The Forbidden Prince

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  I licked my bottom lip, aware that my beauty had been damaged and I’d done that to myself. Mason didn’t want brains in a woman, he wanted sexiness. I couldn’t deliver that right then, but I could deliver up a chance at revenge.

  “Here’s the thing, Mason. I left our deal on the table, convinced by others that it would be more profitable to go with your competitors. My first mistake was listening to advisors. My second was thinking Angelo Rossi had any class or integrity.” I didn’t hide my hands shaking as I reached up to adjust my torn shirt which showed the top part of my silky bra.

  “My men reported him leaving your place not too long ago. Is this what happened?” He waved his hand to encompass my body head to toe. Skepticism and thirst darkened his gaze as he took in the pieces of me exposed from the attack.

  I nodded, the lump in my throat larger. “I barely got out. My car isn’t too far from here, on Rossi land.”

  Mason studied me, as if he could deduce my honesty through my injuries. If that were the case, he’d see how they were self-inflicted and how they matched the myriad of complexities inside of me. The guilt and despair over what I was doing to avoid what I really didn’t want to do would smother me, if I let them.

  I couldn’t let them.

  “Okay, Sofia, so what do you want from me?” Good boy, Mason. He narrowed his eyes and stretched his foot out until it ran against mine. “I know what I want from you.” And he hadn’t hesitated making it perfectly clear the last time I’d met with him that it was a required part of the deal.

  If I could hold him off until after the transfer, I could promise him anything and not have to deliver. I could do that. I could promise him anything to get him where I needed him to be.

  “Fine. I’ll agree to that. Here’s what’s happening in a couple nights, if you want to get the ultimate revenge on the Rossis and the Capones.” His gaze darkened as I spoke. Promising myself and his rivals to him in the same breath was enough to create a lust storm inside him. He nodded and I continued. “I’ve just given them false information to the transfer tomorrow night. The one I originally promised you. If you want it, it’s yours. They’ve already paid for it. All you need to do is come in and pick it up.”

  I glanced around the room at openly interested Bianchi men who hadn’t stopped staring at me since I’d come in. I lowered my voice and leaned forward, careful to intertwine just enough huskiness to keep it interesting and believable. “If you show up, I’ll make sure both deals are completed by the end of the night.” I held his gaze as I straightened, careful to keep the instinct to gag under control.

  Mason was as good looking as they came, but there was something dark behind his eyes I wouldn’t want to meet in a well-lit room let alone a dark pier. He rested his chin in his hand as he stared at me.

  After a moment of anticipation wherein I didn’t waver from holding his gaze, he dropped his hand and took in the whole of my body again. “I want a sample now.” Of course, he did. And my stomach clenched.

  I arched my unaffected eyebrow and motioned toward my injuries. “How about I get to the hospital to get cleaned up and you bring a list of things you want to do with you to the meeting. This isn’t the way I want to look our first time.” Holding onto the control I would have as a crime boss was important to wave around like a flag in front of a bull. My power would make him crave me even more. If he could control me, he would think he controlled the whole of the Thompson Corporation.

  He lowered his voice even lower as he moved closer to me, raising goosebumps along my forearms and along the back of my neck. “You’re going to do everything I tell you, Sofia, and then some when this deal is over.” He held my eyes with his gaze, his lips curving up cruelly at the sides.

  Reaching out, I trailed my fingernail along the back of his hand and held his gaze in a challenge. “Or you’ll do what I say, Mason.” I could see when he decided to do what I was offering when I presented him with something he couldn’t help but want more than anything else. He would do whatever it took to get a chance at breaking me.

  I had to make sure he didn’t get a chance. “Don’t forget, if you’re not there, this doesn’t happen.” I motioned between us and stood, glancing around at the nephews and cousins waiting for directions from the underboss of the Bianchis. If it had been the dom of the Bianchis, I could never have succeeded at the task. He only had eyes for red-heads – one in particular – and I could never have competed with the singing sensation, if I’d tried.

  Motioning toward the other men in the room, I glanced down at Mason who still sat. “Do you want to offer me some assistance to the hospital? One of these nice gentlemen must have keys to a car.”

  “Lonnie and Delden will drive you there as well as take your car.” Mason stood, leaning over my hand and kissing it with his over-moist lips. He raised his gaze again, squeezing my hand suggestively. “Get some sleep, Sofia, you’re going to need it.”

  I followed the men he’d indicated would take me without another comment. If I pushed him too far, he’d demand the deal be consummated right there in front of everyone.

  What was I doing and just how far had I gone? If it meant saving Angelo and completing the job for the team, I could do it.

  But I had a feeling my reckless attempts at recovery were only going to cause more problems in the long run.

  As I followed the young men out to the vehicles, I couldn’t help hoping that the Rossi or Capone spies wouldn’t recognize me without my car and wouldn’t report my activities to their capos. If I could just get through the next couple days, maybe my heart would stay intact.

  Maybe… or maybe I had just screwed over both of the men in my life I didn’t want to hurt.

  Chapter 15

  Angelo

  We kept our heads down the next couple days, all of the Rossis and Capones. I didn’t think we even did our normal runs because of the expected size of the shipment of materials coming in through the Thompson transportation processes.

  I hadn’t reached out to Sofia since I saw her at the warehouse. We couldn’t be seen together until after the deal was final. Both us had to be watched and I didn’t want to give anything away regarding my feelings for her or the deal coming up.

  She’d expressly told me to stay away from the deal which surprised me and yet, made me want to go even more. She would be there. Or maybe she wouldn’t. I didn’t dare text her and ask, but I had to know. If there was a chance she would be there and in danger, then I would be there to protect her.

  Thinking she was bugged was a big deal. Sofia hadn’t expounded on who she thought she was being traced by, but did it matter? Whether it was law enforcement or by a competing company, she questioned her safety. That was enough for me to worry.

  I buttoned the cuffs of my sleeves and slid from my car the night of the meeting. I’d parked off to the side, out of the way of the armored vehicles I’d corralled to come pickup. Many of my own nephews and cousins had volunteered to help with the transfer of goods. I’d been counseled to bring at least five, and I’d shown up with closer to fifteen. Maybe I would be able to impress Sofia yet.

  The moon hid behind a collection of clouds that rivaled a thick fog. Small droplets clung to the cotton of my suit jacket as I pulled it on over my shirt. I glanced around, trying to catch sight of anyone who shouldn’t be there, hard to do that late at night at the wharf.

  I shut the car door and moved down along the sidewalk, walking from pool of orange light to pool of orange light as they were thrown from the streetlamps. The lights stopped as I turned down the alley labeled Pier 73 and glanced at my watch. I’d shown up at eleven to get the lay of the land and to put myself in position to stop anyone from coming, if the situation were compromised.

  Grateful for the lack of streetlights down that way, I couldn’t help wishing the clouds would move so I could see if I was going to walk off a dock or something.

  The sound of men talking and shouting to each other worked its way through the soup-like fog. The con
sistency was similar to that of zuppa Toscana and a fleeting thought had me wondering if Sofia had ever had the delicious, creamy sausage and potato soup. I’d have to remedy that, if she hadn’t.

  I slowed as I got closer to the start of the pier. The clouds seemed to thin there and I could make out men unloading from a large ship with the Thompson logo emblazoned on the hull and loading the containers into black Dodge vans.

  Cocking my head to the side, I stopped moving forward and ducked behind a piling, peeking around the side as I watched Bianchi men move my shipment. What was going on? I was told one in the morning. Why was it early and why weren’t my men doing the work?

  Mason Bianchi’s voice, though muffled, was easily identifiable. Why were the Bianchis taking my shipment?

  The cold barrel of a handgun pressed against the base of my neck and I froze.

  Sofia’s soft voice sent chills down my spine and I hated that I was affected by her presence so easily and during such a life-altering moment. She whispered toward my ear, her breath warm and distracting. “Angelo, I need you to turnaround and walk away. Don’t run. Don’t say anything. Just leave. Do you understand me?”

  I turned, uncaring about the gun or the fact that I was watching my dad’s biggest deal get carried into Bianchi vans. When I turned, I could easily make out the FBI logo on her bulletproof vest and I blinked. Slowly, I raised my hands halfway to chest level and suddenly didn’t think I’d be able to breathe normally ever again.

  She searched my face, her own regret reflecting my pain. After a moment of drinking her fill, she lifted her chin – a habit I recognized and loved – and motioned the gun toward the deal. Keeping her voice low, she didn’t leave room for doubt or questions. “You’re not supposed to be here. You need to leave now. My team will be arresting everyone on this dock in about eight minutes. They won’t ask questions. Do you understand?”

  Did I understand? No. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I nodded anyway, reaching out and cupping her beloved face once more in my hand. She leaned her head to the side, as if seeking the comfort I offered. I could feel my expression tighten as reality crashed in around me.

  I’d fallen for an agent. My family business had been infiltrated. We’d funneled money into the partnership for months and months and the deal was a setup the whole time. I dropped my hand and studied her, watching as she smiled wryly at me. She could see the truth on my face and I didn’t hide it. I ignored the tears sparkling on her eyelashes as I stepped around her and calmly returned the way I’d come.

  As if in a trance, I walked the few blocks to my car and climbed in. Without a backward glance I drove off, grateful my own heart hadn’t been invested, hadn’t been vulnerable.

  I’d never lied so fully to myself. Pulling out my phone, I opened the group text to anyone in the business who was lined up to be involved that night and sent out the kill text. The plain word kill would tell everyone to drop what they were doing and get home and into their beds.

  We would go over details at a preplanned meeting point. Until then, everyone was to go about their lives like nothing had happened or had been expected to happen.

  Maybe I could go on like my heart hadn’t been completely annihilated. How had I not known Sofia Thompson was FBI? How could my heart have fallen for someone and not suspected she was the very thing I couldn’t have in my life?

  Regardless, I had and I had to eradicate her from the place she’d embedded herself in my soul. She’d warned me, true, but I wouldn’t have been in that situation, if it hadn’t been for her.

  There was no way I was going to get any sleep – maybe for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 16

  Sofia

  Standing beside my father at the booking station, I breathed shallowly as he went over the list of subjects we’d picked up at the pier. He turned to me, his eyes hooded as he furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand. Not one of these men is a Rossi. They’re all Bianchi. What happened?”

  I cleared my throat, holding my stance as ramrod straight as I could. “Sir, the Bianchi have a more traceable trail of evidence to deliver to the US Attorney. Not only were they after this shipment, but I have more concrete evidence that is not setup or in correlation to our team that ties into extortion, human trafficking, drugs, and laundering. The Rossis and Capones have none of these on their list of offenses. In fact, the Bianchis face more prison time with less ability for an appeal based on the evidence than the Rossis and Capones combined.”

  The Bianchis were the better target. My father had wanted to deliver two crime families to the US Attorney, but I couldn’t help thinking we were getting rid of the greater evil. So, the quality of the criminals was higher versus the quantity. Would my father see it that way?

  His height made it easier for him to survey the group of Italian men being herded into the holding tank. He knit his eyebrows together before dropping his gaze back to my face. Pursing his lips to the side, he cocked his head. “Blue’s reports mentioned an undue attraction between you and Angelo. What is the merit in his report?”

  The merit of Blue’s report wasn’t what was in question. Instead, what my father was asking in fewer words had to do with my merit, my worth. Had I thrown the investigation down the drain because of an attraction? That’s what he was asking.

  That’s what I’d asked myself over and over since being dropped off at St. Lucius’s Healing Center by the Bianchi boys.

  As I stared at my father in silence, I let in the comfort of the smell of the stale coffee and even staler donuts that had been sitting on the long conference tables for who knew how long. The door to the meeting room had been left open and a din of talking agents reached us as we stared each other down.

  Finally, I snapped, more than willing to be the first to talk in the silence. “Why does it matter? I got you an underboss and more soldiers than the US Attorney will know what to do with. There’s enough evidence in there to deliver up a concrete conviction on almost an entire organized crime family.”

  “Yeah, but you failed.” He shook his head and folded his arms. “You failed and now I don’t know what to tell the team.”

  His words stung, and that’s when it hit me. I delivered up a perfect arrest, a perfect collar on over forty men. Forty. I’d led the team as they’d run into the fray, arresting everyone in sight and tagging Mason before he could get out of there.

  There was no question from the team who had delivered the arrests as my dad had stayed behind at headquarters to facilitate the situation.

  And yet, even with all my experience and talent, I had still failed. Even with all of the success and commendations coming our way, I had still failed. Because of my efforts, and the rest of the teams, the US Attorney would have one of the career-making cases all wrapped up and ready to go in the morning.

  It hit me, as I stared at my dad’s face, that I would never be good enough. I would never be the son he wanted when he’d been faced with a daughter. I would never be strong enough, smart enough, or even worth enough for him to accept me as I was.

  The fact that I’d fallen for Angelo Rossi would only disgust my father. Who I was didn’t matter to my father. If I wasn’t a well-oiled, uncaring machine that only cared about the Bureau, I wasn’t worth anything.

  Well, I had no doubt that Angelo wouldn’t take me because of my betrayal of him, but I didn’t have to settle for the hope of affection from my father. Not anymore.

  “Don’t worry, Dad. It doesn’t matter what I feel for Rossi. He knows I was there and who I am. There’s no chance your future son-in-law will be a Rossi. Not anymore.” I blinked back the tears pricking at my eyes. “And yeah, I was attracted to him. I loved him. Not that you can understand that.”

  I took a deep, freeing breath, and handed the final folder to him, ignoring the accusations in his eyes. He took the folder and I reached into my pocket, pulling out the badge and FBI ID. Handing those over to my now speechless father, I then unclipped the 9-millimeter gun and held it out,
butt first toward my dad. “I’m out. Tell Mom I love her.”

  Without any other words, I turned and walked away from my dad and a job I’d never really wanted but had pursued to make him happy. Of course, I wasn’t stupid. That kind of a move would leave me out of the family, out of my life I had been so ambitious toward. With a ton of money in savings, I had no doubt I could start over. I just had to figure out how.

  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next, but healing from the self-inflicted wounds of a couple days before and the lifetime of self-inflicted neglect would be the first things on my list.

  After that, maybe I would be crazy enough to chase down a simple job that didn’t require me to turn on the man I loved or maybe I’d find some way to heal the devastation in my heart.

  How long would I torment myself with what-ifs about Angelo Rossi? How long would I wish we had chased each other in a different circumstance? He might not have felt the same way for the real Sofia Thompson who was a collection of the crime boss, the federal agent, and so many other parts I’d had to smother.

  The point was, I’d destroyed any chance he and I had at discovery. We couldn’t be together and that was the reason I needed out. How much could I deny myself before rejecting my very core?

  I had hit my limit and unfortunately, it was too late to do anything about my feelings for Angelo, but not too late to save myself from a lifetime of missed opportunities.

  My greatest regret had walked into the fog not too many hours before.

  Chapter 17

  Angelo

  I’d be lying if I said I had any idea where I drove to that evening after leaving the pier. Shock had taken hold and then anger.