Predator (King of the Mafia #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Marco

Iwas left for dead.

Shot in the hand, leg, and arm by a hitman I had hired who then betrayed me. You can’t trust anybody in this world.

I thought that was it for me. I was bleeding out on the floor of a church until the priest saved my life. Brought to a hospital. Spent months recovering from my wounds.

And now I’m back.

Enzo Bianchi thought he could team up with the Russian mafia and face no consequences but as an Italian mafia man, I cannot stand for that. He put our organization to shame.

I need to rectify it. I need to gain enough power to take Enzo down. I tried taking his sister from him but she slipped through my fingers and married the hitman who betrayed me.

That only leaves me with one choice: I need a different strategy to gain power. I need an alliance with someone I never thought I would be in.

The Irish mob.

They’re no better than the Russians but Enzo has control over the Italian mafia. I can’t get a way in. I have some old contacts but they all left me when they thought I had died. That’s one good thing: no one knows I’m still alive.

I’m willing to do whatever it takes to bring Enzo down. To bring Will Taylor down. Will, the man who took Gianna Bianchi away from me. I didn’t love Gianna but I was intent on making her mine and he denied me that.

I won’t rest until both men are dead. I need power and I can’t get it with the Italian mafia and since the Russians are working with Enzo, that only leaves the Irish.

I try not to sneer when I set foot into the pub. It stinks like old, cheap beer in here. Folk music is playing in the background. Men sit in booths, rowdily drinking their beer and watching a soccer game.

When I reached out to Patrick Sullivan about a deal, he told me to come here. I am having to debase myself to get what I want but if it means Enzo and Will are dead, then so be it.

My eyes find Patrick in the back booth, sitting alone. Two guards flank his sides, standing beside the booth. They look me over warily as I approach. One of them pats me down and then nods at me to sit.

Patrick gives me a large smile when I sit down. It makes the lines around his eyes crinkle. “Marco, how nice to finally meet you in person.”

“Patrick.”

“You said you wanted to make a deal with me. Or so I was told. Making a deal with the Italian mafia. I have to say, I like the sound of that.”

“I’ll be frank with you, Patrick. I need power.”

His eyes flick down to my hand. “I see you have some war wounds.”

I don’t remove my hand from the table. Let him look at my disformed hand.

The bullet Will shot me with went right through my hand, leaving an ugly scar behind.

It took me a long time to regain mobility in my hand and it will never be at full capacity again.

I’ve had to relearn to use my gun with my other hand.

My leg and arm get stiff when it rains but they healed much faster. Not as much damage.

“I want Enzo Bianchi and Will Taylor dead.”

Patrick lets out a low whistle. “Enzo is head of the Italian mafia and Will is his right hand man.”

“Because he married Enzo’s sister, Gianna.”

“I detect some venom in your voice.”

“It’s nothing,” I lie. “I want them dead.”

“So you’re coming to me, is that it? You want to make a deal, thinking I’ll help you kill them.”

“Yes.” This time, it’s honesty.

Patrick’s laugh is low in his voice. “You’re something else, Marco. A handsome man. Not too old yet. Money. You could have anything and yet, you’re intent on revenge. And you think I’ll provide that for you.”

“The Irish have always been at the bottom of the totem pole. But if we worked together, you’d have ties to the Italian mafia. You could rise in rank. All you have to do is make a deal with me.”

“How do I know you won’t fuck me over the second you get what you want? If I help you kill Enzo Bianchi –,”

“And Will Taylor.”

“— And Will Taylor, then how do I know you won’t want to get rid of me? I’ve heard you’re not too fond of the Russian mafia. I’m Irish. Not Italian.”

“I’ll prove myself to you.”

“No. I’ll need assurances that you won’t fuck me over.” He sits back in his seat and slowly nods. “You’ll marry my daughter.”

My body stiffens. “What?”

“It’s the only way I can guarantee you’ll be on my side. You’ll marry my daughter, Ciara.”

“I’ve never even seen her.”

“That can be rectified. You’ll meet her. And then you’ll marry her.”

My mind flashes back to Gianna. How beautiful she was like an old Hollywood starlet. I had wanted her. Yes, it was to hurt her brother but I also just wanted her. And then I lost her.

I didn’t have any intentions of marrying someone. But if I have to marry Ciara Sullivan to kill Enzo and Will, I will do it. And I will make sure I don’t lose Ciara like I did Gianna.

I hold out my hand. “Deal.”

Patrick shakes on it and the moment it’s done, I know I’ve cemented my fate.

Ciara

I’m lounging by the pool when my father approaches me.

I look at him over the tops of my sunglasses, annoyed that he would ruin my sun time.

It’s summer time in New York. Hot and sticky and gross.

The only relief I can find is trying to get a tan even though I know it’s pointless with my pale skin. Being Irish sucks sometimes.

“Ciara, I need to talk with you, darling.”

“What now, Dad?” I ask with a sigh. He normally leaves me alone, exactly how I like it. Ever since I was a little girl, my dad gave me anything I wanted and he still does. It’s worked out perfectly for us.

“You’re twenty.”

“Yes, that’s a fact I know very well.” I push my red hair over my sticky shoulders. My skin is turning pink. Damn it. No tan. Only a sunburn.

“You’ve had your run of this place since you were a child. I was happy to provide for you in everything you could want. But now that’s over.”

I stand up and walk right past him into the house. I snap my fingers at our housekeeper, who quickly pours me a glass of water with ice in it. Without a word, she hands it to me and I take a large gulp.

I can feel my father standing behind me, his disapproval evident. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m your daughter. Of course you would give me everything in this world. Why is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not. But it’s made you unruly sometimes.”

“Unruly? What time period are we living in, Dad?”

He makes a face and grabs the glass of water from my hands. “Listen to me, Ciara. I have let you run free around this house you’re entire life.”

“But not free outside this house. I have to go everywhere with a guard. It’s exhausting.”

“It’s for your own safety. You know what I do for work. You could be hurt otherwise.”

“Tell that to all the boys I tried to bring home.” Whenever I’d meet any cute boy, my dad would squash that relationship before it even began.

A kiss here and there and that was it. Maybe that’s why I love being the queen of this castle.

In my home, I can order the staff around.

I can have some sort of power that I don’t get in the outside world.

“They weren’t good enough for you. But I knew I would find a man good enough for you one day.”

With an eye roll, I turn away from him. “What are you talking about?”

“You will be married, Ciara.”

I stop in my tracks and slowly face him. “What?”

“His name is Marco Amato. He’s a little older but it won’t be a problem.”

“How much older?”

Dad hesitates. “Forty. He’s forty.”

“He’s twenty years older than me? You want me to marry a man that old? Are you crazy?” I snap my fingers and once more, the housekeeper comes running. I point at an orange on the kitchen counter and she quickly gets to work peeling it for me, all without saying a word.

“No, I am not crazy. He wants to make a deal with me and I cannot pass that up.”

“Why?”

“He’s Italian.”

I shrug. “So?”

“The Mafia, Ciara. He has more power than I do. I can gain so much from this alliance but I need to make sure he won’t screw me over. Which is why I need him to marry you.”

“The Mafia? Doesn’t that make him dangerous? You’d give your precious daughter away to a man like that?”

“I didn’t want you dating all those boys back in high school because I knew they were trouble. One of them would have got you pregnant and I didn’t want that for you. I wanted you ready for a moment like this.”

“You wanted me to be like a prized horse. That’s what you’re saying.”

He sighs. “Ciara, I know this isn’t ideal. I know you’re not happy about this. And I know you’re going to throw a hissy fit because you always do when you don’t get your way.”

“I don’t throw hissy fits,” I mutter. Right at that moment, the housekeeper hands me the orange but before I can grab it, the fruit falls out of her hand and lands on the floor. “What the hell?” I snap. “Do your job better.”

Dad raises an eyebrow. “See?”

“That wasn’t a hissy fit. That was…”

The housekeeper quickly picks the orange back up and hands it to me.

“I don’t want it now. It’s been on the floor. Peel me another one.”

She nods and starts work on the second orange.

“Ciara,” Dad says in a hard voice. “This is happening. I want this deal to take place and marrying you to Marco is the only way to assure this will happen.”

“Don’t I get a say in my life?”

“Have you ever?”

I pout. “Daddy, please.”

“Don’t ‘daddy’ me. You’re not getting your way this time, princess. You will marry Marco and that’s it.”

“Who will marry who?” Cormac, my brother, asks, coming into the kitchen. Tall and muscular with blonde hair, he looks more like a surfer model than anything else. All my friends had a crush on him growing up and I always hated it.

“Your sister. She will marry Marco Amato.”

Cormac frowns. “Who?”

“An Italian Mafia man.”

“Wait. You’re going to marry Ciara to an Italian? The fuck? Why? And why wasn’t I included in this decision?”

“Because you’re a hot head,” Dad says point blank. “And I’m in charge, not you. So I made the decision. Now, you both can complain about it, but it’s happening. I invited Marco over for dinner in a few days and I expect both of you to be on your best behavior.” With a whistle, he walks past us.

Cormac whirls around to face me. “Are you ok with this?”

“No,” I snort. “Not one bit.”

“Then I’ll help you. My sister is not marrying a fucking Italian. They cannot be trusted. Does Dad not realize this? They’ve pushed us down for years. They’ve taken so much of the money we could have earned because they have more power than us. I will not let you marry that man. I will stop it.”

“That could lead to more problems.” I smile. “So, yes. Let’s do that. Help me, Cormac.”

“Of course. You’re my sister. I’ll fight for you. Dad is in the wrong. The last thing we need is an Italian in this house.”