The Mafia Boss's Only Assistant

Chapter 2

In this gritty underworld, the name Golden Mane, the centuries-old mafia dynasty, echoed in every dark corner. Everyone with half a brain knew it.

And of all the members of this sprawling powerhouse, one name stood above the rest: Elio Romano.

He was a living legend. At 27, he put a bullet in his own father to seize the throne, and in the years since he took over, he swallowed up rival families.

His tactics were brutal enough to make even seasoned gangsters blanch, but no one would've guessed it looking at him. Out in public, he was always the picture of perfect, polished gentlemanly grace.

Those deep blue eyes carried a soft, lingering warmth even when unfocused, enough to make any woman's heart skip a beat.

Everyone thought landing a spot by his side was the luckiest break a person could ever get.

Hell, if he even gifted someone a villa or limited-edition jewelry, that was the kind of dream no one dared whisper out loud.

But I knew the truth. Elio wasn't some generous prince. He was a loaded gun with no safety.

No one could predict when he'd go off.

I still remembered my first month working at his side clear as day.

With my schedule, he'd been effective hammering out drug distribution deals for two entire blocks in a single day. Without a second thought, he sent me a villa.

I was equal parts jittery and giddy, thinking he was actually as kind and chivalrous as he looked.

Then the very next day, I showed up in the wrong pair of heels, not the style he liked, and got ordered to head to a bar in the South Side to collect a $500,000 debt.

There was no way a girl like me was walking out of that mob-controlled bar alive with that kind of cash.

So I begged Elio to send someone else. He just shrugged and said, "If you don't get that money, you can work off the debt at the brothel tonight. I know you'll figure something out, baby."

Left with no other choice, I teamed up with the bar owner's rivals and launched a surprise shootout.

The full $500,000 landed in the family's account that same night.

But I left with a broken forearm, and the blood-soaked chaos of that fight scared me so bad I couldn't speak for three whole months.

Selena had always hated my guts.

In her eyes, I was some boring, frumpy nobody hogging Elio's attention, standing between her and the title of Don's wife she was so desperate to steal.

What she didn't get was every scrap of status I had, I paid for in blood and near-death experiences.

Once, the family clashed with the notoriously savage Turner Brotherhood over who controlled Gold Street on the East Side. After two of our men were killed back-to-back, I'd apparently "annoyed" Elio again, so he sent me in to fix the mess.

The Turner Brotherhood members thought I was a p********e the Golden Mane had sent to butter them up. Before I could even open my mouth to explain why I was there, they dragged me straight into the bathroom and tried to r**e me.

Elio burst through the door at the very last second, my clothes torn to rags, my face streaked with tears of humiliation, and scooped me up and carried me to his car.

But the second we stepped back onto Golden Mane territory, he had my wrists strung up over my head.

He held a leather whip in one hand, the sleeves of his crisp tailored suit rolled up to show off his muscular forearms. His tie was half undone, hanging loose over his broad chest.

Those deep blue eyes looked more mesmerizing than ever.

"Where did they touch you?"

His voice was soft and warm, like he was making casual small talk instead of interrogating me.

But every c***k of that whip against my bare skin burned like fire.

"This was your mistake, Dorothy. If you'd made your identity clear from the start, none of this would've happened."

Elio shoved a custom family crest set with a pink diamond roughly into my underwear.

"Wear this. At least people will tell you apart from those trashy whores."

To everyone on the outside, I made $300,000 a month, owned a huge villa, and wore a one-of-a-kind family crest.

But every bit of that glitz and glamour was bought with my life and dignity.

Selena thought all I did all day was pouring coffee and wiping down tables in that fancy villa.

She even figured my biggest purpose was to satisfy Elio's physical needs.

I didn't bother explaining anything to her.

I just prayed over and over in my head that she actually had the clout to get me kicked out.

Too bad Selena took my silence the wrong way.

"You still gonna hang around here?" Her sharp, pointy nails jabbed right at the tip of my nose, so close they almost scratched my skin. "Get lost!"

I scrambled to run out of there.

I was this close to crying. Freedom was right there, practically mine for the taking.

If only I could just run nonstop all the way out of the Golden Mane's territory.

But right then, Elio's goons showed up.

"The Boss wants to see you," they said.

My heart had just been soaring at the fantasy of escaping, and it dropped straight to my stomach.

I knew it. Elio wasn't letting me off that easy.