by Nicole Fox
“How do you know that?” Tonio demanded. “You know just as well as I do that if deals are done correctly, nobody ever knows about them. What, you think now that you’re Don, you know everything?” He gestured wildly with his hands as he spoke, pausing only to pick up his glass and drain the red liquid. He set it further forward on the table for someone to fill.
Carlita uncorked the next bottle and obliged her husband, shooting me an amused glance as she did so.
“I know because I spent a lot of time observing the place before I killed Michael. And I’ve gone back and done some more checking. Everything about that coffee house is so normal, it’s ridiculous.” He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “And yes, I do know everything, because I learned it all from you.”
My father-in-law let out a loud laugh and slapped Ciro on the back. “I could only wish that were true. That’s why I decided to step down, you see. There was still too much to learn, and I’m too tired to bother anymore.”
Carlita and I slipped back into the kitchen to fetch a few serving utensils. She took me by the arm and whispered conspiratorially by the stove, “Are things going well for the two of you? I hoped that Ciro’s promotion wouldn’t put too much of a strain on a new marriage. I warned Tonio about it, but he was insistent.”
“It’s no more of a strain than any other job would be,” I assured her. “And I think he genuinely enjoys it. I can lure him away from his work occasionally, but it’s Christopher who really has control of him.” The two of them had been inseparable. Any time Christopher wanted to play at the park or toss a baseball in the backyard, Ciro dropped whatever he was working on to help him. They were becoming quite the father-and-son team, something that settled well in the pit of my heart. I had worried about explaining Joe’s death to the little boy, but he barely seemed to register that my ex-husband had ever existed now that Ciro was in his life.
“It’s been good for Tonio, too. I think Bruno and Frankie’s deaths have made him think about his own habits a little. He insists that the two of us go for a walk in the evenings, and he actually turned down dessert last night. I’ve never seen him look so relaxed.” Her face lit up as she spoke, delighted in her husband’s new interests. “It’s like I have a whole new husband at home, but he’s still worried about retaliation from the Vincenzos.”
I bit my lip. “Ciro has been worried about that, too.” More than once, I had woken up in the middle of the night to find the bed next to me empty. Wandering downstairs, I would find Ciro staring out the window or making rapid notes on a pad of paper. His mind was always working, and when it got going, there was little I could do to stop it. “He says he expects them to point the finger on us, whether they have any proof or not. It only makes sense that we took out Michael, and he knows he can’t let his guard down.”
Carlita pursed her lips and nodded. “Tonio thinks about it often, but he’s glad that the family is in Ciro’s hands. He knows everything will work out fine. Ciro is a good man, and a clever one. He’ll get this issue taken care of. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my years being married to Tonio, it’s that there is always something going on. Never let it get you down or make you think your life is harder than others’. Nothing is ever easy.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I have to say it’s much easier than it has ever been before.” I allowed my mind to flash back to those years with Joe—all those nights of abuse and torture. It seemed like a different life, one that I had lived as a nightmare and from which I had finally woken up. “I never knew things could be this good.”
She smiled. “Then the two of you will be just fine.”
As we returned to the dining room, Christopher came bounding down the stairs and stood in the wide doorway. “Is it time to eat yet? I’m sooo hungry. I think I might starve to death!”
Tonio laughed at his grandson. “I think you’ll survive the day, anyway. Come sit down next to your Papa.”
Christopher gladly took his place between the big man and Carlita. I sat on Ciro’s right. Everything in the room seemed to sparkle with life. Carlita was right: Things were never going to be simple as the wife of a mobster. It would be difficult and probably dangerous, but there was no other way for us to be. We were the Santora family, and I was proud to be a part of it.
THE END
***
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Books by Nicole Fox
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Made to Riot: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Ancestors MC) (Beards & Leather Book 5)
It starts with a drink. It ends with a baby in my womb.
“One night only” is a slippery slope.
I fell hard for the biker – then he disappeared.
But he’s back now, and this time, when he leaves…
He’s dragging me with him – whether I like it or not.
ANYA
He showed up in my emergency room looking like the devil had worked him over with a tire iron.
But Bryce Johnson didn’t want a nurse.
He wanted a gun, a car…
And a hostage.
And lucky for me, I was his first pick.
I’d always wanted out of this small town.
But I never thought my ticket to freedom would barge into my life like this.
A gorgeous biker with windswept hair and inky tattoos crawling over his muscular shoulders?
He might’ve looked like a dream.
But the outlaw f**ked like a nightmare.
Like an animal.
Like a brutal, savage beast.
I’d never been with a man like him before.
And after the first kiss, the first touch, the first night, I knew:
I’d never want another man again.
But landing in the biker’s bed was just the start of this madness.
Now, I’m riding shotgun with a killer behind the wheel.
And there’s no telling if I’ll make it out alive.
BRYCE
Life for me as an outlaw biker has always been simple: take the job and get it done.
By any means necessary.
Some men were born to create chaos.
To burn things down.
To f**k sh!t up.
And God knows I’m one of them.
I’ve always managed to escape the mayhem alive.
But this time, I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
Even though I’ve done dirty things before, and there’s no doubt in my mind I’ll do them again.
And I thought I’d learned the hard way not to get distracted when there’s a mission on my plate.
But the curvy nurse with the shining eyes is testing my focus.
She’s a do-gooder, a saint in scrubs, a angel if ever there was one.
She deserves a white picket fence, a boring-a$$ husband, and a few obnoxious, giggling little kids.
But she ain’t gonna get that with me.
Because my world is a hell of a lot different.
My world is mobs and MCs, suspense and submission, whiskey and women.
I drink fast and ride hard.
I f**k. I break. I hurt.
It sure as hell ain’t for everyone.
So I did the fair thing:
I pointed my gun at her head and gave her a choice.
She can either run for cover.
Or she can get in the car with me, and see where the road takes her.
That’s just the beginning of our story.
And I’ll make a vow to you right now.
This will end only one way:
With my ring on her finger, my brand on her skin…
And my baby in her belly.
Meant for Sin: A Motorcycle Club Romance (
Thunder Riders MC) (Beards and Leather Book 4)
I’m nothing but a toy in the biker’s hands.
Nothing in this world comes for free.
If I want Granite’s help, I’ll have to pay for it.
But he’s only accepting one form of tribute:
My bare body bent over his bed.
ALLISON
Everything happened too fast.
One bad idea after the next, until I ended up somewhere I never thought I’d be:
Bared in the lonely bedroom of a man who’s dying to break me.
I can see it in his eyes – those sharp, predator’s eyes.
So hungry and cold.
Staring right through me.
Stripping me, breaking me, teasing me, owning me.
All while he stands in the entrance, with that taut, tatted body of his at complete ease.
His hands are by his side right now, but in a moment, they’ll be on me.
And I’ll have no choice but to submit.
Because, as sick and twisted as this whole situation is, one thing remains true:
I need him.
I need Granite more than I ever thought possible.
I need him to help me rescue my brother from the clutches of a drug-dealing street gang that will kill Brandon if he ever tries to leave.
I need him to keep me safe from the other brothers of the Thunder Riders MC, each of whom is more eager than the last to run their filthy tongues across my skin.
But most of all, I need him to tame the fire that’s raging between my legs.
I thought I was a good girl.
But in Granite’s hands, I’m slowly learning the reality.
As long as I’m here, I’m only meant for sin.
GRANITE
She’s terrified.
Anyone could see that.
Hell, I would be too, if I were a skinny, innocent little girl like her.
There’s no one else here.
No one to hear her scream or cry for help.
No one… but me.
But that’s what happens when you choose to conceal yourself in lies and step right into a bikers’ den.
This ain’t no carnival. It’s not a damn country fair.
It’s an outlaw motorcycle club, one of the most ruthless around.
Real sh!t happens here – there’s drugs, guns, girls, and more cash floating around than a little princess like her could ever dream of.
And if you step outside the lines while you’re in here… you’re gonna get hurt.
She thought she could lie to my face and use me and my brothers for her own purposes.
But I saw right through that silly act.
And I made up my mind, then and there.
I’ll help this delicate angel – in return for something that only she can give me:
Her complete and utter submission.
There’s no saints in this clubhouse, darling.
Around here, we take what we want – brand it with our ink – and let the whole world know it’s ours now.
And that’s exactly what I’m about to do to her.
Born to Ride: A Motorcycle Club Romance (Midnight Hunters MC) (Beards and Leather Book 3)
I was born to ride her ‘til she breaks.
She was never meant for a man like me.
But a vicious blizzard drove her into my arms.
So I did the only thing I know how to do:
I bent her over my chopper and made her MINE.
KARA
There’s no feeling quite like walking in the door of your home and seeing your fiancé getting hot and heavy with a strange woman in your bed.
It’s rage and sadness and embarrassment all mixed up in one nasty cocktail.
And coincidentally, a cocktail is exactly what I needed after I caught that lousy S.O.B. cheating.
After that stiff drink (and maybe a couple more), I had to decide what I’d do next.
Maybe a few days at home with my family would do my soul some good.
I pack up my things and hit the road, but it doesn’t take long before my luck gets even worse.
A nasty blizzard drives me off the highway.
Now, I’m stranded, freezing, and alone…
Except for the dying man in the ditch.
I almost screamed when I saw him.
A brawny, tatted beast lying half-naked in the snow.
I don’t know whether to help him out or run screaming for the hills.
But my conscience won’t let me leave him there.
So I bundle him into my car and go searching for somewhere to stay while the storm blows over.
We find an abandoned cabin…
The beast wakes up…
And that’s where my troubles truly began.
RYDER
I woke up freezing and on the verge of death.
My memory is a painful blank.
But I know one thing: whoever did this to me is going to pay the price.
I’m not sure who it was or how I ended up here.
But I’m glad the girl picked me up.
I might be dead if not for her.
Time to show my appreciation… the way only an outlaw biker knows how.
She takes us to an isolated shack, and then we started drinking.
The first whiskey warms us up.
The second gets us talking.
The third strips her naked.
Making her mine is savage and sweaty.
But what she doesn’t know is that the men who put me in that ditch are coming to finish the job.
If she wants to survive this ride on the wild side, she’ll have to follow my commands.
Get on your knees.
And get ready to open wide.
Built to Kill: A Bad Boy Hitman Romance (Moretti Family Mafia)
I was built to kill… and born to f**k her senseless.
Lorenzo
No one chooses the mob life.
But killing is what I do.
And I'm good at it.
I guess you could say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Saw things I wasn't supposed to.
So I swore my allegiance to mafia boss Matteo Moretti.
He taught me to kill.
And became the man I grew to hate.
He thought he could buy my loyalty.
He was wrong.
I've always wondered if this day would come…
When I couldn't pull the trigger.
I figured a bullet would be the death of me.
But it wasn’t a gun that killed me.
She did.
Alexis
Scraping dollar bills off the floor to the cheers of leering men.
My parents would've been proud...
Too bad I never knew them.
Life sure has a funny way of working itself out.
But I'm a survivor.
At least, I used to be.
But then I end up at an outlaw party with a killer’s gun held to my head.
Why the hitman didn't pull the trigger, I'll never know.
But now I'm at his mercy…
And he's coming to take what belongs to him.
Ride ‘Til Dawn: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance (Filthy Fools MC)
A ride on the bad boy left me pregnant.
I've had enough of heartache.
My life is one long never-ending nightmare, thanks to my vicious stepdad.
But that I'm eighteen, I finally have a chance at freedom…
And I've never felt freedom like I do on the back of Dusty's bike.
But with his hard muscles, glistening tattoos, and rugged face, I should be running for the hills—not straight into his arms.
A bad boy rebel who rides is trouble incarnate, and I've had enough bad luck already to last me a lifetime.
But I can't resist my outlaw knight in shining leather.
He wants to hold me.
Romance me.
Seduce me.
Protec
t me.
I keep telling him I'm not a girl who needs protecting.
I've always looked after myself…
But that was before the baby.
The Traitor’s Baby: Reaper’s Hearts MC
MY BABY’S MOTHER WANTS ME DEAD.
She’s my enemy’s daughter.
She’s a cold-blooded traitor.
And after a dirty, dominant one-night stand…
She’s the mother of my child.
This isn’t a love story.
After all, what’s romantic about a sweaty, filthy one-night stand between strangers?
Not a damn thing.
Bending Kenzie over my bed wasn’t cute or sweet.
Neither was all the violence that came after.