Bound to the Crime Lord (Dark Mafia Tales #2)

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Juliette POV

I sat across from Manuel’s very large desk in his study. We stared at each other, neither one of us letting up.

After my little moment in the kitchen, I quickly came back to my senses and realized who this man was again.

I had cried in the arms of Chicago’s biggest Drug Lord, and not only that, he had held me like I was the most fragile and prized possession he had ever laid eyes on.

“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can’t make me live with you.”

He stared at me with those chocolate eyes of his. This time, they had taken on a dark glint as he fixed his sight on me. He had changed from his original casual attire and was now in his semi-formal dress shirt, with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It hurt that this man was so dangerously gorgeous. It was a cruel fate that such beauty existed on such evil.

Manuel leaned back in his chair. “Need I remind you that you were almost killed tonight?”

A shudder ran down my spine. “The realization is not lost on me.”

“Had it not been for my men, you would be lying in a morgue right now.”

Another cold shudder ran down my spine.

“And I am grateful. But saving me doesn’t warrant me needing to work for you. I already told you that our business does not mix.”

“I’m aware.” His thick voice was coated in annoyance. “Let me put this plainly for you, amor . You are a target now. The man who tried to kill you is a part of an enemy gang that has been plotting my demise for years now. They killed my father, and now they want to kill you.”

The blood ran cold in my veins. “Excuse me?”

Manuel leaned his elbows on the hardwood desk, his eyes holding mine with great intensity. The air in the study chilled, and whatever false bravado I had faded away.

“They must have seen me with you, and now believe that you are my woman, or one of my women. They will stop at nothing to see my downfall, and they will try to harm whoever I care about, or what they perceive I care about.”

I gulped. The trepidation sunk into my bones like heavy cement.

“If you choose to not take my protection, not only will you be endangering your life, but you will also be endangering the life of your friends and family. The world I live in only knows one language, and that is the one of violence. When we seek a target, we seek their blood, and if they can’t get to you, they will get to everyone around you until they get to you. Make no mistake of that, amor . So, if you wish to take on an entire organization of murderers and criminals on your own, then be my guest. But one thing you must understand is that you will not live past a fortnight. That I can assure you with certainty.”

“I…”

Why did my throat suddenly seem so dry?

“I know you have your reservations about me, Juliette, and you have every right to. Anyone with enough sense knows to stay away from me. Like you said, I am Lucifer personified.” The slight tilt of his lips made him look both handsome and intimidating at the same time. He had this way about him that drew you in, but once you got close enough, I was more than sure you would feel his venom, like one with a cobra.

He was both enchanting and deadly.

“I am all things evil, but I am also a man of my word. My word is my bond. Once I make a promise, I keep it. It is our code in the Brotherhood, and to go against one’s word is to bring shame to your name and your family name.”

I remained silent. Even if my tongue had been capable of formulating coherent enough words, I wouldn’t even know what to say.

Not only had this man just told me that I had some psychotic mafia gang after me, he’d also just told me that he was my only hope.

“And as I had promised you before, I will pay for your brother’s treatment in Switzerland and make sure that he is kept under 24/7 security. All you need to do is say yes and I will protect you, Juliette. It’s really that simple.”

But was it that simple?

You did say you were willing to make a deal with the devil .

Dammit. Curse my inner self for reminding me just how far I had been willing to go that day. But now the opportunity had finally presented itself. What was I going to do now?

I steeled my back and mustered up what little resolve I had. For all my pretending, I knew just how dire my situation was. I was backed into a corner with nowhere else to really go to.

Manuel was throwing me a lifeline, and turning it down would be stupid.

“Fine,” I opened my mouth finally. “But seeing as you got me into this mess, I expect you to fix it. I will not be staying with you forever, Manuel. There will need to come a time when my life goes back to normal. Take care of these ‘enemies’ of yours so that I can get back to my regular life.”

He pondered over my words for a moment. “I never intend to leave my enemies running amuck for too long, Miss Ballard. It’s bad for business.”

I didn’t care for his tone. “It’s Doctor , Manuel. I didn’t go through excruciating hours of med school to not be addressed by my hard-earned title.”

The man had the nerve to smirk, and I wanted nothing more than to reach over this large desk and rub it off his face. But I needed to keep calm. Assaulting the leader of the most powerful mafia gang in the state was not a very good idea.

“Of course, Doctor .” Why did the word sound so… provocative, coming from his lips? It moved something inside of me. Something that I was unwilling to acknowledge.

Three days later…

“Juliette,” Ethan grumbled. “You’re embarrassing me.”

Ethan’s eyes cut to Manuel, who stood behind me. I followed his gaze and saw the leering mafia man off to the side with his shades on, looking as delicious and deadly as sin. He was on the phone speaking to someone in Spanish. Though I could understand the language well enough, I couldn’t pick up on what he was saying.

“Can you not look at him, please?” I grabbed my brother’s cheeks and forced his gaze to meet mine. “I’m not going to be seeing you for the next three months.”

It was Ethan’s departure day. He was starting his treatment at the end of the week, but he needed to go in early to get some tests done. It had all happened so fast. From the moment I had agreed to this plan to this moment right here.

“We can FaceTime, and when you’re free, you can come visit me.” He smiled, trying to ease some of the sadness that had lodged itself in my throat. “And besides, when I come back, I’m going to be healthier.”

The joy in his eyes was evident. Though I had not been comfortable relying on Manuel for anything, his giving my brother this opportunity was a godsent. My brother deserved this chance at life, and I was glad I had taken the damn deal.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Absolutely not.”

“So… he’s you’re sugar daddy?”

“Ethan!” I looked over my shoulder to make sure that Manuel hadn’t heard him. Manuel was still busy on the phone, thankfully. I turned back to my brother and gave him a good whack upside the head. “He is not my sugar daddy. I’m in no way, shape, or form, intimate with that man.”

And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.

I mentally palmed my forehead. No, I was not attracted to that man. He was the devil, and I stayed away from all things evil.

Ethan gave me a knowing look, but held his hands up. “I’m not judging you, sis. But I will say that he is better than deadbeat Pete.”

I blushed. “I thought we had agreed to never talk about that man again. That was a horrendous mistake in my life that will never again be repeated.”

Ethan threw his head back and started laughing at my expense. “Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that. I won’t mention your weird ex with no job and who used to smell like corn chips.”

My cheeks got even hotter. I prayed that Manuel was too absorbed in his call that he wouldn’t pick up on our conversation. The last thing I needed was Manuel to also join in teasing me.

“Get on the plane,” I groaned before I pulled him in for one last hug.

Ethan held onto me tightly, his laugh now just low and soft giggles. When they eventually died down, he placed his chin on the top of my head and kissed me.

After I found out about my little brother, I dedicated my life to him and his treatment. I didn’t know a life without him in it.

We pulled away and I smiled through the brimming tears.

“Text me when you can, okay? And listen to Manuel’s men. They are there to take care of you.”

Ethan nodded and gave me one last hug before he boarded the plane. Manuel ended his call and came to stand beside me. The crew on the plane readied it for take-off.

“He’ll be fine.” Manuel offered me these words of comfort, but they did nothing to ease my aching heart.

The tears brimmed my eyes, but I refused to let them fall as the jet withdrew from where we stood. It felt like my heart was breaking with every meter they moved away. I didn’t birth my brother, but I was the closest thing he had to a mother, and well… he had felt more like a son than a brother to me. Sending him halfway across the world was breaking my heart. But this was what he needed, and he would come back with a healed body and a new chance at life.

“It’s okay to cry, you know.” Manuel stared at the plane, but his words were directed to me. “You mothered him for the majority of his life. Don’t deny yourself your sadness for the sake of seeming strong. It’s okay to find this hard.”

I hastily brushed away the stray tear that had managed to escape my eye. “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot feel, Manuel.”

He didn’t say anything. He only stared at the jet with me as my brother left American soil to go and seek a new chance at life. I knew he would be fine, but I would still miss him.

The jet took off, but neither one of us moved. I stayed rooted in my place, watching the sky as if I could still see where they had gone.

I felt his hand come to rest on the small of my back. “Let’s go, Juliette. You can call him in the next 12 hours.”

The skin under his touch heated at the contact, but I didn’t pull away from his touch. There was something oddly comforting about it, though I would never admit it out loud.

I allowed him to usher me back to the car. Just as I was getting into the back, I paused when the realization of what he had said dawned on me. I turned my neck in his direction and glared at him.

“What do you mean, let’s go home?”

“Are you forgetting you’re living with me now?”

I opened my mouth to tell him to go screw himself, but I quickly remembered what I had agreed to. This had been part of the deal.

“I remember,” I quipped, “but I need a day or two to pack up my things and break my lease.”

“No need to do that, I will pay for your rent so you will have somewhere to return to when all of this is over.”

I was taken slightly aback by his words. That had not been a part of our agreement. I knew what this man was and what he represented, but every now and again he would display abnormal characteristics. He would do things that made him seem more… human.

“Umm…” Why could I suddenly not speak? “Thank you for that. But I still need to go and get my clothes.”

“Okay, so we head to your house first and then we go home.”

It wasn’t until I felt the brush of his body against mine that I realized just how close we were. I could feel his heat radiating off his body in waves. His scent filtered into my nose, taking over my senses completely. A gentle hum moved from my chest all the way into my belly.

“Juliette,” he whispered.

The way this man said my name had my internal system going haywire.

“Yes?” My eyes unintentionally flicked to his lips and then back up again to meet his gaze. The darkness in the brown of his eyes deepened to a richer color.

“You need to get in the car.”

His words were a bucket of ice-cold water on my back. I jumped back and nearly hit my head against the edge of the door frame, but he placed his hand behind my head just in time so I didn’t suffer any damage.

We stayed like that for what felt like minutes but was probably only a few seconds. My chest rose and fell hard, my heart hammering heavy in my chest.

Breathe, Juliette. Breathe .

I turned away from the mafia man and ambled into the car, and then he shut the door for me. I made sure to press myself as far into the door as possible to create the necessary space between him and me.

He got in on the other side and instructed his men to pull off the tarmac. The three cars followed one behind the other, and we were off.

What the hell had just happened? Whatever that little moment had been, it couldn’t happen again. The last thing I needed was to be attracted to the mafia king. I had enough on my plate as it was.