Married to the mafia King

Of course, they had no idea I already knew they’d betrayed my family…

Or ripped us off for money…

Or tried to sell us out to our enemies.

It was always the last mistake they ever made.

“The ‘truth’ is just a story people want you to believe until the facts come out.”

“Ooh, that’s deep,” she sneered. “You a philosopher?”

“Philosophers don’t settle scores with guns. Who hired you? Carmine?”

She mentioned some low-level foot soldier for the Agrellas named Pasquarelli.

“Never heard of him,” I said.

“I wish I could say the same,” she muttered under her breath.

I asked if he’d brought her here.

“He took me to some modeling agency, and they got me ready for tonight.”

“Modeling agency?”

That was interesting.

Was it part of the Agrellas’ operation?

Did they recruit girls off the street to be models and then force them into prostitution?

Of course, Bianca wasn’t privy to any of my thoughts…

So she reacted like I was an idiot. “Did I stutter?”

I let her reply slide. I was in information-gathering mode and I wouldn’t be deterred.

Instead, I gestured to the two supermodels hanging all over Massimo and Lars. My boys knew the girls were just an attempt by the Agrellas to play us.

“What about them?” I asked.

“What about them?”

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her. “Are they ‘not whores,’ too? Do they have relatives who owe money to the Agrellas?”

She was not happy with me poking fun at her. “No. They just give blowjobs.”

I almost laughed. She was definitely quick on her feet.

“At least somebody’s honest about their profession.”

“That would be me being honest about their profession,” she snarled.

“Uh-huh. And what do you do, exactly?”

She was a student at some fashion design school.

I couldn’t help but look at her clothes, which looked better suited for a BDSM club.

The outfit was expensive… but it made her look cheap. Like she could be bought.

I didn’t like it.

No matter how good her tits looked in it.

“Did you design this?” I asked.

“No. The modeling agency provided it.”

I felt relieved, which surprised me.

Why would I care whether she made clothes like that or not?

“Good,” I said.

“Why ‘good’?”

“Because you may not give blowjobs for money, but you’re sure as hell dressed like it.”

“Blowjob couture,” she said in a sarcastic voice.

God damn she was fast with a quip.

“Pretty much,” I said with a smile.

Then she said the modeling agency had dressed her that way. “They wanted me to look like a high-class escort.”

Again, I couldn’t help myself.

“I don’t know about the ‘high-class’ part.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why dress high-class when there’s nobody with class around?”

Okay. THAT’S enough.

I’d let her push back a little too much, and she was getting a little too full of herself.

“Careful,” I said.

“I’d say the same to you, but you ignore almost everything I say.”

That piqued my interest. What hadn’t I ignored?

“‘Almost’?”

“You haven’t made another crack about me being a whore.”

“The night is still young. So let me get this straight: your father owes money to the Agrellas. They said you could work off some of it if you came here and… did what, exactly?”

She shrugged. “Talk.”

What the hell?

The Agrellas had just let this chick come in here and were going to pay her to what irritate the shit out of me?

“Talk?” I said in shock.

“Yeah.”

“Talk is cheap.”

“Not that cheap, apparently.”

I frowned. “How much did they say they’d knock off your father’s debt?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she said snottily.

Bitch

I’m the one PAYING your ass for information.

“It is if you want to get your tip,” I said coolly.

She looked at me like she hated me.

Too bad it made her look even hotter.

“…3000 euros,” she finally said.

Now NOTHING made sense.

This chick’s father owed money to the Agrellas…

And now they were basically paying her three grand to talk?

Something was way, way off.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“No,” she snapped.

I didn’t say anything because I was running through all the possible reasons the Agrellas could be doing something so stupid.

When I didn’t answer, she got defensive. “What?”

“They’re vastly overpaying,” I said.

It was sort of a joke but mostly the truth.

“Maybe if I enjoyed talking to you more, it’d be a bit more entertaining,” she snapped.

I was this close to throwing her over my knee and spanking her ass.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“So you have to enjoy a job to be any good at it?” I asked, setting her up.

“It helps.”

“Well, I hope you enjoy giving blowjobs, then.”

That’s when she slapped me.

Did not see THAT one coming.

And she did not pull her punches.

“Fuck around and find out, asshole!” she yelled as she stomped off.

Five things went through my head at the same time.

One: I wanted to kill her.

Two: it made me want to fuck her even more. Not gonna lie, it kind of turned me on.

Three: I was mad I hadn’t seen it coming. Dominatrix Barbie had basically just sucker-punched me. What the hell did that say about me?

Four: My respect for her went up a ton.

Bitch had balls of steel, that was for sure.

Either that, or she was stupid or insane.

Nobody in their right mind would slap a made man of the Cosa Nostra. It was a one-way ticket to a shallow grave.

It reminded me of something I might have done: crazy, stupid, and ballsy as hell.

And five: I remembered why she’d been talking to me in the first place…

So I decided to put her in her place.

After all, I was still pissed.

I reached into my pocket and ripped a couple of bills off my bankroll. “Hey you forgot your tip.”

She stopped and looked around at me.

She hated me that much was clear from the look on her face.

But there was also this desperation in her eyes.

I knew she was fighting the urge to come back for the money.

Part of me hoped she wouldn’t…

…but then she disappointed me.

She sold out just like they all do.

Doesn’t matter if they’re a whore or a hitman

They all sell themselves out for a little bit of money in the end.

She walked over with a pathetic look on her face…

And her hand reached out for the cash.

I could’ve been a dick and jerked it back, but I decided not to.

Giving it to her would be a nice Fuck you, princess.

And then…

…she surprised me again.

Hatred flooded back into her eyes and she thrust her middle finger in my face.

“Stick it up your ass,” she hissed, then turned and walked away.

I stood there in shock.

In 28 years of my life

And over 12 years in the family business

Nobody had ever done that.

Nobody had ever turned down money and told me to go fuck myself.

Especially somebody who really needed it.

She valued herself.

That was rare.

I’ll admit, what she’d done had pissed me off

But it also made me respect the hell out of her, too.

Madonn…

What a woman.

As she stormed off into another room, Carmine came running over.

He played at being outraged on my behalf, but he couldn’t quite hide his glee underneath the anger.

“Signore I am SO sorry I will have her removed and punished at once!”

I knew I should be mad at her.

After all, she’d just bitch-slapped me in front of one of my enemies.

Made me look like a fool.

And I was sure Carmine was going to tell his boss, which would make the negotiations that much harder.

He’s weak!

He let a WOMAN hit him!

But I wasn’t mad.

Well

Okay, yeah, I was.

Pretty damn pissed, actually.

But I also had the deepest respect for what she’d done.

I didn’t have any enemies I respected certainly not Carmine or the Agrellas.

She was worth a thousand of those spineless worms.

“No… don’t,” I said to Carmine. Then I smiled the tiniest bit. “I kind of like her.”