Page 30 of Owned by the Italian Mafia Boss
Calling shotgun is an absolute rule. Whoever calls it first gets to ride in the passenger seat for the day. It’s the one thing I’ve always done since the twins were kids. With such a large age gap between us, I need to remember that their mindset differs from mine. Ari calling shotgun reminds me of that every time.
The engine rumbles, the gate swings open, and all the while I’m staring at my phone to make sure she doesn’t move from the fucking spot she’s in. I feel the muscle in my jaw twitch, knowing she snuck away from me so easily. I’ve never slept so hard before. I wake up at the slightest noise, gun at the ready, but with Delilah by my side, I slept better than I had in my entire life.
“You might not want to go there raising hell,” Matias suggests. “We will be around people. In public. You can’t do anything drastic.”
“I’m not going to do anything drastic.” Except maybe wrap a hand around Delilah’s throat, press her against the nearest wall and slamming my lips to hers so she knows who is in charge. The contract be damned.
I can’t do that. I can’t go back on my word. It’s all I have with her right now, and if I let her come to me, then there is a chance for us to be more than a business arrangement.
The school is only a few miles away, and I’m curious how my little troublemaker got there. If she walked…
I don’t even want to think about that. Surely, she wouldn’t put herself in harm’s way. She’s stubborn, though. She might have walked just to prove that she could.
She’ll be my reason for insanity, but it’s a good thing I love the madness.
“So, what are you going to do when you see her? Talk? Yell?” Ari asks.
“It’s good to come up with a game plan.” Gianni rolls down his window and lights a cigarette. “We can’t just barge in there. Campus security will kick us out.”
“Please,” I scoff, looking out the window and watching through the tinted glass as the town passes. “I pay their fucking salaries. They would be idiots to do that. There won’t be any issues.”
“Good because we are pulling into the campus now.” The blinker clicks as Gianni takes a left, and immediately we are staring at tall buildings and dormitories. We follow the signs, passing college students along the way, and Ari is distracted by every woman he sees.
If they only knew the danger of just stepping on campus, they wouldn’t dare walk around so freely.
Gianni finally parks in front of a modern two-story building with large windows to let in the natural light.
I donated the money for their new library after a snowstorm caved in the roof and ruined all the books, computers and printers. Now, they have a state-of-the-art library with private rooms for studying, laptops for the students to rent, the best desktop computers and any book they could ever want.
This is my city, my people, and it’s up to me to take care of them.
Even if it means getting my hands a little bloody.
I step out of the car and stride to the front entrance of the library. I don’t wait for my brothers to follow me. I leave them behind, my legs carrying me faster. A few students see me and stare. A guy wearing glasses grabs his friend’s backpack and yanks her back, so she’s out of my way.
When I reach the doors, I yank them. Steel and glass clang against the library walls
and every head turns.
Including hers.
Chapter Eight
Delilah
I hear the echo of the library doors slam, and I rip my gaze from my book.
“Jesus,” Christy jumps, startled by the noise.
“Right? Who enters a library like that?” her boyfriend, Caleb, leans his elbows on the counter and watches the person in question.
I turn my head, and my eyes widen when I see Carmine coming straight toward me. Rage doesn’t even begin to describe the look on his face. His chin is tilted down, and his dark eyes are pools of toxic poison as he stares me down.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan, my friend since freshmen year, places his arm on my chair, which makes it appear that his arm is wrapped around me.
Carmine’s eyes slide to Ethan, and I watch the murderous veil drape across his face. I don’t know what gets into me, but I run without looking at any of my friends. I hurry through the library, dodging people in the aisle grazing the bookshelves.
“Sorry, I’m sorry,” I say after running into someone, knocking the books right out of their arms. I stumble, righting myself before I crash into a bookshelf.
