What? A sexy, sultry new mob series from Ella Jade!
Five Hot Brothers, Five Steamy Novels. You can read Book One on October 30, 2018.
Mafia Heat has it all! Alpha males, action, romance, rival families, and brothers. My kind of book!
Deception Never Looked So Good
One sultry summer night, I walked along the docks not sure what I wanted to find. I went searching but I should have left it alone. Now I’m a witness to a cold-blooded murder by a family who will relentlessly hunt me down. I remember running for my life and ending up in the arms of an intriguing stranger. He’s become my protector but I can’t even tell him who I am.
***
Nadia Marrone was in the wrong place at the wrong time when she stumbled onto a murder-in-progress. She was seeking answers after she obtained a lead on the biological father she never knew. Once she witnessed the murder, she realized her potential father was one of NYC biggest crime lords and her half-brother may have pulled the trigger.
Attorney Vincenzo “Vince” Marchelli makes it a point to stay out of his father’s illegal business. He leaves that to his two older brothers while he manages the family’s legal business. One hot summer evening, he steps out of a restaurant and smacks into a woman who appears to be running from danger. The man pursuing her is the son of a rival family. Vince makes a split decision to protect her, putting him in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Marchelli Family vows to protect Nadia but they have apprehensions. What was she doing on the docks at the precise time of the murder? How did she manage to run into the arms of Vincenzo, the son of the enemy? Coincidence? As Vince begins to fall for the beautiful stranger, his brothers are cautious of her identity. Was the whole meeting a setup? Or, were the two in the right place at the right time after all?
Book One in the Mafia Heat Series
All books stand alone
Contains Mature Content
Wrong Place
Nadia
When you’re young, you build people up in your head. Your dreams are bigger than they have any right to be. I never knew my father, but that didn’t stop me from wishing and hoping. Believing he was this amazing person. A doctor, a lawyer, a senator. The time for childhood fantasies had passed. The adult I’d become needed answers. Now that I knew who he was, did I really want to know who that made me?
Anxiety rose in my core as I trekked along the dark, humid docks. The stench of stale water and raw heat assaulted my senses. It was late. Later than any woman should be out in this part of town alone. I’d gotten a tip that this was where I’d find him, so instead of thinking things through, I acted on impulse. I hadn’t even changed out of my dress and heels. I’d come straight from work on the other side of Manhattan. No one knew where I was going. It didn’t matter. Once I explained who I was, everything would fall into place. I hope.
Glancing at the GPS on my phone, the directions said I was at my destination. I thought I’d find an office or a business entrance, but all I saw were boats and slips. There was a set of large, double wooden doors a few feet away from me. The address matched where my investigator told me I’d find him. An unsettled sensation coursed through me as I crept toward the doors. The closer I got, the more I realized I was headed into this unprepared. My brain screamed for me to turn around as my heart rate thumped between my ears. I’d come this far despite my mother’s pleadings to drop it. Now that I had a name, I understood why she didn’t want me to pursue this. As I approached the wooden structure, I fisted my hand and knocked but the doors weren’t secure. One of them inched open, creaking as it gave me access to a large, stuffy warehouse. Stepping inside, the temperature shifted ten degrees hotter. Breathing became difficult in such a stifling environment. I shut the door behind me, gripping my phone in my hand as I took in the empty space. The room was dim and dingy, and smelled of tobacco. Someone had been here recently.
“Hello,” I called. “Is anyone–”
The sound of yelling in the distance halted my inquiry. Men were arguing on the second floor. The voices became louder as the conversation got more heated.
“Did you think you were going to get away with it?” A gruff voice asked. “We have people everywhere.”
“No, of course not. I didn’t betray your family,” someone defended. “It’s not what you think.”
“My father doesn’t see it that way.”
“Please, let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain. You were warned not to screw this up. You can’t be trusted.”
“I can. I swear I know where–”
“Shut up!” The voices seemed to get closer, and then there was some sort of scuffle. Heavy feet moving above me. “Grab him.”
A door from the landing swung open as I backed away. When I tried to leave, a blaring noise, almost like a firecracker, went off, lighting up the space on the stairs. I took cover in the corner, crouching down by the door as the second shot rang out. There was a horrible thud, followed by several more shots. Whoever started at the top of the stairs was now lying at the bottom, twisted, contorted, and bleeding from his head and mouth. Only a few feet from me, he lay still, motionless, dead.
“Oh, God!” I whispered as two men hurried down the stairs. Acting on instinct, I backed out of the corner and flung open the door, running out as fast as I could.
“Who the hell was that?”
“Get her!” one of them screamed as they came barreling after me.
I took the first turn out of the warehouse and darted down the pier but I had no idea which way to go. Sprinting hard, I took a left, moving away from the water. My heart pounded and a jarring pain overtook my side but the adrenaline kept me going. Keep running! Keep running, Nadia! Why hadn’t I listened to my mother?
“There she is!” They were close behind me. “You go that way.”
Shit! They would know these docks. They would corner me. I kept going. Did I have a choice? If they caught me, my life would be over. What was I thinking coming here? I knew who Antonio Collandra was. What he was capable of. I’d seen his name in the papers and on TV. He was one of New York’s biggest crime bosses and I could be his illegitimate daughter.
The throbbing in my feet slowed me down but I spied a busy street a block ahead. All I had to do was get out in the open. If I could get into public, I’d have a better chance of slipping away. One street and I’d make it. I wouldn’t give up. I narrowly made it across the busy traffic, causing a car to swerve and slam on the brakes. The man chasing me jumped out of the way of the vehicle, momentarily distracted. Everything moved at a fast clip.
“What the fuck!” He pounded his fists on the hood while I disappeared into the hectic street. “Watch where you’re going!”
I continued to escape but I was certain he was still behind me. I couldn’t stop to find out but I didn’t have anything left. I couldn’t keep running. As I swiveled around the corner, I slammed into the hard chest of a man coming out of a cafe. He caught me in his strong arms just as the two men crossed the street and came toward us.
“Are you okay?” His dark brown eyes held concern. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.”
“Please help me.” I panted. “I need your help.”
He glanced over my shoulder, his jaw tensed when he saw the two men heading in our direction.
“Please.” I trembled as I tried to catch my breath. I didn’t want to put this innocent man in harm’s way but what choice did I have? I saw no other way out of this.
“What’s your name?” He wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me to his side.
“Nadia,” I whispered.
“I’ll handle this.” He was so confident but he had no idea what I’d witnessed. If he had, there was no way he would help me. “Franco,” the stranger who I leaned against said to one of the murderers.
Franco? He knew him?
***
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