Tilted (Book 2)

By Heather West

This is book 2 of the mafia trilogy. Book 3 is available everywhere now!

All my chips are on the table. But I won't leave until she's mine.

KILLIAN

They thought they could get rid of me.

But they were dead f**king wrong.

I promised my brother I'd protect the mother of his child.

And there's not a person on this motherf**king planet who can stop me from fulfilling my oath.

Not even her.

She's been fed lie after lie.

She thinks I'm the one who killed her baby's father.

But the mafia bastards doing the lying will stop at nothing to cover up my brother's murder.

It's time for me to come home so I can show them all the truth:

No one who f**ks with me lives to tell the tale.

HEATHER

How dare he show his face around here again?

After what he did to me?

To my baby?

But Killian is no fool.

And he swears he has secrets to tell me.

I need time to decide if I can trust him.

Because if he's right, my whole world has become a lie.

Time is running out.

I have to choose:

Do I run away with the former mobster I once believed had killed my husband?

Or do I let the don marry me off to the murderer who's truly responsible?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sopris Page Press
• Release date: Jun 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393362647

Book preview

Tilted: A Mafia Romance (Book 2)

By Heather West

All my chips are on the table. But I won’t leave until she’s mine.

KILLIAN

They thought they could get rid of me.

But they were dead f**king wrong.

I promised my brother I’d protect the mother of his child.

And there’s not a person on this motherf**king planet who can stop me from fulfilling my oath.

Not even her.

She’s been fed lie after lie.

She thinks I’m the one who killed her baby’s father.

But the mafia bastards doing the lying will stop at nothing to cover up my brother’s murder.

It’s time for me to come home so I can show them all the truth:

No one who f**ks with me lives to tell the tale.

HEATHER

How dare he show his face around here again?

After what he did to me?

To my baby?

But Killian is no fool.

And he swears he has secrets to tell me.

I need time to decide if I can trust him.

Because if he’s right, my whole world has become a lie.

Time is running out.

I have to choose:

Do I run away with the former mobster I once believed had killed my husband?

Or do I let the don marry me off to the murderer who’s truly responsible?

Chapter One

Killian

Itried to distract myself, but with no television, no one to call, and one book about dog breeds on the shelf, Heather still filled my mind. Out of desperation, I picked up the dog book left behind by a previous tenant. They’d circled pictures of dog breeds they were apparently interested in, and a few of the breeds—included Yorkshire Terriers, naturally—earned an extra special star scribbled in pen in the margin.

I flipped through the pages, making a note of all the hypoallergenic dogs and then tried to list them all back by memory. After the fourth attempt and another bitter failure, I slammed the book closed and threw my head back, a cloud of dust rising up from the couch. I wanted to talk to Heather.

I’d never wanted to see a particular woman before. The feeling was new to me. Typically, I wanted to have sex, and then I would call around until a woman was free. Any woman would do. Now, though, I just wanted Heather. I wanted her long red hair, her shapely legs, her pouty mouth. Even more shocking, I wanted her company.

She was nice to be around. I felt at ease with her, a feeling I rarely felt when in the company of women. Perhaps it was because all of our time together so far had been for purposes other than sex. Ordinarily, when talking with a woman, the talking was just a prelude to sex. I was trying to woo them, lure them in with my charm and my wit.

With Heather, though, there had been too many other things to worry about. Sex hadn’t entered my mind until much later, and by then she’d already seen the real me. The me who let his guard down and let his real feelings show, the me who was vulnerable and emotional. Suddenly, I felt naked.

When my phone rang, I reached for it and then dropped it on the floor. Mostly out of shock. Heather was calling. She had never called me before. I felt exposed, as if someone had walked in on me dancing naked in my bedroom. As if she’d somehow overheard my crude thoughts about her and was calling to tell me what a sick creep I was. Of course, I realized that was insane, but I felt ashamed nonetheless. Then, I realized she might be in trouble. I’d told her to call me if she ever needed something. Perhaps she needed something.

I lunged for the phone, which had slid under the coffee table.

Heather?

She laughed. Hi.

Are you okay?

Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Is this phone for emergencies only? I wasn’t sure.

I relaxed, glad to know she was safe. No, no. It’s for...whatever. So, what’s up? Is anything wrong?

She laughed again. Okay, clearly this phone was for problems only. I shouldn’t have called.

"No, it’s just... I’m just trying to figure out why you called. It doesn’t matter why. You can call me anytime."

Okay. Well, I guess there isn’t a reason. She paused. Is that okay?

I nodded, and then remembered we were on the phone and she couldn’t see me. Yeah, that’s great... err... fine. No reason is a reason. What are you up to?

I’m just looking at the sonogram picture the doctor gave me. The baby is so tiny.

Hearing the heartbeat was pretty amazing, I said.

I know, right? I didn’t realize it until she started the ultrasound, but I was actually really afraid that it wasn’t true. That somehow all of the tests had been wrong, and she would look in there and not see anything and send me home.

You’re really excited about this baby, then? I asked.

Silence.

I-I mean. I stuttered. I just mean that you really want it. Dang. That didn’t come out right, either.

She laughed. I know what you mean. And yeah, I am. I wasn’t at first; I was terrified. The day I found out, I thought I could’ve died. But I’m excited now. This baby will be mine. It will be all mine, and I’ll get to raise it and... I don’t know. This probably sounds stupid.

No, I said, my voice