Mafia Heir

Chapter 12

Luca

I left before Charlotte was up the next morning, slipping out of bed quietly and hoping not to disturb her. She fell asleep only a few hours ago, and I could tell how much she needed the rest.

I, on the other hand, had way too much to do to be wasting a morning in bed. If I kept digging, I just knew I would find what I was looking for and I could put this entire thing to rest. And until I could do that, neither Charlotte nor I were safe.

The way she'd fallen asleep in my arms last night felt like something from a dream. A dream that had long faded away in my mind. I was far too committed and immersed in my job to even considering having a long-term relationship with a woman, let alone marriage.

Traditionally, women had a very specific role within the Mafia, and that was to have children. Lots and lots of children who could carry on the family on and the legacies that had been set before them. They were bargaining chips, bait, and objects that you used until they were worn out and then you'd replace them with the next pretty young thing that came by. I saw it happen with my own mother, and I vowed early on that it wasn't something I could take part in. My father was a renowned assassin, but he was a disgustingly abusive and sexist asshole at home. The last thing I wanted was to end up like him, and fall into the same cycle, so I rarely even entertained the idea of having a wife. Certainly not children.

I was content with the revolving door of women who paraded through my clubs, willing and eager to please. I was more a no nonsense, no strings type of guy, which was why it came as a complete shock to me how comfortable it felt just to lie next to Charlotte last night. The scent of her hair was embedded in my pillow case, and the mattress indented with each supple curve of her body. Her petite frame fit against me like we were made for each other, and I laid awake most of the night in awe at how at ease I felt.

I knew myself well enough to know that the more time I spent with Charlotte, the more I was going to become ensnared in her web of beauty and mystique. It was dangerous for her if she left, but dangerous for me if she stayed. She had lit a fire inside of me that I didn't even know existed—one that craved the normalcy of her life. The predictability and boringness of it all. A side that wouldn't mind a nine to five job if it meant I got to come home to her every night.

That wasn't the man I was, though, and to entertain any other reality was reckless. We both had our lanes, and it was best to stay in them. I knew that logically, but it didn't stop the burning desire that had overtaken my entire being when it came to her. Maybe there was something to that old saying about always wanting what you can't have.

Luckily for me, the insurmountable work I had in front of me was a good deterrent, and I headed toward my office to get a jumpstart on it. Marco and Angelo beat me to it, and the two of them were sitting in my office throwing darts at a board behind the door—one nearly hitting me between the eyes when I opened it.

"Do you two ever sleep?" I groaned, snatching the dart out of the wooden door frame and tossing it back to Marco. "You have terrible aim by the way."

"I could ask you the same thing." Angelo said. "Marco told me we had a little issue last night, why didn't you call?" Not even eight in the morning and Angelo was starting in with his lectures.

"We didn't have an issue." I sat down at my desk with a heavy sigh. "Charlotte had a night terror and I decided to stay with her."

Angelo looked at me with an amused expression. "Before or after you fucked her?"

"I didn't fuck her. We slept. We were both exhausted, thank you very much."

"You expect me to believe Luca Catalano, who is anti-anything-to-do-with-love-or-relationships, just slept next to a woman without fucking her?" Angelo was really starting to piss me off.