Her Mafia King: A Dark Romance (Romano Mafia Brothers Book 3)

by Bianca Cole

  “None of this was planned, Mr. Juliano.” I shake my head. “Surely, you can see the positive side of this.”

  “Positive side?” he spits. His face is turning redder by the second.

  “Yes, a joining of our families would strengthen both our positions and stabilize North America with an even more powerful crime unit.”

  Alicia squeezes my hand more tightly. “Exactly. We’re very serious about this.” She shakes her head. “Please, don’t try to part us.”

  Nick swallows hard, glancing between the two of us. He runs a hand through his hair, lowering his gun. I watch as he paces the room. “We can discuss this somewhere more private without a damn audience.”

  Alicia steps away from me. It pains me to let her go to him. “Dad, please listen to me.” She holds out her hand and reaches for him, stopping him mid-stride. “I want to be with Rick.”

  He gazes at his daughter, the woman I love, with such adoration. I can understand exactly why he’s so protective of her. It may be a very different bond, but that fierce protectiveness lives inside of me too.

  There’s a moment where I believe he might listen to her. Instead, he grabs hold of her and aims the gun right at me. She screams and tries to knock the gun from his hand, which only sets it off. The bullet ricochets off the walls of the building.

  Leo and Kane cock their guns, aiming it at Nick. “Not one more fucking move,” Kane says.

  A gun being cocked behind me draws my attention, and Alicia gets free of her father’s grip. Everything happens so fast, as Alicia’s small, delicate body jumps in front of me. The gunshot rings out, and blood splatters the air.

  I try to catch her in my arms, but she hits the water behind. Her blood stains the water a light red. I dive in after her, swimming after her limp body.

  My heart is in my throat as I tighten my arms around her waist, trying to swim her back toward the surface.

  This can’t be happening. I’m supposed to be the one to protect Alicia, not the other way around.

  18

  Alicia

  The gunshot echoes through the room, and time slows to a halt. Before my mind can piece together what I’m doing, I’m flying toward Rick. An arc of pain explodes through my side as the bullet hits me instead.

  I’m heading straight for the water and can’t stop myself. Rick tries to grab me, but it is too late. I hit the water hard and begin to sink, unable to swim with the pain exploding through my side.

  I sink deeper, trying to hold my breath. A splash above me signals someone has dived in above. I can’t stop myself from dropping like a stone down and down into the cavernous shipyard bay.

  Suddenly, arms wrap around my waist. Strong arms that I’d know anywhere.

  Rick.

  He starts to swim up dragging me, but I’m barely holding on. I can’t hold my breath much longer, and darkness is filtering into my vision. The rush of water around my ears and the slowing of my heartbeat are all I can hear. Darkness is taking over, enveloping me entirely.

  The next thing I know, I’m out of the water, coughing up my guts. Rick is looming over me, eyes frantic. The emotion in his eyes at that moment is enough to cut me to the core. I shiver as I realize how cold I am. The ice water has soaked through every inch of my clothes.

  My dad rushes to my side, kneeling down. “Sweetheart.” He rests a hand under my neck. “Where are you shot?”

  I wince as I try to move, pain shooting through me. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. All my nerve endings feel like they have been set on fire. “My side,” I splutter.

  My dad turns me over and inspects the wound. “Fuck, you are one lucky woman.”

  “I don’t feel like it,” I mutter.

  He sets me back down, holding something against the wound. “I’m pretty certain it is a flesh wound, and the bullet exited.” My dad presses a kiss to my forehead. “You will be okay, sweetheart.”

  “Are you going to stop fighting with Rick?” I ask.

  He stares at me for a few moments in silence, before glancing at Rick and nodding his head.

  Rick is staring at me. As if my words woke him from a daze, he searches for something. His eyes lock with Austin, the man that had shot at him while he had his back turned. Kane is holding him captive with his hands pinned behind his back.

  Rick stands and marches toward him, grabbing Austin from Kane. I watch through blurred vision as he forces him to the floor. His face at the same level to mine me. “You will pay for hurting my woman,” he growls.

  Everyone goes silent as the Rick pounds his fist into Austin, taking up all the attention in the place. I watch from where I’m lying, witnessing precisely what the man I’ve fallen in love with his capable of.

  He breaks his nose and jaw, not stopping as his fists turn red with blood, and the man on the floor is no longer recognizable. Each pound he lands twists my stomach.

  If I could get up and stop him, I would. The man deserves to die after what he’s put us through, and I know Rick can’t let his betrayal go unpunished, but a bullet to the head would be more effective.

  “Stop,” I mutter, trying to speak passed the pain.

  Rick doesn’t hear me. His eyes are like black pits, as he narrows in on the man with no mercy.

  “God damn it, Rick, Stop.” I raise my voice, tears prickling at my eyes from the exertion and pain I’m in.

  Finally, his hand stills, and those dark eyes meet mine. It’s only then that I see the man I’ve fallen for return. He was elsewhere for a while. Somewhere he couldn’t be reached.

  He drops Austin to the floor, who is barely breathing. I let my head fall back onto the cold, concrete floor and shut my eyes.

  The gunshot rings out, and I know he’s no longer alive. Rick may be the man I’ve fallen in love with, but I’ve had a vicious reminder of who he is. A man who has no mercy. A man who rules North America’s crime world with an iron fist.

  I’m no stranger to this world, but the things I witnessed my father do were never as debase or brutal. There’s a reason Rick is the most powerful crime boss. The don of the Romano mafia is a little more broken than I ever realized, but it doesn’t make me love him any less.

  He is a strong man who does what he has to to protect his family.

  “Look at me, Alicia,” Rick says.

  I open my eyes to find him kneeling the other side of me, eyes filled with guilt.

  “I had to save you,” I say.

  He grits his teeth. “No, you could have been killed.”

  My dad glances between the two of us, before standing and giving us space. His temper has calmed since I got shot.

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you had died instead of me, Alicia.” He shakes his head. “All that matters is you.”

  I grab his hand. “No, if I hadn’t jumped in front of it, you would be dead.” I wince, struggling to speak because of the pain. “He aimed for your heart.”

  He presses his lips to mine gently and whispers so quietly, “Thank you.”

  I feel a lump form in my throat, as so many emotions flood me at once. This brutal, possessive man is thanking me for saving his life. It’s hard to believe, but that is what just happened. I took a bullet for him because he is everything to me, and the thought of life without him shatters me into a million pieces.

  “I love you,” I mutter, pressing my lips against his.

  My father clears his throat behind me and Rick moves away. “Sweetheart, we need to get you to a hospital.” I glance at my dad, who is eyeing Rick with a controlled rage.

  Rick stands and squares up to my father. “Conventional hospitals are too dangerous.”

  Dad shakes his head. “We are too far away from home to wait. Not to mention, I saw two of your men out there looking worse for wear.” His eyes narrow. “I guess that was courtesy of our mutual friend.” He nods his head toward Austin, who is lying dead and bloody on the floor.

  “How are we supposed to explain it without the police getting inv
olved?” Rick asks.

  Dad glances at me. “She will have to be taken by ambulance with your men to the nearest hospital.” He returns his gaze to Rick. “Neither of us can be here when they pick her up.”

  Rick’s jaw clenches and his fists ball by his side. “No fucking chance am I leaving her on her own.”

  Dad sets a hand on his shoulder. “We will both meet her at the hospital.” He shakes his head. “You know we can’t be found at this crime scene by paramedics.”

  Rick backs down, bowing his head. “We need to move her and get her some dry clothes, though.”

  My dad shakes his head. “No, it’s too risky. The police here aren’t on our payroll, so we can’t get them to look the other way.”

  Rick looks between me and my father, a conflict raging in his dark brown eyes. He kneels down by my side and takes my hand. “I don’t want to leave your side, princess, but I’ll be right behind in the car.” I glance between my dad and Rick, wondering if my dad will lose it and attack him any moment. He looks calm.

  “Okay.” I squeeze his hand and pull him closer. “I love you.”

  He bends over and kisses my lips softly. “I love you more than life,” he mutters against them.

  My chest aches as he stands and steps away, nodding at my father. “Let’s get going.”

  Dad gives him a nod. “We will head onward to the hospital and meet you there. It is up to you whether you wait for the ambulance and follow it.”

  Rick walks away without another word. The way this man makes me feel is beyond anything I can comprehend. It’s so deep and clawing. We are made for each other. That is as clear as day as I watch him walk away, wishing he could stay with me. Being parted from him for even a short while hurts.

  “Wait,” Leo says. “I’ve got to deal with this asshole.” He nods toward the man who tried to shoot me and who Rick tied up.

  “Not here, Leo. We take him back with us,” Rick says, voice full of warning.

  Leo clenches his fists, fury filling his eyes as he gazes at the man.

  Kane grabs the guy, lifting his limp body over his shoulder and carrying him out of the warehouse.

  I rest my head back down on the cold concrete floor, feeling exhausted. “I’ll see you soon,” I say to both my dad and Rick.

  My dad has taken the news that we’re together better than I expected. It’s a relief, as I wasn’t looking forward to fighting with him about it. Everyone has left, and I wait, wishing Rick was here with me.

  It feels like forever ticks by before I hear the sirens of an ambulance outside. I glance up, expecting to see a paramedic, but my dad is standing in the doorway. “Dad?”

  “We’re going home.”

  The blood drains from my face. Dad hasn’t accepted that I want to be with Rick. “No, that’s no longer my home.” I try against the pain to shift onto my feet, but it’s impossible.

  Dad grabs my hand. “Listen to me.” I still at his tone. “That man has manipulated and groomed you.” He shakes his head. “Whatever you think you feel for him is bullshit. He is twice your age.”

  Tears prickle at my eyes at the suggestion that what we have isn’t real. “I love him.” I shake my head. “You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

  My dad’s eyes soften as tears run down my face. “That’s what you think now, but once you get some space, I’m sure you will realize it wasn’t real.”

  I try to swallow the lump in my throat, as I know there’s no way I will convince him. He will take me away from Rick, and in my current state, there’s nothing I can do to stop him. The thought of never seeing him again cuts me to the core.

  My dad can take me to Texas, but I’ll find my way back to Rick somehow. Even if I have to walk from Texas to Philly, I’ll do it. “Why would you do this to me?” I sob.

  Alex, my bodyguard, heads over to me and scoops me up in his arms. There’s a sympathy in his gaze as if he understands what I’m going through. “Everything will be all right,” he utters.

  “Take her to the ambulance and get the medic to patch her up and get her some dry clothes. We need to get to the airport as fast as possible.” Dad narrows his eyes. “It’s only a matter of time until the Romano brothers catch onto our plan.”

  “No, you can’t do this,” I yell, as Alex carries me out of the warehouse. I’m so weak from the blood loss that my pathetic attempts to punch his back are more like taps.

  He bundles me into the back of an ambulance where a medic is sitting in a chair, looking fearful of his life.

  My dad enters behind us, shutting the doors. “Patch her up as best you can in here, now,” he growls.

  The medic’s hands are shaking as he takes off the rag Dad had pressed to the wound at my hip. I want to argue and tell my father I’m not going anywhere, but I need to get something for this pain.

  “Is it bad?” I ask, shivering from the cold.

  He glances at me and smiles weakly. “You’ll live.” He turns to my father. “It may be a through and through in a non-vital place, but she will need a scan to ensure no bones were shattered. I need to get you out of these wet clothes, too.”

  My father nods. “That is fine. She will be seen by a surgeon in about three hours, give or take.” He walks to the front. “Get us to the airport as fast as possible and we can get her changed on the jet.”

  The engine of the ambulance roars to life, and I’m being taken away from Rick forever. It hurts more than the wound in my side.

  The medic works while we are moving. First, he cleans the wound, which stings like hell. Then he gives me some pain meds, before stitching the wound to stop the bleeding.

  All I can think about is Rick. Are we really going to be torn apart like this?

  19

  Rick

  I insist on driving, waiting around the corner for the ambulance to come passed. It went against every instinct to agree to leave Alicia there with only Dan and John. Alicia is innocent in all of this and needs to be taken care of by a proper hospital. Thank God it was just a flesh wound.

  Her father left before us and has gone on ahead to the hospital. The ambulance has been in the docks for too damn long. Not to mention, no police have arrived yet.

  As time ticks by, a part of me wonders whether something else is going on. Nick Juliano backed off reasonably quickly and accepted everything a little too coolly after she was shot.

  Many scenarios are flying through my head right now as I wait, setting me on edge. What man would accept that a mafia don who kidnapped his beloved daughter is in love with her?

  “Fuck,” I say.

  Kane shakes his head. “What?”

  “I’ve got a feeling we’ve been played.”

  “I had a sense of that too. Juliano backed off too easy, right?” Leo asks.

  I rub my hand across the back of my neck, trying to collect my thoughts. “Nick intends to get his daughter away from me, and I know exactly how he’s doing it.” I slam my hand into the horn and turn over the engine.

  “Where are you going?” Kane asks.

  The asshole tricked us and must have doubled back. If Juliano had called a real ambulance, then they would have been on their way back to the hospital by now. Either that, or he’s hijacked it. “There’s only one way he will head with her and that is to the airport.”

  “Fuck,” Leo says.

  Fuck is right. There had been something about the situation that had niggled at me. No man just accepts that his daughter is with a man like me unless he intends to ensure she never sees him again.

  I push my foot down harder, speeding back into the industrial estate to make sure I’m right. Dan and John are lying on the tarmac outside still, and there’s no sign of the damn ambulance. I zoom past them, hardly thinking.

  “What about Dan and John?” Leo asks, sticking his head between the two front seats.

  Damn.

  We haven’t got time to get them to the hospital. “Give Enzo a call and explain what happened. Ask him if he can get s
omeone to tend to them and tell him we will owe him one if he can.”

  Leo gives me a stupid salute. “Yes, sir.”

  Enzo is the don of the Miami based mob who agreed to us negotiating peacefully on their turf. He and I have a good relationship, and he will stand on my side in this. We rush toward the private airfield where our jet is. It’s the only place Nick could fly out of near here.

  “How do you know he’s flying?” Kane asks.

  “Something Alicia said yesterday.” I take the exit onto the highway. “He flies everywhere.” Alicia is being taken from me, and she’s injured. My blood is roaring through my ears as I speed toward the other side of town. I can’t lose her.

  Her father needs to understand how much I love her. I will start a war between our families if that’s what it comes down to. She is worth the risk.

  Leo groans as a banging in the trunk starts. “You should have let me finish the bastard off at the warehouse.”

  I shake my head. “Knock him out again,” I say, focusing on nothing but the road.

  The speedo hits one-hundred miles per hour, going well over the limit. Here, we could get stopped by the police, but they’d have to fucking chase me.

  “Kane, call our pilot and ask him to keep an eye out for Alicia and her father,” I say, hating how long it is taking us to get there. We could miss her, and Nick will be in a hurry to take off.

  “Thanks, Harry.” He shuts off the call. “They’ve just pulled onto the tarmac in an SUV. He says he will try to get the manager to stall them.”

  “Fuck,” I growl, slamming my foot even harder into the accelerator pedal. We’re still five minutes out, and that’s enough damn time for them to take off.

  Tension wracks every muscle in my body, as the sign for the exit comes into view. I swerve, weaving around a truck to take it on the inside. He blares his horn at me, but I don’t give a shit. Alicia is about to be ripped out of my life, and I can’t bear it.