Screwing the Mob

Death? Yeah, She's Worth That Risk.

For years, I tried to ignore my best friend's sister.
But her intoxicating smile, brilliant mind, and sinful body made me do things.
Bad things.
Forbidden things.
Things that could get us both killed.

So I sent her away when she needed me most...
To protect her.
But death led her back to my doorstep, and passion flung her into my bed.
Exactly where she belongs.

I took what I wanted and made her a target.
Because shiny, happy endings don't exist in my world.
Only darkness prevails.
And I'm obligated to play my part.

SCREWING THE MOB, the first book in the dark Italian mafia series, RUTHLESS HEARTS, by USA Today Bestselling author Kristen Luciani, stars white-hot mafia bosses, sassy and snarky women who bring them to their knees, and edge-of-your-chair-gripping suspense. This brother's best friend second chance romance features dark themes and scorching hot bedroom scenes that are intended for mature readers only. This story has a guaranteed HEA and no cheating.

“You have a lot of responsibilities now, Nico, but I know you can handle things for the family. And I’ll be right there next to you, making sure you don’t fuck anything up.”
My chest tightens, the distinctive scent of lilies filling my lungs. Tears spring to my eyes when I force back the sneeze that’s fighting its way out. I look around at the overflowing baskets and standing arrangements that almost outnumber the mourners packed into this massive viewing room. I can barely see the taupe-colored walls, only cascading leaves and countless flowers whose pollen has declared war on my eyes, nose, and throat.
I guess to some it might make me appear more vulnerable…human almost...but I prefer my signature, stoic façade. Nobody has access to the inside. Not anymore. Not since—
I grit my teeth, battling the name bubbling up from a place where it’s long since been buried. 
Nobody.
People dressed from head to toe in black are lined up for what seems like miles, spilling out the door of the viewing room, snaked around the corridor, and beyond the entrance to the funeral home. 
Grandpa Vito was loved. Feared. Hated.
But above all? Respected.
Those feelings didn’t happen overnight. He had earned that respect a long time ago, back when he’d lived in Hoboken with his mother and two older brothers. 
After his dad died, there wasn’t much money to go around, and his older brothers did the best they could to make ends meet. They’d opened a restaurant that became one of the most popular for miles. 
That attracted attention from the neighborhood ‘boss’, Don Cicero, who wanted a piece of their action. Cicero was a greedy, sick bastard, and he’d send out his crew to rape the wives and daughters of any men who refused to pay him a stipend for allowing them to operate in his area.
And when Cicero’s men came after Grandpa’s mother, Grandpa pretty much massacred the lot of them.
He didn’t stop at the henchmen, though. He went after Cicero and made him pay for the first time ever. 
Grandpa never wanted his family to be vulnerable to another monster like Cicero, and he knew the only way to protect them was to inspire fear and head up his own organization. With the help of men in the neighborhood who pledged their devotion to Grandpa after that, he went after the scum of the Earth who tried to claim control of the neighborhood after Cicero’s death and killed plenty of motherfuckers who tried to cross him and screw over his people. 
Nobody fucked with Grandpa after that.  
“Life ain’t easy, Nico. You may get scared sometimes, you may not know the right decision to make. But if you believe in yourself, everyone else will believe in you, too.”
My eyes fall to his face. He lies still in the ornate casket my father picked out, one Grandpa would have hated because it was a frivolous expense. He’d have much preferred a pine box, which I told my father. But more importantly, I know he’s finally reunited with Grandma Lou. That brings me some peace. Not a hell of a lot, but some.
A hand grazes my arm, and the awful scent of funeral flowers is replaced with something equally atrocious. I can’t place it, but it makes my stomach roll. I sniff once and twist away from the casket.
Huge tits rub against my suit jacket as Adria Moreno slips in closer, her breath hot on my neck as she whispers her condolences along with some other things that I’m sure have Grandpa cheering from his perch just beyond the Pearly Gates. 
Thank God my parents have hold of Lily and are mingling, not paying a sliver of attention to Adria’s traveling hands in the most inappropriate setting fathomable. Jesus, the woman is relentless. A complete sex addict, no matter the circumstances. If I’d so much as said the word, I could have her bent over in the coat closet right now, pounding her ass up against the trench coats stored inside.
“I’ve never seen you so devastated, babe.” Adria reaches a hand behind me, under my jacket, over my ass where it settles. Thankfully my back is to the wall and not facing the crowd of people milling around the room. “Do you want me to come over later? I can make you feel better.”
Angel, her twin sister, sidles up to my other side and whispers in my other ear. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Tell us what you need. Let us help you through this.”
Okay, Grandpa is definitely having a laugh up there. This must be his way of diffusing the situation. He was always a little unorthodox, but this is pretty damn extreme. Standing next to my dead grandfather while getting propositioned for a threesome…it’s fucking sick. Not that threesomes are atypical for me. Hell, I’ve fucked three-quarters of the women in this room, often two at a time. My eyes absently scour the crowd, and I silence a groan. 
Why am I always searching for her? I had her, and I let her go. So why do I—?
My throat tightens when she walks through the doors. Her blue eyes are filled with tears, her pouty pink lips quivering. But hard as I try to focus on her sun-kissed face, my eyes break free and rake over her tight body. 
She’s back. 
I’d forced her away like the asshole I am, regretting my decision every day since then. It was my way of protecting her, protecting both of us, but at what cost? And now she’s here, just like I knew she would be, and I have no fucking idea what to do about it. 
I swallow, fighting hard against the memory of her lips on mine, but I fail. Miserably. I can still feel her pressed against me, her eager tongue coiling with mine with such hope...hope I effectively shattered.
My cock twitches, and I repress a sigh.
Just add it to the list of things I never thought I’d experience under these circumstances. The twins are still hanging all over me, and my gaze tangles with hers for the briefest of moments before she redirects the glare to the girls.
Then Rocco Lucchese appears from a corner of the room and slides an arm around her narrow waist, dropping a kiss onto her cheek. An icy cold sensation snakes around my heart. 
Sonofabitch.
He’s back, too.