Page 394 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Actually…

That sounds pretty damn good to me, and I feel my nipples pebble under my dress as the thought percolates…everything I’d have to do in the name of family loyalty…all of the salacious sacrifices I’d have to make…

Argh! I flash a tight smile at them all, ignoring my inner battle.

This is for Maks, not for me!

How can I even think these things, knowing what I do about these people?

A tiny voice reminds me that I still don’t have the full story, but it doesn’t matter. I’m convinced that I am surrounded by evil…a worse evil, at the very least.

Okay, well, whatever happens, I will figure out my next steps. I cannot be stopped. I will do what Uncle Boris couldn’t and avenge my brother’s death.

Somehow.

“Anya,” Heaven says, a big smile spreading across her pink cheeks. “We’d like to offer you the job, if you are interested. Matteo and I talked it over, made a few more calls, and we think you’d be a perfect fit for us!”

I gasp. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I would love to!”

Heaven looks so happy right now. It’s hard not to like her. Like, I really need to focus on killing her with my mind because she’s just so…jubilant. Maybe it’s because she finally has some help, maybe because she knows a good night’s sleep is now within reach…which is something I’m kind of struggling with myself right now.

Regardless, she’s sweet and happy and perky.

Like an older sister I never had…

Ugh!

Why am I having these thoughts? This is business! They are not my family, nor will they ever be!

“So I know you’re headed to UNLV in the fall, but maybe we can work something out,” Heaven says, talking a mile a minute about her future vision for this au pair relationship she’s desperate to develop with me.

After only having known me for a grand total of about an hour, give or take.

She seems awfully trusting for a mob boss’s wife.

Admittedly, I don’t know much about the family dynamics, but it would seem that she should probably be a little more wary of strangers living in her home.

And judging from the exasperated look on Matteo’s face, he agrees.

“Heaven,” he interrupts in a commanding voice. “Let’s figure out the next steps after Anya has gotten situated here. I’m sure she has plans for her college experience, and they probably don’t involve cleaning spit up and crap diapers.” He lifts an eyebrow at me. “Right?”

I nod, quick to agree with him. He literally wears the pants, but clearly doesn’t hold all of the power. He knows it and so do I, but I’ll throw him a bone anyway. “Yeah, I mean, I’m definitely open to talking about an extension of my services, but your husband is right. Let’s see how things go over the next few weeks.”

Heaven’s grin widens and she throws up her hands. “You know what, I’m just so blinded by the joy and anticipation of being able to sleep again that I’m getting ahead of myself.”

“As usual,” Dante pipes in.

She rolls her eyes. “I guess we can start with more immediate things, like the christening.”

“Christening?” I ask.

“Yes, it’s on Saturday, and there is so much to do before then. I was really afraid we wouldn’t be able to find anyone before then, and I am so happy that we did! And that she’s so perfect!” Heaven dances around with Aisling. “We have so many people coming to see our beautiful princess, right? Uncle Patty, Aunt Maura, Grandpa Paolo, Uncle Roman…so many people who want to hug and kiss you!”

She must seriously be delirious from lack of sleep.

Still…for as much anger as I feel, I can’t help but smile, remembering the tight-knit relationship I had with my own mother before she died. She was always so happy, so cheerful, and so doting on me and my brother. In retrospect, I guess it was her way of shining light on the darkness that loomed over us on a daily basis. She brightened our world to the point that we couldn’t see the gloom that would eventually overtake us all.

A pang in my chest jars me when I think of Maks and my jaw tightens.

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