THE MAFIA'S OBSESSION

CHAPTER FOUR:SAVE HER

ADRIAN

I sat back in the VIP spot, girls crowding around me like I was some f*****g celebrity. Their laughter rang in my ears, their hands reaching for me, but all I felt was annoyance burning in my chest. Ethel had brought in another group of ridiculous women tonight. My club was starting to look like a damn circus.

Across the table, I watched him, Ethel, living his best life, lips tangled with one girl while his hands wandered shamelessly over another. Typical Ethel. He never got enough, never stopped.

Women wanted me too. They always had. But they didn’t want me, they wanted my power, my money, the thrill of being with Adrian. And I wanted them only for one thing. Nothing more. If I dropped dead tomorrow, none of them would shed a tear. They’d move on, just like that.

The thought made my chest tighten. I had almost died just weeks ago.

I pulled out my wallet, fingers brushing against the small folded paper I had kept tucked inside. Elena’s handwriting stared back at me, neat, careful letters. The nurse. The one who had saved me.

My lips twitched. A smile. f**k.

The second I realized it, I scowled and shoved it back into my wallet. What the hell was I doing smiling at a piece of paper? What the f**k was wrong with me? I wasn’t that kind of man. I wasn’t the type to keep mementos. But the truth was slapping me in the face.

I was falling for a f*****g nurse.

The anger bubbled over before I could stop it. My hand wrapped around a glass cup and I hurled it across the table. It shattered against Ethel’s leg.

“Hey!!” he yelled, eyes narrowing at me, confusion written all over his face.

I glared at him nothing else. No words. No explanation. Just heat boiling in my veins. Then I shoved my hands into my pockets and stood, walking away from the noise and the fake smiles.

The bass of the music throbbed against the walls as I moved deeper into the club. Lights flickered, shadows danced, and the breeze from the side vents pushed my hair back. My chest still felt heavy, unsettled. I was waiting for my partner. Ludacris... that’s what the i***t liked to call himself. Just hearing his name in my head made my jaw clench. I hated him.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I yanked it out, Ethel’s name glowing on the screen. With a grunt, I answered, but I didn’t say a word.

“Motherfucker!” his voice exploded through the speaker. He was probably still nursing the bruise on his leg. Serves him right.

“They’re here,” he muttered sharply, then hung up before I could respond.

I slid the phone back into my pocket, my jaw tightening.

Tonight was going to be a long f*****g night.

I sat quietly across the table, arms crossed, my jaw tight. The shattered glass had already been cleaned up, but Ethel was still glaring at me, pissed. I didn’t give a s**t. He’d get over it.

Luda was busy making a call just outside the VIP lounge, dragging his words, wasting my time, making me boil inside. I was already impatient when he finally strutted back and dropped into the chair in front of me.

“De Luca!!” he called out with a grin that made my stomach churn. His smile was grotesque, half his teeth missing from years of fights and death threats. They called him Ludacris... the brutal mafia dog, feared across the country. And now, my father wanted me to cut a deal with this bastard.

“Let’s get straight to business,” I said, my voice low, stern, thick with the edge of restrained fury. I wasn’t afraid of him. If anything, I wanted to bury a bullet in his skull.

“Ohhh, you don’t want to have some fun first?” he mocked, clapping his hands. Girls came slinking into the room again, fake smiles, fake laughs. A disgusting display.

I flicked my gaze at Ethel, he wasn’t having it either. His expression matched mine: unimpressed, irritated.

Luda leaned forward. “So, Adrian, I want to introduce you to the new lawyer handling our case.”

My brows furrowed. New lawyer? What the f**k did he mean by that?

I turned toward Ethel, who looked just as stunned. This had to be a f*****g joke.

“We don’t need a new lawyer, Luda,” I snapped, struggling to keep my anger contained. “We just need to move the s**t across Mexico into the States and get the drugs in. That’s the job.”

His grin vanished. His eyes turned cold, sharp, like blades slicing through me. “Oh, you little boy… I like your father better. Obedient. Doesn’t interrupt when I talk.” He started with a smile but ended with that death stare, daring me to stay in my lane.

I wasn’t known for doing that. My fist itched, ready to smash his rotten mouth. I was half out of my chair when Ethel’s hand shot out and forced me back down.

“You can bring him in,” Ethel said calmly, his voice smooth as steel. That calmness… I envied it. Even when s**t boiled, he stayed collected. That’s why I trusted him.

Luda smiled again, clapping his hands.

The doors opened. A man walked in, tall, built, braids falling neatly down the sides of his head. One hand tucked in his pocket, the other clutching a sleek black briefcase. His gait was confident, almost arrogant, as he approached. He shook Luda’s hand with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“This is Daniel Moretti,” Luda announced, grinning like he’d won. “I call him Danny. He’ll be our new lawyer.”

The name hit me like a gunshot. Moretti

My chest tightened. My mind spun.

Moretti? Isn’t that Elena’s fiancé?

And a lawyer?

No. No, this couldn’t be a coincidence.

It f*****g couldn’t.