Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
I’m dancing in a cage when he finds me.
And he’ll make me beg if I want to escape.
Angelo Bianco is powerful and dangerous, and he’s not shy about watching me work. His eyes undress me, and when he pulls me into a private room to make a proposal—
I should keep my hands to myself, but it’s hard when Angelo looks so good.
He’s fresh out of prison and wants to destroy the men that betrayed him, while I need to save my addict sister from her drug dealer boyfriend.
Turns out, we hate the same guy.
If I help Angelo take down our common enemy, he’ll put my sister through rehab and pay to finish her nursing degree.
All I have to do is risk everything for a man I barely know.
Easy, right? I’ll do anything for my sister, even if that means putting myself through the nightmare that is Angelo.
He’s going to get what he wants, except revenge isn’t enough anymore.
Angelo won’t stop until he gets all of me.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Angelo
Istep out of the back gate of the prison that’s been my home for the last five years wearing a suit that doesn’t fit anymore, and I’ve never felt so good in my life. Corrections Officer Jackson lingers near the door giving me that hard-ass look he’s famous for and checks his watch. “Anyone coming to pick you up, inmate?”
“Not an inmate anymore.” I stretch my back and feel the suit jacket strain. I’ve put on a solid twenty pounds of muscle since going away and this fucking thing can’t contain me anymore. “And she’ll be here.”
“Yeah, and she better be here soon. I got shit to do.” Jackson squints at me. “So how long before I see you again, Bianco?”
“Probably sooner than you think.” I turn and meet his eye, giving him a big, friendly smile. “Remember, I can find you on the outside now.”
CO Jackson’s face turns pale and he doesn’t say another goddamn word until a black town car pulls up and my sister gets out of the back. At that point, he disappears inside while Elena wraps me in a hug.
“I missed you,” she says, squeezing me hard. My older sister looks like she hasn’t aged a day. She’s always been the heart of the family, the only one in the whole damn group strong enough to keep everything together. She’s wearing a silky top and dark slacks with her hair in a perfect twist like she’s headed out to a charity function right after grabbing her brother from prison.
I pat her back. “Missed you too, big sis. How’s the fam holding up?”
“You know, the usual.” She looks tired as she steps back and studies me. “Your hair’s short. And I don’t love the beard.”
I scratch at my scraggly chin. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I get locked up.”
She grins and slaps my shoulder. “Good thinking. Now, come on, let’s get you home.”
We climb into the back seat. One of my brother’s guards is behind the wheel, a guy I vaguely recognize but can’t place. I have a feeling I’m going to experience this feeling a lot in the coming weeks as I get back up to speed with everyone.
The world doesn’t stop when you get locked up. It leaves you behind because it has no other choice. I don’t blame my family for living their lives while I languished behind bars, but sometimes, when I’m at my worst, I feel like they should’ve put everything on hold and waited for me to get out. I know that’s selfish and dumb and unrealistic, but I wasn’t exactly at my best while wasting away my time surrounded by the dumbest fucking killers and thieves in the entire Chicago area.
We have a half-hour drive back to the oasis. Elena fills it with gossip, mostly stuff I’ve heard before during one of our many phone calls, and it’s like she’s trying to catch me up on five years of shit I’ve missed. That’s a whole hell of a lot: Santoro’s dead and Dad murdered him, the big war is over, Davide and Simon are both married, Simon’s wife had her baby, and Elena got hitched to an Irishman.
The world keeps turning.
“Hey, by the way, can we make a pit stop on the way?” I lean forward and squint at the time. “There’s some stuff I want to pick up.”
“Don’t you want to get back to the oasis? Everyone’s anxious to see you.”
The oasis. My home. Elena has no idea how desperate I am to take a shower in my own house and to sleep in my own bed, but this is more important.
“This’ll just take a second, I promise. Paulie Conti’s been holding some stuff I want to grab on the way.” I rattle off his address to the driver, who hesitates and glances at Elena in the rearview mirror. I don’t love that—five years ago there wasn’t a single guard, soldier, or fucking capo that would’ve looked to someone else for permission to follow my orders.
I’ve been gone too long.
“Fine, but we have to make it fast. Mom and Dad are anxious to see you. Heck, everyone’s excited you’re finally back.” Elena shakes her head and squeezes my arm. “God, you haven’t changed one bit, have you?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. And hey, driver, you got an extra piece I can borrow? Been too long since I carried and I miss the fucking weight.”
Elena groans, rolling her eyes, but the driver produces a Smith & Wesson 642, a lovely little snub-nose revolver loaded up with .38 Specials. It’s tiny, basically the size of my hand, but it’s a reliable little fucker. I cradle the weapon, flip open the chamber, sight it, flip it closed, and shove it into my waistband along with the conceal carry holster. “Beautiful,” I murmur, feeling more comfortable already.