In Bed with the Mafia.

Anna's POV.

Wake up stupid, Wake up stupid!

I groaned, raising a heavy hand, as I searched blindly for my phone. My eyes were still tightly shut, as my hands rummaged through the confines of my bedside table. Finally, my fingertips felt cold metal and grabbed it. I held the phone in front of my face, and finally opened my eyes. 6am.

I groaned again, slamming my head into the pillow. I could have sworn that I had slept only thirty minutes earlier. There was no greater evidence of the love-hate relationship between Sunday nights and Monday mornings. I turned off the annoying alarm, and swung my legs off the bed. I released a deep breath and summoned enough energy to get off the bed. I looked at the sticky note on my wall and read it out loud: You have to keep working hard until you marry a billionaire.

My phone chimed, and I was reminded that I was never going to marry a billionaire, but I didn't care. I picked up the phone and read the text from Aiden Smith, my boyfriend.

Wakey, wakey, pumpkin.

He had done this everyday for the past five years. He was easily the sweetest thing that's ever happened to me. My phone chimed again, and a new text appeared.

Don't make me come get you.

I'm up. I replied

I smiled, and dumped the phone on the bed. He might not be a billionaire, but he's the sweetest thing that's ever happened to me. I said that before. I got ready for what I knew would be another hectic day at work. After eight hours of having to listen to my boss nag about the silliest things, I got off work-tired as usual.

Routine. I got a cab back home and dragged my tired feet up the stairs wishing Aiden was around to give me a massage. I stopped dead in my tracks as I reached my door. My blood immediately ran cold and my hair stood on end. Something was terribly wrong.

I had hung a tiny piece of thread on the door hinges when I left, but now, it was gone. What was strange wasn't the fact that it was gone, it was the fact that someone took the time to return the thread after entering my house. It was, however, positioned wrongly. My mind raced a series of possibilities: had my past finally caught up with me? Who could it be? Dad? Liam?

It certainly wasn't Aiden, he had my keys, but didn't have the patience to return the thread. For fuck sake, he hadn't even noticed the thread after dating me for five years. I dug my hands into my bag and brought out the only weapon I was allowed to carry as a law abiding citizen: pepper spray. Whoever it was was going to get it!

I opened the door as gently as I could, then shut it as quietly as possible. The light suddenly went on, but so did my knees into the groin of the closest man and the pepper spray into his eyes.

"Sur-prise..." Everyone's shout died out like a man falling off a cliff, as I realized what I had just done.

"Oh my God, Aiden. I'm so sorry," I said, as I dropped to one knee.

"I'm good, I'm good," he groaned, raising his thumb. He was still in a crouching position and it was obvious that he was anything but good. He finally summoned enough strength to stand straight. His face had gone red and the veins on his neck still popped. "Happy birthday, love," he managed to say.

Shit, I forgot my birthday-again. Five years, and I still wasn't used to my fake birthday.

I feigned a gasp. "I thought you forgot," I said, hitting him gently on the shoulder.

"How could I? You mean the world to me."

I struggled to contain the butterflies that suddenly sprung up in my belly, hoping my intestinal acids snuffed out the life from them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," I blurted out, wrapping my arms around him. Guilt stung at my conscience, but I shoved it aside. It hurt me that I needed to lie to him, but I had no choice.

"And who are all these people? I've never seen them before."

"Um, random people...um..."

"You don't know them either do you?" If there was anything I knew about Aiden, it was his inability to socialize, which I found really strange for a human resource manager.

"Um...no, you don't have any friends, I don't have any friends. I had to rent some-just for the night. I promise they'll be out in a few minutes."

True to his words, after a couple of minutes, the guests all left one after the other and now it was just the two of us. What next!? What would someone who was actually celebrating her birthday do?

Aiden flopped on the chair beside me and for a moment simply gazed into empty space. His hands found mine and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You know, when I first got here, I never thought I'd find love..."

I braced myself for the story of how his ex had shattered his heart and left him thinking he'd never be able to love again. I had heard that story a thousand times, and every sign that I showed to tell him I hated hearing about his story just flew over his head.

Suddenly, he dropped to one knee. His gaze remained glued to mine-unwavering.

What was he doing?

I felt my heartbeat quicken at the possibilities. Slowly, he dipped his hand into his pocket. Oh my God! It's happening.

He brought out a small box and held it in front of me. A smile tugged at the edges of his lips, while my mind ran riot. He opened the box, revealing an expensive diamond ring.

Do they pay human resource managers that high?

"This was given to me by my mother and now, I'm giving it to you because I can't imagine life with anyone else but you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Yes!" I said, trying desperately to contain my joy. I had told my dad that I'd have a normal life and now I did. What could possibly go wrong?

I had barely completed the thought when three masked men burst in through the door.

Shit! I jinxed it.

Anna's POV.

"Yes!"

That was the last word I said, before my door came crashing down. Three masked men burst into my house. They all held guns-glock 17 to be precise; light, too light it almost felt like you were holding air. Polymer frame, but the barrel and slide? Pure steel. Fifteen rounds of 9mm in the magazine-standard, reliable, efficient and favored by most gang members. Father made sure I recognized every gun from such a young age.

I sprung to my feet clenching my fist. Who the hell were these dudes? I just had that door fixed a few days earlier. I parted my lips to speak but quickly shut it when I heard Aiden.

"Pl-ease, take whatever you want. J-just don't hurt us. You can have my watch, and my ring-it costs a fortune."

No, not the diamond ring. Not the damn ring.

"You're not giving petty thieves my engagement ring," I gritted out.

"It's okay, honey. We'll get another one," Aiden said, as he pulled my arm, trying to get me into a less opposing posture.

"You're broke, you'll never get one this expensive."

"Oh, shut up," someone slurred from outside the door. I felt goosebumps sprout erratically across my skin. That voice, that slur; I'd recognize it anywhere. That bastard, how'd he find me?

I heard footsteps bounce off the floorboards as a fourth intruder approached-their leader. His lithe frame walked into my sitting room like he owned the whole damn building. An awry smile touched his lips, as gray eyes settled upon mine.

Fuck, I always hated the way his curly black hair fell to his face-I still hated it.

He stopped right in front of us and bent to a crouching position, not for a second wiping the smile off.

"Please, I already told your men. They can have the ring..."

"Oh, someone please shut him up."

One of the men stepped forward, ramming his bulky fist into Aiden's face. Aiden immediately fell unconscious. I sucked in my lower lip, biting on it. He just made me look bad in front of this psychopath.

The man raised his fist again to strike Aiden and I shot him a glare. "Don't you dare!"

He looked at his boss who nodded at him and he dropped his fist.

"What do you want?" I spat. "What do you want with me? I've been away for five years, why now? What the hell do you want from me!?"

"So many questions, little sister. For now, you're coming with me."

He rammed his fist into my face faster than I could react and knocked me out cold.

A few hours later, I felt my consciousness begin to return, accompanied by a skull-splitting headache. I felt vibrations course through me, as my reasoning returned to me in bits and pieces. We were in a car; I was at home; my birthday; Aiden; Liam. That bastard! What was he doing back in my life? I had made it clear to them that I wanted no part of our family and the bloodshed they left in their wake. Why the fuck was he back in my life on the night of my engagement? Why the fuck was he back at all?

The car ran into a gallop and I slammed my head into something hard. I finally opened my eyes and realized that I was blindfolded, my hands were tied too. That bastard!

"What do you think is going to happen now?" I heard one of the men say.

"With everything blown to shit? How the hell would I know?" another voice replied.

"Fuck. We'll be lucky to get out of this one with our lives."

"Shh. I think she's awake."

I felt the car stop moving, then heard the creaking of metal as a gate was opened. The car resumed its motion and soon it pulled to a stop. I heard the door of another car slam shut, then Liam's voice, "bring her out."

Doors open, and large arms gingerly lifted me out of the car and swung me on his shoulder. Soon, I was dropped in a chair.

"Can you at least take this damn blindfold off?" I spat.

I waited for a while, expecting whoever it was to do my bidding, instead I heard the door snapped shut. I waited for a few minutes in the deafening silence, repulsed by the musty scent that clung to air.

Breathe Anna, just breathe.

Soon, I heard the door open again-then those annoying footsteps. The same one I heard a few hours ago, the same one that threatened to turn my 'normal life' upside down. His scent wafted into my nose, and I scrunched my face up.

"Take off the blindfold," Liam said.

Finally, someone loosened the blindfold.

"At least, try to change your damn cologne. It'll give you away at a crime scene," I snapped.

"Your mouth is still as sharp as ever. Five years and you haven't changed, little sister." His smile returned, revealing perfectly white teeth. I cringed visibly.

"Five years and your hair still dangles from your forehead like a man on a rope."

He smiled again, and gestured to a man to bring a chair. He sat, while I observed the building. It wasn't where I expected. I had expected to see Father. I had expected Liam to take me back home to Father, but where we were didn't look like home. It was probably one of our safe houses scattered across the country. If Liam hadn't taken me home, and I still hadn't seen Father, then it only meant one thing. Father knew nothing about this, and Liam was acting on his own. What trouble was he in now? What could possibly be bad enough for him to think ruining my life was a worthy price?

"Father doesn't know about this does he?"

He scoffed. "Smart, as usual."

"You're in trouble again, isn't it?"

"Nope." He licked his lips, then waved his finger between both of us. "We are in trouble."

"Shit, what the fuck did you do this time?"

"Nothing."

"You lying piece of shit."

"Anna, Father was murdered."

Anna's POV.

"Anna, father was murdered..."

My breath hitched and my heart felt like lead. I couldn't explain the throbbing pain that took hold of my heart, even though I hadn't seen that man or heard from him in 5 years; it still hurt-inexplicably. But with all the blood he had spilled and the toes he had stepped on, maybe he had it coming. I was hurt, but surprised? I wasn't.

I watched Liam's face fall. I had only just realized how terrible he looked. He had bags underneath his eyes and had even grown leaner than I remembered. I knew father's death was taking a toll on him, even though he tried to hide it. He had to look strong, and emotionless like father always taught us, or perhaps I was just seeing what he wanted me to see. Father had also taught us: when we're up against a weaker enemy or an enemy just as powerful as we were, we needed to act strong; but if it was a stronger enemy, we needed to act weak, so we could strike when they least expect.

"It was bound to happen, sooner or later. He had it coming," I whispered, unsure of what emotions to show or hide.

Liam scoffed. "You don't understand, he wasn't supposed to die-not now."

"What happened?" I said rubbing my wrist, as another man untied the rope. Liam eyed me wondering if it was a good idea to let me loose. "You don't think I'd attempt to beat all your men and escape do you? I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm not even that skilled."

"Of course," he said, nodding, as if my words held more meaning than they actually did.

"So, tell me. How did father die?"

"Marcus-he betrayed us."

"That's a surprise," I said sarcastically, rubbing my wrist. I still felt the pain.

"There was an ambush at the mansion. No one saw it coming. Not me, not Father."

I leaned back in my chair. "And you? How did you escape?"

A smirk formed on Liam's lips. "Still as paranoid as ever."

I cocked a brow.

"What? You think I killed him?"

"Don't blame me, you've always wanted his post and the power that came with it."

He shook his head bitterly and stood from his chair, wagging a finger at me. "Not like this, Anna, not like this."

"So indulge me, how did he die?"

"There was a turf war a couple of months back. The Russians kept trading on our turf. We had to act-it cost us a lot of good men." He paced the small room then stopped. "Father was weak, vulnerable. That must have been when that son of a bitch started conniving."

I paid attention to his words, searching for a part that suggested that he was lying. Such was our family, trust wasn't exactly a thing, but manipulation was.

"You still haven't told me how you escaped."

He let out an audible breath. "I was out of town, closing a deal with the Martinez's Widow. I left the mansion with some of the men, before I got back..." his words trailed off as his lips trembled slightly.

An act, or genuine pain? I wondered.

"What business do we have with the Martinez's? We've always been at war, why would we suddenly be having business with them?" I eyed him suspiciously, waiting for a slip up-a sign, anything to tell me he was lying or hiding something. I looked at his fingers, they were perfectly calm. The Liam I knew had a tell, and it was his fingers-he always drummed them against his thighs when he lied. But that was five years ago, he might have gotten rid of it.

"Um..." He started drumming his fingers against his thighs. That was it-his tell. He hadn't changed after all. He was clearly about to tell a lie.

"Business. It was strictly business." His voice tensed up a little and I smiled. There we have it, our first lie.

"So, you ran..." I said. It was best to make him think I believed him, and it worked, his hands stopped tapping.

"Yes. What other choice did I have? Fight Marcus with a couple of men? He'd be happy if I tried. You know the way it is, Anna: no offspring is left alive."

Our gazes collided, we both knew what it meant: if there was a new boss in town then we had to die.

"That old geezer was supposed to be unkillable, Anna. We do the killing-we do the hunting, it's not the other way around."

He was right. My father was the Don of one of the most ruthless Mafias in Chicago. He was ruthless and borderline insane. His paranoia had saved him from death on multiple occasions and what usually followed was a cleansing-more like a massacre to kill off anyone he suspected of being a traitor. Think of it as pruning plants. He was fond of killing the traitors and their entire family to avoid future cases of revenge or an uprising; now, he was dead and we were left with targets on our backs.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. No matter what, always appear in control. Control is first perceived from our body language, then heard in our voice, afterwards felt from our actions; my father's words.

"You still haven't explained why you kidnapped me and brought me back to here in the middle of a war," I said calmly.

"If I could find you, it's only a matter of time before Marcus did."

"I can handle myself."

"With a thread?"

My gaze flicked to his.

"Yes, that was me and I didn't go through all this stress just to ensure that you're fine. No, there's a reason you're here."

"No kidding," I said without enthusiasm. Liam licked his patched lips and signaled to one of his men, who stretched a tablet towards me. On the screen, there was a picture of a man with black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was clad in a well-fitted gray suit that seemed to pronounce the word 'great physique' to the last syllable. I forced my eyes off the screen and looked at my brother.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?"

"That's Gabriel Martinez, your fiance."