Cutting Ties (Age-Gap Mafia Romance)

by Terry Towers

  “No one is too good to die.” I knew that from experience. Before I was a plastic surgeon, I’d been an ER doctor. I’d seen more than my fair share of deaths. Some doctors become immune to the sorrow that comes with losing a patient, I never did. That was part of the reason I’d become a plastic surgeon. It wasn’t all millionaire socialites, but also people with serious issues that only surgery could fix. For those people I provided fresh starts.

  “Perhaps not, but he acts as judge, jury and executioner. That’s what happened with Alejandro. One of the worst things you can ever be is a snitch. Once you become part of the family, you remain part of the family. I met Alejandro at college. He was one of the smartest men I’d ever met and he had dreams of being a lawyer. He had his BA and was about to start law school. He’d proposed and I’d said yes. We had plans that once he finished law school we’d be married and start a family.”

  The tears she’d fought so hard to withhold came freely now. “But Asher took him from me.”

  “Why?” Reaching out to her, I began to stroke her long, dark hair, the satiny strands easily slipping through my fingers. “Why would he do that?”

  “Asher claimed that Alejandro was talking to people.”

  “Like the police?”

  She laughed, but the sound was hollow. “La policia? No. The cartels here, they own the police in many senses. They look the other way. He was talking to someone much higher up than some silly local authority. My brother found out and killed him.”

  “Do you think he was talking?”

  She chewed at her lower lip and shook her head. “I do not know. But that doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t change the fact he’s dead and Asher still walks the earth.”

  I sighed. Wow… Her confession hit home for me. I knew the risks when I came here. I knew that her family consisted of dangerous people, but that someone she loved was murdered by her own brother for allegedly snitching on them was a fucking scary concept. What if the day came along that Asher felt I was a threat to them?

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll hate him until the devil takes him away.” Tears flowed freely, smudging her eye make-up and sending it rolling down her cheeks in long black smears.

  Pulling her into me all the way, I held her tight, allowing her to unload her sadness onto me. The information she’d provided should have sent me running. It would have sent any sane man running for the airport and never looking back.

  But how could I?

  I was in love with the woman lying next to me, her small hands clinging to my t-shirt as her tears saturated the cotton. “Shhh. It’s okay. I’ll always protect you, until my dying breath.”

  Her sobs subsided and she looked up at me. Even looking like a deranged raccoon she was beautiful. “I need you to know what happened because I love you, Anthony. But I can’t put another man at risk.”

  “Hey.” Using my thumb, I attempted to remove some of the black from her face, only to smear it worse. “I knew what I was getting into before I came here. You didn’t lie to me. I knew who your father was and suspected what your brother is capable of. I fell in love with you these past months because of who you are on the inside, and that won’t change now.”

  A wide smile spread across her lips, despite the sadness in her eyes. “One man has died because of me. I can’t have more blood on my hands because someone else dared to love me.”

  “These past few days were some of the best in my life. I’m not Alejandro. I pose no threat to your brother, father, or the business they’ve built here. I’m simply a doctor and I want to take you from this world. I can only hope your family sees I’m not here to make waves or disrupt their business, but to bring you happiness.”

  She sniffed and wiped at her face with the back of her hand. Looking down at her hands she grimaced. “I must look horrible.”

  I couldn’t keep from laughing. “You’ve looked better, but still stunning.”

  Her mood lightened and she laughed with me, placing a delicate kiss on the side of my neck. Looking back up at me, her expression turned serious again. “I love you Anthony. But I will understand if you want to change your mind about me and go back. It’s not too late to forget about me and go on with your life.”

  I shook my head, my heart breaking a bit at the thought of going anywhere without her. “I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. The only way I’m going back to my life is with you at my side.” As I said the words, I meant it. This was a dangerous situation, but I felt strongly that we could make it work. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could stop the cartels in Colombia. If history were to repeat itself as it tended to do, if her family was stopped, then another one – or perhaps several –would spring up in its place. My personal opinion on her family and their enterprise was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered to me was getting her out of this situation and starting our life together.

  Valentina

  For the first morning in as long as I could remember, when I awoke, I woke with a smile on my face. I’d been carrying the weight of Alejandro’s death on my shoulders for a long time now and I’d carried it alone. I’d never been able to vent or mourn his loss, for fear that my family would think I was in on his plan to expose everything. Until that night.

  That night felt like it might be a fresh start for me. I could start over and love Anthony freely. I would always have feelings for my first love, but I could now move on to the man I hoped would be the second and final love of my life.

  Slowly I opened my eyes. Arching my back, I relished the pull of the muscles in my body coming awake. Settling back into the mattress, I stared up at the white ceiling as the bright morning sun shone through the crack in the maroon drapes. Anthony was lying next to me, breathing heavily, but not quite snoring.

  My heart swelled looking at him. There was a day’s worth of scruff on his face, giving him a slightly dangerous edge. My gaze lowered to his chest and then further down until I reached the teepee in the white blanket covering his erect cock.

  Chewing at my lower lip, a devilish idea struck me. Something every man wanted their woman to do. Gently, I grabbed the top of the blanket and slowly peeled it down the length of his body until his erect dick was freed. As gingerly as I could, I moved my way down the bed until my head was at his dick.

  Reaching out, I gently grasped his shaft in my hand. He stirred and moaned softly but did not wake. I slowly began to stroke him, my hand moving up and down on his shaft. He groaned, stirring, his hand slipping into my hair and gently fisting the locks.

  A dollop of pre-cum began to pebble at the slit on the head of his dick. Slowly I inched forward and my tongue lashed out at the head, lapping up the cum. He groaned a little louder this time and my smile widened.

  My tongue swirled around the head, around and around the mushroom tip until a new pebble emerged. This time I lowered my lips to the head again, taking in the head, sucking softly. He groaned a little louder, his breathing becoming more rapid.

  “Valentina,” he groaned. His hand tightened just a little more in her hair and he pushed my head down lower.

  Following his lead, I took more of his dick in my mouth, right to the base and then up again. Up and down, my mouth worked his dick while my tongue swirled around the shaft.

  His hand became more forceful, his hips lightly bucking up and into my mouth. “Damn,” he groaned.

  Reaching out, I grasped his balls in my hand and gave them a gentle squeeze, my mouth quickening its pace on his dick. His dick thickened, becoming even more rigid in my mouth. My mouth smiled around his cock as I redoubled my efforts.

  Anthony’s groans became louder, more frequent. The sound of his low groans was turning me on. Releasing his balls from my hand, I slipped a hand between my legs, parting my drenched pussy lips and began to stroke myself in time with my mouth’s movements on his dick.

  I moaned softly, as my fingers worked my clit with expert precision while my mouth milked his dick. The passion within me intensified and I moaned a litt
le louder around his dick, my body beginning to tremble.

  Closer and closer. I was reaching my point of no return at a rapid pace, but so was he. His dick thickened, gently throbbing. He was nearly there.

  But I was already there, the ride was quick but powerful as an orgasm washed over me. My mouth hesitated on his dick as my body trembled and released, my juices greeting my fingers.

  Removing my hand from my mound, I grasped his dick again and gave it a gentle squeeze as my mouth move up and down again on his shaft.

  “Fuck, baby.” He thrust up into my mouth as his dick pulsed once more before it unloaded its seed, pounding the back of my mouth. I swallowed it down, like a thirsty man in a desert. Once the final drop was released and his dick began to slowly lose its girth, I let it drop from my lips.

  It was then that I felt eyes on me.

  Straightening, I sat back on my heels and wiped my mouth with my thumb, then licked the cum from it. Turning my head a wicked smile spread across my lips as my gaze locked onto Anthony’s.

  His eyes were dark with desire and satisfaction as he reached out and traced my naked collarbone with his index finger. “That was undoubtedly the best wake-up I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

  Pulling at my lower lip with my teeth, I crawled over to him, lowering my lips to his for a quick kiss. “Good morning, handsome.”

  “Good morning.” Grabbing my hips, he pulled me onto him, his cock sticking out from between my legs. “Since I’m awake would you like to go another round?”

  Leaning over him, my tight nipples brushed against his chest as I grazed the side of his neck with my lips. “I’d love to.”

  Chapter 9

  Anthony

  “I don’t think this day could get any better. I’ve never felt so free. Does that make sense?” Valentina asked. She was truly beaming as we strode hand in hand down the street of Cartagena. The expression she carried on her face reflected how I felt. We were down to three days now. The time was going way too quickly.

  I hadn’t a final idea of how I was going to do it, but in the tiny pocket that lay beneath the front left pocket of my jeans lay her ring. Even though there was no plan in place on exactly how I was going to pop the question, I was confident that the right time would show itself.

  “It does.” Leaning down, I placed a brief kiss on the top of her head. “I barely even notice our shadows.” I gave her a wink and jerked my head toward Emiliano, who I’d come to discover was her favorite. He’d been guarding her from when she was a child. I didn’t know the whole back story of the large ponytail-wearing older man, but knew she considered him as something of a second father.

  “Oh. Over there.” She pointed to a little café just ahead of us. “Let’s stop for a quick bite and something to drink.”

  “We just had supper.”

  “That was nearly an hour ago!” She leaned into me, lowering her voice. “Besides, we worked up quite an appetite this morning and again this afternoon.”

  Just the thought of the morning wake-up put my dick on alert. She could wake me up like that any day of the week. “Fair enough.” Keeping an eye on the traffic, we waited for a break before dashing across the street. The buildings lining the streets had such character, each one a different pastel color.

  Reaching the café, we seated ourselves at one of the two-person metal tables and ordered a light snack. My hand reached into my jeans pocket and I fingered the ring. It was a beautiful evening with perfect scenery, and even though her family wasn’t here, the man she considered as close as family was – so that was something at least.

  I was about to pull the ring from my pocket when I heard the first gunshot, and then another. It took the span of a couple beats for my mind to even register what was going on. My gaze darted across the table to Valentina, who screamed and began to stand. As she stood, I sprang into action, heading straight for her, and pushing the table to the side with such force it went sailing onto the road. Staying low, I threw myself at her and we both went tumbling to the ground, with my body covering most of hers.

  Emiliano came out of nowhere, like a scene out of a fucking action movie, covering our bodies with his own like we were playing a game of football and Valentina had the ball. “Stay down!” he screamed.

  His words ended abruptly as I felt blood drip onto me and heard him groan. Pushing him from my body, I kept low while examining Emiliano for damage. The first bullet seemed to have hit his back on the armor plate, while the second one had hit his shoulder. Blood was saturating through the layers of clothing.

  “Stay down,” I commanded Valentina as I set to work on her guard. The sound of gunfire still ringing out around us was barely noticeable at this point; my only focus was the dying man below me.

  Valentina

  It happened so quickly. One moment I was sitting across from Anthony, smiling and suspecting he was contemplating proposing, and the next I was feeling the weight of his large body covering mine as loose rocks dug into my palms and cheek.

  The gunfire slowed and then stopped, and moments later Anthony’s weight was lifted off me. Scurrying out from under him, I looked around me. The street was completely clear and our two SUVs were pulled to the curb.

  A groan drew my attention next. Looking over, I watched as Anthony removed my guard’s bullet-proof vest and then tore the sleeve from his shirt to reveal a bullet wound. “Ohmygod! Is he okay?” I crawled over to them, ignoring Anthony’s command for me to stay away.

  Without looking at me, Anthony replied. “The bullet hit an artery! He needs to get to the hospital. I’m keeping pressure on it so he doesn’t bleed out. He’s already lost a lot of blood.”

  “Come now.” Grabbing my arm one of the guards pulled me away from my lover and Emiliano and forcefully threw me in the car. “Stay,” he commanded.

  I didn’t object but watched from inside the car as Emiliano was carried from the sidewalk and loaded into the vehicle with me. Scooting over I gave them room to lay Emiliano on the seat with Anthony kneeling beside him on the floor, keeping pressure on his wound.

  Emiliano was groaning softly, going in and out of consciousness.

  “Were you hurt?” Anthony asked, still not looking at me.

  I shook my head even though he couldn’t see. “No. I’m fine. Some scrapes. Will he be okay?”

  “He should be. I was able to get to him quickly. Arteries bleed out fast, but since I was there, I should have gotten to him in time to save him.”

  The door was closed and the car jolted forward. Holding onto the back of the seat, tears filled my eyes as I looked down at the man who’d protected me all my life. If it hadn’t been for him, we’d be dead now.

  “He’ll be okay,” Anthony assured me, looking up for a moment and giving me a forced smile.

  I nodded, trying to return his smile, but failing miserably. “Thank you.”

  Looking back over to me, he shrugged. “It’s what I do. No thanks necessary. If it wasn’t for Emiliano, we’d both be dead now. We owe him a lot.”

  Nodding, I willed the hospital to appear. The quicker we got there the quicker the better.

  Anthony

  It had been a grueling twenty-four hours, but we were now finally back at the hotel, exhausted and smelling of blood and sweat. Valentina had insisted she wanted to stay by Emiliano’s side until he was out of surgery and had woken up. I respected her for that. She had such a kind heart and dedication to those that she cared about. It continued to amaze me that she was able to keep such a gentle disposition growing up in a world of violence. I’d seen it firsthand today and it was fucking scary.

  Emiliano’s surgery had gone well and he was awake and coherent. Thank God he’d been wearing a bullet-proof vest because the second shot would have lodged itself right into his heart had it not been stopped by the steel plate.

  Valentina walked across the room and flopped headfirst onto the blanket. “I’m so tired. This has been exhausting. My head and body hurts.” Groaning, she rolled o
ver to her back and looked up at me. “We could be dead.”

  Coming to sit next to her, I lowered myself next to her and turned to my side. “It’s possible. But that’s not what happened. We were lucky.”

  She nodded, inching closer to me until she was snuggled tight to me. “We were. And I’m lucky for you. You covered me with your own body. You potentially sacrificed yourself for me. Then you saved Emiliano. I have no words to express how grateful I am to you.”

  “Yeah… Well, I did what had to be done.” Running my hand through her hair, I watched the strands fall from my fingers. It didn’t have the satiny sheen it normally did. So much had happened in twenty-four hours. Enough that if there had been any doubt in my mind about us yesterday those doubts were gone now. It was funny how when faced with your own mortality and that of someone important to you, you can really prioritize what’s important in life.

  It also cemented what I wanted going forward.

  Her.

  “But it’s okay now,” she murmured against my chest. “We may not be able to do any more sightseeing. Papa will lock us up if we try.” She nodded toward the door. “By tomorrow morning there will be guards waiting to take us back to the compound.”

  “Your father said that?”

  “Doesn’t have to. This isn’t the first war I’ve been in the middle of.”

  “So what happens?”

  “Since they tried to kill me, he will insist we stay home until he feels it’s safe. Could be weeks or it could be months to a year. Last time a cartel tried to take my father’s operation down to this degree, Mama and I were stuck on the property for nearly a year.”

  “Damn. That’s not much of a life.”

  She shrugged, snuggling tighter to me. “It’s my life and it’s not like it’s the worst life. I’ve always had everything I’ve ever wanted.”