All Chapters of Claimed by the Mafia Biker: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The apartment was too quiet.I sat on the couch in the dark, with my knees pulled to my chest and my phone clutched in one hand even though I wasn’t calling anyone.What would I even say?Hi, I think the man I’ve been running from for four years is about to tear apart everything I’ve rebuilt.Cruz knew.Not everything, not yet.But enough to make my chest feel like it was wired to a ticking bomb.He said he wanted to see her.He said he was coming for both of us.And the worst part?A part of me wanted to let him.That part that still remembered how it all started, before everything fell apart.Four and a half years ago.I was twenty-one. Broke and pissed off at the world. Working late-night shifts at a gas station off Route 9 just to keep my tiny one-bedroom apartment.I hated it there, because the floors were sticky, the lights flickered, and half the customers were either high or rude.But one night… he walked in, wearing black boots, a leather jacket, tattoos creeping up his neck

“You have five minutes to decide, Nova.”Cruz said with a low and thunderous voice that made me tremble.I crossed my arms, trying to stay upright despite the way my knees threatened to buckle. “Or what? You’ll burn down my life again?”He took a step forward. “You already burned it when you ran.”“You don’t get to do this.” I jabbed a finger at his chest, but it was like poking steel. “You don’t get to show up after four years and—”“Three years, ten months and two weeks.” His voice was cold. “That’s how long it’s been since you disappeared.”The pain in my throat choked me silent.Cruz’s jaw ticked, and his eyes flickered down to where my hand still rested against his chest. He looked at it like it was both a miracle and a weapon.“You didn’t even tell me,” he said, softer now. “You didn’t even give me a fucking chance.”I couldn’t look at him. My eyes burned. “You would’ve dragged me back into that life. The drugs, the guns, the blood—”“The club is clean now.”I laughed, bitterly

We didn’t stop riding until the sun had vanished behind the mountains. My thighs were numb and my arms was shaking from holding on too tight, but I didn’t complain.I didn’t say a word, neither did Cruz.Not until we reached the cabin, then Cruz cut the engine.My daughter, somehow still asleep between us, stirred against my back. He climbed off first, reached out and lifted her into his arms.“She’s heavier than she looks,” he muttered.I slid off the bike,“She’s four, full of attitude and ice cream.”He cracked the smallest grin. “Like her mom, then.”I stared at him.That smile dropped.Right.We weren’t joking, not yet.He carried her into the cabin and I followed, stepping into musty air and shadows. The place hadn’t been touched in years. But it was safe.Safer than home.He laid her on the couch gently and stood there, staring down at her.I stood beside him.“She sleeps like you,” he said.I looked at him. “How would you know?”He didn’t answer.“I need her name,” he said.I

The moment the door slammed behind Cruz, it was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I couldn’t breathe.Not because I was scared he wouldn’t come back, but because I was afraid he would.I looked at Isla. She was sitting on the counter, swinging her little feet happily, and eating chocolate chip pancakes like the world wasn’t about to burn.She had no idea what kind of bloodline she belonged to.And if Cruz couldn’t shut the door on that world… she would find out the hard way.I wiped my hands on a towel and leaned against the fridge.Cruz hadn’t said it out loud, but I saw it in his eyes.He was about to make a deal with the devil.And this time?I was the collateral.Lena showed up with more clothes and groceries, took one look at me, and said, “You look like you’ve been standing in a thunderstorm without getting wet.”I sank onto the couch. “He went to see his father.”Her eyes widened. “Lucian Maddox?”I nodded.“Nova, are you out of your mind?! That man kills people