“Well then, I guess I better fucking die, shouldn’t I?”
My head whipped to the side as two of my men dragged Brandon in through another door. He was leaning heavily on one as he limped forward, blood pouring from a wound in his thigh. I ran over and replaced one of the men, yelling at them to call for a doctor.
We took him to a back room kept for the overnight guards and laid him on an old twin sized bed.
“What the hell happened?” I demanded, grabbing a knife and cutting away at Brandon’s pant leg to assess the damage. Seeing it was just a graze on his upper thigh, I sent up a prayer of thanks
Brandon sighed, but when he didn’t speak right away, I looked up to find his expression the strangest mixture of embarrassment and rage, it was almost comical. He glared at the ceiling as he grit out, “Carly shot me.”
Shock almost knocked me on my ass. No fucking way. “Carly betrayed us?” I croaked.
Bandon’s expression got even blacker. “No, she shot me because I insinuated she might have.”
I shook my head a little, still confused. “Brandon, you pulled me out of a warm bed with the woman of my fucking dreams, so you could tell me you got shot for being an asshole?”
“No, motherfucker,” Brandon growled, “That’s why they”—he pointed at Freddy and Enzo—“called you. I called you because, while Carly was threatening to shoot me for being an asshole, the trigger only went off because someone shot at us first.”
Dread filled me. “What happened?”
“She ran away from me. And let me tell you, when I get my hands on her, I’m going to take her over my knee and spank her ass.” Brandon’s fist slammed against the wall as he finished.
“Bran!” I yelled, “Focus. What the fuck is going on? Who shot at Carly?”
“I don’t think they were aiming for her.” This was said by Freddy as he opened the door for another man to come inside the small room. The older, balding, portly man was a doctor who I’d known since I was a kid. Doc had been friends with my father, and he was the one we called for injuries if a hospital could be avoided.
“Move over, boy. Let’s see what this one is whining about.”
I stood to let him by, watching Brandon grumble at Doc for a second before turning a serious gaze on me.
“I was with Carly—don’t”—he held up a hand, clearly seeing my intention to question—“we don’t have time for that right now.” I raised a brow but let him continue. “Freddy and Enzo got to us just in time to see that little fucker Darby running off.”
“Would you stop wiggling, boy?” Doc snapped. “You need stitches and I’d rather not sew up your balls instead of the wound.” Doc smirked. “Though those may be pretty well shriveled and out of my way. Hear you got yourself shot by a little lady.”
Brandon rolled his eyes. “For the love of...”
I was getting ready to shoot someone myself. “Silence!” I exploded. I turned to Enzo, who’d been quiet this entire time, not surprisingly. He was usually more seen than heard. But, this was the reason I looked to him for answers. He often saw more than most and was deliberate in his thoughts when vocalized.
“Explain.”
Enzo crossed his arms and leaned back against the door jam, his body only half in the crowded room. “Freddy and I had just come off shift at the bar and were having a drink when we overheard a couple of little shits talking about a reward Pat O’Reilly just put out for the capture of any DeLuca.”
Rage boiled inside me but I stayed silent, knowing there was more.
“Darby, his youngest, was hanging with the group, and I saw him sneak out the back. He was packing, so we followed him. I don’t know if he knew where Brandon would be, or if it was by chance, but he stopped outside Bran’s house and hid in the bushes. There was a pretty loud argument happening inside”—Enzo’s eyes cut to Brandon, who scowled in return—“and when Bran came into view, Darby took a shot before we could get to him. He’s a piss poor shot and it went wild, but when we heard the second shot and Bran went down, we rushed the house to get to him.”
The wheels in my mind were spinning one hundred miles an hour. What Carly had been doing at Brandon’s house was a question for another day. What I was most concerned about was the likelihood that Darby saw his sister inside.
“Did Darby see her?” I directed my question to Brandon, anger at the situation and worry putting a bite in my voice.
He nodded slowly. “It’s why she took off. She wouldn’t listen when I told her it was better for her to stay with me. I couldn’t exactly chase after her. She cursed me to hell and back, then hightailed it out of there.” He stopped and his eyes darted away, reluctant to continue. I stalked up to the head of the bed and got right up in his face, sick of his evasions.
“Stop fucking around and tell me the rest of it.”
“The thing is,” he said hesitantly, “she came to tell me about the reward.”
“For shit’s sake, Brandon!” I yelled. “Darby’s probably told Pat by now, and she’s out there on her own because you couldn’t do what you were specifically told to do and keep your fucking mouth shut?”
Brandon’s lips tightened into a thin line, but his expression gave no indication to what he was thinking otherwise. “I’ll find her.” I stared into his eyes and nodded when I saw the conviction there. It went beyond duty, though, and I worried about what might have sparked between the two of them.
Speaking of sparks, I was ready to get back to Gianna, but I knew I’d be stuck cleaning up this clusterfuck for the rest of the night. Doc finished up Brandon’s leg and told him to get some rest, but it was clear he had no intention to follow the suggestion. As soon as he could, he was out the door.
I dispatched Freddy and Enzo to get a couple other guys and put their ear to the ground. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the reward and how far the word was being spread. For as long as I could remember, we’d done our best to keep our family and businesses in a state of peace with the other local gangs, or whatever you want to call them.
Ever since my father died, Pat O’Reilly had been trying to stir up shit between the families. But now he’d gone too far. It was time for me to step up, and considering the fragile state of my relationship with Gianna at that moment, it was just another reason to be out for his blood.
I returned home and silently made my way to the second floor. As I passed Sophia’s room, I peeked in and looked at the empty bed, littered with dolls. She was my princess, the light of my life, and now I had another female who was just as precious. They both needed to be protected.
Continuing on to my own bedroom, I padded over to my bed and gazed down at the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully. Her dark hair was splayed behind her and she was on her side, curled around my pillow, the sheet dipping low, showing off the smooth, creamy expanse of her back. I longed to slip into its place but there was work to be done. Bending down, I whispered a kiss across her lips, then went back downstairs to my office.
I started by sending an e-mail to a business associate of mine. He ran a security company and among other things, he provided private security. I wanted bodyguards on Gianna and Sophia first thing. Then I contacted the buyers of our next two shipments and moved the time and location of the sales. I was still working when the sun came up and sometime later, a knock on my office door drew my attention.
“Enter.”
Antonio shuffled into the room, mostly shutting the door behind him before taking a seat in the chair across from me.
“We need a show of leadership, Niccolo,” he said seriously. “It’s one thing to tell the family, but it’s time to make it clear to everybody else. We need a response to this challenge from O’Reilly. Make it clear you’re not a pushover, and nobody fucks with the DeLucas.”
I sighed and passed a hand over my beard, scratching my chin, and thinking. “I’d rather not start a war, Antonio. I don’t want the lives of my family, any of them, put in any more danger from my work.”
Antonio nodded slowly. “I understand, Nic. But, they are in even more danger if you appear weak.”
“Do you have a suggestion?”
He shrugged, a regretful expression on his face. “Unfortunately, that’s going to have to be all you. I was never cut out for this, Nic. I just know that it’s time to take a stand, and for this family to survive, it can’t be me leading the charge.”
I knew he was right. I was going to have to be extremely careful and strategic if I wanted to keep the peace.
“Have you told her yet?” Antonio’s voice wasn’t reproachful, merely curious, but guilt creeped in anyway.
“No. I really can’t avoid it any longer. With everything being such a clusterfuck, she’s bound to find out and I want her to hear it from me.” My voice hardened with resolve. “I won’t let her go.”
Antonio nodded and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. I glanced at my watch and saw it was a little past seven.
“I don’t want whomever that is waking Gianna,” I said as I stood and walked around the desk.
Antonio got up as well and patted my back when I passed by him. “I need to get going anyway. We’ll talk another time.”
We entered the back hall, and while I headed to the front door, Antonio went to the kitchen and left through the back door. At the far end of our tiny yard was a gate to a back alley, and there was a side alley one block up that cut through two streets. He only lived ten blocks away, so exiting through the back got him home a little faster.
I heard the murmur of voices from the front of the house and frowned, irritated that the person had woken Gianna. I’d worn her out the night before and she needed rest.
Reaching the front parlor, I recognized Carly’s voice. My emotions were at war, one-part glad to see she was okay, and the other angry, not wanting Gianna anywhere near the mess Carly was embroiled in.
I turned the corner just in time to hear Carly say, “The word is spreading about you. But, I have to say, you aren’t what I expected. You seem awfully innocent to be with the ruthless, gun-running head of the local mafia.”
I screeched to a halt. Oh fuck.
Danger
Mafia Ties #2
Coming May 30
Available for pre-order now!
Anna Martin was looking for a nanny position, but she found more than she bargained for when she fell for single dad Nic DeLuca. When she finds out he’s a mafia boss, her head tells her to run but her heart tells her to stay. With his baby girl in the hospital, Anna stands by her man in his time of need. But when danger swirls around them, will they manage to find happiness together?
Please note: Nic & Anna’s romance is a three part story, but there are no relationship cliffhangers.
Books By This Author
Risqué Contracts Series
Penalty Clause
Contingency Plan
Fraternization Rule
Yeah, Baby Series
Baby, You’re Mine
Baby Steps
Baby, Don’t Go
Standalones
Until Death Do We Part: A Sex & Vows Novel
About the Author
Hello! My name is Fiona Davenport and I’m a smutoholic. I’ve been reading raunchy romance novels since... well, forever and a day ago it seems. And now I get to write sexy stories and share them with others who are like me and enjoy their books on the steamier side. Fiona Davenport is my super-secret alias, which is kind of awesome since I’ve always wanted one.
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Deception (Mafia Ties #1) Page 5