Cala Riley [Riley - Mafia Underboss (Mafia Royalty Book 2)

Copyright @ 2019 by Cala Riley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, except brief quotes used for reviews and certain other non-commercial uses, as per copyright laws. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Mafia Underboss Cover Photo by: TakeCover Designs

Dedication:

To our husbands for putting up with our crazy writing process. A special thanks to Louise OReily for being awesome.

Contents

Chapter One

Mia

H e presses me into the wall.

Are you okay? Let me check you.

I chuckle at his tone.

Im fine, Lo. I grab his face while hes searching my body and pull it up to mine. Look at me. Im fine. I didnt get hurt at all.

He sighs. Thank God. I was so worried about you. I wanted to come back and find you myself, but Isabella her injuries. He trails off.

My heart warms. He saved my best friend. My sister.

I was fine.

One of his hand comes up to cup my face. I dont know what I would have done if you hadnt been. He leans forward, pressing his lips to mine, eliciting a gasp from me. He takes the opportunity to slide his tongue against mine. The explosion of feelings catches me by surprise.

Breathless, I pull away, and he rests his head on mine.

Mia.

Yes

Mia.

Yes

Mia! Wake up. Your alarm has been going off for twenty minutes. Get your ass up!

I groan as Izzy shakes me.

Go away, Iz.

She laughs then mimics my same sleepy, annoyed tone. Turn off your alarm, Mia.

Fine. I roll over and shut it off. Happy now?

Yep. She turns, leaving me in bed.

I flip onto my back, gazing at the ceiling as I process the leftover feelings from my dream. Im happy Izzy woke me up. This dream only ends one of two ways. It ends with realityLo pulling back and telling me he shouldnt have kissed me. One single moment ruining the friendship we had built. Or it ends with the fantasy of him doing way more than kissing me.

Both dreams leave me feeling emotionally drained when I wake. One with sadness while the other a tinge of happiness mixed in with disappointment.

I groan as I rub my hands down my face. I wish I could forget him. Unfortunately, I have to lay eyes on him pretty much every day.

Thats what happens when your best friend shacks up with a mafia king. Your life gets turned upside down. Sofia and Bash are now happily in love, but it came after us three getting kidnapped and Izzy almost dying.

I am not exaggerating. She almost died after Fillipo, a capo in the mafia, attempted to use us to lure Bash into a trap. It is still unclear if he was trying to kill him or get him arrested, but thankfully neither happened.

Hence the nightly dream. Lorenzo and I became close when he took over the protection detail on me prior to said kidnapping. We started spending a lot of time together, which led to us sharing secrets and dreams.

Then the kidnapping and kiss happened.

Now he keeps playing this push and pull game with me. One minute he is always around; then the next he is telling me we cant go there. The mental whiplash is enough to cause a concussion.

I let out a deep sigh as I roll out of bed and head to the shower. I stand under the hot water until it runs cold. Getting out, I dry off and clear a spot in the mirror. I stare at my reflection.

You are beautiful. You are strong. You are independent.

I repeat the mantras five times before I take a deep breath.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Hurry up. Im going to be late!

I chuckle at Izzy. Shes been irritated more than shes been civil lately. At first, Id been concerned her change in disposition stemmed from the head injury she received a couple of months ago, but now I think the change has to do with a certain mafia bad boy who has been spending a lot of time at Bello Italiano lately.

I open the door and go back to the sink. Im not done, but do whatever you have to. I grab my toothbrush and start brushing my teeth.

I just need to put my face on, Mia. Not all of us can be naturally beautiful like you.

I look at myself in the mirror. I guess I am beautiful by some peoples standards. I stand at about five foot five with long blonde hair and blue eyes, which is surprising considering both of my parents are Italian. Blonde hair isnt common for Italians. The secret is Im not full-blooded Italian. My great-great-grandfather, Mario, married a Scandinavian woman. I guess I inherited that DNA. I spit out my toothpaste before replying to Izzy.

Shut up. You are a knockout, Izzy. Guys constantly fall all over themselves trying to pant after you. I go back to brushing my teeth. Izzy is already well into putting her makeup on.

Yeah, right. You mean they constantly try to get your attention. Youre the girl next door, Mia. Every guys wet dream. Forbidden fruit every man is dying to get a taste of, Izzy deadpans with an eye roll.

I snort as I rinse my mouth. I dont think you realize how many guys hit on you. You appear oblivious. Its almost like your sourpuss attitude turns them on. I dont get it. I shake my head and start to put my makeup on.

Oh yeah? Name one guy.

I finish applying my eyeliner before I turn and look at her, leaning my hip on the counter.

I can think of one off the top of my head, but Im scared you might shoot me if I say his name.

She turns and glares at me. He only thinks he wants me because Im off-limits. The whole been there done that thing. She shrugs.

I chuckle. I dont know exactly what happened with them, but I think Giovanni might have fucked her over real good. She must have been in love with him. Its the only explanation I have for the hatred pouring off her whenever hes around or mentioned. Unfortunately, it occurred before I met her, and she has been tight-lipped about it.

Well, watch the guys today at work. I bet at least one hits on you.

She rolls her eyes. Fine, but only if you do the same.

I nod. Lets make it interesting. The first guy who hits on you, you have to ask on a date. Ill do the same.

She scoffs. Why would I do that?

Because we need a life. I sigh. Ever since everything happened with Sof, I feel like we live boring lives. We need to go out and do more. All we do is go to work and come home. Hell, Bashs guys even deliver our groceries to us.

Its not an exaggeration either. Ever since the kidnapping, Bash has assigned us each a new guard. A twinge of sadness hits every time I think about what happened to Abramo. He wasnt very social, but the only reason he died was because he was assigned to protect me.

I shake it off. Bash says the danger isnt done, so while Izzy and I would like our independence, were also stuck with the guards watching our every move, for our safety, or so I have been told. Truth is, theres been no action since that night. I think its a bit overdramatic.

Fine. One date though. If hes ugly, I get a pass.

I chuckle at her.

Fine, but only one pass. Then I beam. This is going to be fun.

I highly doubt it.

Lorenzo

You going to visit Sofia at work today? I ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Yep.

Bash is sitting at his desk in the office of Crimson. I admire him for his work ethic.

Under his father, everyone feared the mafia. They feared the unpredictable don who would chop your hand off for being too close to him. While everyone obeyed his every command, it was caused by fear. No one respected him. Then again, its hard to respect a man in our business who refuses to get his hands dirty. He had everyone else handle the business side of things, while he sat in his house ordering people around, fat and happy. All while his men went out every day and worked their asses off to keep him on top.