AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A MISTAKEN IDENTITY NOVELLA
*
Where do your loyalties lie?
Locke Russo has one last job and then he’ll gain his freedom.
He’s been working for the mafia since he was eighteen, paying off a debt. It’s not the life he would have chosen for himself, but he didn’t exactly have a choice.
He’s been tasked with tracking down the mafia boss’s mistress after she stole from him and then skipped town. All he has to do is bring her back to New York and his debt will be paid; he’ll be free to do what he wants with his life.
Then he steps into the apartment and instead of a thieving mistress, he finds an angel.
Keyera Barclave is not the girl Locke is looking for.
She just got to town and moved into her new apartment. When a situation back in New York traps them both in her apartment, she’s given time. Time to prove she’s not the girl he wants. Time to fall for the lonely mafia enforcer.
When their time is up, will Locke believe that he had the wrong girl? Or will he turn his fallen angel over to his boss and finally be free of that life?
She isn’t the girl he’s looking for…but she just might be who he needs.
ONE
Locke
My phone buzzesin the cup holder of my car and I grab it, not bothering to check the caller ID before hitting accept. There aren’t many people who call me and I know whoever it is, they’re only calling about a job. I have a feeling this is going to be my contact calling and I hope he has an address for me. I can’t wait to get this latest job over with.
“Yeah,” I answer the phone, looking around the mostly deserted streets of Pittsburgh.
It’s getting late so most of the shops are closed, their lights turning off one by one. The occasional drunk guy or couple stumbles by, but I’m not worried about them noticing me parked here. The windows are tinted anyway, so they’d have a hard time seeing inside.
“I got the address that you wanted,” comes the nasally voice of Pete Liviano. He’s a painfully thin man that frequents the poker games back in New York. He is a coward and a snitch, not someone that I would usually do a job with since he can’t be trusted, but he’s terrified of me so I know that he’ll keep his mouth shut and get me whatever I need.
“What is it?”
He rattles off the address and I end the call, pulling up the map. The apartment is only two blocks over, so I pull out of the parking lot and head that way. I park in the alley next to the apartment building, doing my best to scope out the place before I go in.
I like doing my work in the dark. Too bad for me, the sign across the street seems to light up half the goddamn block. I glare at the neon pink Eye Candy Ink sign. Of course my target just had to live across from the most obnoxious store on the block. I mean, Eye Candy Ink? What a stupid name.
If I go up the fire escape, I could get away without being seen on the streets, but then you run the risk of going into the wrong apartment or someone seeing you on the stairs. It’s harder to get away, too, but in this case, I’ll have to make an exception.
I’m about to climb out of the car when a lone figure hurries past the alley. I catch a glimpse of her face and my heart stops.
She’s a goddess.
She’s slim with long legs that I can’t help but imagine wrapped around my waist as I drive into her. God, I can’t remember the last time I had such a dirty thought about a woman, let alone slept with one, but my dick twitches in my jeans, making me bite back a groan.
The woman’s blonde hair is a halo around her angelic face, blowing gently in the breeze. A long strand cuts across her lips and I have the urge to tuck it behind her ear so I can brush a kiss there. I mean, what the hell? First I want to fuck her and now I want to give her sweet kisses?
She glances my way, her big blue eyes meeting mine for just a second. Maybe she can sense my predatory gaze or maybe she can feel the same pull between us that I can. For just one second, our eyes meet and my cold heart starts to beat once more.
My chest grows tight and my breath seems to be caught somewhere in my throat. I can’t move. Those clear blue eyes pierce me through and through, making me feel oddly vulnerable.
The moment is broken as she steps out of my sight. My heart lurches and jerks in my chest like it's trying to escape and follow the goddess. I want to get out of the car and head after her as well, but then I remember why I'm here. I need to finish this job.
Kidnapping the runaway mistress of the mob boss I work for and bringing her and the money she stole back to New York is the last thing I have to do for the family. After this, I'm leaving this life. I'm going to disappear and live a quiet, solitary existence somewhere remote where no one knows my name.
After two decades of clawing my way up from nothing, to securing a place in the Gambino family as a trusted enforcer, I’m ready to retire. My debt will be paid and I’ll have my freedom. Thirty years old and finally starting to live life on my own terms. Better late than never, I suppose.
