Hero: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance Read Free

wasn’t family and he never forgot it – no Italian blood, no shared family name.
    It was one of the reasons that I was stood here waiting, instead of being invited to drink with him, and why I never called him Fabio. Little things that some of the guys around us probably weren’t even attuned to, but I always noticed the subtle gestures that said I was associate, not kin .
    I wondered whether he knew that I preferred it that way.
    His gaze finally came to rest on me, the blue eyes sparking with undeniable passion as he reached his decision. For an Italian, he was remarkably calm and unreadable most of the time - but the determined emotion he reigned back came out intensely in his eyes.
    “We’ve known someone down Industrial way has been pulling together those gangs for a while - looks like this is the first move. Probably just looking for some legitimacy.” Valentini grinned and slammed the tumbler down as he stood. “Well we can give them that, and then some.”
    I raised an eyebrow, playing along even though I could guess at his response. He continued with the same enthusiasm.
    “We’ll crack some skulls together, show ‘em how a real organization responds to a threat - then get ‘em in a room and stake our territory, set the terms.”
    I nodded, appreciating for a moment Valentini’s navigation of the politics that these street kids probably didn’t even realize they were playing at.
    He’d give them what they really wanted - putting on a show of responding, then acknowledging this new mafioso-wannabe with a negotiation - while maintaining the superior position that would allow him to dictate the terms of their existence. The new boss would accept it, while Valentini came away looking stronger than ever in front of his own people - and he’d get the space and time to build his organization until he had the size and power he needed.
    Might even work out better for him this way - when he was ready, crushing one rival group would be far easier than the shifting gangs that had dominated Central before.
    “Good - you lead on it, Jason.” He nodded to me and sat, turning back to the papers on his desk in a clear dismissal.
    I waited a couple of heartbeats as the air thickened around me, my stomach tightening with anticipation despite the familiarity of this ritual. And its usual uselessness.
    I cleared my throat and waited until he looked up at me, his face impassive as always while I asked the one question that kept me coming back to these meetings.
    “Ah, about that other matter…?”
    “No word, Jason. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
    I nodded, the small hope fading as I turned to leave.
    It had been over a year now since we’d heard anything, and these days I’d started wondering whether I was even in the right place. There’d been rumors the bastard had slipped over the border, and there was no reason to think he’d come back.
    But I couldn’t chase a shadow over the border - not without a lead. And the only place I could get that was right here in Cleveland’s ghetto.
    “Jason—” Valentini caught my attention as I grabbed the handle of the thick wooden door, and I glanced back at him. “This gang forming might help, you know. Xero and his boys came from that part of town - maybe we’ll find out something from these new guys, one way or another.”
    His words were mild, and he turned back to what he was doing without giving me another thought, but that didn’t stop the chain reaction that jolted through me.
    Not having a lead to follow had kept me in Cleveland - but Valentini had been the other reason I hadn’t left yet. He was skilled as fuck at stringing me along - at giving me just the right amount of hope to keep going. To keep chasing his objectives.
    I knew he was doing it, but the reason it worked so well was because his words rang true. Maybe it was unlikely, but he could be right - and it was all I had.
    So I stayed.
    For now, I stayed.

Chapter Two
    Lottie
     
    My