The Mafia's Angel | 18+

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚

𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖

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It was a hot summer night, humid yet still manageable. I didn't know it would be my last with my family.

My little sister Lily, only sixteen, was floating in the pool and my feet were dangling in the water. We had a ten-year age gap, but that didn't seem to matter. She was my best friend, and I was hers, she could tell me anything, and I listened intently always eager to hear what she had to say. "I hate that I have a crush on him," Lily griped as she floated past me, "He's talked so poorly on Papa since he found out I'm related to him, I can't help that I was born to a mob boss, and papa has never been bad to me."

"Papa has done a lot of bad things bug," I sighed, "But he's still our papa and he loves us dearly. You can't help that your heart calls to him, talk to him, show him you're nothing like Papa is at work."

Lily hummed her agreement, swimming up to the edge and resting her arms beside me, "When does Erik come home?"

"I'm not sure, he's in Chicago for some business meeting."

Lily frowned, "I miss him."

"I miss him too."

Lily, Erik, and I were close, we always have been. Erik was born three years before I was born, and when Lily was born, we became her parents. Mama was busy with Papa and his empire, and while we all knew they loved us very much, work called them away often, which left us in the care of our housekeepers. I was sixteen when Lily was born, and Erik was nineteen, so when he was called off to attend business it was just Lily and I. Many nights I laid in bed with my newborn baby sister, wishing I wasn't a part of this family, but then I would remember that when Papa came home, he was the devoted father we all longed for.

It was a pool party tonight, high ranking members of the mob, of the multiple families, were around, drinking and being merry with each other. Their sons and daughters mingled, some would come by and talk to Lily and me, and others would watch us from afar. Papa was the sitting boss of the commission, he was the boss of bosses, which made Lily and I royalty tonight. Everyone wanted a piece of us, no one wanted to upset us, and no one knew how to talk to us. It made these events extremely lonely, watching everyone laugh and have a good time, while Lily and I sat isolated in our own home.

"Where's my angel girl?"

I grinned at the voice, looking over my shoulder to see my father's right-hand man and best friend Ari walk through the back gate of the garden. "Ari!" I breathed out, pulling my feet from the water and running across the grass to him. Ari chuckled, bending down slightly to scoop me into his arms, my laugh filling the open air when I let him lift me off the ground in a massive hug. Ari was tall, nearing 6'5, and he was built like a Greek god, strong and muscular. But when it came to me, he was a teddy bear. He started calling me angel girl when I was nineteen, saying that my view on life was angelic, and it's stuck.

"Hi pretty," Ari chuckled, kissing the top of my head before setting me on the grass. "How've you been?"

Ari was on a business trip, doing something down in Miami, I begged him and Papa to let me go, but both said it was dangerous. So, I was stuck in New York. "I'm good! I'm working on my French still, Papa said it's good for me to learn," Ari smiled looking at me, at twenty-six, I was still learning new things. My days consisted of learning how to be the perfect housewife learning new languages, and new ways to help Papa with the business. "Turned down six new proposals."

"They need to learn it's me and Frank's approval they need, no one's good enough for our angel."

I rolled my eyes, a fond smile on my lips when Ari tugged me forward by my hand, kissing the top of my head. "Go have fun, I'll say bye before I leave."

I felt the way my fingers clenched on his hand before he my fingers to his mouth and kissed them gently, nothing that would draw attention but it made my stomach burn with want for him. I watched as Ari ducked behind the fence and disappeared into the group of people, shaking hands before he looked over to me once more, sending me a wink before he walked to my father's side. Where he always was.

I made my way over to the pool again, ignoring the eyes that seemed to follow me as I jumped in, letting the cool water chill my heated skin. And when I resurfaced I blinked open to see Lily looking at me with a cocked eyebrow, a teasing smile on her lips. "I'm sitting here crushing on a classmate who hates Papa, and you're openly crushing on Papa's best friend."

"It's not like that Lil, you know that."

"He obviously likes you too!" Lily took my hands, pulling me to a corner of the pool, a silent show of privacy. "Ariella he kissed your head and your hand! He's looking at you right now! Ask Papa if he can have your hand! I mean it would be perfect, Ari is already family, and it wouldn't need to go through the permission of both the boss and the underboss! Just the boss."

I let out a quiet laugh, hiding my smile behind my hand. Lily was so naive when it came to these situations and these protocols. "Lily I don't get to ask anything, Ari would have to be the one who asks, and Ari loves Papa too much to risk their relationship, plus he sees me as a little sister."

"Keep telling yourself that," Lily rolled her eyes, "And protocols are meant to be broken."

I snorted, "Over Papa's dead body would that happen," I murmured, "Come on Matina was making ice cream, and we deserve first dibs."

Just a few hours later would I discover my horrible premonition, and my entire would would shift on its axis.

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