Sinner's Saint: A Dark Mafia Captive Romance

by Bella King

  I heard that the engine was the safest place to hide from gunfire, so I slid across the smooth side of the car to the front, keeping my head down low enough so that my brains didn’t fly out the back of my head. I wanted to keep those.

  A shot sounded off in front of me, very close to where I was. I looked up, expected for one of the Southside Syndicate gangsters to fill me up with bullets, but to my surprise, Saint had come outside, guns blazing. He was completely naked, which would have been amusing if I didn’t fear for both of our lives.

  Saint fired off a few more shots, but it seemed that his presence was enough to scare off whoever it was that wanted me dead. The gunfire stopped, and I heard tires screeching as the enemy made their getaway.

  “What the fuck are you doing out here?” he yelled at me, coming toward me to snatch me from against the side of the car.

  I couldn’t speak. I was in too much shock. Once again, I had been graced by death and let live.

  “Are you hurt? Did they get you?” Saint asked, looking over my shaking body.

  I shook my head and cleared my tight throat. “I don’t think so.”

  “Jesus Christ, Ruth. You could have been killed. Were you trying to run away?” he asked, his eyes wrought with worry.

  I felt guilty about what I had done, even though I shouldn’t have. “I was just trying to go home,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. My face was hot, and my throat grew tighter.

  I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t stop the tears. All the stress, the pain, the struggles, and the trauma poured out through my eyes. I pushed my head into Saint’s bare shoulder, sobbing into his skin as he pulled me close.

  “We have to go inside, Ruth. We have to leave,” Saint said, trying to yank me further from the destroyed car.

  “No,” I said. “Mrs. May is still in there.”

  “Fuck,” Saint said, leaving me and charging toward the car.

  I feared the worst as I watched him pull the car door open as though the cat belonged to him instead of me. He had grown close to Mrs. May the few days they had been together. It was sweet, but I was now terrified that she hadn’t made it. Both of our hearts would be broken if that was the case.

  Saint bent over, pulling Mrs. May’s carrying case from the car and lifting it up. There was a hole close to the top, but when I heard a healthy meow from inside, my heart flooded with relief.

  “Thank god,” I exclaimed, rushing toward Mrs. May and opening it up to get her out.

  She felt good in my arms, warm and full of life, just as she should be. I held her close, and this time she didn’t try to squirm and get away. It was as though she were happy that I was alive and well too, but cats didn’t actually care, did they?

  “We need to go,” Saint urged, grabbing at my arm. “There’s no way that the police haven’t been called.”

  “We don’t have a car,” I said, motioning to the blue Mercedes that more closely resembled a cheese grater than a drivable vehicle.

  “I’m sure it’s still drivable,” he replied, but there was doubt in his voice.

  I laughed. “Are you going to drive it naked too?”

  Saint seemed to have forgotten that he was naked. He looked down at his body in surprise, then covered himself with his free hand, waving his gun around as he spoke. “I’m not going to be able to talk my way out of this.”

  “Just go inside and put some clothes on,” I said, confused.

  “It’s too late for that,” Saint said, giving me a sorry face, then looking over my shoulder.

  I turned my head to see three police cars flying into the parking lot. I knew that I should have felt relieved that I was finally going to be safe, but I knew what this meant for Saint. He was going away in handcuffs, and it was likely I would never see him again.

  “Saint, I’m sorry,” I said, tears still dripping from my cheeks. This time it was for another reason. I felt regret for trying to escape. I had put Saint in a terrible position.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Saint said, placing his gun on the ground at his feet and taking two steps. He slowly raised his hands in the air as police jumped out of their cars. “I know that it hasn’t been that long since I met you, but I feel that you’re a part of me now. You always will be. Promise me that you won’t forget me.”

  I sobbed as police barked orders at Saint and I, their guns trained on us. “I won’t forget you, Saint. I love you,” I said, the words rolling from my tongue before I could stop them.

  While I had never thought about it up until this point, it was funny how quickly someone can change your life. I was in love with Saint, and I couldn’t deny it. Some loves take years to develop, some take months, and some even take seconds. The moment I saw Saint’s glimmering green eyes, I feel for him. I just didn’t realize it until it was too late.

  I wasn’t listening to the police, but they seemed more concerned with Saint than they did with me. He had been the one holding a gun, after all.

  Police rushed both of us, but I was still holding Mrs. May. A police officer in a black uniform pulled me off to the side, letting me keep the cat in my arms as two others cuffed Saint. They didn’t have to pat him down because he was naked, but they gave him a thorough look around before bringing him a blanket to wrap his body with.

  I kept my mouth shut the entire time, even with the police asking me questions. I had been taught not to speak in situations like this by both my parents. Being in the legal system for so long, they saw their fair share of botched trials that could have easily been avoided if the defendant had just kept their mouth shut.

  The only thing I told the cops was that I was choosing to remain silent and that I wanted to speak with a lawyer when I got to the station. I would be calling my brother for his advice on all of this. I hadn’t done anything wrong as far as I knew, but I didn’t want to ruin anything for Saint, either. He had a lot more trouble ahead of him than I did.

  The police were nice enough to let me bring Mrs. May with me. She didn’t have any clue what was going on, but she would be safe at the station until all of this got sorted out.

  In a way, I was relieved. Everything that had transpired in the last few days was finally coming to a close. This wasn’t exactly the way that I wanted things to end, but it was better than getting shot by the Syndicate. I still didn’t understand why they had tried to kill me.

  I watched as Saint was put into the back of a police car and taken to the station. His green eyes flashed up toward me as he took his last look at me. There was sadness in his eyes, and it almost made me cry again. I would miss him.

  Chapter Twenty

  My parents were relieved to see me alive and well. Why wouldn’t they be? As far as they had known, I was locked away in some dungeon until my mother finished judging the Southside Syndicate case. To see that I had managed to get away brought tears of joy to their eyes.

  I was back home, sitting on the couch as my parents bombarded me with questions. The police had let me go back to my parents’ house after I spoke with my brother over the phone. The cops were more interested in the role Saint had played in all of this than what I had done. They knew me to be a victim.

  The truth was that Saint had rescued me from the Syndicate. I never mentioned that he had also tried to blackmail my mother. There was no reason for me to throw him under the bus like that. If they had something to pin on him, then they would without my help.

  “I’m just so glad you’re safe. I was worried about what they would do to you when they found out that I had been relieved from the trail,” my mother said, shaking her head.

  “What?” I asked, nearly jumping out of my seat. “They let you off? Why?”

  “They wanted to move it up to a federal level. That’s out of my jurisdiction,” she explained.

  My father nodded, keeping silent.

  So, that’s why the Syndicate had tried to kill me in the end. They knew that I was of no use to them anymore, and they wanted to rid themselves of any mess. I was probably still in dange
r because of that, but I would have protection until I left the state of Florida. I couldn’t stay here after all that had happened.

  “So, you can’t influence the case at all?” I asked, just to be clear.

  “That’s correct. I thought they might let you go or just try to kill you when they found out,” my mother said solemnly.

  “I was going to ask for your help on it, but I guess that’s out of the question,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” My mother asked, looking confused. She was right to be. There was no reason why a young woman like me should have any interest in a trial of a bunch of gangsters, but I was interested. I was very interested.

  I sighed. “The man who rescued me, Saint, his brother is on the trial. I wanted to help him. He’s not a bad guy,” I said, gauging my parents’ reaction to the news.

  My dad’s eyes nearly popped from his head. “The man who rescued you is part of the Southside Syndicate?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “But his brother got mixed up in it.”

  “How do you even know this man?” my mother asked, frowning as though I had done something terrible.

  “I’m not getting mixed up with the wrong sort, don’t worry,” I lied. “He was trying to save someone else, but found me instead.”

  My father rubbed his chin. “But his brother is a Syndicate.”

  “I guess,” I said. “But I don’t think he deserves to be on trial with the others. Saint is a good man, and I’m sure his brother is the same.” I couldn’t actually speak for Saint’s brother, but that didn’t matter. I missed Saint, and I only wanted the best for him and his brother.

  “If he’s innocent, then he’ll be fine on trial,” my mother said.

  I laughed. “We both know that’s not true. That’s not the way the court system works.”

  My father nodded. “True. He’ll need a hell of a lawyer to get off. Blackmail won’t work this time.”

  I laughed again, nervously this time. My parents didn’t know that it was Saint who had sent the pictures of me to my mother. They seemed to think the Syndicate was behind all of it.

  I paused for a second as an idea rose to my brain. “Would Andrew qualify as a hell of a lawyer?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I walked outside, tasting the fresh air from the porch. It felt so nice to be outside in nature. I enjoyed the smaller things like this so much more after having had repeated brushes with death. I had a greater appreciation for a lot of things since my kidnapping. My freedom was a pretty nice thing.

  Since Andrew had agreed to represent Saint’s brother on trial, the only thing that was left to do was to find out what had happened to Saint. We had been separated at the motel, but I suspected that he was locked up now. I could visit him while he was behind bars to tell him about his brother. I’m sure he would be happy to hear it.

  I felt like I hadn’t thanked Saint in the way that I should have for saving me. If it wasn’t for him, I would still be a prisoner, and possibly used as a slave for the Syndicate boss. I shuddered just thinking of what would have come of me if Saint hadn’t found me.

  He may have been a bad guy, but I didn’t want things to end the way they had. I wasn’t sure what his fate would be, but I hoped that they let him off easy. I had never said a word against him, and I would defend him if I was brought in to testify.

  I sighed and leaned against the white porch railing, feeling the first drops of rain falling onto the back of my hands as the sky grew gray. It would be another rainy day today.

  I gazed off into the street, thinking about Saint’s green eyes. I already missed the way he looked at me with those eyes. I missed the scar on his chin and the stubble on his sharp jaw. I missed the deep rumble of his voice and the way his large body felt against mine. I never thought I would fall in love with a man like him.

  A glossy black car pulled up to the curb outside my parent’s house as I stood on the porch. My heart jumped, thinking that it might be the Syndicate, coming back to end me once and for all, but it wasn’t them. It was someone I never had expected to see.

  Saint stepped out of the car, a bundle of roses in one arm. The moment he looked up at me with those beautiful eyes, I rushed to him. My heart pounded in my chest as I jumped down the porch steps and flew across the lawn to greet him.

  “Hey there, Ruth,” he said with a grin.

  I didn’t reply. I jumped into his arms, planting a kiss on his lips as hard as I could. He stumbled back against the car, but his strong body was able to support me easily once he recovered. He leaned into the kiss, enjoying the softness of my lips against his.

  I took a deep breath in, smelling his intoxicating scent. I could die like this, and I would have been happy. This would be a fine ending to my adventure, but alas, this wasn’t the end. This was only the beginning.

  Saint leaned back and set me down after the kiss, a smile spread wide across his glowing face. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too. I thought they had locked you up,” I said.

  Saint thrust out the roses to me. “They can’t lock up someone without evidence. Fighting against the Syndicate is hardly a crime.”

  I took the flowers and held them close to me, smelling the freshness of the roses. As typical as they were, roses were my favorite flowers. They smelled fantastic.

  “I’m really glad you’re out,” I said, putting down the flowers. “I never got the chance to properly thank you for what you did.”

  “For kidnapping you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I laughed. “For saving me.”

  “Well, I might have to kidnap someone else, since the judge has been changed on the Syndicate trial.”

  “I heard about that,” I said. “And I have a solution for you if you’re okay with it.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, surprised.

  “My brother agreed to defend your brother. He’s a lawyer,” I said.

  “Really? It’s going federal, though. That costs a lot,” he said.

  “He’ll do it for free,” I said with a smile. “Family connections.”

  Saint’s eyes widened. “Fuck, we might just be able to get him off.”

  “Yeah, but on one condition,” I said, holding up a finger.

  “What’s that?” Saint asked.

  “You give up this criminal life. I want to get to know you better, and I’m not going to do that if you’re out selling drugs on the street.”

  “I don’t bother with drugs much anymore,” Saint said.

  “You’ll bother with nothing from now on if you want to see me,” I said, holding firm to my terms.

  “Yes, alright. That seems fair,” Saint replied. “I don’t really need to do it anyway. I was thinking of retiring.”

  “You have the money for that?” I asked, surprised.

  “Crime pays, darling,” he said with a cocky grin.

  I shook my head but smiled with him. I was just happy that we were together again. “Are you going to stay in Florida?” I asked.

  “It’s not safe here after all that’s happened. I think we would be better off going to my place in Virginia like I was trying to do before you tried to escape.”

  “We?” I asked.

  “Yes, we. Don’t make me have to kidnap you again,” he said jokingly.

  I laughed. “Not necessary. I’ll go with you. I have to get the hell out of here anyway. It’s definitely not safe for me. I think my whole family is planning on relocating.”

  Saint nodded. “Yeah, it was a little too easy to find your parent’s address.”

  “I was about to say that. I was wondering how you found me so quickly,” I said.

  “I have connections, too,” he replied with a wink.

  “So, do you want to come in and meet my parents?” I asked, not knowing what he would say.

  “I’d love to,” Saint replied, much to my delight.

  “Great, let’s go,” I said, taking his hand and leading him to the house.

 
Epilogue

  Saint’s brother didn’t get off that easily. He was sentenced to two years in jail, but that sure beats a lifetime. The Syndicate was hit much harder, with every member on the trail getting no less than thirty years behind bars.

  After that, the Syndicate began to crumble. They didn’t fall overnight, but their power was greatly reduced in South Florida over a span of a few years.

  I struggled for a while to find a good acting job out of Virginia, but with Saint’s help, I was able to take my time with auditions without worrying about being late on rent. Mrs. May and I lived a very comfortable life with Saint.

  Eventually, I got a side role in a heist movie, which led to a lead role in another crime movie. Apparently, I fit right into those roles. I thanked my prior experience for that. I wouldn’t have been able to play the part so well if I hadn’t lived it first.

  Saint and I were happy with our new life together. He had been in the crime business for so long that he hadn’t realized how much less stressful it was not to be running from the police all the time. I was certain he would never go back, and neither would his brother. The harsh realities of getting mixed up in all that took a toll on them both, and they wouldn’t return to it.

  If I had to go through all of that again, I would, if not just to meet Saint again. He was my everything, and I was his queen. We were inseparable.

  You never know where life is going to take you. Sometimes, what looks like trouble can end up being the adventure of a lifetime. All it takes is a pair of green eyes, a few sinners, and a saint.

  The End.

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