Conquered by the Mafia Boss

“When both of our parents died, he was the one who raised me. I was eight and he was a teenager.”

“Yeah, you’ve told me.”

“He dropped out of school to take care of me.”

It’s odd how little I remember of my parents. It was just Mike for a long time.

Memories of my older brother cycle through my head. He was always so goddamn tall. I see him in slacks and suspenders, rolling up a paper bag lunch. He hands the bag to me with a wink. “Here, kid. Learn something.”

My chest feels like it’s caving in. I miss him. He was always the faster one, the smarter one, even when we were both adults. Mike was better than me with a gun, got more girls than I did, and everyone loved him. He was more than just a brother or father. He was a god. I worshipped him.

Seeing him like that on the hospital bed, his spirit completely broken, was like watching him die. There was no twinkle in his eyes-no wisecrack-just listlessness. Waiting for death.

Fuck.

“I know you loved your brother, but you’re no good to him dead.”

Sal’s fucking right.

“I know, but what am I supposed to do?” I hate how my voice cracks. “What would Mike do?”

Then his voice drops to a low growl. “Mike would have bided his time until the opportunity came to hit back at those assholes.”

“You don’t think this is going to last, do you? This alliance?”

“Somebody’s going to talk. Johnny can’t get to all the witnesses.”

Fuck.

“Sooner rather than later.”

“And then?”

“Then you go to jail when your wife rats you out, and we’re back to where we fucking started, at war with the Devils MC while this investigation kills this family.”

A cold feeling spreads down my limbs. How long would it take Johnny to decide to get rid of me while I’m in prison? I have no more leads to follow now that I’ve whacked the nurse. I can’t very well start interrogating people in our crew.

“What am I supposed to do?”

Sal talks in a voice low enough so that I have to strain my ears to listen.

“Get on his good side. There’s a job Johnny wants done by the end of the week. If you want to do it, let me know.”

“All right. Send me the details.”

The chair scrapes back as I stand up from the table. Fuck, my nerves are all jangled from this. I hate feeling jumpy, but if Sal’s right then I have to be proactive. I walk to his side and bend over, embracing him.

“Thanks, Sal. I don’t know what I’d do without you looking out for me.”

He pats me on the back. “I can’t help you if you don’t help yourself, Jack.”

“No, trust me. I’m on it.”

I should have never let myself go like this. There’s too much at stake, and I don’t want to die. My brother’s dead, but that doesn’t mean I have to join him. Not when there’s a chance to get back at the people who destroyed him.

The car’s engine vibrates beneath my feet as I drive back to my place, everything that Sal said running through my brain like fire. I’m still untangling all the strings.

Bide your time.

Until what?

Until you can make a move on John, or the bikers, or both.

I listen to that steely voice inside me. Sal all but confirmed that John was the one behind his murder. And what if he’s right? Someone will talk and the alliance will crumble, and I’ll have this wife as a fucking liability that no one will trust.

Fuck the girl. Make her yours. Take her from them.

Yes.

Make her part of your family.

The list of my family is pretty fucking small. It’s just me, aside from a handful of aunts and uncles on my mother’s side who I’ve never met.

The voice inside me laughs.

I can’t figure it out, and blood churns through my head as I drive home. Like it or not, that biker wife of mine is my ticket back into Johnny’s good graces.

I’m after revenge. It’s time to be smart about it, and that means making nice with the girl, bringing her along to all of the family events, and showing everyone else that I can make my biker wife toe the line.

As I roll up to my place I see something that’s like a gunshot to my chest. Something that burns inside me like acid.

A man wearing a leather cut jacket. He’s standing at my door, peering inside the window.

All of a sudden the sound turns off. I see myself cut the engine and the car door flies open. I pounce on him before the bastard can turn around. My hand grabs the back of his neck and I yank. He falls, tripping over the stairs. His body sails over them until he reaches the landing and then his head cracks over the pavement.

Cool rage controls my movements. I lift up my foot and slam it into his chest. I feel the crunch of his bones underneath my feet. Again and again. His beardless face twists with moans that I can only barely hear. He flails like an ugly insect on the ground.

Then a soft touch curls around my arm, and the sound finally returns. It’s a feminine voice, screaming in my ear. “STOP!”

I ignore her and bend over the piece of shit moaning at my feet. “Come to my house? You show up at my fucking doorstep?”

My boot lashes out, connecting with the side of his ribs. He flips over and I see the white embroidery: DEVILS MC.

“Jack, stop!”

He moans. “I just wanted-”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“You just wanted to what?”