All Chapters of I Found My Mafia Mom, A Cop Husband: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

She showed up like a storm in stilettos.Alex had just picked up his fork when a smooth, playful voice came from behind him. It had that familiar De Luca charm that always hinted at mischief.“Well, well. The city’s favourite detective. Eating alone? That’s not like you.”Alex looked up. “Isabella.”She was wearing a cream silk dress under a fur-trimmed coat, sunglasses perched on top of her head like a crown.Alex set his fork down. “You’re not supposed to be here.”She slid into the chair across from him, crossing her legs like she owned the place. “Relax. No one knows we’re together.”“We’re not together,” Alex said under his breath.She tilted her head. “Really? Because your father seems to think otherwise.”Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. “Isabella—”“You’re Detective Ramos,” she interrupted, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table. “And I’m just some gorgeous woman having lunch with you. Maybe your new fiancée.”Alex’s jaw clenched. “Isabella.”She smirked. “Don’t

Ava resisted the urge to glare at her daughter. Barely.Pearl stood a few feet away, holding up her tablet like a director on a chaotic movie set. Her hair was pulled into two messy buns, and she was wearing sunglasses bigger than her face, acting like she was Spielberg reborn. "Smile, Mom! You look like you’re about to perform surgery, not announce you’re in love!"Alex stood awkwardly next to Ava, adjusting the cuffs of his navy blazer as if it were the jacket's fault he was being forced into this madness."This is ridiculous," Ava muttered under her breath.He leaned down slightly, his mouth almost brushing her ear. "You agreed to this.""Under duress."He chuckled. "Still counts."Pearl clapped her hands. "Less whispering, more smiling! You’re in love, remember?"Ava turned her head slightly, giving Alex a look that would’ve sent most grown men running. He just smirked.Great. He was getting good at surviving her death glares.The house staff buzzed behind them as they tried (and

“Answer the question, Ramos. Why did you kiss me?”Ava’s voice was sharp enough to cut steel, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.Alex leaned casually against the wall, looking maddeningly relaxed for a man who should be begging for his life.“It’s called selling the story, Doc,” he said with a shrug, the corner of his mouth lifting. “You want believable? That’s how you get it.”He looked utterly unbothered, like he hadn’t just thrown a grenade into their already precarious arrangement. “Making it believable,” he added, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.“That’s not believable—that’s reckless,” Ava snapped, every muscle in her body tense.He only leaned back further against the marble railing, exuding lazy confidence. “You didn’t seem to mind,” he said, tilting his head slightly.Ava glared daggers at him, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. “We agreed on public appearances,” she reminded him. “We didn’t agree on that.”Alex just shrugged one shoulder, comp

The briefing room smelled strongly of burnt coffee. You could feel the tension in the air, as if it were gnawing under your skin. Officers in tactical gear filled the benches; some were rubbing their tired eyes, while others fidgeted nervously, already feeling the pre-mission jitters. While some appeared to be still waking up, the majority displayed a glare that indicated their frustration.Nobody enjoyed being summoned at the break of dawn for a raid that was assembled with less than a day's notice.Alex Ramos stood at the front, arms crossed and jaw clenched, looking serious. He was more than just another person in the room; he wasn’t there just to participate in the raid but was the man who had orchestrated it all. “You sure about this intel?” Jenna asked, leaning toward him, her voice pitched low enough to avoid catching the captain’s attention. Her ponytail was still damp from the gym, and she smelled faintly of cinnamon gum and doubt. “An anonymous tip with no ID could be ba

“Unless it’s a full code, direct anything after six to Dr. Alec,” Ava said, slipping her lab coat off one arm as she moved through the hallway of the ER.The nurse beside her nodded quickly, clipboard in hand, struggling to keep up with Ava’s fast pace.“If it’s something he can’t handle,” Ava continued, already opening her locker, “they can call my emergency line. But only if it’s life-threatening or political. No grey area.”“Yes, Dr. Reed.”Ava buttoned her coat shut and pulled her hair free from the clip. Her shift was technically over. Her nerves, however, were far from clocked out.The memory of Alex’s face in that dark hallway—the sound of his voice, the gun, the brief standoff—still felt intense. He didn’t recognise her, and she was sure of that. But ever since that moment, she’d felt a tightness in her jaw that just wouldn’t disappear.Between a police raid she couldn’t admit to surviving and the fallout of public scandal, she felt like she'd lived three lifetimes in one week