Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
As an enforcer for the Famiglia, Maximus Trevisan has no trouble hurting others, but his life begins to unravel when he’s forced to hurt someone he’s meant to protect.
Sara’s plans for her future were simple. Marry the man she was promised to, have several children, and build a happy family. But when her life plans are ripped from her hands, she’s left with no choice but to marry Maximus. It’s the last thing she wants, but it’s a burden she’s willing to carry in order to protect her family’s honor. Yet the darkness from their past follows them.
Can they overcome their demons, or will they let it destroy them?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Sara was never supposed to become my wife.
Of course, I had noticed her before. It was hard not to. She was a natural beauty with light brown doe eyes and beautiful caramel hair. Only a few years separated us, but she had already been promised to someone else, whereas I hadn’t even wanted to consider marriage. She had taken care of her siblings and attended college while I’d spent my days torturing enemies as Enforcer and my nights partying in clubs and banging random girls. Our paths had rarely crossed until a single day forced our worlds to collide in the most devastating way. A day with the potential to shatter us and our future if we let it.
I glanced at my watch again. I had been waiting at the main entrance of Barnard College for ten minutes. Flavio never made me wait. After I’d closed the top buttons of my coat and readjusted my scarf, I took the steps down and headed toward the wrought-iron gates that marked the end of campus and opened up to Broadway.
I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t see his car. He always stopped right in front of the gates so I could easily spot him from the entrance. People were busy coming and going, but there was nobody I knew. Many new faces had joined the row of distantly familiar ones now that the semester had started. Apart from a friendly nod here and there, nobody acknowledged me. Making friends outside of our mafia world was difficult. There were always secrets, security concerns, and the fear of the person being an undercover police officer. I had my siblings, cousins, and my mom as friends, and I never had to hide who I was from them.
I glanced at my watch again.
Flavio, where are you?
Worry filled me.
I pulled my phone from my backpack to call Flavio when his name flashed on my screen. I smiled at the perfect timing. “You’re late,” I said without any reproach. I usually got carried away with tasks and forgot the time, so Flavio had to wait for me on more than one occasion. My brother was a saint (to me at least) so he never complained, and I definitely wouldn’t because of one mishap. “I promised Alea and Inessa I’d bake cookies with them.”
“My car broke down in the middle of nowhere after a job, Sara. I’m still waiting for someone to pick me up.”
I always felt a moment of sadness when I heard him talk about being a Made Man so casually, as if he wasn’t only seventeen and shouldn’t be in school instead. But that was the world we had been born into, and so far, it had been kinder to us than to others in our family.
“Don’t worry. Just send Dad. Or I can even take the trains.”
“You definitely won’t take public transportation. Dad’s in a meeting and too far away from campus. He told me to call Maximus. He had a job not far from where you are, so he’s on his way to pick you up and take you to Dad. Mom, Alea, and Inessa are already in the Hamptons.”
“Maximus?” I asked, surprised. Maximus Trevisan and I had only chatted a handful of times at social functions. I hardly knew him. But if Dad and Flavio trusted him, then I had absolutely no reason not to.
“He’s trustworthy. You’ll be fine.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I’m not concerned about my safety. Take care of yourself and get to the Hamptons safely. I’m fine.”
“All right. See you later.”
I hung up, and right then, a black pickup pulled up in front of me despite the honks of a taxi who had to swerve past it and the very unfriendly hand signals of the driver. The windows were tinted, so I couldn’t see who was behind the wheel. The polished chrome of the rims reflected the sun. I shielded my eyes and squinted at the pickup. The window on the passenger side slid down, and I spotted Maximus’s face inside the car. His dark hair was short, a bit longer at the top and mussed up, but not with hair products. It seemed he’d worked it in a disarray with his hands. “It’s me, Maximus Trevisan. Your father sent me,” he said in a deep baritone voice that sent a tiny shiver down my back. I cleared my throat, confused by my body’s reaction. My fingers on my leather tote bag tightened, and I stepped up to the vehicle, but before I could reach for the handle, Maximus jumped out, rounded the hood, and opened the door for me. “There you go.”