The Gift: The Mafia Proposal, #2

By Talia Ellison

James and I were happy, but then we were torn apart.

If I don't figure out who is threatening us, I could lose him forever.

But instead of finding our way back to each other, we end up on the opposing sides.

My husband is once again my enemy. Or is he?

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This is the second installment in the three-book The Mafia Proposal series.

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Reading order:

THE DEAL (Book 1)
THE GIFT (Book 2)
THE VOW (Book 3)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Talia Ellison
• Release date: May 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386115236

Talia Ellison

Talia Ellison is the author of Hold Me, Unfold Me, the Loving Your Enemy series, the Your Love Is Dangerous series, Destroying the Billionaire, The Mafia Proposal series, the My Broken Hitman series, the Her Dark Mafia Heart duet, the Owned by the Mafia Queen series, the Never His duet, the Taking Revenge on Her Bully series, the Varano Mafia series, and Arranged: Cassaro Mafia. She loves to read and write all kinds of romance, and she has a thing for broken, tortured heroes and fierce heroines who aren't afraid to take what they want. When she’s not busy with a book, she likes to watch TV shows and listen to music. Never miss a new release! Sign up for Talia’s newsletter: https://taliaellison.weebly.com/newsletter.html

Book preview

Chapter 1

STILL NOTHING? I ASKED as I ran my hand through my long dark brown hair.

Meg shook her blonde head, her blue eyes weary. I’m sorry, Arianna.

Ever since I’d gotten that email threatening James’ life if I didn’t send him away—I had a stalker who knew way too much about me and what I did every day—Meg and I had been trying to figure out who it was or how they were monitoring me, because it was certain that they were doing it, but we hadn’t found anything. Sure, I couldn’t search every single crack in the floor, but there was something really weird about all this, and it definitely meant we had another mole.

Someone had to be working with the person who was threatening me. I didn’t think there was any other way for them to do this. That person could be preventing us from finding any bugs or they didn’t need any because they were close enough to see for themselves what was going on. But how come Meg couldn’t find anything or figure out if someone had hacked our network so they could report to their boss? She was really good at stopping things like that. Unless...

I eyed her for a moment. Meg had been with me since we were children, and we’d grown up together. Maybe we hadn’t always been very close friends, but when she was lying, she had a habit of getting very nervous and tugging on her necklace or a bracelet—if she didn’t have her necklace. These days, she’d been perfectly calm, and I couldn’t imagine she was working behind my back.

No, I still trusted Meg. It had to be someone else. But we couldn’t exactly kick out everyone or openly search for a traitor, because then the guilty one or ones might decide to lie low, and the last thing I wanted was for everyone to start doubting each other. And if I didn’t find the mole quickly enough, someone might interpret that as weakness or use the opportunity to strike, so I’d have to worry about more than just my stalker who seemed to want to ruin my life.

I let out a sigh. James’ face flashed in my mind. The way his brown eyes glared at me when I’d lied to him and sent him away... I wanted nothing more than to tell him what had really happened and why I’d had to do what I’d done. And then I wanted to bury my fingers into his dark brown hair, drag him to me, and kiss him until I could no longer feel my lips.

And maybe I could do all that. I just had to find a way to sneak out of here and get to him unseen. But how? If I ditched my guards, maybe that would be exactly what my stalker really wanted. Maybe it had never been about James and me. Maybe it was a trap—a way to frustrate me so I’d do something reckless and stupid, which would give them a chance to attack. I ground my teeth together. This was not supposed to be happening.

Meg, I said, and she looked up at me. I need a drink. Wanna join me? I gave her a pointed look, hoping she’d figure out I needed her to come with me. If there were cameras or bugs we hadn’t found or if her computers had been hacked without her being aware of it, I couldn’t risk being overheard. Not a single part of the house was safe, so if I went outside to talk to her, the traitor—or multiple ones—would know something was up, and I couldn’t afford them to be suspicious either. Hopefully, what I had in mind would work.

Yeah, sure. She quickly typed something on her keyboard, then hopped to her feet. We headed to my so-called drinking room, because that was one of the places where I was sure no one would bother us. I still couldn’t be sure no one had found a way to plant bugs in it, so I’d have to be extra careful.

Once we got there, I headed straight for the cabinet with drinks and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. Meg settled on one of the sofas, and, on my way to her, I picked up two glasses with my free hand. After setting the glasses on the small table in front of her, I tilted the bottle above them and poured, spilling some of the liquid on the table too. If anyone was watching or listening to us somehow, I wanted to make them believe I’d given up on everything.

I let the bottle thud against the table as I set it down and picked up my glass. Meg leaned forward to reach for hers, eyeing me with suspicion, but she didn’t say anything. After taking a gulp and letting it burn its way down my throat, I let out a frustrated grunt.

I miss him, I finally said, starting to pace up and down the room with my glass still in hand.

I’m doing everything I can. She clutched her glass and took a sip.

I know. I’m not saying you’re not. It’s just... I brought my glass to my lips again, going for the portable music player that was on one of the shelves. You know what? I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Actually, I want to forget.

I turned on the music player, upping the volume. If someone could still overhear us even with the loud music, then to hell with everything, but I didn’t think that was possible. I strolled back toward Meg, swaying my hips in rhythm with the upbeat melody of a song that was all the rage right now. I had to act normal—well, as if I were really trying to have fun.

When I reached Meg, she had a smile on her face, and I offered her my hand, which she took, so I pulled her to her feet. We danced for a few minutes, and then I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. As we made our way toward the sofa, I leaned forward so I could whisper into her ear, her hair hiding my mouth from view.

I need a favor, I said as quickly as I could. I have to see James. Can you find a way to arrange that without anyone figuring it out? I need protection, so some of my men have to come with me. I won’t tell them where I’m going, but you must make sure they can’t contact anyone. I pulled back with a smile on my face and started singing along to the song. If someone was watching us, there was no way for them to tell what I’d whispered to Meg.

She gave me a barely perceptible nod. Since my stalker would probably have someone ready to tail me as soon as they or their accomplice noticed I was going somewhere, I’d have to find a way to sneak out of here. It was ridiculous that I had to do that in my own house, but I wasn’t about to let the stalker get what they wanted—whatever the hell that actually was.

THE CAR’S WAITING FOR you, Meg said when I poked my head into the tech room, her lips curving into a soft smile as she got to her feet.

Thanks. I waited for her to lock her computers and grab her tablet and a small bag. She came out of the room, locking the door behind her. I hoped she had handled everything carefully and that everyone believed that I was simply going out. Since the Ezzatis and the Desaltis, my greatest enemies, had been purged from my city, which was now divided between my friend Marianta Panas and me, I no longer had to worry I was going to get killed the moment I set my foot outside.

Well, unless my stalker made their move, but I had a feeling they didn’t want me dead, because it seemed like they could’ve killed me ages ago if they’d wanted it. Or maybe it was about something entirely different. But, if my plan worked, instead of going to a nightclub and having some fun in its secure VIP area like my guards expected, I’d tell them I’d changed my mind and order them to take me to the house where James and his family were.

I’d have to be careful in case one of the guards turned against me or tried anything, but hopefully Meg had picked the ones who were least likely to betray me—not that I could really trust anyone these days, but maybe my stalker wouldn’t see this coming. I had to believe that. If only I could explain to James what had really happened, then we could find a way to solve this together.

But what if he didn’t believe me even after I told him the truth? What if he thought I was trying to trick him into helping me because I couldn’t get rid of my new enemy on my own? I supposed I could show him the proof, and he’d have to listen to me even if he didn’t want to, since our contract was still in effect, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Meg and I strode down the hallway. Once we reached the garage, I spotted the guards waiting for me near one of our black SUVs that was ready to go. One of the guards opened the door for me, but I stopped, letting Meg go toward them as I took a good look around the garage.

Let’s do one more sweep. Just to make sure we didn’t miss anything. I have a new app that I want to test, Meg said cheerfully as she lifted her tablet. Oh, and some new phones. The guards were supposed to check everything as they always did, but since we couldn’t trust them, I wanted Meg to do it again herself.

Of course, the app she was talking about didn’t really exist, but I couldn’t let my guards think I didn’t trust them. While she was focused on the guards and checking them for bugs, I went to inspect the car. The nervous feeling in my stomach made me wonder if I was just afraid I might find out tonight who’d betrayed me and who was working with my stalker, or if I dreaded James’ reaction once he saw me.

You’re good to go, Meg announced, and I settled in the back seat as the guards got in too. I glanced at her through the window as the car started to move, and I really, really hoped she wasn’t in any way involved with the person who was behind all this. I reached inside my jacket and closed my hand around the handle of my gun.

We were on our way to the club, and the guards were relaxed, so it seemed they didn’t suspect anything. Good. Before the driver was supposed to take a left turn, I leaned slightly forward, making sure I could pull out my gun quickly if I needed to or elbow the guard who was sitting next to me.

Wait. I’ve changed my mind. Just keep driving.

Yes, ma’am, he said, and I observed everyone around me, but they didn’t show any particular emotion. I leaned back, letting go of my gun. Maybe Meg had chosen the right guys, or maybe they weren’t worried just yet because we hadn’t gone out of the city. I pulled out my phone. It was brand new and secured with Meg’s special encryption, and it only connected to our own network—my guards had been given similar ones.

Meg had sworn to me that no one could hack it easily or quickly, even if they had gotten into our system because she’d prepared everything on a completely separate and secure computer. I supposed this would be a great test. Her systems were also supposed to fake our phones’ presence at the club. Just when I thought there weren’t any messages, a new one flashed on the screen. It was a text from Meg. All good.

Go right, I said to the driver. No one was tailing us for now, at least as far as Meg could tell, so I wanted to get out of the city as fast as possible.

Ma’am, are you sure you don’t want us to call for backup? We didn’t know you’d be going outside our territory and it might not be safe to... one of the guards started to say when we were about to leave the city behind.

No, it’s fine. Everything’s under control. We don’t want to alert everyone about our whereabouts. I’m not planning to breach anyone’s territory, anyway. I gave him a reassuring smile, but my palms were sweating enough that I had to wipe them on my pants. It took us a good while to reach the house that only very few knew about.

Park over there. I pointed toward the parking spot under one of the nearby trees, far away enough from the house so the guards in there wouldn’t assume we were a threat, since I was coming unannounced. And it was better if our car couldn’t be easily spotted.

The guards immediately got out of the car, and they seemed surprised, probably because they had no clue what we were doing here, but they knew better than to ask. As one of them opened the door for me, I turned toward them.

Stay close behind me and be quick, I said. They exchanged a few looks, but I didn’t give them time to question why I needed to go first or to suggest that it was dangerous to do that, because I simply got out and started toward the house. There were multiple cameras around, so I looked straight into them. The guards inside would recognize me and open the door.

I stopped not too far away from the door and waited. The whole neighborhood was quiet, and the houses were in the dark, but it was the middle of the night anyway, so that wasn’t surprising. My pulse sped up a little, because as I looked at the barred windows and the heavy door, I knew they were the only things separating me from James. I was going to see him again. In flesh, and not in some stupid video.

No rash movements, I said to the guards, who seemed to be getting uneasy behind me and were holding onto their guns. The people here work for me. At least I hoped they still did. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened, and a group of guards spilled outside, weapons drawn, but the man who was coming toward me was unarmed.

Ms. Monti, he said, and, once he seemed sure that it was really me, he lifted his hand and the men lowered their weapons. I’m sorry about this. We weren’t expecting you.

It’s okay.

Please come inside. He stretched out his arm toward the door, and I took a step forward, my legs feeling heavy like stone. I was going to see him. I was finally going to see him.

Something beeped just as I crossed the threshold.

Chapter 2

UM, MA’AM? THE GUARD who’d been the one to greet me said, and I turned around to face him.

What is it? I didn’t like the surprised expression on his face as he was holding up his phone.

There’s a message for you. He offered the phone to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him. For me? Dread filled my stomach, because why would anyone send a message for me to my guard’s phone if it wasn’t the person who was after me?

He nodded. Biting the inside of my cheek, I took the phone and tried my best to stay as calm as possible because the last thing I needed was for all the guards to see just how upset I was about this. The text simply said that the guard should give the phone to me and that the sender had a message for me, but only for me. So, once I replied, I’d