Lords of The Commission - New York

New York was supposed to be a fresh start. An uncomplicated, clean slate where I could draw a new me. But clean and uncomplicated became wishful thinking when a devil in a tailored suit made a mess of my clothes just before my life-changing interview. Now he’s settled into my life in a way he had no business to. This devil had darker shades than I could handle, but still, he’d be the one to shine a light on the person I was supposed to be.

Love is a weakness for ruthless men. And I was as weak as they came, just for her. I had a goal. Take over for my grandfather and become one of the Lords in The Commission. The New York Mafia Don. One of the Cinque Grandi. The only imposition was to get married first. To whom, it didn’t matter. As long as I was a married man, the seat would be mine. But I knew who I wanted since the first time I saw her.

While men made war, women were expected to keep the peace. I had loved a man before. I swore that would never happen again. So marrying for the sake of the family wasn’t the worst thing. That’s what I thought. I was a mafia princess after all, and serving as a trading item was my only role in this world ruled by men. But the man waiting for me at the altar wasn’t the one who my uncle had given me to.

Alison Battaglia, the mafia princess. In stories like mine, the tension usually starts with an arranged marriage set for an alliance, a payment, or simply a duty. Not mine. Marrying a mafia Don seemed like the perfect solution to forget all my problems–getting away, starting fresh, finding my place, trying to forget the man who took a lot more than my virginity three years ago. He was my brother’s best friend, his bodyguard, his second in command. The man who didn’t want me.

There’s this moment in life when you discover the reason for your pitiful existence. When all the demons lurking in your mind quiet down, tamed and dominated by a light so bright it pierces the dark like a beam of salvation. My moment was three years ago, and again every single time I see her. Alison Battaglia–my capo’s little sister and the soon-to-be wife of California’s Mafia Don. She looks at me as if I’m her saving grace, her knight in shining armor. If only she knew I am just the opposite. A trojan horse disguised by fine suits and deception.