Free Braden: A Dark Mafia Romance by Adora York

opened the windows and lit a cigarette as I rapidly took sips of the clear liquid.
    “You fucking son of a bitch!”  I said angrily as I started to feel the buzz.
     
    Chapter 10:  Braden
     
    I watched Angela leave in a huff, profanity expelled with every breath until she was out of sight.  I closed the door and walked to the window, continuing to watch until she got to the door.  I got dressed and lit one of my cigars as I watched the crowd dancing below us.  The club was just one of many legitimate enterprises the Mafia owned.  The days of smuggling drugs, running guns, and selling underage girls were long gone.  We simply fought to keep the things we had and keep Harlem’s trash from invading our territories.  Most politicians understood that we were a necessary evil.  We only killed when we absolutely had to, especially since the war between the Five Families had ended.  Occasionally we clashed with the Irish or pimps who got a little too greedy for their slice of the city, but the violence was nowhere near what it once was.
    “It won’t be the last time I taste you, Angela.”  I stared as she exited the club and the door slammed behind her.
    I sat down in the chair and toyed with my switchblade.  She might have seen what we did as just a fuck, but for me it was so much more.  It was my way of finding out if I actually felt something for her or if it was just my emotions getting in the way of what I had to do.  She had no idea how lucky she was that I did feel something when she was in my arms.  I tried everything to fuck it out of my system, but it just didn’t go away.  I wanted her to stay there forever, with her head resting on my thigh, but I just couldn’t handle that—not yet.  She could hate me for now, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her go.  She would be mine.  The smoke rolled off of my lips and there was a knock at the door.  I answered it cautiously, but after seeing Stefano, I pulled it the rest of the way open and let him enter.  He looked around the room, his eyes coming to rest on Angela’s torn panties which were still lying on the floor beside the toppled table.
    “Damn, Braden.”  He walked close to the table where blood could be seen on the edge.  “Did you…?”
    “No, I didn’t kill her.  I just fucked her.”  I sat back down and poured drinks for us.
    “Remind me never to let them send you any of the whores I actually like.”  He took the drink and sat down in the chair next to the couch.
    “I think I might be done with whores.”  I said absently.  “They just don’t do anything for me anymore.”
    “By the looks of this room, I’m guessing Angela Madison did though.”  He raised his eyebrows at me and tilted his head.
    “Yeah…”  I sighed.  “She did…”  I took a long drag from my cigar.
    “What is the endgame here, Braden?  District Attorney Madison is responsible for your father’s death.  You have Angela’s best friend locked up in one of our cells.  This doesn’t end with a happily ever after if that is what you’re thinking.”  He lit up one of his cigars and stared at me.
    “I don’t fucking know anymore, Stefano.”  I shook my head as I exhaled smoke.  “You know I loved Mary.  She was my heart…”
    “I loved her too, but it has been five years.  You’re allowed to move on, but is this girl really the right one for that?  She’ll figure this out eventually and her father is going to do everything in his power to put you in the same place your father was when he died.”  Stefano studied me nervously as he laid the reality of the situation on me.
    “I know that.  I may not be able to put my knife through Angela’s throat, but I still intend to make her father pay for what he did.”  I glared at my glass angrily and took a sip.  “Nothing has changed there.”
    “The Family will support you with that.  I agree that he has to die.  How are you going to do that without her