The Submission of a Mafia Princess (11 page)

“No!” Toni screamed and lifted her booted foot, jamming it blindly in Angelo’s groin.

Angelo groaned loudly as a shot rang out and he pressed the button to the first floor. The doors closed while she flayed her arms toward Brax who lay lifelessly on the ground.

Her breath blew deep and ragged as she willed the bile down that rose in her throat.

She wanted to tear Angelo apart limb from limb. Hunched over with both hands on his crotch, the gun hung from his fingertips. His head rose slowly to reveal beet red cheeks lined with beads of sweat.

“Bitch,” he grumbled and lunged across the elevator car at her. She kicked wildly in self-defense. Her foot met his hand and sent the gun sliding along the floor. They dove for it, but Toni was faster. She turned her back on him to pick up the gun and cradle it into her hands. She detested guns but thanks to her father, she knew how to fire one. Angelo grunted and wrapped his arms around her chest, pinning her hands together.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

“CIA! Move away from her, Manzanno!”

Toni turned toward the opened doors to find a man in a dark suit holding a badge and a gun. Angelo stepped back, pulled a second shotgun from his waistband and pointed it at Toni. She hooked her finger around the trigger and swiveled to point the barrel at his face.

“You asshole. You destroyed everyone I’ve ever loved. First my father and now Brax. May you rot in hell,” she shouted through tears. Her finger hovered over the trigger.

Clamping her eyes closed, her finger applied pressure to the cool metal as she heard a loud bang followed by a thud. She swallowed hard and her eyes fluttered open to see Angelo slumped in the corner with blood flowing from the side of his head. She dropped the gun, drew her knees up to her chest and sobbed into her hands.

The man in the suit entered the elevator car and strode to Angelo’s body. He held his fingers to his neck.

“He’s dead, he can’t hurt you,” he said as he walked to her and crouched at her knees.

“H-he killed my father and Brax and now I’m no better than him because I killed him.”

“Hey, hey,” the man pulled her hands from her face.

She looked into his deep brown eyes.

“First, you didn’t kill Manzanno. I did. Your gun didn’t fire. Second, Brax isn’t dead. The bullet grazed him thanks to you kicking this asshole in the balls. You saved his life.”

Toni smiled through her tears. “Thank you—” she looked at his badge. “Reid?”

He smiled and his light mocha cheeks reddened slightly as he helped her to her feet. “It’s Jackson. Jackson Reid.”

“May I see Brax?”

“Mia’s taking care of his wounds in the car. Come on, I’ll take you to him.”

“Another round of French Kisses, Jake!” Brax shouted from their table. His bandaged arm hung casually over Toni’s shoulder and he held an empty glass in his other hand. “These are delicious, where did you learn how to make them?”

“You think you’re the only mixologist in the joint, Brax?” Jake laughed. “Actually two new members, Emily and Mel, showed me how to make the French Kiss last night. It’s our new featured seasonal drink.” Jake walked a tray of the bubbly concoction in served in sleek champagne flutes to the table.

“Thanks, Jake.” Mia said taking a sip. “Oh, I think the second one is better than the first.”

“A toast,” Asher said holding his glass toward the middle of the table.

“Luck has shined on all at this table, may it follow every one of you throughout your lives. Especially you, Jackson.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe you’ve kept your profession a secret all this time. You do know if it leaks, you’ll be the most irresistible Dom in the joint,” Brax said with a wink.

Jackson chuckled. “I already am, Brax, and don’t you forget it. Asher’s been the only one who knows what I do so let’s keep it under wraps. You never know when you and Asher will go all vigilante on me again and I'll need to bail you out of trouble. What were you thinking, going up against a notorious mobster unarmed?”

“I only had one thing on my mind,” Brax said and tugged a lock of Toni’s hair.

“That reminds me, how did you guys know where I was?” she asked looking from Asher to Brax.

“You can thank Asher and Jackson for that. I tried to go after you this morning and bumped into Asher in the hallway. He was already one step ahead of me.” Brax nodded at Asher.

“We protect each one of our members at SRE. Mia told me about your predicament and we had a feeling he would try to kidnap you at some point. I consult with Jackson on complicated privacy and safety issues. He traced the signal from your phone right to JFK.”

Toni rose from her seat, strode to the back of Jackson’s chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Jackson. You saved my life.”

Jackson patted her arm. “It’s my job, darling. But it was my pleasure.”

Toni stepped to her side and stood between Mia and Asher. “And you two. How can I ever repay you?” She hugged them both.

“Just be happy and safe, sweetheart,” Mia said with a smile.

“And take care of this guy,” Asher added and jerked his head toward Brax.

Toni held her hand out to Brax. He stood and took her into his arms.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. There’s a certain intriguing chair in my suite to finish exploring,” she said with a wink.

Mia turned to Jackson. “How’s Ty? We miss him.”

Jackson waved his hand and leaned back in his chair. “He’s in St. Louis with Brooke again. I guess I lost my partner in crime, huh?”

“Maybe it’s time to settle down, Jax.” Asher chided as Jackson’s phone rang.

He chuckled as he pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and looked at the display.

“Excuse me,” he said, stood up and left the table as he answered his phone. “Hey there, love.”

“I think Jackson is one step ahead of you, Ash,” Mia said and swatted his arm.

The End

Signature drink recipe from the SRE lounge
:

French Kiss

.5 oz. Crème de Framboise (raspberry liqueur)

.5 oz. Cointreau (orange liqueur)

1 oz. pink grapefruit juice

4 oz. champagne

Pour the crème de framboise, grapefruit juice and Cointreau into a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a champagne flute. Top off the glass with champagne. Stir and serve.

Recipe and drink name submitted by Mel B. and Emily W.

www.sandrabunino.com

Other Books by Sandra Bunino:

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/sandra-bunino/

A Lotus for the Regent by Adonis Devereux

Dark Tales Diaries: Volume One by London Saint James

Love Unbound by Angela Castle

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com