THE MAFIA'S HIDDEN DESIRE

LEAH POINT OF VIEW

"The housekeeper will be with you shortly," the uniformed maid said, then gave me a small smile and walked away.

I looked around the sitting room I'd been left to wait in awe. The whole house looked more like a castle than a house. It was truly something out of a fairytale. I'd always had an eye for architecture and I liked to think I'd inherited it from one of my birth givers.

"Good evening, Lisa," a woman's cool voice said.

I looked over my shoulders to see a woman walking into the room. She had ash blonde hair pinned back in a severe bun.

"Good evening, you must be Mrs. Charles."

She nodded sharply, "sorry for the delay. If you could follow me, I'll show you around the house and point out what type of duties you'd be doing in the house."

I stood up, "the house is beautiful."

Her smile became stiff, "Yes, it is."

I followed her out of the room, curious about her reaction. I let it sit at the back of my mind and tried to concentrate on my instructions. If I was going to succeed as a maid here, I needed to adhere to instructions and make sure my conduct remained faultless.

I couldn't afford to be fired. I didn't just want this job, I needed it.

"This is the east wing," she said, motioning. Here, you can find guest rooms and sitting rooms. Whenever the master has guests, you have to stay out of their way as much as possible. As servants, we should always be some degree of eternally in reach but not seen."

That sounded horrible but I nodded in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at me and continued down the hall.

"These are the staff quarters. The house has eight staff members at the moment. You'll be the ninth. There's me, my husband, who is the groundskeeper, a cook, his valet and the four maids."

Then she continued the tour. At the end of it, she came to a row of rooms. "This is the west wing, the master's wing. You shouldn't be seen here under any circumstances. This area isn't part of your job description, and you'll be fired immediately if you're caught there."

Not if you don't catch me, I thought snidely.

"The master is a very private man and he doesn't tolerate curiosity. Just do your job, keep your head down and your mouth shut." She said sternly. "Whatever happens in this house, stays in this house."

I blinked at her innocently, "are we keeping some sort of secret?"

The look she sent me would have had a less woman scurrying away in fright. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't afraid of her.

"Asking stupid questions like that will get you in trouble. Do as I say, or you'll be gotten rid of," she said, "and the hassle of finding new help is starting to be too much."

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

She narrowed her eyes at me before continuing "Your area is the kitchen and the east wing. Stick to it."

"Yes, ma'am." I replied obediently.

She nodded, "I'll leave you to settle into your room for now, but you'll join Ana for the dinner preparations shortly."

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

Then she walked away.

I eyed the doors of the master's quarters behind me. I was definitely going to have to go in there. But not today. For now, all I had to do was report to my superiors that I had gotten in.

I hurried to my room and into the bathroom, then sent an innocent "hey," to a number saved as DAD.

A moment later, I got back a "hey"

In reality, the person I had just informed codely that I was in the position and the operation was underway was my boss. I was a part of the law enforcement special forces group in charge of digging into the activity of the Mafia in Chicago.

I was one of the best assets in the team and the only one good enough to pull off this charade effectively.

At five feet six with big blue eyes and honey blonde hair, I didn't look the least bit threatening. So many had looked down on me on the special forces team, and I was banking on that to get me through this mission.

I knew the risks, of course. If I was caught here, I'd die a slow and painful death. That was why I didn't intend on getting caught. I was going to bring down the De Luca Mafia family and end their reign of terror in Chicago.

This was the first we had been able to do in years and we had everything riding on this. I couldn't afford to fuck it up.

The Mafia had killed my parents and made me an orphan. They were evil bastards, each one of them, and I wasn't going to stop till they were all rotting behind bars.

I hid the burner phone back in the hidden zip of my suitcase then made my way to the kitchen. I was a bit confused by the layout, but I had confidence in my ability to find my way around.

That confidence dwindled to nothing as I met yet another dead end. In my defense, the house was freakishly large with far too many doors and hallways.

I realized too late that I was in the master's wing, and I had to get out of here, pronto. I looked around, confused by which door had led me here. Seemed I was going to have to try all the doors and hope one didn't lead into a torture chamber in active use.

Just as I reached for one door, I was suddenly yanked into a hard body, one hand in my ponytail, keeping my head up and something cold was pressed under my jaw.

"Who are you? Correct answers only or the servants will be picking pieces of your skull off the carpets for the rest of the day," a man's voice said with deceptive calm.

Holy shit.

LEAH POINT OF VIEW

"My name is Lisa Adams, and I'm the new maid. I was trying to find my way to the kitchen from the staff bedroom and I got lost. I'm so sorry," I said in one breath, caring about the gun pressed to my jaw.

How the hell had I found myself in this position on the very first day? If my superior could see me now, he'd write me off as an embarrassment to the team.

I had faced death a hundred times in my line of work, but this was the stupidest situation to be in.

The man didn't move.

"I don't have my uniform yet, but if you just call Mrs. Charles, she'll –"

My words were cut off as the man peeled away from me. I whirled around in panic to face him and what I saw made me suck for my breath.

I had met all types and shapes and ages of men and I knew that in the office, they called me the ice queen behind my back because of my unfeeling nature.

I didn't want distractions till I had nailed down the Mafia, and so I had done my best to avoid them. I didn't go out with the team or drink. I didn't date or sleep around. In summary, I was the robot they liked to refer to me as.

Men had never really interested me, and I had never lost my head over a man's physical appearance, but the man standing before me was something else.

Standing at inches over six feet, he was tall with broad shoulders and a lithely muscled frame clad in a black cashmere sweater and dark slacks.

He had dark hair torn into ruthlessly short into a clean buzz cut. He had the facial plans of a runway model, high cheekbones, a strong jaw, a full pink mouth. His eyes were the most intense part of him were his eyes. It was the first time in my life I had met a person with truly black eyes. It looked like there was no life behind the darkness of his eyes.

It made me shiver. I took a wary step back.

This man was as potent as he was dangerous. It exuded off him in waves. Ethereally beautiful but lethal. Like a perfectly crafted sword.

"I'm so sorry sir, she's new. She doesn't know any better," someone suddenly said, breaking out and staring down.

I looked at the newcomer, a brunette in a maid's uniform that looked like she was about to piss herself in terror.

"Come on, Lisa. Let's go." The brunette grabbed me by the hand and hurriedly led me away. I looked over my shoulder to see that the man was gone. I blinked in shock and wondered if he had just been a part of my imagination.

As soon as we were out of earshot, she turned to me, face bone white.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."

"I was trying to find the kitchen. I got lost. I'm so sorry."

"That's the boss, Dante De Luca. If I were you, I'd avoid him as much as possible."

"Why?" I asked.

She looked away, "I'm Ana. Come on, we have work to do."

She hurried away, and I followed after her, wondering what she knew. Everybody here must have seen something that made them afraid of De Luca. But not afraid enough to leave. I needed to find out what they knew.

As far as I was informed, none of the servants were Italian, and so they owed the De Lucas no allegiance.

The other three maids were in the kitchen when I got there, and they all offered me polite smiles.

"Hey guys, this is Lisa. The new maid," Ana said excitedly, as if the events of a few minutes ago had never happened, "that's Grace, that one is Emily and the one over there is Farrow."

"Hello," I said.

After the round of introductions, they left Ana and I alone in the kitchen and then a red-haired woman in her mid-thirties walked in.

"You must be Lisa," she said, "grab those pots and fill them with water. Ana, start with the dough."

"Her name is Isabel," Ana whispered as she walked past me, "grab the pots."

And that was how my first day working for Dante De Luca went. I had grown up on take-outs and fast food and I didn't so much know how to boil water without almost burning the building down, so it was weird to watch Isabel make spaghetti from scratch.

Not even with the pre-made spaghetti from the store. She started with the dough and all.

"Ouch," Ana cried out before the sound of a pan dropping to the ground was heard. Isabel and I spun towards her to see her clutching her arm with a look of pain.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I didn't know it was hot." She said.

"Come here," Isabel instructed, "put your hand under the running water. I'll get the salve," then she turned to me, "go and serve the boss his dinner."

"Me?" I screeched. I wasn't ready to face De Luca again. In fact, I had plans to never run into him again. Something about him was far too...much for my senses.

And it wasn't just that he was the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life. His presence turned my brain into mush and I didn't like it.

"Ana is indisposed, as you can see. Would you rather allow him to starve then?" Isabel asked coolly.

"I- i-"

"Go!" She ordered.

With a gulp, I grabbed the covered tray and walked out to the dining room. I was embarrassed at my fear of this man.

I was an agent who had brought down many powerful men. I was well regarded in the team, and they had trusted me enough to give me this mission.

I couldn't exactly take down someone I was too terrified to face.

I squared my shoulders and steeled my spine. I was Leah Madden, daughter of Oscar and Kara Madden, two of the world's best CIA agents and I hadn't gotten to where I was by being a coward.

Dark eyes met mine as soon as I walked into the room and my bravado flew out the window immediately.

DANTE POINT OF VIEW

There was something about her. I couldn't place my finger on it, but I already had someone doing a deep search into her. By the end of the day, I'd know exactly who the new maid was.

I wasn't a man who believed in mistakes or coincidences, so you can bet that I didn't for a second believe her bullshit story about getting lost. It was a little too easy that she had gotten lost in my wing in particular.

The major reason I didn't trust her was that her body language was all wrong.

I pride myself on being able to read body language expertly. Sometimes, it could be the difference between life and death and my accurate reading has saved me more times than I liked to count.

When I had held the gun to her jaw, she hadn't trembled like any normal individual. She had still gone first and then answered my question. She hadn't begged for her life.

Whoever she was, they had trained well, but they hadn't trained her to show fear and that was her single biggest give away.

I ran my gaze down her to her blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked like a doll and to most people, she would have looked non-assuming and safe.

But I wasn't most people.

She dropped the tray in front of me and turned to leave.

"Don't move." I ordered her.

She froze, eyes going wide with confusion. I opened the tray to reveal the pasta and sauce.

"You don't like Italian, sir?" She asked carefully.

I stilled momentarily.

"If it's poisoned, you should be close by, so I can shoot it before I croak." I said dryly.

Her eyebrows shot up, "but what if it was Isabel's doing?"

"Don't move" I repeated, and started eating.

Halfway through my meal, my phone lights up with a notification.

I grab it and open the email. I have contacts everywhere, including the deepest levels of law enforcement. I have CIA and special forces agents in my pockets. Even some of their so-called superiors sell out their own just for their greed.

The file I've just received is on my new maid. I open it.

Her real name is Leah Madden and she's a special forces agent. She has been in the force since she left high school at eighteen. She's well decorated and has a lot of achievements under her belt.

I consider shooting her where she stands, but on second thought, I realize that I could use her instead. Not for information. I have enough people to give me all the information I need.

I can use her to keep the special forces team frustrated. If I kill Leah, they'll send in someone else or try another route. It's far better if I keep Leah here where I can monitor her and feed her carefully curated but false information.

I stood up and walked out, leaving her there.

My phone rang as I made my way to my office.

"Boss, what do you want me to do about her?" Leo, my half brother and second in command asked. He must have gotten the same file that I did.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I had planned to keep this piece of information to myself.

"The men are in place to take her for questioning as we speak-"

"Who else knows?" I cut in.

He paused, "just you and I for now."

"Keep it that way."

I can feel his surprise from over the phone.

"I don't understand. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you want me to-"

"Keep the information between us. We aren't going to do anything about the little infiltrator. Leave her to me. I'll deal with her in my own way."

"But what if she finds something?"

"I'll make sure she does find something," I paused, "I'm going to feed her with false information and confuse the CIA. When I'm done with the little rat, she won't have any credibility at all with her special forces."

"Do you know who she is? I don't think we should take this so lightly."

"I know exactly who she is."

"Then you should know that we can't let what happened all those years ago-"

I cut in, "do as I say, Leo. I have it all under control."

"This isn't going to end well." He said, "let's just kill the girl and get it over with."

I smiled into the phone, "are you afraid of her, brother?"

"Afraid of her?" He scoffed, "she doesn't even look like an agent. She looks like one of the girls in the brothel. That face and body is being wasted on the CIA."

For some reason, I'm suddenly angry, "try to think less about your mouth, brother. Let the girl be, I'll handle her," and then I hung up.

I opened the file on her again and stared at the little grainy photo of her at the top of it. In the picture she looks younger, and she's glaring into the camera. Who thought sending her in to pretend to be a maid was a good idea anyway?

There's nothing the least bit submissive or biddable about her.

A part of me was screaming at me to get rid of the girl. That she'd be nothing but trouble in the end. I shut that part down immediately. I knew what I was doing.

I was five moves in front of her, and she couldn't win. She probably thought I was one of the other weak fools she had managed to bring down. Little did she know that she had stepped into a world she was very unfamiliar with. She'd soon learn that nobody had come after me and walked away Scot free.

When I was done with the intruding CIA agent, she was going to wish she had never volunteered to mess with me.

I was going to crush her to the dust.

And the best part was that she wasn't going to see it coming.