THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

We were in a spare bedroom; we had come up after dinner. When I told Sin about us girls having a sleepover, he had no problem with it, though he was a little hesitant to let me go. Samantha and Stephanie had dragged me out of his hold to the bedroom where we were now.

We were sitting in a circle on the bed with candy, snacks, and pizza. My back rested on the headboard with a cheese pizza in my hand. Samantha and Stephanie were laughing their asses out as I told them what had happened this morning between Mateo and me.

“I can’t believe you put a poor Mat through something like this.” Samantha wiped away the tears by the sides of her eyes.

“Well, I originally made it for Nikolai, but he pushed it all on Mateo.” I shrugged, taking a bite of my pizza.

“Mani, you are a horrible cook. There is no hope for you; cooking isn’t just for you.” Stephanie said it, emphasizing more on each word. She grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl lying on her lap.

“I know that now.” I whined.

My phone pinged beside me. I unlocked it to see it was a message from Sin. A smile made its way up to my face, and I instantly replied. I was waiting for his response when Samantha dragged the phone out of my grasp, putting it on the table beside her.

“This is the tenth time he has sent you a message in the span of an hour,” she exclaimed. “It’s a girls’ night, meaning no boys allowed in whatever way, and that includes texting.” I sighed dejectedly but nodded anyway.

“Good, now I believe Stephanie has some juicy stories to tell us.” Stephanie’s hand was raised half way to her mouth with a handful of popcorn, and she stared at Samantha, surprised.

“No, I don’t.”

“Of course you do. Don’t think for a moment that I didn’t see you texting on your phone, giggling and all. My eight sense tells me it’s definitely a guy, so tell us who is the guy that’s got you all blushing and happy.” Samantha asked, crossing her legs and waiting for Stephanie, who looked like a deer caught in a headlight.

“Fine, I’m seeing someone.” Samantha positioned herself so she was comfortable, looking at Stephanie in anticipation.

“I already told Mani about him the last time we met.” She explained.

“Wait. You are still seeing him.” I gasped out. I had asked Sin about it to know if it was actually Luca or if it was simply a coincidence, but Sin told me he had assigned a few of his men to watch over my family. He wanted to make sure they were safe and had no threat directed at them, and that was where Luca came in.

Sin had assigned him to watch over Stephanie for some time; he had no idea they were in any kind of relationship. When Sin found out, he wasn’t mad, but he had asked Luca what his intentions were, and Luca told him he wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring her into this world.

I agree that it was filled with danger and all. I thought he had ended things with her when we left for Italy, but I guess I was wrong. With the look on her face, it was obvious things between them had progressed extremely well.

“We kind of ended things months ago because he wasn’t sure he wanted to be with me, saying something about it being dangerous. Then he went AWOL, and I heard absolutely nothing from him. Two months ago he came to my apartment looking for me; imagine the shock on my face when I saw him standing at the other side of the door, looking as handsome and dreamy as ever. ” she smiled, recalling the memory.

“I didn’t want to give him the time of day or even a tiny bit of my attention; after all, he had bailed on me for four months, but he looked so adorable and handsome. He is very persistent also, so I decided to give him a chance, and things between us have been rosy since then. Believe me, he is the best,” she said, and I could see how much she really loved him.

“Wow, I’m speechless.” Samantha says, stunned. “I’m so happy for you, girl.”

“Me too, Steph; you deserve every good thing that comes your way.”

“Thanks girls”

“So what’s his name? I need to know the charmer that warmed himself into your heart,” Samantha asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“Luca.” Stephanie says she was filled with excitement while Samantha looked like she was struggling to catch her breath.

“Who. ” She asked again, probably thinking she didn’t hear her well.

“Luca, Luca Ramirez.”

Samantha turned to look at me; I could read the look in her eyes. She asked if it was what she thought it was or just a coincidence. I blinked my eyes twice to let her know it was the former; she quickly composed herself, and the smile returned to her face.

“I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Don’t worry; I will make sure to introduce you both to him.” Stephanie smiles cheekily. “Enough about me; it’s your turn. A little birdie told me about you seeing a certain someone’s younger brother.”

“I see Mani already told you.” Samantha laughed, shaking her head.

“Come on, spill; tell me more.” Mani keeps holding out on me, saying, “I need to hear the rest from you.”

That was how the night progressed, with the three of us talking about the men in our lives, omitting a little bit of detail. We talked about the crazy things we have done. Samantha and Stephanie started sharing stories about me while we laughed and had fun.