Ruthless Saints (Sold to the Mafia Boss Book 1), page 1
Ruthless Saints
Sold to the Mafia Boss Book 1
Ella Jade
Ruthless Saints © 2022 Ella Jade
Editor: Zero Alchemy
Cover Designer: Dark City Designs
Photographer: Eric Battershell
Cover Model: Johnny Kane
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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Contents
Note from the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Her Heartless King
About the Author
Note from the Author
“The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” Oscar Wilde
Thank you for checking out this series. It’s dark, edgy, and pushes some limits. I plan for it to be a four book series, so keep in mind that this is only the BEGINNING!
Chapter 1
Luciana
“Hold that fucking door!” a man yelled from across the busy Manhattan street.
Startled, I jostled where I stood, scalding tea spilling out the top of my cup and trickling down my wrist. “Ouch!”
Damn it. That burned!
“Lu!” My cousin Vincent, who had been the one yelling for me to hold the front door of the firm’s offices, came up from behind me. “Now.”
I glanced over my shoulder to find him and his brother Rocco dragging a badly beaten man in from the sidewalk. Bright red blood poured out of his nose and splattered onto his white dress shirt. His swollen left eye held a purple hue and he could hardly open it, but he tried to stare at me through the injury. I pressed my back against the door, holding it and trying to stay out of their way as they lugged the unfortunate man into the law firm.
They hurried toward the back offices toward the rooms we didn’t use for everyday business.
My cousin Alessandro winked at me as he followed his brothers down the hall.
“Sandro, you can sit this one out,” Rocco snapped before he dashed into the office.
He slammed the door shut, and I jumped, spilling more tea down my hand.
Alessandro, the youngest of the trio, followed me into my tiny workspace. It was actually the firm’s law library, but I’d set up a makeshift office when my Uncle Antonio brought me on as a paralegal last summer. It wasn’t the most prestigious spot in the building, but it suited me fine.
The area smelled of old books, and I loved reading all the case studies. I wanted to go to law school like my cousins had, but my uncle wouldn’t allow it. The best I could do was get him to agree to let me become a paralegal, so I attended the local community college.
I wasn’t giving up on my dreams yet. I could still go to law school if I could find a way out of here. This wasn’t the kind of family a person could walk away from. I’d have to get creative if I wanted out.
I set what was left of my tea on my desk and grabbed a tissue from the box on the window sill to wipe my hand and wrist.
Sandro sat on the edge of my desk, straightening his new Armani tie. “Typical Monday morning, huh?”
“So it seems.” I powered up my computer. “Only in New York City could three attorneys drag a half-dead man into a law firm and no one bats an eyelash.”
“Not if those attorneys’ last name is Torrio they don’t.”
Torrio was synonymous with the most powerful mafia family on the East coast. My uncle and his sons ran the New York organization right out of their legitimate law firm. They had prestigious and influential clients coming in and out of this place all day long, and no one questioned their motives or dangerous dealings, including me. I kept my head down like an obedient dog. That was how I had survived since coming to live with this menacing family when my parents died.
“Want to go to lunch at that cafe you like today?” Sandro asked. “They have chicken salad on the menu again.”
“I have to draft those court documents your dad needs, and I have all that filing to do.” I motioned toward the stack of folders on the corner of my desk. “Don’t you have to work?”
“We can take a lunch break,” he reminded me. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“You play enough.” I logged onto my computer. “You didn’t make it home last night. I waited for you.”
“I went to the club and met up with someone I knew from high school. She kept me quite busy.” He smirked. “All night and this morning too.”
“You could have texted me.” I shrugged, trying not to show my hurt. Sandro was two years older than me. When I came to live with them, he became a good friend to me. Vincent and Rocco were older and took on the roles of protective brothers, but Sandro and I had a special bond. “I worried about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, Lu.” He laughed. “No one is going to fuck with me.”
“Because you’re a Torrio?”
“Exactly. And so are you.”
“I don’t always feel like one.”
Maybe it was their way of life I couldn’t understand. They shielded me from most of it, even sending me away to a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut during high school, but I knew there were sinister things happening under the roof they provided for me. Some things couldn’t be unseen. Like the man they had in the back offices. What were they doing to him? Had they beaten him or had a rival family? No matter how much I wanted to live a normal life under ordinary circumstances, being a Torrio, even if it wasn’t my birth name, had cursed me to a world of danger and violence.
“You are one of us, Lu,” Sandro said. “I know my mom doesn’t always treat you like you are, but my brothers and I do our best to include you.”
“I know.” Aunt Kristina wasn’t the most maternal woman I’d ever met. She was so different from my mom. My mother was kind and gentle and loved me with all her heart. When I came to live here, I tried to get close to my aunt, but she never let me in. After a few years, I stopped trying. Our relationship was icy. “I love all of you, but I think it’s time for a change, you know?”
“What kind of change?” He slipped off my desk and gazed out the window. “You know how things are around here. We have routines. We can’t afford surprises.”
“I’ve been thinking more about law school. I have my associate’s degree and I’ve been working here for almost a year. I might ask your dad if I could finish my degree.”
“He might allow that.”
“I want to check out schools away from here.”
“Now that he’ll never let it happen.” He turned to face me. “You know that.”
“Why?”
“He wants us all close to home, especially now.” He grabbed the back of the chair and squeezed, “Trust me. Don’t ask him to send you to law school away from here. It won’t go well.”
“What do you mean, especially now?”
“There are things happening behind the scenes… Sorry, that’s all I can say.”
“With the family business?”
“I’ve already said too much.”
“I’ll take that as a yes, then, and be glad you can’t say more. I don’t want to know about that stuff. I want to branch out and see who I can be away from here.”
“Why would you want to get away? You have a good life—a nice-paying job, a wealthy, powerful family to protect you.”
“Why do I need protection?” I crossed my arms. The fact that I would need protection should make it pretty clear why I’d want to get out of here. “I have nothing to do with the ‘family business.’ I work in a legitimate law firm. I want to be a lawyer like you, Vincent, and Rocco. Why can’t I pursue that? I’m twenty-two years old and, except for that sheltered boarding school, I haven’t gone anywhere or seen anything. Your parents keep me locked in the castle. I don’t even have friends.”
“What am I?”
“You know what I mean.” I walked around my desk and joined him at
“I know it’s difficult living with us.”
“That’s an understatement.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you understand why I want to get away? You and your brothers have always been a part of this world. I don’t belong here. I never did, Alessandro. I don’t understand any of it, and I don’t want to.”
“You do belong here.” He turned to face me. “Where is all of this coming from?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been feeling restless. You’re going out so much these days and I’m at home. I’m lonely and I don’t know what my purpose is.”
“Your purpose is here with us, Lu. It always has been.” He patted my back. “You’ll find your place in this family. Keep working hard here. My father will see how worthy you are. He’ll let you get your law degree, but right now, he has a lot on his plate. I promise, I’ll help you convince him to let you go back to school when the time is right.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. “You’ve always been my best friend.”
“You’re mine too.” He kissed my cheek. “I’ll swing back here in an hour and we’ll go to lunch. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” I pointed to the hallway. “Go, so I can do my work.”
“You’ll have lunch with me?”
“Yes.”
“Sandro!” Rocco yelled from his office down the hall. “Get in here.”
“I better go,” he said. “I don’t want to make the beast mad.”
“Like I didn’t fucking hear that?” Rocco shouted. “Lu, send me the Canter file.”
“Okay.” I had already sent it to him twice yesterday, but I wouldn’t dare tell him that. It was easier to resend it. “I’m doing it now.”
“Thank you.” He practically grunted the words before slamming his door.
Rocco was an intimidating man, but he could be gentle when the situation called for it. Vincent, on the other hand, was scarier and rarely said thank you. He barked orders and could make me cry if I didn’t do exactly what he asked. I tried my best to make sure I never screwed things up for him.
I sat at my desk, pulling up the file Rocco needed and emailing it to him. I glanced at the stack of folders, but I wasn’t in the mood to put them away. My conversation with Sandro had left me discouraged.
I had been planning on talking to my uncle about law school for weeks, but I couldn’t get up the nerve to ask him. Sandro didn’t give me any extra confidence, but maybe it was time for me to start thinking on my own and looking at the bigger picture.
In a regular family, a twenty-two-year-old woman could leave home if she wanted. I’d been saving money from this job since I’d started. They paid me a salary for tax purposes, but I didn’t need the paycheck. My uncle provided me with a daily allowance. He had for years.
But even with my paychecks being deposited into my account, I didn’t have any real independence. I lived under his roof. He paid for my car, phone, clothes, and food. I rarely went out, and when I did, it was usually with Sandro or Rocco, and they paid for everything.
There were many nights I thought about leaving. It would feel more like an escape because I’d have to get past the house security and the guard who was assigned to tail me. My uncle said Sam was for my protection, but he made me feel more like a prisoner. I had lived this way for so long, I wasn’t sure I could adjust out in the world by myself.
Still, I wanted to at least try.
I wanted to meet people my age. Go on trips. Have drinks with girlfriends.
Dates would be nice too. I hadn’t been on many of those. Most guys ran in the opposite direction when they found out my last name.
I wanted to be a normal girl with a normal family and a normal life. Was that really too much to ask? I couldn’t help being part of this family because I was born into it. I wouldn’t hurt them or betray them. Despite the odd relationship, I loved them. But I wanted to be treated like an adult who had hopes and dreams. Not like a lowly niece who they took in because they had no choice.
It was time for me to take a stand and tell them what I wanted. I had obeyed and did what they told me to do. I’d been a good little girl, but now it was time to be a woman—no matter what the consequences might be.
Standing from my chair, I took a deep breath and convinced myself I could do this. I could find my voice and demand my freedom.
As I headed for the door, my uncle appeared in front of me, tall, overbearing, and terrifying. When he spoke, people stopped what they were doing and listened. I was no exception.
He leaned against one of the large mahogany bookcases. “Where are you going?”
“I… um… I was on my way to see you.” I backed away from him. “I mean, if you’re not too busy.”
“Perfect timing.” He placed his large hand on the small of my back. “Come with me.”
He guided me down the hall.
“Is everything okay?”
“We need to have a conversation.”
“Oh.” I swallowed hard as my three cousins stood outside of Rocco’s office, staring as their father led me to his office. My stomach churned and my legs trembled as I slowly put one foot in front of the other. I couldn’t think of one positive reason why he would want to speak with me.
Why do I feel like I’m heading to the electric chair?
Chapter 2
Romero
Gazing out of my penthouse windows, I realized I had New York City at my fingertips. The power flowed through my veins. It had taken me years to get to this point, but I did it.
When I was eighteen years old, someone brutally murdered my father while he sat in his car in front of our family home. He’d created an empire and it all could have been mine, but I’d walked away because I didn’t know who I could trust. I was young and wasn’t ready to run such an established business. My father’s shoes were too big to fill. If they could murder the head of a notorious crime family in front of his house, any of us were fair game. So, I went underground and bided my time, creating my own dynasty.
If I was being totally honest, filling my father’s shoes wasn’t something I particularly wanted. I didn’t want to be like him. He was a vicious bastard who didn’t know how to be a husband or a father. I’d spent years trying to please him, but I never could. When he died, it set me free. Some of the other families looked down on me because I didn’t fight for his territory or try to avenge his death. Those two things weren’t important to me. What I had today was much more valuable. My business was something no one could take away from me.
Fifteen years later, I was back, having clawed my way to the top with the help of my younger brother, Gio. Together, there wasn’t anything we couldn’t accomplish. Our allies respected us, and our enemies feared us. It poised us to finally stand in our father’s place, but now it would be on our own merits. The Bilotti last name was a useful asset, but now when we walked into a room, people saw us as a force to be reckoned with.
Nothing could stop us from gaining control of the organization that was rightfully ours. Alliances needed to be made to strengthen our position if we wanted to peacefully move products through the harbors. Once everything fell into place, there would be no stopping us.
“Romero.” Gio stepped out of the elevator and joined me by the window. He said nothing as he looked down at the bustling city below us. If he was quiet, it meant we had a problem.
“What brings you here so early in the afternoon?”
“We might have an issue.”
“Those aren’t the words I want to hear coming from your mouth.” I relied on him to make sure all the problems were taken care of before they reached my desk.
