Claimed Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Jane
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuckity fuck.
The heat from Trevor’s gaze is enough to make it feel like my underwear is about to burst into flames. I shift position, squeezing my thighs together to try to stop the throbbing there, but that only gives me enough of a break to focus on his hand on my arm. He’s not letting me go and I honestly feel like his skin is going to burn mine.
I shift position, not wanting to answer his question about what I’m doing here.
Should I tell him that I ran away from town after finding out that he knocked me up? That my mother lied to me to get me to come back home by telling me that she was dying and now Annie is so in love with having a grandmother that I couldn’t possibly tear her away? That I’m horrified by the thought of trying to get my old job back so I’m settling for slinging coffee for early birds when I wish that I were still in bed?
Yeah, right. He’s a Bonanno, and from what I know about that family, they have all of their shit together. Of course, there are the stories that his cousins kidnapped their brides, but Trevor doesn’t strike me as that kind of a guy.
Right?
Wrong. It’s obvious from the dark look on his face that Trevor is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, and I’d better cough up an answer to his question before he shuts the entire diner down just to make me talk to him.
“My mom needed me,” I tell him, conveniently skipping over the part where I have a daughter and I’m 99.9% sure that Annie is his.
No, scratch that. I’m 100% sure. Want to know how I know? Because Trevor Bonanno is the first and last man that I’ve ever slept with. Fucked. Whatever. Leave it up to me to have sex one time and end up pregnant.
“She needed you? Is she okay?” There’s something resembling concern in his gaze but I’m not sure if that’s really what it is. Can a Bonanno honestly be concerned about anyone other than himself?
“She’s fine.” Gathering all of my wits and strength, I pull back from him, wanting to step away so that I can get some air. “Thanks for asking. I have to get back to work.”
He eyeballs me like he’s trying to tell whether or not I’m being honest with him, so I set my jaw tight and try my bet to look at a spot over his head. If I look into his eyes then I’m sure that I’ll do something stupid, like tell him that Annie is his.
I ran from him and his mafia family, and there’s no way that I’m okay with just letting him know that she’s his daughter. He terrifies me, with his strong jaw, angry gaze, and the fact that I’m sure that the Bonanno family is in charge of 100% of the unsolved homicides in this town.
“You don’t work here any longer,” he says, turning away from me to look at my boss before I can argue. Mike has a shocked look on his face and is staring at Trevor like he’s never seen anyone like him in his life. To be fair, I doubt that he has. Trevor exudes confidence and sex and that’s not something that you normally find behind the counter at a diner.
“You hear that?” He asks my boss. Mike nods, his mouth falling open as he stares at the way Trevor still has his hand on me. “Good. Jane doesn’t work here any longer.”
With that, he pulls me out from behind the counter. I walk with him, mostly because I’m in shock, but pull back at the last second.
“My purse!” I cry, leaning below the counter to grab it. Once I have it slung over my shoulder, Trevor takes my hand again, sending little sparks of desire up through my body, then leads me outside.
The air is bracing and I take a deep breath, trying to wrap my mind around what just happened. I came to work, fully intending to be on my feet all day long, then ran into the man who knocked me up.
If that wasn’t enough, now I’m out of a job.
Anger washes over me when I realize what he just did, and I turn to him, planting my feet on the sidewalk and pulling away from his touch. “What was that? You just made me quit my job?”
He laughs and I eyeball the two men who came out of the diner after us. It’s obvious that they’re all related, but while Trevor is staring at me like he wants to eat me up here and now, they’re looking at me like they’re wondering if they can trust me.
Bonannos. I’m surrounded by Bonannos.
“I saved you from that shit job making shit money.” Trevor eyeballs me, then smiles. “Although I like the apron. It’s a nice touch.”
My fingers feel clumsy as I untie it from behind my back and rip it over my head before thrusting it into his hands. “Here. You give it back to my boss since you seem so intent on being in charge of my life. What the hell was that, anyway?”
Yelling at him in the middle of the sidewalk probably isn’t a great idea. In fact, this is probably how a lot of people in this town disappear, but I don’t care. Even though he’s hot as fuck, even though I can’t forget the way it felt to have his hands on me, I still don’t want to back down. I’m pissed and he needs to know it.
“That was me saving you,” he repeats, his voice maddeningly calm. “You don’t have to work here any longer.”
I swear to God, I’m seeing red. It’s never happened before, not when I realized that I was going to have to be a single mother, not when someone pushed Annie down on the playground last year and broke her arm. But now? Yeah. This gorgeous Adonis of a man has me so angry that everything is taking on a bloodied tint.
“And where do you suggest that I work?” I spit the words at him, noting how the other two men are staring at me. “You don’t think that I should work at the diner, but where the fuck else will I work?”
I know that I’m playing with fire. I’m well aware that a small crowd of people has stopped to watch us and even some of the diners are peering through the window to see what’s going to happen next.
“For me.” Trevor crosses his impossibly strong arms on his chest and stares at me like he’s ready to eat me up right here. I can’t help that a shiver runs through me, but then what he said registers and I start shaking my head.
“Not a chance. Doing what, anyway? Serving you hand and foot? No thank you.”
Trevor grins, a slow smile that honestly makes me stomach flip upside down. “That sounds like heaven, Jane, but unless you’re willing to let me pick out the outfit for you, I have something a bit more traditional in mind. You start Monday.”
With that, he turns and starts walking away from me, totally ignoring the way I’m staring at him. Right now I honestly don’t think that I’d mind if the ground opened up underneath him and he disappeared forever.
Sure, he’s Annie’s father. But I don’t know the man beyond his reputation, and he scares me. Had I really thought about it, and had I known that my mom wasn’t really sick, I never would have come back.
But I’m here now, and apparently working for the Bonannos. The thought makes me sick to the stomach and I look around me at the crowd to try to see if anyone has any sympathy for me.
If they do, they’re sure as hell not showing it. Most people have turned away from me by now and I watch as everyone scatters. Show’s over, everyone. My life just got ruined in front of the diner and everyone who wanted to watch.
My lip trembles but I refuse to cry about this. How many tears did I shed when I found out that I was pregnant with Trevor’s kid? Enough. Too many.
I’ll play his little game, but as soon as I can figure out how I’m going to put my life back together, I’m out of here. I have to do what’s best for Annie, and I honestly don’t know that being anywhere near her father is the right choice. Sure, he’s sexy. Yes, he makes me feel things that I never have before.
No doubt he’d do whatever he could to give her the world.
But he’s so dangerous. He’s cruel and sharp, all hard edges and violence, and I just don’t see how that can fit into my life.
By now the three men have disappeared and I turn away, checking in both directions before I cross the street to go to my mom’s house. I have to get my shit together, no matter what. If I can do that, I can keep Annie safe. I can be the mother I need to be.
And I can make sure that Trevor Bonanno never figures out my secret.
