All Chapters of Under the Mafia's Touch (MxM): Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The penthouse looked like a stage after the actors had left with dimmed lights, silence pressing against its polished walls. Dominic moved through the rooms like a man haunting his own empire. A week had passed since Noah walked out, yet the absence was louder than any storm.On the kitchen counter, trays of untouched meals sat stacked, a testament to his disinterest. He picked one up, stared at it, then shoved it aside. His gaze drifted toward the living room where Eli’s crayons once cluttered the glass table. Now, nothing. Just reflections of his own loneliness staring back at him from the pristine surface.Dominic poured himself a drink, the amber liquid catching the dim light. He lifted the glass, but his hand paused before it touched his lips. Instead, he set it down and leaned both palms on the counter, shoulders rigid. The liquor wasn’t strong enough to drown the reel of memories—Noah’s laughter echoing through these rooms, Eli’s small voice asking endless questions, the pr

Morning light barely touched the gray edges of Noah’s small apartment. A cup of coffee sat forgotten on the counter, its steam long gone cold. Noah paced, fingers raking through his hair, his mind still spinning from the night before. Every sound felt too loud, the hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of the clock, the faint traffic murmuring outside.Then came the pounding outside the door. Heavy, impatient, shaking the frame of the door.Noah's breath seized. For a heartbeat, he thought whoever left the note had come back. But when he opened it, the man standing there wasn’t a stranger.Dominic filled the doorway – tall, broad, his dark coat unbuttoned, his shirt creased, his eyes rimmed red from lack of sleep. He looked furious. And terrified.“You get a threat and you don’t call me?” His voice cracked the air.Noah’s spine stiffened. “You lost the right to protect me, remember?”Dominic stepped forward, forcing Noah back with the sheer weight of his presence. “I never lost tha

The hotel suite glowed with a soft amber hue, gold light spilling from the chandelier onto the marble floor. Jaxon leaned against the window, his reflection staring back impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, eyes shadowed with fatigue and purpose. The skyline shimmered below, a city too alive to notice two predators circling each other above it. His jaw flexed as he checked his watch. She was late intentionally, he knew.The door clicked. Avery entered like sin personified, silver heels, dark curls framing her face, crimson lipstick sharp as a blade. Confidence poured off her in waves, her gaze locked on him with playful defiance.“You look tense, Jaxon,” she teased, closing the door slowly. “Did Dominic send you to scold me, or is this personal?”He straightened. “You know exactly why I’m here.”“Do I?” She slipped her coat off her shoulders, revealing a black silk dress that caught the light. “You tracked me. That’s devotion, not duty.”“Don’t flatter yourself.”“Then stop lookin

The city’s lights blinked against the glass like distant fires when Noah stepped into the penthouse. The air smelled faintly of whiskey and tension. Dominic was pacing the length of his study, shoulders rigid, jaw set. The glow from the desk lamp carved shadows along his cheekbones, making his expression unreadable.“You sent someone after Mason,” Noah said quietly, his coat still half on.Dominic didn’t stop pacing. “He’s a threat. I remove threats.”“You don’t remove them, you destroy them.”Dominic looked up then, eyes sharp as cut glass. “Is there a difference when they come for what’s mine?”Noah flinched at the possessiveness, the way Dominic’s voice carried both fury and fear. “This isn’t how you fix things. You think violence keeps us safe? It only feeds the same monster you’re fighting.”Dominic’s mouth twitched, a bitter hint of a smile. “You think I enjoy this?”“I think you’ve forgotten there’s any other way to live.”The words hit harder than either expected. The silence

The skyline bled amber light into Dominic’s office, the city stretching beneath him like a beast waiting to devour. Mason leaned against the glass desk, his tie loose, a cigarette dangling unlit from his lips. The detective had the kind of face that looked carved from corruption, creases deepened by smoke and bad choices.“Thought you’d want a heads-up,” Mason said, sliding a flash drive across the polished surface. “You didn’t hear it from me, but the Bureau’s got your name on a murder.”Dominic’s jaw flexed. “You think I’d be sitting here if that were true?”Mason chuckled, tapping ash from a cigarette he hadn’t lit. “Evidence says otherwise. Bloodied gloves, a gun, a nice, clean fingerprint. Yours.”“Impossible,” Dominic said flatly, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.Mason shrugged. “They’ve got footage too. Warehouse alley, victim’s blood still warm.” He dropped a photo onto the desk, an image marked with an FBI watermark. Dominic’s fingerprint circled in red.The air t