.

  “I brought you something,” I said, kicking Franklin again.

  “Is that the traitor fuck?”

  “It’s him.”

  Arturo frowned. “What the fuck do I want with that?”

  “We know where the oil is.”

  He looked surprised. “Do you now?”

  “And we know who the traitors are.”

  Arturo looked at me and then gestured. Vince and I walked forward, Franklin in tow. We stopped just in front of him. Alfonse and Ernesto were standing on either side of him, and none of the other men could hear what we were saying.

  “Okay, son,” Arturo said. “Talk.”

  “Franklin here is working with some guys in our organization, along with some Russian guys, to steal from both the mobs.”

  Arturo raised an eyebrow. “Ambitious.”

  “It’s been working, too,” I said. “Until they got a little too cocky.”

  “How did you find this out?”

  I held up the notebook. “Natalie found this in Franklin’s car. She translated it, basically solved the whole damn thing.”

  “Show me.”

  I tossed him the notebook and he paged through it. He passed it to Alfonse, who just frowned at it before passing it to Ernest.

  “It’s in fucking Russian,” Ernest said.

  Arturo silenced him with a finger. “Can you take us to the shipment?”

  “I can,” I said.

  “So what’s the deal then?”

  “It’s this: I’ll give you everything if you pardon the girls.”

  Arturo laughed. “I don’t fucking care about them. They’re pardoned.”

  I nodded. “And you’ll bless my marriage to Natalie.”

  That surprised everyone.

  “The fuck you doing, boss?” Vince whispered.

  “Married?” Arturo asked.

  “Before I knew who she was, we got married in Vegas. And I plan on staying married.”

  Arturo shook his head. “I won’t have a traitorous bitch in my crew.”

  I pulled out my pistol faster than anyone could react. By the time Ernest and Alfonse were aiming at me, I had already pressed my gun to Franklin’s skull.

  I pulled the trigger.

  Franklin’s face bloomed red. He collapsed to the ground, dead.

  “Hold your fire!” Arturo yelled.

  There was a tense moment, and then Arturo began to laugh.

  I smiled at him.

  “This is the traitor,” I said, “dead at your feet. Natalie is innocent, and she’s mine.”

  “Very well,” Arturo said. “You can have her.”

  “One more thing,” I said to him. “You’re not going to like this, but, please, I insist that you wait until I’ve explained.”

  He frowned. “Very well.”

  I held my hand up and then lowered it quickly.

  Shots rang out in the night.

  Four men standing by the cars fell dead with bullets in their skulls.

  “Hold!” Arturo yelled. Ernest and Alfonse were on the verge of freaking out.

  “Before you all start shooting,” I yelled, “those men were traitors. I have the proof.”

  “He’s telling the truth,” Arturo yelled.

  The men shuffled, but nobody opened fire. I could tell we were on the brink of war. Arturo wheeled on me.

  “Killing anyone else tonight?”

  “That’s it. For tonight.”

  “You will never disobey me like this again. Do you understand me?” Arturo said.

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Ernest, Alfonse, go see to your men.”

  They simply turned and walked away. I could see the fear in their eyes.

  “Maybe I misunderstood you, son,” Arturo said to me. “Or maybe I was right. A wife really had made a man out of you.”

  “Vince will show you where the stolen oil is,” I said to him.

  I smirked, turned, and walked away. I heard Arturo’s footsteps recede back toward the trucks, Vince in tow.

  I got into my car, my heart racing.

  But it was over. Arturo would keep his word, although I had broken mine. Franklin was a traitor, and a man’s word meant nothing when it was given to a traitor.

  I started the car and began to drive back toward Camille and Natalie.

  They were safe now. Camille would have to leave the city, but Natalie was going to stay with me.

  Because she was mine. Our secret was out, and although I was sure Arturo was unhappy about it, at least she wouldn’t be my stepsister for much longer.

  She was going to be my wife instead.

  Chapter Thirty-Five: Natalie

  Two Months Later

  I moved through the hallway confidently, nodding to staff members and other mob guys.

  It felt so strange knowing my way around the compound. I could remember my first few days here, barely knowing anything, wandering around like an idiot. Now, though, things were different.

  Very different.

  I knocked on the door and waited. “Louisa?” I yelled. “Open up.”

  No response.

  “I’m coming in,” I called.

  I pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was filthy, as usual, since Rosita was refusing to clean her rooms again. I spotted Lou sitting at her computer with huge headphones on. She was engrossed in her game, so I simply walked inside, sat behind her, and watched.

  I could still vividly remember the night Lucas came home and asked me to be his wife.

  True, we were already married, but this time he was doing it right. I had opened the door to the safe house, terrified that we were about to be killed or worse. Lucas had walked in and ordered Camille out of the living room, which she complied with after only minimal complaint.

  Finally, we sat down on the couch.

  “You guys are safe,” Lucas said. “I found Franklin and traded his information for your safety.”

  I threw my arms around him, hugging him close. He gently moved me back.

  “There’s one more thing.”

  He dropped to one knee and pulled out the box. Inside was a ring, a ridiculously huge diamond ring.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  “I told my father about us. I told him that you’re mine.”

  I have no clue what to say. My head was spinning. It was crazy, so crazy, so fast and so intense.

  “Natalie, be my wife. By my bride for real.”

  “Yes. Okay.”

  He slipped the ring over my finger and kissed me hard.

  I couldn’t imagine ever feeling that h
appy again. Tears had moved down my cheeks as he’d kissed me, and every time I thought about it I choked up a little bit.

  We didn’t need to have a ceremony, but we had a short one anyway. All the mobsters were there, and it was just so Godfather that it was absurd. They gave me gifts of cash just like in that movie. We danced, drank too much, and Lucas fucked me until I couldn’t walk anymore.

  “You’re here,” Lou said, yanking me from my memory.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “How long have you been staring at me?”

  “Sorry. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

  She turned around and crossed her legs. “I’ve been meaning to ask. How’s it feel to be queen of the mob?”

  I laughed. “Hardly.”

  “It’s the truth. All the men adore you.”

  I blushed. “Stop, Lou. You know you’re still the most important woman in this house.”

  “So long as you know it,” she muttered.

  “Listen,” I said. “Come to dinner tonight.”

  “Same answer as every day. No, thanks.” She turned back toward her computer.

  “Okay,” I said. “I guess I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “See ya, sister.”

  I patted her back as she returned to her game. I stood up and left her room, smiling to myself. Every day I went to Lou’s rooms and invited her to dinner. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we didn’t. She was pretty hard to predict, but I was quickly thinking of her as my closet friend in the compound.

  Aside from Lucas, of course.

  I moved down the hall and made my way back toward our rooms. When I had moved in, Lucas had claimed a larger part of the house for us to live in. It was so silly, since either one of our original rooms were more than big enough, but he had insisted.

  I opened the door to our apartment. It was essentially the entire eastern wing.

  The living room stretched out in front of me, too big and too richly furnished.

  Things had moved so fast up until the wedding. Then, after that, it was like nothing had ever happened. Lucas and I lived in the compound, he continued his work, and I finished my school work by doing online classes.

  Pacey wasn’t happy with that, of course. But how could I explain to her that I never wanted to leave the compound? It was strange; I went from hating it to absolutely loving it.

  All because of him.

  Lucas stepped into the living room from the bathroom. He had just showered, and his whole body was damp.

  “Wife,” he said.

  “Husband.” I stood up and went to him. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him deeply.

  I couldn’t go anywhere. I had nowhere to go, really. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Camille, and anywhere else would have paled in comparison to being with Lucas.

  Sure, I still didn’t love his job, but I was beginning to get used to it, maybe even enjoy it. He kept me from the worst of it, and I was thankful of that.

  And the nights with him were incredible. It was like he never got enough of me, and I definitely never got enough of him.

  “How was my sister?” he asked.

  “Stubborn as always.”

  “She’ll never break, you know.”

  “We’ll see.”

  He smirked. “Barones don’t break.”

  “Don’t you?” I reached down and grabbed his cock, surprised that it was already half-hard. “I think I could break you.”

  He growled. “Please, girl. I’ll snap you like a twig.” He grabbed my hips and spun me around.

  “I doubt it,” I said, but my pants were already around my ankles, and his face was between my legs, his thick tongue curling out toward my soaked pussy, eating me, lapping me up.

  That was what my life had become.

  Lucas all night, the compound all day. I didn’t want for anything, had a staff at my beck and call. I didn’t see much of his father, but I preferred it that way. The other mobsters had taken to me, though, and were all really nice to me.

  And Lucas was the nicest of all. As my back arched and he got me off again and again, I kept thinking about how thankful I was that I had married my stepbrother.

  My brutal, violent, cocky stepbrother. His amazing tongue between my legs, his body against mine.

  I loved him and I was his. I always was, from that first moment onward.

  It only took me a little while to figure it out.

  I wasn’t going anywhere. It was Lucas and I forever. I was his bride, and he was my husband.

  Nothing would ever change that.

  Thank You!

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  Keep reading for the full text of Honored!

  Another steamy stepbrother from B. B. Hamel!

  My arrogant stepbrother has a secret.

  I never saw a dead body before I met my new stepbrother Easton Wright. Back then I was just another normal college girl trying to escape her small town life.

  Easton is an ex-FBI agent turned private investigator, and he thinks he’s the best thing to ever happen to our family. His blood-boiling grin and tattoos all make me want to stay far, far away.

  That is until my stepmom convinces me to come work for him. It’s supposed to be “good experience,” but I can tell Easton only wants to experience making me blush with all his filthy talk.

  I hate being in his office. He’s such a cocky bastard, but I can barely stop myself from imagining his rude lips against my neck.

  Things only get worse when a serial killer follows him home. The bodies are piling up, and Easton is somehow intimately connected with the murders.

  He drives me insane, but I’m so deadly interested in everything he does.

  I need to crack the case and get to the bottom of my mysterious stepbrother before I become the final tragedy.

  Get it from Amazon!

  And keep reading for the full text of Honored!

  HONORED: A Stepbrother Mafia Romance

  Chapter One: Liam

  “I’m pretty sure she’s with that guy.”

  I grinned at Leary. “Does it matter?” I asked.

  The bar was packed like it hadn’t been in a long time with tweakers, thieves, and muscle, all trying to get a leg up in the Mob. I scanned the room, ignoring the faces I didn’t recognize, and finally caught the eye of the young pretty redhead over near the door. I smiled back at her, and she looked away quickly. I smirked, realizing the guy with the leather jacket next to her was probably her boyfriend, or at least some idiot trying to be.

  Didn’t matter to me either way.

  “You’re such an asshole, you know that?” Leary said, laughing.

  I looked at him and shrugged. Leary was a good guy, maybe my best friend in the Mob, but he was a little limited when it came to women. He got his, no doubt about it, but the word “boyfriend” still meant something to him.

  I was a little more evolved than that.

  “Only if she isn’t interested.” I paused and sipped my drink. “Which she is.”

  Leary laughed and downed his drink, shaking his head.

  I looked away, trying to ignore the noise of the packed room. Ever since the big chaos happened, and the Mob was torn apart by the old boss, Drake’s was twice as full and twice as loud. People weren’t afraid like they used to be.

  But they should have been. Chaos in the Mob meant more bodies in the streets. The true Right People knew that, knew that when a big gang like the Irish Mob went insa
ne, it was best to get out of the way until the smoke cleared.

  Two months after the boss skipped town and the place was still plenty smoky.

  I glanced down the bar and grinned as I caught the redhead’s eye again. She lingered that time, not turning away immediately, and I knew I had her. It was only a matter of when she’d find an excuse to walk my way. I ordered another whisky, content to wait.

  “What’s with the crowd tonight?” Leary asked me.

  I looked back at him and shrugged. “Not sure,” I said.

  Leary wasn’t one of the Right People, although he wanted to be. We had gone to high school together, back in the day, but our paths diverged from there. Where he began to do meth and deal in minor crime, I worked my way through the ranks and was made Right over two years ago. Around then, Leary started showing up at Drake’s, and we quickly became friends again. He did some jobs for the Mob, though nothing major. But he wasn’t an insider, and, if he kept going down the path he was on, he never would be. Which is why he decided he’d try to get sober. As far as I knew, he hadn’t touched the drugs in a while, though he was compensating with plenty of drink.

  “Lotta fucking pussy tonight,” he said, grinning.

  “Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”

  “Fuck you, Liam. You’re not the only one who can get some.”

  I shrugged, sipping my drink. “Maybe not.”

  Leary may have been in the business for a while, but he had never been smart enough or ruthless enough to get a real piece of the action. So when the chaos started, Leary knew something was up, but he didn’t know exactly what was going on. I wasn’t about to fill him in, either. We didn’t need every junkie and knee-breaker in the city panicking because Leary couldn’t keep his idiot mouth shut.

  “Check it out,” he said, nudging me.

  I glanced up and saw her: the redhead from the other end of the bar was headed in my direction.

  “Catch you later, Leary,” I said, knocking back my drink and standing.

  “Whatever,” he said, laughing.

  I quickly moved through the crowd, making a beeline for her. She was a short little thing, maybe five four at best, and I made her look tiny. That was fine with me; I liked small girls, made them easy to throw around a bit. Plus, little girls like her tended to go for big guys like me.