Kane's Forbidden Mafia Princess

FIONA

"Who is he?" My dad barked, but I pushed my ear closer to my bedroom door. When I was younger, my parents always fought, never shy to raise their voices, but tonight, I could hear the tremble in Dad's tone.

"Lionel, I didn't-" Mom protested.

"...Tell me the truth!" He shouted, cutting her off. I flinched from the echo. "How could you do this to me?!"

I couldn't hear what Mom was saying, but the footsteps in the hallway caused my heart to race. I quickly jumped on my bed and pretended to be asleep.

The door bursts open, and I jolted up as Dad storms inside. His face is red, and tears stream down from the corners of his eyes."Fiona, pack your bags!" He ordered. "You're going to boarding school."

I sat upright, trying to process the news. "What? Why? But... Daddy?"

He pointed a hard finger at me. "Be ready, because we're leaving tomorrow morning."

Tears fell down my cheeks as I struggled to catch my breath. I realized I was being sent away, and also because my mother didn't do anything about it.

We lived in a small town outside New York City; my folks were middle-class, but they could afford to keep me away at a prep school in Boston.

Going home felt like living in hell; I remembered my mom crying after my dad hurt her. He would grab her arm and scream at her until she cried. She didn't try to leave him. She called it love; I called it madness.

Twelve years passed; I'd just graduated from the culinary institute at Boston University and was working at a five-star restaurant in Boston.

"Table nine needs more wine!" The head chef, Donald, barked. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Flinching at the tone of his voice, I nearly dropped the tray of dirty dishes in my hands."I was just returning these." I said, giving the tray to the dishwasher.

Donald's face was red as he thrust the order slip at me. "Get the wine now, Higgins!"

I took the slip and hurried to the wine locker room, and my shoulders slumped in defeat; getting a job as a chef was tougher than I imagined. So I settled for being a waitress, working two jobs and struggling to pay my bills.

I snatched the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the wine rack and hurried out of the kitchen. Tonight all the tables were filled with Boston's rich and famous chatting over dinner plates filled with vegetables and steaks; the good side was the generous tips.

The bad side, however...

"Unbelievable," one of the men at the table sneered. He had tried to cover his bald head with his hair. "The service here is so slow. I should leave a one-star review!"

I smiled sweetly as I uncorked the wine. "I'd leave your hairstylist the same review, because you aren't fooling anyone." I said innocently.

The look on his face was purely comical. His companions struggled not to laugh. The tables around us went silent. I filled the empty glasses with wine.

"Excuse me?" The man demanded in outrage.I set the bottle down with a feeling of satisfaction.

A man on the next table signaled for me.I walked towards him, my lips parted to speak, when he interrupted me.

"Is that any way to speak to a customer?" He asked, his deep blue eyes hinted with amusement. I couldn't help but notice he was attractive, with a well-cut jaw and broad shoulders from working out. I'd noticed him earlier; he'd looked at me too.

But men like him paid no attention to the help. His partner was an elegant blond woman adorned in a red dress with diamond earrings.I realized he was probably controlling when he ordered a three-course meal without asking what his date wanted.

I took a deep breath and ignored his question. "Is there anything else you'd like to order?"

"Just the bill." He replied, meanwhile his deep blue eyes drew lower. My uniform consisted of a skirt and black sheer pantyhose, so naturally, I felt disgusted by his look.

"What time do you get off your shift?" He asked. "I'll need extra company, but I think you'll probably be more exciting than her."

The blond woman drew her hand back and slapped him across the face. My jaw dropped open.

Heads swung in our direction.

"You sick bastard!" The woman hissed at Blue Eyes and charged out of the restaurant.

Blue Eyes remained calm and took out his wallet. "Bring the bill, please."A hand grabbed my arm, and I discovered it was Donald who flashed Blue Eyes a smile.

"Please excuse us." Donald practically dragged me into his office.

I drew my arm away. "Thanks for getting me out of there," I spoke. "You wouldn't believe what that guy-"

"You are incompetent, lazy, slow, and always bad-mouthing customers!" Donald spat at me.

"What? That guy tried to harass me."

"You're fired!"

"But Donald, I didn't do anything-"

"Twice you've been caught in the middle of trouble tonight, Fiona. You think you can just waltz your way into being a top chef? You are nothing!"

I flinched from his cold words.

"Leave your uniform and your ID behind and get the hell out of my restaurant!" Donald barked.He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. My heart caught in my throat, tears formed in my eyes, but I brushed them away as I left through the back door.

Rain showers poured over my head, and I wrapped my arms around my belly to keep warm. My other job at the fast food restaurant paid even less.

What am I going to do now?

As I walked down the alley with my head bent low, someone brushed past me, causing me to drop my purse.

I swung around angrily.

"Watch it!" I snapped at the person.

It was nearly dark.

Lightning struck, and I realized it was the bald man from earlier. I started to walk away, but he grabbed me by my arm.

"You think you're really funny, huh?!" He growled.I struggled against him, pounding his chest with my fist, but he was too strong.

"Let me go!"

He pushed me against a wall. "Nobody makes fun of me and gets away with it!"

Helpless, he forces me to the ground, his hand clamped over my mouth as I scream. A hard fist lands on my cheek. A wave of pain washed through me, and I saw stars.

He struck me again, and I felt myself being pulled back to the past, to the memories of my dad hurting my mom.

"No!" I wailed through the hand covering my mouth.Then he pulled away. My vision was blurry, but I see another man fighting him off, and then darkness sweeps me away.

FIONA

"Oh, sweet merciful God!" I murmured as I slowly regained consciousness. A headache began to form, and my mouth was dry.

The sound of an EKG machine beeped in the corner.

Where the hell was I?

A hospital?

"Fee!" A voice wailed and grabbed me by my shoulders. "You're alive!"

I winced at my best friend Louise standing over me as she sobbed hard. I see my parents standing in the room.

Dad has his arms crossed, glaring at Louise, while my mother appears worried.

"Pull yourself together!" Dad hisses at Louise, who backs away, sniffing hard.

"Dad? Mom? What are you..." I struggled to speak and licked my dry lips.

"Have some of this." Louise brought a smoothie cup to my lips, and I gratefully drank the water inside, quenching my thirst.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Don't you remember?" Louise said. "A man assaulted you two days ago."

I shut my eyes, recalling everything.

"Well," Dad grunted. "It's all over the news. Do you realize how embarrassing this is for me? What did you do to piss him off?"

"Lionel!" Mom gasped in horror.

I should have realized he only visited to scold me.

Mom turned to me.

Lionel stepped towards me. "Don't get into more trouble. Goodbye."

I stared at him and never felt more disappointed as he stormed out of the room.

"We're glad you're okay, Fiona," she said. "But we have to get back to New York. Work gave me two days off, and your... Lionel has other matters to attend to. Louise will look after you."

Louise glared at her.

"Adelaide!" Fred barked from the hallway.Mom gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried out the door.

"Wow!" Louise hissed with anger and shot a middle finger at the door.

"Can you guess who's winning the worst parents of the year award?"

I drew a sigh. "At least they showed up, Lou."

Louise gave me a warm look. "Never settle for less, Fee."

I asked for a mirror, and she handed me her small compact one. I frowned at the slight reddish bruise on my cheek; I also had a black eye. I swore at my reflection.

"Hey" Lou squeezed my arm.

"They'll heal, I promise. What happened?"

I nodded and told her everything as I struggled not to cry. "I also lost my job."

Louise's eyes widened. "Really, I'm so sorry. Wow, I'm guessing that's why the management only sent in a free gift card."

Assholes. I thought.

From the corner of my eyes, I see a bouquet of yellow roses in a Chinese vase on the bedside table. Lou follows my gaze.

"Like them?" Lou asked. "The man who rescued you brought them yesterday."

My thoughts raced to the night at the alley again. "Omigod, who is he?"

Lou began to search her purse. "He said his name was Kane. He left a card, though, don't worry. As your BFF, I looked him up."

She winked at me and handed a glossy silver card to me. McGregor Industries logo was on it, along with a handwritten phone number.

"He's the vice president of the company and said to give him a call when you get better." Lou explained. "He's kind of cute, though."

I smiled. "Well, let me see a picture."

Knowing Lou, she probably saved a few. She held her iPhone to me, and I widened my eyes at the man on the screen.

No freaking way.

It was Blue Eyes.

* * * * * * * *

KANE

The boardroom was always intense, files kept being passed around, and the directors murmured the latest developments in the company.

Underneath the large oak desk. Kane was trying to ward off his latest catch from last week. He hated when women became clingy.

Stacy texted how badly she wanted him inside of her. He simply rolled his eyes and replied with a simple word: no.

"...Kane!" Someone hissed.

Kane quickly sat up straight. His father glared at him from the head of the table.

"Huh?" Kane asked.

"I was asking what you thought of the last quarter." Carl McGregor repeated.

Kane shrugged. "Er, the last quarter, huh? I remember a lot of sandy beaches, tequila, and don't get me started on the naked women-"

The middle-aged men and especially the women glared at Kane.

Carl gave a long sigh and blinked rapidly. "The report, Kane."

Kane's lips curled up a little, and he cleared his throat. "You need to lighten up."

"And you need to quit texting and get serious." Carl growled back.

"May I remind you that two weeks ago, one of our security guards spotted two suspicious men exchanging items at the harbor?"

Kane narrowed his eyes. "It could be just the average dealers selling fake AirPods or something. I'm not sure why we need to dwell on it."

"They were not the average salesmen, Mr. Kane." Pete, who was head of security, spoke up. "When the security guard confronted them, one of them revealed himself to be a goon for the Spinelli crime family."

Kane gripped his pen tightly till his knuckles turned white as he listened to Pete. The Spinellis were a notorious crime family, trying to infiltrate McGregor Industries for years. They seemed to think the McGregor port belonged to them.

"This is the final straw; I'm going to ensure our security guards are fully armed." Carl decided.

Murmurs arose.

Kane glanced at his father curiously. "We don't want to make things worse than they already are."

"And I don't want my harbor becoming a hellhole for those criminals to operate." Carl stated. "All in favor?"

Kane was skeptical about this; the Mafia was not a group to be messed with. All eight hands rose. His father watched him, hoping for support. Kane raised his hand.

As the meeting drew to a close, Kane gathered his things and made a move for the door. But his father's voice stopped him.

"Kane, can I have a word?" Carl asked.

Kane turned back, his eyes meeting his father's.

"Kane, how long do you wish to continue this?" Carl asked.

"Continue what?"

"Fooling around with women and breaking hearts."

"I don't fool around, and I make my intentions very clear."

"Which is?"

"Not to commit."

Carl shut his eyes with disbelief, and Kane could see a vein pop.

Carl lifted a brow. "What happened to your hand?"

Kane lifted his right hand, running a thumb over the dark bruise. "I...used a punching bag without gloves."

He didn't want to go into details and was glad Carl didn't press further.

His cellphone rang. "Excuse me, I need to take this." Kane slipped away to a corner and answered the call.

"Stacy, you have perfect timing-"

"Who's Stacy?" An unfamiliar voice asked.He frowned and looked at the number again.

He pushed the phone to his ear and asked. "Who are you?"

"Uhm, it's Fiona...Fiona Higgins."

FIONA

Sitting in a café, I toyed with a napkin while waiting for Kane McGregor. I was nervous and at the same time intrigued by the whole situation. I looked up and saw him casually stroll in with a confident stride, as if he owned the place.

He scanned the room and then held my gaze as he approached my table.

I felt a little self-conscious, wishing I'd changed out of my waitress uniform, especially since he looked more stylish in his suit.

I rose to my feet and extended my hand. "Mr. McGregor."

"Please," he began with a warm smile. "Mr. McGregor is my father; call me Kane."

I nodded. "Kane it is. Pleasure to meet you...er, officially."

He stared at me curiously, and I noticed he had a firm grip on my hand. I pulled it away; he murmured an apology and sat.

We ordered coffee.

"Wow, it's really you." I said after the waitress brought two hot steamy mugs.

He leaned forward. "Were you expecting someone else?"

I felt the blood in my cheeks rise. "I shouldn't be ungrateful, but I wasn't expecting the man who suggested a threesome with his date to save my life."

Kane nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "Imagine if you said yes."

He broke into a laugh and stopped when he realized I didn't join in. I narrowed my eyes on him.

"Relax, I'm kidding." He cleared his throat. "How do you feel?"

"Traumatized, but I'll live." I responded.

He frowned slightly. "Frankly, I'm disappointed you're not pressing charges against Crompton."

Crompton was my attacker's name. "He's getting twenty-four months in jail anyway."

"He should be getting more. I don't like men who hit women." Kane said in a hushed tone. "I should confess, I didn't like the way he looked at you afterwards; maybe if I'd said something, you wouldn't have that black eye. I had to hold back; otherwise, I would have broken something more than a few ribs."

His blue eyes were sincere, protective even, and I believed him. "Thank you, Mr. Kane. I'm glad you were there, and if there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know."

"Just Kane," he replied. "You don't have to repay me, Fiona; just be careful out there."

He called me by name for the first time, and it felt surprisingly good. We held eye contact for a few seconds, and I could swear the air around us grew thin.

I finally looked away and rose to my feet. "Kane, I'm sorry I have to get back to work."

His eyes sparkled with surprise. "Work?"

"I'm actually supposed to be on my lunch break, so..." I unzipped my purse to search for money.

Kane stood. "But...it's only been a week; don't you need time to recover from all this?"

I shrugged. "I don't get out-of-work benefits, and I could use the distraction."

He refused my offer to pay and tossed a few bills on the table. He held the door open for me, and we walked down the sidewalk.

"I thought you worked at Templeton's." He pointed at my red polo.

"This is my second...my only job." I said sheepishly. "For now."

He seemed surprised at the information. "I'm sorry, but did you just say you have two jobs?"

"Yes," I nodded. "People do that to cover their bills." Or college debt.

He grunted a little. "I can barely stand my only job, Fiona. Look, take some time off work, and I can provide the benefits you need."

I turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"Fiona, look at your face; that makeup barely covers the bruise," he said in a hard tone. "Whatever you need, I can have my assistant mail it to you."

I gripped my fists hard and scoffed with humor. "If you didn't just save my life, I'd say you were trying to control it. Why would you even suggest that?"

He shrugged. "I'm not controlling you; it's because..."

He reached for my face, and I flinched automatically.

"Because of that." He pointed out.

"So, I'm a little jumpy, but that doesn't give you the right to decide what I can and can't do!" I used a tone reserved for toddlers. "I don't need your charity."

"You want to repay me, right?" He asked.

I narrowed my eyes, unsure of what to say.

"Then go home." He spoke softly. "Okay?"

I thought about the looks my coworkers gave me. Maybe I should take the opportunity.

"Fine," I nodded. "But no benefits."

His lips quivered a bit. "Deal."

The sun was high up, and traffic moved on the street, but all I could focus on was Kane. He leaned forward to give me a friendly hug, and I accepted it. His male cologne enveloped me. But as he started to pull away, our lips were a breath away.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I pushed my lips against his. I heard him suck his breath in out of surprise, and slowly our lips moved against each other, and we leapt apart.

I felt a flood of emotions-shock and excitement-leaving me almost breathless.

Oh God.

What was I thinking, kissing a stranger? But the spark between us felt so right.

Kane recovered quickly. "I'll be seeing you, Fiona."

Then he walked back where we came from, leaving me out of breath and dazed.

* * * * * * * *

In the following days, as I stayed home to heal, Kane visited my apartment, bringing flowers and ethnic food. He was as kind as he was clueless about how a dishwasher worked.

We had Chinese takeout for dinner one evening.

"Seriously?" I asked while watching him stare at the buttons of the machine.

"Well, considering we had Nicole, I didn't think it was necessary." He replied with a shrug.

"Who's Nicole?" I asked as I pushed the on button; the machine roared to life.

"My family's housekeeper," Kane answered. "She's pretty amazing and makes the best dessert."

I nodded. "Thanks for everything, Kane; you didn't have to bring me-"

Kane leaned down with a firm look. "I thought we agreed on not thanking Fiona often. I want to do this. So, tell me about you."

I sighed a bit as we took a seat on stools. "What's to tell? I grew up in New York, and I've always wanted to be a chef since I watched an episode of Hell's Kitchen. I moved to Boston to have a little chance of success. Don't get me wrong, New York's great, but...I feel like I belong here."

He gave a slow nod. "I enjoyed that pie you made. I can say you've got the knack for cooking."

I smiled. "Yeah, I could tell by the way you ate two slices at a go."

He folded his toned arms across his chest; I could tell he worked out a lot. "You don't have a lot of friends besides Louise."

"Oh, not really; some of them moved away."

"Not even a boyfriend?"

My heart caught in my throat, reminding me of that kiss we shared. I shook my head.

His blue eyes sparkled a little. "Well, that's a relief."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "Excuse me?"

He stared at me. "I mean, otherwise that kiss would have been awkward. I couldn't stop thinking about it, Fiona, and believe me, I'm not the kind of man who lies awake at night thinking-"

I sucked in a deep breath. "I get it, McGregor, I'm not your type-"

He frowned. "That's not what I-"

"Except in bed." I stood up, rubbing the tension off my forehead. "You should go. Like, right now."

He stepped in front of me. "Have I said something wrong? You're a beautiful woman, Fiona. I can't tell what I'm getting into, but I've liked you from the night we met. I don't want to make this hard because of what happened."

I folded my arms with a questioning gaze at him. "Kane, I'm not broken. I thought about you too, and life's taught me to be realistic. I don't play games-"

He silenced me with a quick kiss; our lips circled each other with desire. I reached for his cheek, and he drew me closer to him.

* * * * * * * *

Across the street, a scar-faced man sat in a black sedan, watching Fiona and Kane kissing through his binoculars. He flashed a crooked smile and whistled as he drove away.

"See you soon, Fiona."