Elsie Santorini is on the run. She has no choice but to get away from her husband. He's part of the mafia, considered one of the most dangerous capos, and he should have married someone the mafia accepted. She has heard the whispers. They believe her to be a gold-digging whore. An outcast. An outsider.
One woman in particular has told her it was only a matter of time before Massimo woke up.
Massimo knows his wife is in danger. By being his wife, it instantly puts a target on her head. He hated that she ran, but he has no problem kidnapping her, and taking her to his reclusive cabin where she would have no means of escape.
He will not let her go. The moment he met Elsie, she got under his skin, and there is no one else he wants more than her. She is the love of his life, and he will not give her up without a fight.
But what will they do when another woman is determined to tear them apart? Massimo will do whatever it takes, even if that means going to war to keep Elsie alive.
Elsie Santorini didn’t know how her husband had been able to find her so fast. She was used to sneaking off without anyone being aware that she’d been gone. Years of growing up in the foster care system, bouncing from place to place, she learned how to run and hide.
She thought as an adult her days of running away were over, but it would seem not. Rushing into the apartment she had started to rent just this week, she scrambled toward the closet, grabbing her bag. She hadn’t unpacked. Again, another rule she had learned while being on the run from foster homes. Not all homes were bad, but most of them only had people who were interested in cashing in a paycheck. They had no care for the children they were supposed to protect. Most of the time, they didn’t care. The few that did tended to keep to the younger kids.
Elsie learned not to trust any of them.
The biggest mistake she ever made was getting comfortable, and the same problem happened with her husband. She got too comfortable.
Her hands shook as she quickly checked to make sure everything was packed. She had her passport, some cash, and she moved as fast as she could, heading toward the door only to come to a stop as it slammed open. Her heart started to race as she looked at him, the panic so close to the surface. She stared at the man she once thought of as her hero. He was not her hero.
They were a couple that should never have been. Most of the men and women within his circle didn’t like her. She was the outcast. She hadn’t known, when she’d fallen in love with Massimo, that he was one of the notorious members of the local mafia. He ran the whole freaking city and had businessmen, politicians, and so many more eating out of his pocket.
All she had been to him was a nice waitress. He came for coffee at the café where she worked. She didn’t know her boss was a rare friend to Massimo. It was the only reason he went to the damn café. She had thought it was because he loved her, but in recent weeks that had proven to be wrong.
His betrayal cut deeper than she ever thought possible, and she was used to being betrayed.
Nibbling her bottom lip, she stared at him, at the deep blue eyes she thought stared at her so longingly when he’d taken her virginity. They hadn’t been married when they had sex, but within forty-eight hours, he organized everything so they became husband and wife.
Elsie hadn’t been interested in his wealth or title. She had loved him, the man, the person who made her laugh, who took her on long walks through the park. The man who gave her his jacket because she felt cold. That was the man she fell in love with.
He hadn’t hidden his true self from her. On the evening of their wedding, he had told her exactly who he was and what he did. She knew he murdered people. Part of her knew she should care, but she also knew there were people in the world who didn’t deserve to live.
She had no doubt he probably killed innocent people, but she loved him more than anyone or anything in the world. She didn’t want to be without him. So, she ignored the warnings. Even when his people looked at her with disdain, he was there, always by her side. On her side. They called her many names—a whore, a gold-digger—but she didn’t care. Massimo loved her and she loved him.
“How did you find me?” she asked. She’d been careful in hiding her tracks. She was no amateur.
“I don’t know what made you leave,” he said. “Running around the streets without any protection is stupid.”
She shook her head. “I want a divorce!”
Even as she said those words, she felt like she was plunging a knife into her own chest. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“No,” Massimo said.
“You can’t do this. Just because you don’t want something, doesn’t mean I have to follow along with whatever you say. We’re not compatible, Massimo!”
“You’re wrong, or should I remind you of how good I make you scream?”
