All Chapters of BOUND TO MY MAFIA KING: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

"You and I both know what will happen if word gets out. We'll look weak. And then there's the girl herself. There's just something about her that feels..." My father trailed off, his eyes finally meeting mine. His hand, still holding his phone, stiffened. The other buried deep in his pocket. He tipped his chin in my direction, then glanced at the kitchen door, where my mother obviously was. "Good morning, sir," Ariella whispered next to me, her voice cautious. His hand never dropped from his ear or loosened around his phone. He nodded in acknowledgement. "Let's go." My fingers wrapped around her smooth, delicate arm, yanking slightly. She didn't move immediately though. Rather, her eyes remained fixed on my father. We both knew what he might've been talking about. But regardless, that wasn't a topic to be discussed in this house. "You're off for the day, yes?" Father finally asked. Whoever was on the phone with him had gone silent. Part of me begged for them to keep engaging my

Ruth's lips snapped shut along with the door behind me. Ariella's lip quivered as her gaze shifted from me to Ruth repeatedly. The food Ruth had gotten on my orders remained untouched on the table. The conversation with my father kept ringing in my head, pounding into a headache. The tension between them both drove that headache close into a migraine. "Good morning sir. I trust you've been well." Ruth bowed slightly, her eyes flickering to Ariella for a fraction of a moment. "Enough with the formalities. The building is still standing so I'll assume you and Jason were able to run things properly in my absence." She cleared her throat, standing a bit straighter while trying to hide her pleasure from the praise. "I pulled together all the major events you'll have to attend to immediately and streamlined them into a schedule for your day. You will have two half hour breaks, but otherwise you're occupied." She stepped forward, picking up a discarded folder on my desk. Ariella star

My family had always dealt more in the drug trade and arms than prostitution. It didn't mean we had no hand in it, though. We simply chose not to get involved. It wasn't exactly us being self-righteous, considering we traded human organs as well. The gruesome sight my monitor displayed made my stomach churn. The man whom my men had tortured for information barely looked human anymore. Finally, though, they got some information out of their 'suspect'. The temptation to storm out of here to meet them was almost sweet enough to make me do it. Still, neglecting the legal side of the business was just begging for trouble and attention from the cops. "What are you staring at like that?" Ariella mumbled from the couch. My mind had been so occupied by the disfigured person that I didn't even notice her waking up. "Nothing important." My fingers swiped across the keyboard, exiting the image, though it remained engraved in my head. Dead and tortured bodies have always been the norm, tho

The tension grew sickeningly heavy."Fuck. Let me try."I stepped away from the door, allowing him to grip the doorknob. In the dim lighting, his biceps flexed as he pulled.He'd taken off his suit jacket, leaving him in that crisp white shirt that hugged his physique in all the right places."It's jammed shut from the outside. You slammed it too hard!" My arms crossed over my chest, eyes narrowing."Me?! I barely slammed it at all. I didn't want to scare you further. How did you even think to hide here?" His eyes were wide, exasperated.He sighed, not waiting for my response before digging into his pocket."What are you looking for?""My phone. I left it on my desk when I followed you. We're just going to have to wait. Ruth will kill me, yes. But she also knows how to track me down no matter where I am. It's just one of those things she's good at."He leaned back against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position.Listening to him sing Ruth's praises raised another foreign emotio