No Longer His Obedient Mafia Shadow

ork's future Don since we were six year

ld save in a lethal crossfire between me and a Capo's

life. Saving her would ju

king laughter, cheering as the Capo's da

ate grandfather's sacred blood-oath rosary as

ly shoving me aside to coddle his new favorite's fa

and casual cruelty, naively believing he

so ruthlessly strip away my dignity, deliberately destroying

, the fifteen years of suffocating

thern Syndicate to become an underground surgeon,

pte

ade men when the future Don of New York looked me dead i

mily tonight, the man I had worshipped since childh

nd Syndicate club was a stagnant fog of e

hose tailored suit could not conceal the sheer mass of the shoulders beneath it-shoulders that

rogant stillness of a king who owned every shard o

. Or so ever

onto the table. An

us erupted in rowdy cheers. They

corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk.

u only had time to pull one girl out of the cros

seemed to fall away into nothing. The air

. There was no recognition there-only the flat, cold a

ar

yet it seemed to suck a

nk, his voice cutting through th

irefight would just be a tactical liability. She w

off the glass tabletops. They slapped the table, mocking my unrequited

in my lap, my fingernails digging int

only gratify them. I swallowed the metallic tang that rose

al cruelty of his operations. The sight of blood made my stomach tu

o stone. I was going to flee to the Southern Syndicate. I w

s parted, and Daria stru

e, but with the coiled, efficient tension of a predator. S

and downed a punishing shot as a late penalty

med the empty space beside Rocco. She snapped her fingers at

It was the rough, familiar gesture of a fell

ring opening up near the docks tonight," Daria

smile that held no warmth.

consciousness. He hadn't answered my calls last night bec

hifted her weight, intentionally forcing me to a

ered. "Looks like Daria is breaki

t his territorial dominance. I waited for him to shut the

ust stared at his glass, and the air grew so ta

f humiliation in my throat and l

We aren't bound b

knocked over h

ith a loud crack. Shards of glass flew acros

His usually arrogant expression had darke

towel from the bar, tel

e. He closed the distance between us in a fraction o

d, the clip of his tie catching a sliver of light that stabbed at my eyes

es, countering with a b

e were kids. You beat an Associate half to d

A muscle feath

ice hard. He quickly pivoted, leaning closer to interrogate me. "How are

right then and there that I had never

e gaze dropped to my shoulder

make the men at the table flinch. "Female Enforcers must crop their hair. En

at the dark strands c

ddle school," I explained softly. "I

isbelief. He scoffed, a s

cy. You are being vain, Tessa. You are use

hrough my chest li

I never submitted my name to the Enforcer Academy because I would rather die than become a monster

immediately noticing the stra

ossing the towel onto the spill. "Apolo

His eyes remained locked on mine,

g. She is being an i

f courage drain

eir effortless banter about guns an

ss about my survival, and he cer

this city before he d