Ruthless Mafia Daddy (Alpha Mafia Daddies)

That open door can only mean one thing. And it is not good news.

“Everything okay, Miss Morano?”

I jump at the sound of Xander’s voice behind me, my heart pounding in my throat.

Fuck, I knew it.

I turn to find him wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that hugs his biceps, carrying a plate of leftovers from dinner.

“Uh, yes.” I force a smile.

Xander’s eyes narrow as he glances down at my attire, and I silently curse myself for not keeping my pajamas on at least until I was inside Rosa’s room.

“Going somewhere?”

“Rosa messaged me, asking if I wanted to have a slumber party with her.” I wave my phone. “This house gets a little…lonely when Andre and Marco are away.” I ramble on, hoping Xander buys my reasoning for sneaking into Rosa’s room.

“Sure.” Xander’s eyes are still narrowed. “If you need anything⁠—”

“I’ll make sure to call for you.”

Xander hesitates a moment longer before disappearing inside his room.

I exhale, waiting a moment to ensure he’s not coming back out before hurrying over to Rosa’s room and sliding inside.

Turning on the light, I’m met with a sea of pale pink and lavender. It’s the sort of bedroom I would have loved to have had as a teenager, with a huge four-poster bed with a white canopy, a vanity covered in makeup and perfume bottles, and a wall of bookshelves that have been color coordinated.

Unlocking my phone, I call Rosa back, making sure to keep my voice low in case Xander decides to come snooping. “Rosa?”

“I’m here.”

“I bumped into Xander on the way to your room. Thankfully he seems oblivious to the fact that you’re not here.”

“Oh, thank god.” She sighs. “I hope he doesn’t get into trouble for this.”

“We’ll deal with that later. Right now we need to focus on getting me to Vision before Xander decides to do a midnight check-in.”

Rosa informs me of a fake book on her shelf where she’s hidden a stash of hundreds, in case of emergencies. I grab a handful, along with a bum bag that is hanging on the back of Rosa’s door.

“Why do I need this?”

“To get into the club, and to keep anyone quiet if it comes to it.”

“Great…” I mutter. “Ok, I’ve got the money. Now what?”

“Now you’re going to have to climb out the window.”

“Fuck.”

“It’s not that high. I climbed down the trellis that the climbing rose is attached to, and jumped the last ten feet.”

My stomach churns as I realize how reckless this is.

I’m pregnant, I shouldn’t be climbing out of windows where I could quite easily fall and land badly.

But I have to help Rosa. I can’t leave her to fend for herself when she’s surrounded by drunk men who won’t stop until they’ve taken what they’ve come for.

“Ok, I’ll call you back.”

“Good luck.”

I hang up the phone and tuck it into my bag before hurrying over to the large window. It’s pitch black outside, which only adds to my nerves. If Andre were to ever find out I did something this stupid, he would lock me in my room until I gave birth to this baby.

But I can’t think about that right now. The longer I hesitate, the longer Rosa is in danger.

So, I take a deep breath and pry open the window.

Without looking down, I climb onto the ledge and reach out for the wooden trellis structure to the right of the window.

My heartbeat is pounding in my ears as every possible scenario plays out in my head of how I could fall to my death.

“Come on, Lila.” I mutter under my breath as I swing one leg over the ledge and blindly start to find my footing.

The thorns from the roses cut into my hands as I cling to the trellis, bringing my other leg over until my entire body is out, and I begin scaling down the wall.

I force myself not to look down, focusing on taking my time as I find my footing.

The trellis groans under my weight as I descend it, fighting the climbing rose the entire way.

My foot slips, causing my stomach to churn as I scramble to keep my hold on the trellis. “Shit! Come on, Lila. If Rosa could do it…”

I take another deep breath and move my foot lower, testing each ledge until I feel secure enough to move my hands.

When the window to the living room below becomes level with my feet, I glance down. The trellis has run out which means I have to jump the rest of the way just as Rosa told me.

“Here goes nothing.” Lifting one foot off the trellis and turning my body so I’m facing the grounds, I push away from the wall, trying to hold in my scream as the ground comes barreling toward me.

I grunt as my feet hit the ground, and I go toppling over.

The grass beneath my hands is dewy to the touch but it softened the landing enough where I know I won’t have any bruises to give me away—just a few cuts and splinters from the rose, but those will be easy enough to cover up.

I crouch down and hurry around the side of the house.

The kitchen light is still on, but as I peer into the window, it seems empty. Perhaps Xander left it on when he went to get himself some food.

Before I have a chance to test that theory, I hurry across the front lawn, keeping to the trees lining the long gravel drive to ensure the shadows keep me hidden.

I shoot Rosa a text letting her know I’m almost at the edge of the property. I don’t want to risk anyone hearing me on the phone so I assure her I will call once I’m in an uber.

She sends me a pin to the club situated in White Plains, about a twenty-minute-drive away. If we manage to pull this off without anyone tipping off Andre, it’ll be a miracle.

Once I reach the edge of the property, I call for an uber. Within two minutes, a silver Prius is pulling up, and I quickly hurry over to the passenger door, eager to get away from the house before the sight of the headlights draws Xander’s attention.

The driver looks at me and nods. “Evening.”

“Hey,” I climb into the backseat.

“Heading to Vision?”

“Yes, please.” I glance down at the map so I can keep Rosa updated on my arrival time.

The driver puts the car on drive. “Won’t take us long to get there at this time.”

“Great…”

He turns the radio up, and I tap my feet to the music, or maybe just a little bit too fast, as I watch our arrival time like my life depends on it.

Rosa assures me that she’s still safe inside the club bathroom, but I know it wouldn’t take much force for this guy to break down the door if he really wanted to.

“Come on,” I whisper under my breath as we speed along the highway.

Our car swerves and I sway.

I look up, and the driver is frowning at the rearview mirror. “What is this fucker doing?”

I’m instantly on alert, twisting in my seat to look out the back window.

A blacked-out Range Rover is tailgating us despite it being clear for him to overtake.

I frown. “Maybe something is wrong. Can you pull over to let him pass?”

“I can try.” The driver slows the car down, pulling over a little, despite it being a two-lane highway.

The Range Rover swerves and moves to pull up alongside us. Almost glued to us.

My heart lurches in my chest as the two cars almost collide.

“What the fuck?” The uber driver swerves so as not to scrape alongside the car. “This fucker must be drunk or something.”

Oh god. I don’t want to die. “Pull over!”

The driver looks left and right, probably choosing his best option to escape this maniac.

He signs to move to the left lane. As he tries to slow down to let the other car overtake him, they swerve behind him and nick the back of our car, making it dance for a second.

I’m now holding on, one hand on each door, praying this madness will end, and this is nothing but a bad memory soon enough.

My driver gets the car stabilized, and tries moving back to the right lane, but the Range Rover swerves after us, almost hitting us again.

The driver is looking to the rearview mirror. “Fuck. What do I do?”

Suddenly, the Range Rover swerves to the left lane, and speeds up.

The uber driver’s eyes cross with mine as something like relief crosses his eyes.

I start to smile before my eyes lower to the road, and I watch as the Range Rover swerves at the last second, right in front of us.

I open my mouth to scream, but my body is slammed against the seat in front of me as the uber smashes into the side of it.