Alle Kapitel von Claimed by My Mafia King: Kapitel 11 – Kapitel 20

Brode's POVThe woman pushed me off and ran upstairs.Her scent still clung to me. The sound of her footsteps as she fled kept tapping into my skull like a needle.It cleared my head.When I realized what I'd just done, the high started to wear off. What replaced it was regret and dark satisfaction, tangled together.Did I hate her? Fucking right I did.I hated her for leaving me. And I hated her for walking back into my life and making me feel that hatred all over again.But when I actually looked at her, the instinct to hate kept misfiring.Three years, and she was still the same. Quiet. Unspoiled. Pure as a blank page.A lure. The kind of thing that dragged a man down.And I'll say it out loud: that kind of want was poison. The kind that kills you.I'd wanted to grind this woman down, humiliate her, end her. But with her in front of me, something reached in and gutted me. Those vicious thoughts dissolved before I could hold onto them."Fuck!"I slammed my fist into the bathroom tile

Evelyn's POVI was stunned.Listening to my supervisor flip into pure servility on the phone was both pathetic and nauseating."No—" I stepped forward, reaching for my phone. "No, sir, I can still come in—"But Brode had already hung up.I glared at him, furious."Brode, what do you want from me?"A small smile curved his mouth. "I just asked you to play golf, and you're this worked up. What, with an attitude like that, do you want to do something else with me? Or do you think I want to do something else with you?"He stepped closer. The smell of cigar smoke and gun oil hit me, and my head split open with sudden pain. Images I hadn't remembered before came flooding back, the cloying sweet-metal scent of it all layered on top of one another. I could see Brode with his hand on my throat, his fingers inside me.His voice, low and mocking, asking me if it felt good.A cold sweat broke out all over me. I jumped back, putting a good five feet between us."You— stay away from me!"I was breat

Evelyn's POVMy friend Sarah's wedding was set for Saturday. Three days before, I went back to the house I'd sworn I'd never set foot in again.There was a white dress there I needed.I'd bought it originally as a surprise for Brode. I was going to wear it the day we went to put an offer on the valley where we'd have our future wedding.Then my mother came clean about her gambling debt. After Brode and I broke up, I sold every piece of jewelry worth anything to start plugging the hole she'd dug. But I couldn't bring myself to sell that dress.Looking at it now, it wasn't fancy. It was simple and clean. Perfect for a bridesmaid.This trip was just to pick it up."Home" was generous. It was a row house in the east side, one heavy storm away from falling down.The plaster was mostly gone from the outside walls, exposing blackened brick underneath. The front step had a crack running through it. Grass was growing out of the crack. The wet moss all over it almost made me slip.And the whole

Evelyn's POVI'd barely rounded the corner of the cathedral corridor when I ran straight into Sarah and Ben.Sarah was holding up her train. Ben was trailing behind her. They were clearly looking for me."Evelyn! Where did you go?" Sarah grabbed my hand, still beaming. "We're doing group photos. Come on!"Before I could answer, Brode came around the corner, his face dark.He stopped a few steps away, adjusting his cuffs. When he looked up and saw Sarah and Ben, the cold composure was back in place.Sarah's expression changed the moment she saw him."You—" She shrank back toward Ben. "You're that man from the bar the other night?"Brode glanced at her and didn't say anything.Ben studied Brode for a moment, then looked at me, then back at him. Something clicked, and his face went sheet-white.He clearly recognized Brode.No one in San Verona didn't know of Brode Ramsden. But knowing of him and recognizing his face were two different things.Ben was clearly the second kind."Mr. Brode."

Evelyn's POVThe doctor arrived quickly.He carried a black leather medical case and had his hair combed back perfectly. He gave Brode a slight nod before crouching down to examine my ankle."Ligament strain. Bone's intact." He took out ointment and bandages from the case. "Ice it for two days, rest for a week. You'll be fine."He spread the ointment over my swollen ankle with practiced hands. The cool relief sank through the skin and eased the burning pain. Then he wound the bandage around, quick and clean."Done." He stood and turned to Brode. "Sir, I'll leave two tubes of ointment. Reapply tomorrow."Brode nodded. His eyes hadn't left my ankle once.The doctor saw himself out.I grabbed the armrest of the bench and tried to stand. The second my foot touched the floor, the pain made me gasp."Don't push it." Brode's voice came from above. "You can't walk on that. You'll only make it worse.""I can—"I gritted my teeth and tried to argue, but the world tilted under me. He'd already li