His to Possess (Mafia Kingpins #4)

19. Blake

19

BLAKE

F rom my perch up in the rafters, I stay out of sight and listen closely to the meeting happening below me. Sound echoes quite well in the empty warehouse and I hear every word about how Carmine Gallo wants to insert himself into the ruling Five Families. And, of course, they’re all angry and stewing about it.

Hovering above the table, slightly angled, it occurs to me how easy it would be to take Miceli Rossi out with one bullet. Sure, there’s security. I counted at least ten enforcers on the property—some indoors and some circling the perimeter of the building outside—but that didn’t stop me from getting inside. I’ve always been crafty and fast, so sneaking past the enforcers, climbing up the fire escape ladder and slipping in through a window was barely a challenge. After all, this isn’t my first rodeo.

It is, however, the first time someone expects me to kill someone. My gaze moves around the table, pausing on Angelo. He looks even more handsome than I remember and my heart skips a beat. Dammit. I never planned on this happening—me falling for him. But here we are and I’m in quite the dilemma.

“Kill Miceli or Angelo dies. Your choice.”

Gallo’s words ring loud and clear in my ears, and I reach down and lay my hand over the gun in my holster. My focus slides to Miceli, so big and strong. The man oozes authority and confidence. I have a clear shot of him and I could easily take it. But there’s no way that’s happening. I don’t care how Gallo is trying to corner me. Angelo’s older brother has a wife he loves and he’s father to a baby boy named Nico. I refuse to destroy something so beautiful.

Besides that, he’s Angelo’s blood, his family, and they’re extremely close. I would never intentionally hurt him like that. Even if it means refusing Gallo’s order. So where does that leave me?

In quite the pickle.

I don’t think there’s anything I can do except reveal myself and inform the table about what’s going on. I think the only way to defeat a common enemy like Gallo is by working together. And, even so, I am not letting Angelo out of my sight. My main objective is to have eyes on him at all times and make sure he’s protected. Because, yeah, maybe Gallo took him off the Kill List which means every bounty hunter and assassin in town will back off. But, at the same time, if I renege on my deal to kill Miceli then Gallo will turn his forces on Angelo.

And I can’t let that happen.

Guess it’s time to drop in on this little meeting. I have no intention of revealing my presence to everyone at once because someone might get trigger happy. So, instead, I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket and fire off a quick text message to Angelo.

I’m above you in the rafters and have intel to share with your people. Please don’t let anyone shoot me.

I include a blowing kiss emoji for good measure and an arrow pointing up.

Angelo’s phone lays facedown on the table and he flips it over and opens my message. I see the confusion flash over his face as he re-reads it then looks up. Our gazes connect and I give him a little wave.

“Holy shit,” he exclaims, standing up, and everyone’s attention focuses on him. “Don’t move, Blake, or you could fall! Someone get a ladder or something. How the hell did you get up there?”

Everyone is looking up now and I point to the window. “I can get out that way,” I call down. “Just call your guards off, please.”

“Hang on! Do not move!” Angelo rushes out to inform the enforcers that I’m coming down. Meanwhile, I slowly stand up and see his family all grinning up at me.

“You must be Blake,” Enzo calls up, and I smile.

“Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.” I send them another little wave and turn around, walking carefully along the dusty beam. Below me, I hear Miceli’s laugh boom and Carlotta exclaims something about loving me already.

The idea of these strangers accepting me into their family is a crazy notion. They don’t know me, have never even met me, yet strangely enough, I can feel their acceptance already. I wonder what Angelo told them because clearly they know who I am. And, I can’t deny it—that makes my lonely heart swell.

I scoot back out the window and start climbing down the ladder. Angelo appears, head tipped back, closely watching my descent.

“Careful,” he murmurs.

Right before I can step off the last rung, I feel his hands at my waist, pulling me down and straight into his arms. Relief floods his face and then he hugs me tightly to him. His lips brush my ear as he whispers, “I am spanking your ass for running off on me like that. What the hell were you thinking?”

I can hear people moving up behind us and he sighs.

“We will be discussing this later, la mia farfalla. ” His hold reluctantly loosens and we turn around to face his family who came running out right behind him. But, he still has his hand on my lower back and it’s comforting, possessive. “Blake, I’d like you to meet Miceli, Vin, Enzo, his wife Gabriella, and my little sister, Carlotta. Everyone, this is Blake Serrano.”

I’m immediately pulled into every set of arms and hugged. It’s so surprising that I’m taken off guard, but in the best possible way. I’ve never received such a warm reception—literally, with open arms—and my heart is so full I’m scared it might explode.

“Hi,” I manage to say, feeling immediate acceptance and a crazy outpouring of warmth. “It’s so nice to meet you all.”

And then a very important thought occurs to me. Why would Angelo introduce me to his family like this if we didn’t potentially have a future together? What would be the point? But, it’s like they all know me already which means Angelo was talking about me to them. What did he say? I wonder. To be welcomed so completely and kindly, he must’ve said good things.

“I just came from Carmine Gallo’s and I have some very important things that you all need to know immediately,” I announce. Because, as of this very moment, I am Team Rossi one-million percent. Fuck Gallo.

“Let’s go back inside,” Miceli says.

“Yeah, good idea,” I murmur, looking around for any sign of trouble. We’re all standing out in the open and it leaves me feeling on edge. Especially since my name is still on the Kill List and there are a lot of people out looking for me right now.

Once we’re all back in the warehouse, Angelo pulls up an extra chair and I sit down beside him. The entire table is studying me closely and I have the full attention of the most powerful ruling organization in New York City. And, yeah, it’s a little intimidating.

Doing my best, I explain how I met with Gallo and how it all went down. “He gave me an ultimatum—either kill Miceli or Gallo said he’ll kill Angelo.”

“That sonofabitch,” Angelo snarls and I reach for his hand.

“I’m not a killer and I would never hurt your family,” I tell the Rossi’s. “I also can’t allow Gallo to kill Angelo, so we’re going to need to come up with some kind of plan before he sends his goons to do the job.”

“He wants to usurp power,” Miceli says. “From all of us.” The table goes into an uproar and everyone starts talking over everyone else. But the gist is the same—they’re going to eliminate Gallo before he can follow through on his threats.

Despite the fury, I can feel everyone eyeing me warily. Well, at least the other families. They don’t trust me and I can’t blame them. Once they settle down, I want them to understand that I have their backs.

“I’m on your side,” I say quietly, and Angelo squeezes my hand. “I refuse to let anyone here die…even if it results in my own death.”

“No, not gonna happen,” Angelo immediately tells me. “We’re going to figure this out right now. You’re not sacrificing yourself for me or anyone else. Got it?”

His dark eyes flash and I can see he means business. I merely nod, but if it comes down to it…

I’m sorry, Angelo, but I will go down fighting for you. Because I love you.

The thought hits me hard and there’s no denying it. Somehow this beautiful, cocky, sweet, amazing, complete pain in the ass has captured my heart and I wouldn’t have it any other way. For the first time in my life, I see potential with a man. So damn much and I will give it my all to make sure he and his family come out of this mess safely.

When I don’t say anything to reassure him, he shoves up out of his chair and it scrapes backwards, nearly tipping over. “We need to talk.”

Before I can respond, he’s practically dragging me across the warehouse and I have to jog to keep up. “You’re manhandling me,” I hiss, trying to pull my arm away. But his fingers are wrapped around my upper arm like a vice.

“You’re lucky I’m not cuffing you,” he retorts and I press my lips together. I suppose he does have a point. “Because I’m one step away from locking your sweet ass up.”

I can feel the rest of the room watching as we face off in the dimly-lit corner. In fact, I think I caught smirks from Angelo’s family, but I have no idea why they would find our bickering so amusing.

When I finally manage to wrangle free of his hold, I huff out a frustrated breath. “I can take care of myself, you know. I’ve been doing it my whole damn life.”

“You don’t need to do that any longer, Blake,” he says softly.

His words catch me off guard. “What?”

“You’re not alone any more. I have your back, my entire family does, and we’re not letting anything happen to you. There won’t be any sacrifice on your part. We’re a team and we’ll work through this together.”

My mouth drops open and a flood of warmth fills my heart. “No one has ever had my back before,” I whisper, touched more than he could possibly know. Still, though, I’m confused. I’m a stranger to everyone over there, why would they even care? Why does Angelo care? “Why, though? Why do any of you care? You barely know me and they don’t know me at all.”

“Here’s the deal, kitten,” he says, his voice low. He reaches for me again, but this time his hold and touch are gentle as he pulls me closer. “They care because I care. At some point during this crazy journey, I fell head over heels for you. I’ve never been in love before, Blake, but you changed that.”

My eyes widen and I think my breathing grows erratic and slightly ragged. In love? Oh, my God. For a moment, I don’t know how to respond and I think he misinterprets my silence. A muscle flexes in his jaw as his dark eyes search mine.

“If you don’t feel the same, I?—”

“I do,” I interrupt. “I just didn’t think anything could come of this…of us.”

“Why not?” he asks quietly, almost savagely.

“I…I didn’t think I was good enough for you,” I admit, looking down and chewing on my lower lip. “No one has ever wanted me before, Angelo. Not my dad or the foster families or?—”

“Blake, look at me.”

Digging down deep, trying to find my self-esteem and confidence, I force myself to meet his gaze.

“I want you. You hear me?”

Words escape me, but I force a nod.

“You are the one who is way too good for me,” he continues, holding my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve spent my life playing, flitting around from place to place, feeling discontent, but I did my best to ignore that lost feeling. Instead, I numbed that emptiness with parties, traveling, women who meant nothing. But you…”

He cups my face and tilts my head back, his handsome face softening.

“You mean something. Hell, you mean so much that it’s throwing me off and confusing me in the most amazing way.” His dark eyes lock onto mine, flashing with emotion. “I love you, Blake.”

That does it. My heart explodes and I push up onto my tip-toes. Our mouths crash together and my arms wrap around his neck, pulling him even closer. As we kiss, a cheer goes up on the other side of the room, and I feel my cheeks heat up. When we finally pull back, breaking the kiss, I look up into Angelo’s beautiful face and I’m truly in awe.

“No one has ever told me that,” I whisper, my eyes filling with hot tears. “Ever.”

“Don’t cry,” he says, swiping his thumb over my cheek and catching a tear. “Better get used to it, la mia farfalla, because I’m going to be telling you that I love you every day for the rest of our lives.”

A huge grin lifts my lips and I hear one of Angelo’s brothers yell, “Kiss her again, bro!”

A half-laugh erupts from my throat and then Angelo kisses me again. This time it’s deeper and our tongues slide against one another’s. It’s a sensual dance of our mouths, seductive and delicious. But before things can get too out of hand, we break apart, breathing hard, eyes only for each other. He presses his forehead against mine, his warm breath fanning my face.

“Everything is going to be okay,” he murmurs. “I promise you.”

That’s an awfully nice promise and I hope he’s right.

“We’re going after Gallo,” he states, voice firm. “And we’re going to win.”

Please. Please let him be right, I think and send up a silent prayer. Because I’ve just found the love of my life. And to lose him now? It would be a goddamn tragedy.