The Exhausted Waitress Could Barely Stand—Then the Mafia Boss Changed Her Life

The sudden silence in the shipping yard was almost as deafening as the gunfire. The smell of sulfur and rain hung heavy in the air.

“Clear!” Dante’s voice echoed across the yard, confirming the Russian threat was neutralized.

Luca didn't waste a second. He grabbed my arm, helping me up from the wet pavement, his eyes scanning me rapidly for injuries. When he was satisfied I was unharmed, he turned his attention toward the fleeing figure in the distance.

Jake was scrambling desperately up the wet, slick chain-link fence, trying to throw himself over the top to escape into the city streets.

“Bring him to me,” Luca commanded, his voice cold and terrifyingly calm.

Dante and two massive syndicate enforcers sprinted across the yard. Jake made it to the top of the fence, throwing his leg over, but he slipped on the freezing rain. He plummeted to the ground on the inside of the yard with a sickening thud, screaming as his leg twisted awkwardly.

Before Jake could even attempt to crawl away, Dante grabbed him by the collar of his cheap leather jacket. The giant bodyguard effortlessly hoisted Jake to his feet, ignoring his screams of pain, and dragged him back across the asphalt.

They threw Jake violently onto the wet concrete directly at Luca’s feet.

Jake groaned, clutching his twisted knee, covered in mud and blood. He looked up, his arrogant, manipulative charm completely shattered. He looked exactly like what he was: a pathetic, desperate coward.

“Luca, please,” Jake begged, spitting blood onto the ground, looking up at the mafia boss with wide, terrified eyes. “The Russians forced me! They said they would kill me if I didn't lure you out here! I’ll get your money back! I swear to God, I’ll get it back!”

Luca didn't respond. He looked down at the man groveling at his feet with a look of absolute, unadulterated disgust.

“You stole my money, Jake,” Luca said softly, drawing his pistol and racking the slide with a terrifying metallic click. “But that is not why you are going to die tonight.”