“Touch Him Again and You're Fired!” His Jealous Fiancée Screamed—Then the Paralyzed Billionaire Mafia Boss Made the Plus-Size Maid Untouchable

The deafening roar of the gunshot faded, leaving a heavy, suffocating silence in the ruined penthouse.

Rafe stood towering over the wreckage of his suite, his gun still smoking. His chest heaved with exhaustion and adrenaline. He swayed slightly, his legs trembling violently after bearing his weight during the intense burst of violence.

Mara scrambled up from the floor, immediately throwing her arms around his waist to support him. She anchored him, wrapping her body against his, taking his weight before he could collapse.

"I’ve got you," Mara whispered fiercely, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the soot and dust on her cheeks. "I’ve got you."

Rafe dropped the gun. He wrapped his strong arms around her, burying his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of her against the backdrop of death and smoke.

"You stepped in front of a shotgun for me," Rafe murmured, his voice shaking with a profound, overwhelming emotion. "You were going to take a bullet for me."

"I wasn't going to let him hurt you," Mara cried, burying her face in his broad chest.

Leo, holding his bleeding shoulder, slowly pushed himself up the wall, staring at his boss in absolute awe.

"You’re standing, Boss," Leo gasped, coughing on the smoke. "You’re standing."

Rafe looked at his loyal guard, then down at the woman holding him up. "Yes, Leo. I am."

Within an hour, the hotel was swarming with syndicate cleanup crews and paid-off police officers. The bodies of Vance’s men were quietly removed through the service elevators, the blood was bleached from the marble floors, and the narrative was spun as a thwarted robbery attempt.

The secret was officially out. The criminal underworld of the Gulf Coast woke up to terrifying news: The King of the Meridian Pearl was no longer confined to a chair.

Later that morning, in a secure, lower-floor suite, a doctor finished bandaging Leo’s shoulder. Rafe was sitting on the edge of a plush sofa, holding Mara’s hand tightly in his own, refusing to let her leave his side for even a second.

"Vance is dead," Rafe told her quietly. "His syndicate will fracture and fall apart fighting for his empty chair. Sylvia has no protection left. You are completely safe now, Mara."