Step Bride: A Bad Boy Mob Romance (Includes bonus novel Honored!)

by Hamel, B. B.

I sighed, looking up at the sky. I had been feeling so stressed out lately, but sitting by the water was calming me down a lot. I had always loved pools and never gotten to be near one when I was younger. Chicago was also not exactly the best environment for outdoor swimming, or at least outside of the main summer months.

  Fortunately, it was a hot summer so far, which meant I could sit out by the pool in my bikini with absolutely zero discomfort.

  I let out a breath, finally feeling relaxed.

  “There you are.”

  I clenched my jaw, surprised. I looked over my shoulder and saw my mother walking toward me.

  So much for feeling relaxed.

  “Hi, Mom.” I said.

  She sat down in the chair next to me. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” she said.

  “I know. You been busy?”

  “I guess so.” She stretched her legs out.

  I hadn’t seen her since the first night we moved in. Mom was like that, always disappearing. And I figured she had already taken over her part of the house, redecorating and ordering the staff around.

  “How are you settling in?” she asked.

  “Fine, I guess.”

  “Are you used to having a staff?”

  I laughed, shaking my head. “Not at all.”

  “No, neither am I.” She smiled and shrugged. “But people have been so nice, especially Franklin. He’s really gone above and beyond to show me around.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Franklin?”

  “Remember the nice boy that drove us here?”

  “Sure.”

  “That’s Franklin.”

  I remembered him well: the creepy guy from the kitchen.

  “Well good. I’m glad you made a friend.”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t call him a friend, dear. He’s still just part of the staff, after all.”

  “Right. Of course.”

  “He’s a very smart boy though, speaks a few languages. Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, a few others.”

  “Are you taking language classes?”

  She smiled strangely. “Trying to learn a little Italian for Arturo.”

  “How very nice of you.”

  “Have you explored the grounds much?”

  I shook my head, looking out across the water. “I’ve tried, but it’s so big.”

  “I know. Bigger than I would have guessed.”

  “What do they even need all this space for?”

  “Oh, who knows? They have a lot of people in their organization. I think people stay here from time to time.”

  “Their organization,” I said ruefully. “I wish you had warned me before we moved in.”

  “How could I have? You probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”

  “I know, but, Mom, the mob?”

  She frowned at me. “It’s not what you think.”

  “It’s exactly what I think.”

  “It’s stressful for Arturo, you know. They lost some important shipment recently.”

  “I heard something about that, I think,” I said, cocking my head. “Shipment of what, though?”

  She laughed sweetly. “Who knows? Cocaine, heroine, probably something like that.”

  I sighed. “And that’s okay with you?”

  “It’s a business, honey. There’s a demand, so they supply it.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Truthfully, I wasn’t exactly morally against everything the mob did. I knew they probably did some pretty awful things and broke some laws, but they were businessmen at the very core of things. But what really bothered me was the danger we were in just being in their family.

  Camille had a knack for ignoring anything that was bad or wrong. She was incredibly single-minded when she wanted to be and would follow any path to achieve her goals.

  And as I looked around, I knew that her goals had been pretty much achieved. She wanted wealth and power, and now she had some.

  “Please try and get along with everyone,” she said. “I hear you’ve been close with Lucas.”

  My head snapped over at her. “Who said that?”

  She laughed again. “Calm down. It’s okay. You’re allowed to be friends with a mobster.”

  I took a deep breath. She didn’t know anything, clearly. She thought I was freaked out because he was a mobster, not because I was married to him. And because of some very wrong and very exciting flirtation.

  “I know that,” I said. “He’s just my stepbrother.”

  “Good. And did you meet your stepsister?”

  I nodded. “Briefly, yes.”

  She frowned. “Well, good. I haven’t yet.”

  “You will soon enough.”

  “I hear she’s very strange.” She leaned in to speak quietly, conspiratorially. “I hear she’s crazy. Doesn’t leave her room, talks to herself all day. Attacks the staff sometimes.”

  I frowned at her, annoyed. My typical mother, gossiping already. Fortunately I had already met Louisa, and I knew that most of that wasn’t true. Sure, she never left her room, and she probably did attack the staff, but she wasn’t crazy.

  “She’s a nice girl,” I said. “Just a little misunderstood.”

  Mom nodding knowingly, which only annoyed me more. “Well, I look forward to meeting her.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Mom stood up. “Okay, I’m off to do some work. Don’t exert yourself too much today.”

  “Okay. See you.”

  She waved, oblivious to how annoyed I was, and headed back up toward the house.

  I watched her disappear inside. Suddenly the pool didn’t seem like a comfortable, relaxing place anymore. I was agitated and annoyed, and the last thing I wanted to do was sit around and stare at the stupid water.

  I stood up, pulling on a T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts over my bathing suit. I tossed my magazine, phone, and headphones into my bag. I slipped my feet into my sandals.

  My mind kept going back to Lucas and the mob. How did I feel about that? Camille had mentioned a shipment of some sort, and she even thought it was of drugs.

  What did I think about that? Was I okay with being a part of a family that sold drugs?

  I genuinely wasn’t sure. It was all so complicated, so complex. I doubted Lucas was actually out there selling drugs to people, but his family did likely have dealings in it.

  Upset, I decided to just go for a walk and try to calm myself down.

  I headed toward the barns, my mind still on the mafia, drugs, shipments, and violence.

  Chapter Twenty: Lucas

  “We must smoke the rat fuck out and kill him soon.”

  I leaned back in my padded chair, listening to the other captains bicker and argue about the shipment issue. Arturo had called a meeting of the head of the family to discuss our potential moves.

  Which only annoyed me. It was supposedly my operation and my problem, and Arturo had called the meeting anyway. The captains were mainly a bunch of old men, though there were a few sharp and young guys in the mix, men that I respected.

  Still, it was my job, and my call. I didn’t appreciate hearing idiotic and obvious suggestions from the other captains.

  “How though?” asked Ernesto, an older, balding man.

  “We can offer money,” suggested Alfonse. He was sitting across from me, wearing an expensive suit and idly chewing on a cigar like the biggest cliché in the world.

  “Too obvious,” I said, bored. “That will only spook him.”

  Alfonse made a face, but Reginald spoke up. “Lucas is correct,” he said. “We need subtlety now, especially since we do not know what is going on.”

  I nodded. I liked Reggie; he was one of the smarter captains.

  “What is your plan then, Lucas?” my father asked.

  “I have an idea,” I said, avoiding the question.

  “Ideas,” Ernesto said, scoffing. “We need more than ideas, Lucas.”

  “Let the boy speak,” Nicolas said. “What are your ideas, Lucas?�
��

  “I have informants within the police, as we all do.”

  “Of course, Lucas,” Gian said, “but aren’t you afraid they’re also working for the Russians?”

  “Maybe,” I said, “but you simply don’t lose an entire shipment like that and nobody notices.”

  “That’s true,” Alfonse said.

  “Someone saw, and someone will talk,” I said.

  “How can you be certain?” Ernesto pushed. “And how can you know the Russians won’t hear?”

  “I’m not sure it’s the Russians,” I said.

  The others looked at me like I was an idiot.

  “Of course it is the Russians!” Ernesto said, laughing. “Those snake fucks robbed us.”

  “It does seem to be the Russians, Lucas,” Nicolas said, frowning.

  “Enough,” Arturo said, drowning out the commotion. Everyone looked toward him. “We must choose a course of action. Lucas, how sure are you of this?”

  “I am very sure that I can handle this, father,” I said.

  There was a murmur of dissent at the table. I noticed most of the captains weren’t speaking, though, which was good. They didn’t want to get between me and my father.

  “Who here believes they should be given control of this task?” Arturo asked.

  “I do,” Ernesto said.

  I laughed at him.

  “Quiet,” Arturo snapped at me.

  “I second Ernesto,” Alfonse said.

  “Then we vote,” Arturo said. “Those for Ernesto?”

  Some hands, but not many.

  “Lucas?”

  The remaining captains raised their hands.

  “Lucas takes it.”

  I nodded to the men, but it was a hollow victory. The fact that there even was a vote spoke volumes.

  Arturo didn’t trust me. He didn’t believe I was capable of fixing this tense situation, and he was looking for an out that didn’t put the blame squarely on his shoulders.

  Fortunately he wasn’t getting that.

  The meeting quickly wound down after that. The captains all filtered out of the room, heading into the main banquet room for an extravagant lunch. I stayed behind with Gian and Reggie.

  “This whole shit,” Gian said, “is just a power play by your father.”

  I nodded. “I know. But what can be done?”

  “You could poison him and assume control,” Reggie said softly.

  I laughed. “Maybe soon, Reg. Maybe.”

  “We have your back, brother,” Gian said. “We’ll back your play.”

  “Thanks, brothers,” I said. We shook hands and they headed off toward the lunch. I stood by the window, looking out over the grounds, my mind clouded with doubt.

  The truth was, I did have a difficult road ahead of me. I needed to interrogate and push some buttons to try to track down the shipment, but I had to be subtle. Any overt accusations against the Russians could mean war.

  I didn’t want a war, but sometimes it felt like the old guard did. They were constantly pushing for blood, while I was only drawing blood where blood was needed. They were wasteful, stupid fools.

  As I watched out the window, I caught sight of a small figure heading over toward the barns.

  It took me half a second to realize that it was Natalie.

  I felt something inside me stir. I remembered the smell of her panties from the night before, and my cock quickly got hard. I gripped the windowsill for a moment, watching her disappear into the horse stable.

  And then I decided. I was going to skip the damn lunch. Maybe it was a bad idea since many alliances were made at captain gatherings, but fuck that.

  I wanted my stepsister. I wanted my wife. I wanted her dangerous, tight fucking pussy, and I was sick of waiting.

  I turned and headed down the stairs, out toward the stables.

  Chapter Twenty-One: Natalie

  I reached up and he snorted, tossing his head. I laughed, touching his skin.

  “What’s your name?” I said softly.

  He didn’t answer.

  “I guess you don’t speak English. You are a horse, of course, of course.”

  I laughed at my own joke and softly stroked his snout.

  Ever since I was a little girl, I had liked horses. Not in the crazy equestrian way. I never rode them, either, because I couldn’t afford them. Or at least that was what my mom had said. In retrospect, we totally could have afforded it. Mom just didn’t want me to ride.

  But they were beautiful animals. I walked down along the stalls, admiring them.

  “Bigger than you expect.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned and saw Lucas standing near the entrance, patting the nearest horse.

  “Lucas? You scared me.”

  “Sorry,” he said, grinning.

  I looked down at my feet. I hadn’t seen him since sending the panties, and I had no clue what he thought about it.

  “Want to take one out?” he asked.

  “I can’t ride.”

  “You can’t ride horses at least.” He grinned and laughed. “Another time then.”

  “Okay.”

  “Been a busy couple of days,” he remarked, walking toward me.

  “I guess so.”

  “I got your present.”

  He stopped close to me, smirking. I felt my heart skip a beat. “Just returning the favor,” I said softly.

  “Smell really is the strongest sense for memory,” he said.

  “So you’ve been thinking about me.”

  “Ever since you left my room that night.”

  “Good,” I said, smiling. “How’s it feel to want?”

  “It feels good,” he said softly.

  I took a step away and turned. “I’m not in the mood for this, Lucas.”

  “For what?”

  “Your dirty jokes and comments. Just not in the mood today.”

  “You’re never in the mood for it, wife. But that doesn’t stop you from liking it.”

  I felt angry suddenly as my mother’s words came back to me. “Don’t be such a thug, Lucas.”

  He laughed, surprised. “A thug?”

  “Yeah, a thug. A drug dealer. What do you want from me? Why are we still married?”

  I felt my anger rising, and I wanted to push him, to shove him to the ground. But he was too big, too solid, too strong. He could easily pin me to the floor and have his way with me. Half of me wanted him to, and the other half wanted to knee him in the balls.

  “Where is this coming from?” he asked, genuinely bemused.

  “My mother talked about you people. She said you guys lost some drug shipment lately. What are we wrapped up in, Lucas?”

  He stared at me for a beat and then burst out laughing.

  “What?” I asked, frustrated. “It’s not a joke. Selling drugs isn’t a joke.”

  “She told you that was a drug shipment?”

  “Yes,” I said, frustrated and annoyed. He was such an asshole. He was still smiling hugely, his face clearly amused. “And I don’t want to be involved with drug dealers.”

  “Natalie, there weren’t drugs in that shipment.”

  I paused. “I don’t believe you.”

  He raised his hands, still smiling. “I swear on my dead mother’s soul, there were no drugs.”

  “So what’s the deal with this big shipment that got stolen, then? Why is it so shady?”

  “Really want to know?”

  “Just tell me, Lucas,” I snapped.

  “Olive oil.”

  That stopped me in my tracks. “What?”

  “Olive oil. We were selling the Russian mob olive oil.”

  “That’s crazy. Why would mobs be involved in olive oil?”

  “Believe it or not, olive oil is the biggest business in Italy. It’s a huge, billion-dollar industry, and my family is a big part of that.”

  “So why were you selling it to the Russians then?”

  “Well,” he said, laughing slightly, “it’s com
plicated. But basically, most olive oil isn’t really pure olive oil. It’s cut with something like canola oil, something cheaper. In Italy, that’s a huge crime, but my family has been in the fake olive oil business for centuries.”

  “Fake olive oil,” I repeated.

  “Yes. We were selling a shipment to the Russians wholesale. They were gong to resell it in their shops, and we were going to make a small profit but a larger business associate.”

  “So you don’t sell drugs?”

  He shrugged. “Some captains do. Some of the people that work for me do. I don’t personally get involved, but it is lucrative.”

  I shook my head, annoyed. “Do you or don’t you sell drugs?”

  “No, Natalie, I don’t.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath and looked at him. “Olive oil,” I said.

  He nodded, grinning. “Yep. Olive oil. Lots of fake olive oil.”

  “I guess that’s not as bad as heroin.”

  “No. I don’t think so.”

  I leaned up against the wall, taking a deep breath. “I feel really stupid right now.”

  “Don’t,” he said, coming closer. “You’re new to the family, and we haven’t exactly been telling you anything.”

  “Still. I should ask before I start accusing.”

  He nodded, standing close, speaking softly. “Do you want to see something?”

  “See what?”

  “My favorite spot out here. It’s very close by.”

  I shrugged. “Okay. Sure.”

  He started walking toward the other end of the stable, and I hurried to follow him.

  I couldn’t believe I had gone after him like that. He wasn’t a drug dealer after all, although he did sell fake olive oil. Maybe that was immoral, but it wasn’t exactly hurting anyone. I knew there were parts of their business that I wouldn’t agree with and wouldn’t personally get involved with, but I needed Lucas to be honest with me.

  And I would believe him. I didn’t think he was lying when he said he didn’t sell drugs. He had no reason to be fake with me.

  I felt better. I felt a little silly, but better.

  We went to the far end of the stable, and he shifted a hay bale a few feet to the right. Bolted to the wall was a ladder that disappeared up into the ceiling.

  “Up there,” he said.

  I bit my lip. “That thing looks like it’s going to fall apart,” I said.