High Roller (Book 2): A Mafia Romance, #2

By Heather West

This is book 2 of the High Roller Mafia Romance series! Book 3 is available everywhere now!

I'm hunting down my secret baby's mother.

I'm a killer, plain and simple.

Being this ruthless is the only way to make it in the criminal underworld.

There's not a damn man on this planet who can take from me what's mine.

And make no mistake: Isabella belongs to me.

From the first night I owned her, I left my mark.

On her body.

On her heart.

And in her womb.

But the timid, curvy waitress is more important than I realized.

She's got a secret past that neither her nor I fully understood.

And now, my dying mob boss father orders me to find her.

If I want to become the mafia leader I was born to be, I cannot fail.

I need to hunt down the woman bearing my baby…

Before my enemies get to her first.

The stakes have never been higher.

But let this be known:

I'll kill to keep her safe.

Even if it destroys us both.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sopris Page Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393140207

Book preview

High Roller: A Mafia Romance (Book 2)

By Heather West

I’m hunting down my secret baby’s mother.

I’M A KILLER, PLAIN and simple.

Being this ruthless is the only way to make it in the criminal underworld.

There’s not a damn man on this planet who can take from me what’s mine.

And make no mistake: Isabella belongs to me.

From the first night I owned her, I left my mark.

On her body.

On her heart.

And in her womb.

But the timid, curvy waitress is more important than I realized.

She’s got a secret past that neither her nor I fully understood.

And now, my dying mob boss father orders me to find her.

If I want to become the mafia leader I was born to be, I cannot fail.

I need to hunt down the woman bearing my baby...

Before my enemies get to her first.

The stakes have never been higher.

But let this be known:

I’ll kill to keep her safe.

Even if it destroys us both.

Chapter 1

Isabella

T his will only take a second, Dr. Jennings said in a soothing voice. He wrapped a rubber cord around my arm and held it tight. I only need a little blood.

I blinked. Couldn’t you do a urine test instead? I hated needles, and the sight of one was making feel even sicker.

Dr. Jennings shook his head. Blood tests are more accurate, he said, focusing on my arm. He placed a rubber bulb in my hand. Pump this slowly, he said. With urine tests, there’s always a little room for error. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?

The panic rose in my belly as I saw the light reflected off the needle. Dr. Jennings moved closer and I winced as I felt the sharp tip poke the soft flesh of my arm. Even though he’d assured me it would be over in a second, the needle still hurt like hell. The foreign feeling of cold metal invading my body made me shudder, but I couldn’t keep from watching the blood fill the tube coming out of my arm.

Dr. Jennings chuckled. He was a nice, respectable-looking old man. I couldn’t understand how he knew someone like Zane on intimate terms.

How do you know Zane?

He chuckled again. We’ve been friends for a long time, he said drily. I help him out now and then. He returns the favor.

Part of me wondered what someone like Zane could offer a doctor, but I didn’t ask. Dr. Jennings’s curt tone made it clear he would rather be done with the subject sooner than later.

We’re almost done now, Dr. Jennings said in a soothing voice. I winced as he gently slipped the needle away from the crook of my arm. He was holding three tubes filled with my blood. We just need to run these now.

I sniffled. I’m sorry, I said honestly. I feel really embarrassed about the whole thing. It’s the middle of the night, and you probably had to wake up to come over here.

Hush, Dr. Jennings said in a mild tone. I’m a doctor. I’m used to getting out of bed in the middle of the night because a patient needs me. Zane is no different. This isn’t exactly the first late-night call he’s made.

I frowned. I wished he hadn’t told me that. It made me wonder if Zane had thousands of bastards running around out there. Or thousands of women who had gone through abortion because he didn’t want to step up and be a father.

He knows I’m not going to blackmail him, doesn’t he? I craned my face up to meet Dr. Jennings. He doesn’t think I was trying to do this on purpose, does he?

Dr. Jennings shook his head. Dear, he said nothing of the kind to me, he replied in the same mild voice. And I wouldn’t assume the worst. He’s a good man, just very hotheaded. He needs space when he gets angry.

I rolled my eyes. He’s probably downstairs pacing like a nervous father. I laughed awkwardly. I hadn’t meant to spark any conversation about a baby, but I hadn’t really been thinking about my words either. When Dr. Jennings gave me a pointed look, I blushed. Do you think he wants a baby? I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Dr. Jennings looked at me. I couldn’t begin to tell you. A lot of men aren’t exactly welcoming of the news that their partner is pregnant. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t devoted fathers when the baby arrives. He walked over to the other side of the room and pulled some pamphlets out of his bag. Have Zane read these. They might help him understand.

So I’m definitely pregnant? I looked around, feeling lost.

Dr. Jennings sighed. It looks that way, he said, gazing down at the test kit. You’re about eight weeks along. For now, we’re going to book you a couple of appointments down at the clinic. And after that, well, you have a lot of waiting to do. Nine months doesn’t seem like a long time but for a woman with baby in her belly, it’s going to seem alternately too long and too short.

I blushed again. I couldn’t believe I was pregnant. I did feel different, but I’d never been pregnant before. I had no idea what to expect. I wished I could go back in time and ask my mother what it had felt like when she learned she was pregnant with me. Had she been excited? Had I been planned? Or had she been disappointed and scared and alone?

I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about stuff like that, not if it meant dredging up memories from the past. I wondered about how my father had felt, too. Even though he died when I was young, I had a few good memories of him. He used to let me sit on his lap after dinner when we’d be watching television, and he used to read to me at nights. I remembered his strong voice, slightly accented with a bit of Italian. Dad had been like me: blond and blue-eyed; he’d been from the northern part of Italy. Mom had been from the south. I remembered her squat, dark frame, her masses of black hair, her heavy, angular face. Part of me wished I looked more like her. Instead, I was like a carbon copy of my father.

Was that what would happen with our baby, too? Would he favor one parent completely over the other? And the sex! What were we going to have, a boy or a girl? Suddenly, a wave of giddiness swept over me. I knew it was the middle of the night, but I felt awake and full of energy. Like I could run a marathon, or even something more challenging.

There is one matter left to discuss, Dr. Jennings said in a smooth tone. Are you planning to terminate the pregnancy?

The visions of cute, chubby Italian babies vanished from my mind, along with the sudden burst of energy. I blinked, feeling disoriented. I’m not sure, I said softly. I hadn’t really thought about it. I just found out a few days ago myself, when I took a urine test at home.

Dr. Jennings looked at me thoughtfully. I understand you’ll need some time to make a decision. The reading material you have will help you. But if you do decide to proceed down that path, we’ll need to schedule the appointment sooner than later. Time is definitely not on your side here, Isabella.

I blinked. How soon do I need to make up my mind?

Fairly soon, Dr. Jennings replied. The time is almost up for a medical abortion; you’d only have about another week where that would be a good idea. Then you’ll have a few more weeks to decide about whether or not to have a traditional procedure. He looked at me over the tops of his rimless glasses.

My mouth felt like it was full of cotton. All I could do was nod. I felt dazed, bleary, exhausted. Like I wanted to go back to sleep.

Dr. Jennings sensed a change in my demeanor. I’ll be leaving now, he said softly.

I watched as he gathered his supplies and slipped them back into his bag. When he was in the bathroom washing his hands, I sat down on Zane’s bed. My limbs flopped gracelessly on the silk sheets and I let out a long sigh.

Thank you, I said