Mafia Obsession

Rick

Leo is sitting in the chair opposite my desk with his feet up. The sight pisses me off, but it’s not the only thing that has got under my skin this morning.

Alicia Juliano is a problem.

My lack of self-control around her will be an issue going forward, but I still can’t bring myself to do what is right for my family. It infuriates me. There’s never been a time where I couldn’t execute the task at hand for the good of my family.

“Good morning,” Leo says, chirpily.

He has been annoyingly happy ever since he was reunited with Ellie. I’m not sure what is going on with us Romano men lately, but it seems I’ve fallen into the trap. Alicia Juliano has me by the fucking balls.

“Morning,” I grunt, walking around my desk and sitting in my office chair. “What has he come back with?”

Leo pulls his phone out and taps on it, setting the phone on my desk. “He has got Austin.”

My brow furrows as I look at the video. Nick Juliano is standing over him, and he’s tied to a chair looking beaten and broken. It makes no sense why they’d snatch Austin-he isn’t family. Sure, he’s one of us, but we wouldn’t give into him for that.

“Did he acknowledge our accusation?”

“Yeah, he sent a message saying he doesn’t know what the fuck we’re talking about.” He shakes his head. “He says he hasn’t sold any guns in our territory.”

I steeple my fingers on the desk. “I can only see this going one damn direction.”

Leo nods. “War.”

I hate it, but it’s true. Nick Juliano isn’t playing along as we expected. Not to mention, I’m never giving his daughter back to him, and breaking that news to him will be a huge problem. Alicia is mine now. My queen.

“Yeah, but we’ve got to reach out once more. Maybe we can arrange a meeting?”

Leo narrows his eyes. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’ve taken his daughter, and he will do anything to get her back.”

Leo is right. The biggest problem is that I can’t contemplate ever giving her back. Although, that’s not something I need to reveal to my brother yet. He can be a real ass, and I don’t enjoy fighting with him.

“Yes, but if he is telling the truth, and he hasn’t been selling guns into our territory, it would mean that-”

“Austin is the snake I always thought he was,” Kane interrupts from the doorway, dark circles under his eyes. He steps into the room and slams the kitchen door shut, locking it.

“Helen let you out of the hospital wing?” I ask, standing and walking over to him.

He nods. “Yeah, did you listen to what I said.”

Leo sighs. “Man, you really need to get over this thing with Austin. He’s been fucking kidnapped by Juliano.” Leo holds the phone in the air, showing him the picture.

Kane marches over to him and snatches the phone from his hand. “Bullshit. It’s staged.” He sits down at the table. “Austin came to Rick and told him about Juliano’s play for our territory on the same day he told you where to find Ellie.” He shakes his head. “It’s clear to me he set the whole thing up, hoping he’d weaken the Romano family by sending us into an ambush.”

“Are you serious?” Leo asks.

It makes some sense, and for a little while now, I’ve been wondering what the fuck is going on. Things haven’t been adding up, and everything points to Austin. “He might have a point.”

“It was pure dumb fucking luck that we escaped with our lives. If it hadn’t been for my text to Alicia, we’d both be six feet under,” Kane adds.

Leo falls silent, which is rare for him.Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.

Austin disappeared off the radar within hours of telling me the truth. No one has got a hold of him, and this picture may just be another way of him covering his tracks. “Do you think he’s working with Juliano?”

Kane shrugs his shoulders, wincing almost instantly. “Who the fuck knows? All I know is he isn’t on our side and hasn’t been for a while.”

I nod, contemplating the effect this will have on our entire operation. “The question is, was he working alone, or do we have more snakes to worry about in our ranks?” I ask.

A deafening silence falls between us as we all contemplate that terrible possibility. The only way to flush out a mole is to lie to all our men. It’s a fucking tiresome and time consuming effort.

“Isn’t it likely that if Austin has fled, anyone working with him would have too?” Leo suggests.

A knock at the door interrupts us, and Dan enters the room. “What the fuck is it?” I growl.

“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt, but someone is using the phone in your room to make a call to a number in Texas.”

“Shit.” I slam my fist down on the table, making even Kane flinch. “Leave it with me.”

Kane stands in my way as I walk toward the kitchen door. “Who the fuck is in your room, Rick?”

I shake my head. “There’s no time to explain right now.” I barge my brother out of the way, rushing out of the kitchen and toward the staircase.

This is proof of how out of touch I’ve become since I met Alicia. Why the fuck didn’t I think about the phone?

It’s clear I’ve been too wrapped up in Alicia to think with anything but my damn cock. A rage floods me. Mainly that she would even think about calling home, after what we shared last night. It hurts more than I can explain. It feels like a betrayal.

My brothers will question why the fuck she was in my room, and I’ve got no answer to give them other than the truth. I march toward my bedroom, muscles coiled with tension.

If she’s called her dad, she could screw the entire plan up. Who am I kidding?

I fucked the entire plan up the moment I let her into my bed. My heart pounds in my chest as I grab the doorknob and fling it open, glaring straight at her.

She leaps onto the bed in an attempt to make me believe she hasn’t moved since I left her.

“Who the fuck did you call?” I ask, stalking over to her.

She swallows hard and backs away, shifting against the headboard. “I-I don’t know-”

“Don’t lie to me, Alicia,” I growl.

Her eyes fill with a terror I’ve never seen in them before. It snaps me out of my rage-filled daze. Guilt flooding me that I could scare her that much. I grit my teeth together and force myself to speak softly. “I know you called a Texas number. Did you call your dad?”

There are a few beats of silence, and then she nods. “Yes, because he’s my dad, and I wanted to let him know I’m safe.” She shakes her head. “I don’t like that he is worried about me.”

It’s as if I can’t stay mad at her. I can see her point of view, as she cares for her father. I get that more than she can know, but I see nothing from anyone else’s point of view normally. “The whole point is to make him think you are not fucking safe, so he stops selling into our territory.”

She shakes her head, clearing her throat. “He mentioned that he has been set up, and he hasn’t done what you say he has.”

I stare at her silently, hearing that Juliano is adamant he hasn’t done what has been alleged to her.

Could Kane be right?

Austin’s actions are becoming more and more questionable. If Juliano never overstepped our territory, then we’ve made a move against him without cause. I walk to the side of the bed and sit on the edge, holding my head in my hands.

I’m so stressed, I barely notice Alicia move toward me. She places her soft hands on my shoulders and begins to knead the tension. “Are you okay?” she whispers.

“Fine,” I grunt, even though it’s a fucking lie.

She keeps trying to knead the knots in my shoulders. It feels good to have someone pay attention to me for once. I could get used to her being here for me all the time. It’s dangerous, but the honest truth. I meant it when I said I never want to let her go.

“You’re in serious need of a professional massage,” she says.

“What you’re doing feels good enough to me,” I reply, sitting up straighter.

“I’m not strong enough to knead all those knots out of your muscles.” She pauses for a moment, still kneading. “I think you need a man to get them out for you.”

I shake my head. “No fucking chance.”

She giggles a gorgeous laugh as I grab her hand, pulling her toward me. Within moments, I’m above her, pinning her down with my weight to the bed.

“I think it’s time for your punishment, princess.” I watch as her lips part. “You used my phone without my permission, what should I do with you?”

There’s electricity pulsing in the air between us, and my cock is hard against her abdomen. I know this isn’t the time for me to be fucking her, but Leo interrupted us earlier. My need for her out rules anything else.

She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. “I think you should spank me,” she moans.

I groan at the thought and the way she says it. “That’s exactly what I need to do.” My eyes narrow. “I think I need to turn it up a notch, though.”

Her bottom lip quivers. “What are you suggesting?”

I say nothing and push off of her, walking toward my closet. The prospect of spanking her with my leather and faux fur paddle excites me. She enjoyed me spanking her the first day she was here and even more so last night. I find it and twirl it in my hands, hoping I’m not pushing this too quickly.

I want to make her feel good, and in my experience, the pain only heightens pleasure. I walk back, holding the paddle. Alicia’s eyes widen, and she tenses, backing against the headboard. It may look intimidating, but it won’t hurt much more than my hand. I have no intention of ever hurting her.

“What do you think you are going to do with that?” She crosses her arms over her chest, and just like that, the brat who arrived here reappears in front of me. A brat that needs teaching a lesson.

“I will teach you a real lesson.”

She shakes her head. “No way, that will hurt like hell.”

I stop and place it on the bedside table. “Do you trust me?”

She stares at me for a long moment of silence uncertain about her answer. I can’t understand why it bothers me that her answer isn’t immediately yes. Even though she barely knows me, she must have trusted me last night to take her virginity. Finally, she breaks the silence, “Yes, I do, but I’ve got no idea why.”

I smile at her, knowing exactly what she means. None of this makes any sense, but we both can’t seem to deny the attraction between us. It’s more than an attraction.

It is a deep connection that makes me crazy if I even think about not seeing her again. There is no chance I can ever consider letting her go.

She is mine.