Controlled by the Mob Read online

  Marco. Luca Russo’s cousin. The last time Shannon had seen him had been in the Detroit Metro Airport when she helped Nina Sarvilli escape a fate worse than death. Of course, Marco wouldn’t know that part, unless Nina told him.

  What Marco would know was that prior to that moment, Shannon had worked at Luca’s strip club, had been his most trusted employee, until she’d double-crossed him and helped kidnap his girlfriend.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  “Hey, Marco, I’d like you to meet Shannon. Shannon, this is my buddy Marco. We were best friends in high school. And then he went off and joined the navy, and we lost touch. I can’t believe we’re running into each other here, of all places.” Leo was so happy, smiling, thrilled to introduce her to one of his friends.

  Shannon met Marco’s gaze while she forced the edges of her lips to turn north. His eyes widened as recognition dawned. “Uhhh…”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t blow her cover. Because even though she hadn’t worked out exactly what she was going to tell Leo, it certainly wasn’t that she’d aided in kidnapping someone. To be honest, she didn’t think she’d get through the rest of it before he ran the other way anyway.

  “Shannon?” he asked, staring at her.

  She swallowed thickly and nodded.

  “I like that better than Serendipity, I suppose.”

  She grimaced. So he wasn’t going to keep quiet. Fantastic. Her perfect little illusion of happiness was about to implode. She’d thought she had time. Only one more day, but still. She’d wanted that time.

  Needed it.

  “I don’t like Serendipity either,” she said, hoping…hell, she wasn’t sure what she was hoping for. That he’d realize she really wasn’t the bad guy she’d been a year ago?

  Marco stared hard for another few moments, and then shifted his focus to Leo. “So what the hell have you been up to? And how do you and Shannon know each other?”

  “We actually just met a few days ago. Up the road, at a B&B. And what I’ve been up to requires time and a few drinks. Are you living here now?”

  Marco shook his head. “My cousin has a place up here. We took a few days off and got the hell away from the city. I’ve been home for a couple years, and sometimes I wish I could go back to the war zones, after how fucked up life can get around here. Well, at home.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Leo said, while Shannon winced again. She knew damn well Marco was referring to what went down a year ago. But at least he wasn’t outing her to Leo. No idea why he was choosing to keep her secret, but if she could do it without giving herself away, she’d thank him.

  “Are you here alone?” Leo asked.

  Marco shook his head and pointed at the dining area to his left. “Here with my cousin. We’ve been fishing, mostly, for like three days. Finally decided to remind ourselves what civilization was like and came out to dinner. I still can’t believe I ran into you here. That’s crazy.”

  Leo pulled out his phone. “Do you still have the same number? Let’s get together. Shannon’s actually going home tomorrow, but I’m here for the rest of the week.”

  “You’re leaving tomorrow, huh? Where you going?”

  “Home.”

  “Where’s home?”

  What was this, an interrogation? “Um, Chicago.”

  “Huh.” He studied her for another second and then said to Leo, “Are you into fishing? You can join us if you want. Afterward we sit around the campfire and drink beer and exaggerate how big our catches were.”

  “That sounds awesome,” Leo said with a laugh. He handed his phone to Marco, who confirmed his number.

  “Call me when your date leaves. Shannon.” He nodded at her, gave Leo another bro hug, and sauntered away.

  Shannon released a long breath and kept her hands folded on her lap so Leo would not see them shaking.

  “So how do you two know each other?”

  Her gaze flew to Leo’s face. He didn’t look upset, just patiently waiting for her to answer.

  “Um, what makes you think we know each other?”

  “You’re kidding, right? It was obvious. Wait, he’s not the guy, is he? The one who caused you to run away from your life?”

  He was up, off his barstool, like he was about to rush to Marco and attack him.

  Shannon grabbed his arm and pressed him back into his seat. “No, he’s definitely not the guy. I actually don’t know Marco well. We have mutual friends in common.” Well, she wouldn’t exactly call them friends.

  “So why did you try to pretend like you didn’t know each other?”

  She toyed with the straw in her drink, stirring it ’round and ’round. “Because I hoped he wouldn’t out me. I don’t know why he went along with it, to be honest. The last time we saw each other was a year ago, when I was trying to sneak away. The circumstances…well, let’s just say they didn’t put me in a very good light.”

  That was an understatement.

  The hostess called Leo’s name and ushered them to their table. Luckily, they were seated on the opposite side of the restaurant from Marco. Shannon wasn’t sure she’d be able to stomach her dinner if he was so close she could feel his gaze on her. As it was, she played with more food than she ingested.

  They left the restaurant, and Leo held open the door of the vehicle so she could slide into the passenger seat. He grasped the top edge and leaned forward. “What can I do to help you relax?” he asked quietly.

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she furiously swiped them away. God, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried over her predicament. It had never gotten her anything but swollen eyes and a headache, and she’d eventually figured out other outlets for her anger and frustration.

  “Make my past go away,” she finally muttered.

  “I can’t do that, but I can get you ice cream.”

  “What?” She turned to face him, but he slammed the door closed and hurried around to climb in the driver’s seat. “Did you just say you can get me ice cream?”

  “I did, and I can.”

  What did ice cream have to do with anything?

  True to his world, he took her to a small ice cream shop, and they each ordered cones: hers chocolate cherry and his Superman.

  “Really?” she asked as they sat at a picnic table and devoured the sweet treats. “Superman?”

  He shrugged and licked at blue, red, and yellow ice cream. “It was what my nanny gave me when I was young and having a bad day. Always seemed to cheer me up.”

  “Huh.” She ate her chocolate cherry cone.

  After a few moments, he said, “Want some?”

  She tried not to smile, but she had no control around this man. Especially when he was being sweet or funny. Which was pretty much all the time.

  They swapped cones.

  “Thanks,” she said when they were done. “I needed that.”

  “Good. Let’s get back so we can hit Maureen up for a bottle of sparkling before she retires for the night.”

  They parked behind the inn, as per instructions to all guests, and entered through the patio door. That put them in the dining room, which had easy access to the kitchen, where Maureen was usually stationed. She wasn’t there; in fact, the main level was so quiet Shannon guessed everyone had either retired to their rooms or was out for the evening. Leo discovered several chilled bottles of sparkling in the wine fridge, and he helped himself, scribbling a note on the whiteboard hanging next to the door.

  They stepped back into the dining room, heading toward the stairs to Leo’s room to sit on his balcony while they drank their wine.

  They entered the parlor, and that was where Shannon’s nightmare began.

  Or rather, returned.

  Two dark haired men stood in the entry, blocking their path to the stairs. They were both tall and lean. One looked like a younger version of Leo, while the other looked like…

  “Davit.”

  “Max,” Leo called out, and then turned to give Shannon a
puzzled look. “Wait, did you just say Davit? As in, you know my brother’s best friend?”

  Oh shit.

  This was not how she’d expected her relationship with Leo to end.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Leo remembered meeting Davit for the first time, what? Four years ago, maybe?

  Leo had been at his parents’ house, patiently explaining to his mother how to use the latest streaming service his dad had signed up for.

  Max burst through the door, all excited to show off his new friend, who he said was a big shot in the Armenian community. Mom took those words at face value, and for the longest time assumed Davit was involved in some sort of community service.

  How wrong she was.

  Davit had strolled through his parents’ house—without taking off his shoes, so he tracked gray slush across Mom’s pristine floors—making snide comments about how much nicer his house was than theirs. Yes, wealthy people constantly compared themselves to their peers—except most had the decency to keep their thoughts to themselves.

  Leo had disliked him from that moment. And it only got worse when Max started partying with him pretty much constantly and doing little else. He’d been three months from graduating with his bachelor’s degree.

  He hadn’t finished.

  And, yes, Max was to blame for making poor choices, but Leo strongly believed Davit was also at fault. He knew what he was doing; he got a sick pleasure out of fucking around with people. Especially those closest to him.

  Because that’s what the mob did.

  And Davit, Leo had learned through his brother, was second-in-command of the local Armenian mob.

  Shannon knew him?

  He’d guessed that she’d been abused in her past, and he’d even speculated, wondered if she had connections to the mob.

  But he’d never imagined how significant that connection was.

  Holy hell.

  Davit smacked Max’s chest. “You were right. It is my Shannon.”

  Leo stared at his brother’s friend, trying to look at him through an uncritical lens, but it was impossible. Too much bad blood, and now this connection to Shannon was really fucking with his mind. Any way he looked at it, Davit was an ugly bastard.

  His hair was slicked back from his face with some sort of hair product that made it look shiny. The style wasn’t short and it wasn’t long, and there was a slight wave to it that gave one the impression he was trying to grow it out.

  His eyes were dark and too small for his pockmarked face, which was probably from a bad bout of acne when he was younger, although why in the world hadn’t his parents taken him to a dermatologist to fix his issues?

  He was tall and lean, like a swimmer, and Leo had no doubt that he was tough as nails. Was probably carrying a weapon too. Maybe more than one.

  Leo’s only dealings with the mob were the stories Marco used to tell him in high school—Marco had an uncle who was pretty high up in the local Italian mafia. With each story Marco told, the less interest Leo had in that world. Keeping up with his own, legitimate, life was plenty enough work without worrying about looking over his shoulder for an enemy every five seconds.

  Whatever extra money or power that could be added to the family business wasn’t worth it to him, which was what he’d told his father when Davit had the nerve to approach him with a business venture.

  Definitely no love lost between him and Davit.

  Shannon stood next to Leo, shaking her head. Her eyes were wide, her body rigid, her fists clenched by her sides. Her face was so pale she could pass for a ghost.

  “I’m not yours, Davit,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Davit snorted and then narrowed his eyes. “What? You think you belong to him now? That’s now how it works, Shannon. Or should I say, Serendipity?”

  Shannon winced like he’d slapped her, and then she lifted her chin. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

  Davit laughed like she’d told an outrageously funny joke.

  Max, who was apparently slow on the uptake, said, “Holy shit, you’re fucking Davit’s ex? Dude, that’s not cool.”

  Until now, he wouldn’t have classified what they did as fucking, but knowing she had at some point been the girlfriend of a mob prince, Leo wasn’t sure anymore.

  Obviously, the relationship had gone sour, but still, she’d willingly gotten into it in the first place. She’d chosen to date, to sleep with a mob guy.

  How was he supposed to get past that?

  Did he even bother trying? Did it matter? Because even if he decided to let bygones be bygones, dating a mobster’s ex was asking for trouble Leo had spent his entire adult life avoiding. Nixing that deal with Davit had been one of the few times Leo had stood up to his father and insisted on doing things his way.

  Walking out on his own wedding had been the second time. It didn’t escape his notice that Davit was the common denominator in those two scenarios.

  “No, that’s really not cool,” Davit said, his eyes narrowed and now focused on Leo.

  “Wait, hold up,” Leo said, narrowing his eyes right back. “I caught you fucking my fiancée at my wedding rehearsal. I’d say that’s way less cool than me dating your ex-girlfriend.”

  Shannon flung her entire body around to face him, her mouth hanging open. “Davit is the guy?”

  “Yep.”

  He wasn’t angry about what happened, but he wasn’t about to let Davit get away with acting like it was wrong for someone else to go out with a woman who broke up with him a year ago. That was some caveman, alpha-hole bullshit, and Shannon didn’t deserve it. Well, no woman did, but definitely not Shannon.

  “Oh God,” Shannon said, her voice sounding faint.

  Max’s brow crinkled. “How did she escape the Italian mafia?” He glanced at Davit. “Because you know my brother’s not associated with them, right?”

  What the hell was he talking about?

  “That’s an excellent question,” Davit said, shifting his focus to Shannon. Leo could practically see the wheels turning in his head, although he had no idea what dots the other guy was connecting.

  “How did you escape, Shannon?” Davit’s voice was cool, dripping with suspicion.

  Shannon seemed to almost curl into herself as she shuffled backward, inching away from Davit.

  “You disappeared at the exact same time as Nina fucking Sarvilli. I assumed she and that asshole Luca Russo took you as insurance in case someone went after them,” Davit added.

  The name Nina Sarvilli sounded vaguely familiar, although Leo wasn’t sure why. Luca, though, he was Marco’s cousin. Leo had hung out with him a few times back in high school. Unless something had changed drastically in the last ten years, he could not imagine Luca kidnapping anyone. Besides, he wasn’t part of the Italian mafia. At least, he hadn’t been when Leo knew him.

  “Apparently I was wrong,” Davit said. His gaze scoured over Shannon in a way that made Leo want to grab a blanket off the sofa in the sitting room and drape it around her shoulders, covering her from view.

  “You know how I hate being wrong,” Davit said, his voice low, his focus on Shannon, who was now visibly shaking. Leo moved closer to her, trying to offer comfort without being overt. They may no longer have a future together, but he sure as hell couldn’t leave her on her own to be devoured by this wolf.

  “What’s with the hair?” Davit asked, curling his lip. “And the face? And that dress?” He waved at her swimsuit coverup. “And what the fuck is on your feet?”

  Who was this guy, the fashion police? Shannon would be hot as hell if all she wore were a burlap sack.

  Cliché, but true.

  Leo glanced at Shannon. Her eyes were dilated, her face pinched. A blush was crawling up her neck. Was she suddenly embarrassed over her appearance? She’d been so confident from the moment he’d met her; this frightened woman who withdrew into herself was not the Shannon he knew.

  He started to step in front of her, an attempt to shield her from Davit�
�s creeper gaze, but she edged away from him and moved closer to Davit.

  What the hell?

  “He didn’t know,” she said, talking in soothing tones, like she was trying to calm a toddler who was having a temper tantrum. “He had no idea who I was. This isn’t on him, Davit.”

  “Wait. Are you protecting me from him?” Leo demanded of Shannon. “I can handle myself.”

  “Not against him,” she said, her voice quiet, her gaze on Davit.

  Leo grabbed her arm to try to get her to look at him. There was a roar, like a wounded animal had stepped into the room with them, and suddenly Davit charged, slamming into Leo and sending him flying backward into the wooden railing of the staircase. The entire thing shuddered; something cracked loudly.

  Possibly his back because holy fuck it hurt like a mother!

  He dropped to his knees and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get a handle on the pain, when someone grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to his feet. He stood there—well, dangled, really—while Davit curled his lip and sneered into his face.

  “No one touches my woman, you fucking pussy.”

  Before he could explain what the ex when associated with girlfriend meant, a fist landed square in the middle of his face, and Leo heard another crack. So his back and his nose, then.

  Davit released his hold on Leo’s hair, and he fell like a stone to the wooden floor splattered with what he assumed was his own blood.

  Fuuuuck.

  Someone screamed. He heard the pounding of feet in the hallway upstairs.

  “Stop!” That was Shannon’s voice. “Leave him alone!”

  Grimacing, Leo glanced up and watched as Shannon propelled herself at Davit, her face contorted, her arms outstretched, her fingers curled like claws. If the look on his face was any indication, Davit was taken aback by her reaction. So much so that he didn’t move, didn’t even lift his arms to protect himself.

  She landed like one of those crazy monkeys at the zoo, complete with the screeching, knocking Davit backward. He hit the wall but stayed upright while she managed to drag her nails down both of his cheeks before falling to the floor at his feet.

  “What the fuck?” Davit said, lifting a hand and touching his face. His fingers came away coated with blood; he snarled and glared down at her, and Leo was pretty certain—or at least afraid—that he was contemplating killing her.