Mafia Kings: Roberto: Chapter 81

Iwas heartbroken.

I could not believe I’d fallen for a man in the same line of work as my father and Lau –

The two men who had fucking ruined my life.

Roberto had a darkness to him, yes – the dominance he displayed in the bedroom that turned me on so much –

But he was also kind.

He was good.

Or he’d seemed good, anyway, until I found out the fucking truth.

After he left and I’d sobbed nonstop for an hour, I stood in front of the mirror and stared at myself.

Except for my swollen red eyes, I looked the same on the outside…

But inside, it felt like my heart and soul had been shattered.

I was in so much pain…

Pain I hadn’t felt in years, and which I’d sworn I would never feel again.

So much for that promise.

That night, I drank myself into a stupor with two bottles of white wine.

I woke up the next morning with a horrific hangover.

I wanted to lie there in bed, binge Netflix, and try not to think about him…

But I had a business to run.

I’d basically ignored De Sade while Roberto was in my life…

But now that he was gone, it was time to go back to work.

I forced myself to get up, shower, and make some coffee.

As I stood there waiting for it to brew, I tried not to look at the kitchen island where I’d been with Roberto so many times…

Like the time we’d discussed what we would and wouldn’t do in bed…

Right before I’d had the best sex of my life with him.

The best sex of my life –

That is, until the next night, when it had gotten even better.

And better and better every single time.

My heartbreak made me want to drink myself into oblivion again…

But the show must go on.

I took a few swigs of coffee and forced myself to put my emotional armor on…

And go back out into the world.

I noticed the car as soon as I pulled out of the Summit’s underground parking.

Even after all this time – and even with Lau’s protection – I was consistently on high alert for signs of my father’s thugs. I always looked at new people suspiciously, and I constantly scanned my surroundings for anything out of place.

The blue Camry was definitely out of place.

The cars around my building tended to be BMWs, Mercedes, Bentleys, Jaguars, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis –

Not Toyotas.

Nothing against Camrys, but they stuck out like a sore thumb in my neighborhood.

As I drove past, I checked out the driver: an Asian male wearing normal street clothes. He didn’t look at all like one of my father’s goons.

The person in the backseat was harder to see, but I caught a glimpse of a hoodie.

Okay, definitely not Roberto.

I figured I was being paranoid. Maybe the car was there for a DoorDash delivery.

Then the Camry started following me –

And kept following me all the way into the city.

I had no idea who it was, but at least I knew I wasn’t being paranoid.

Maybe it was a street thug who’d found out about the daily payments I took to Lau’s office.

Maybe the asshole was ‘casing the joint’ before he tried to rob me at gunpoint.

I couldn’t take that chance, so I immediately went to De Sade’s security department when I got into the building.

I walked into a darkened room where dozens of monitors showed camera feeds from both inside and outside the club.

“Somebody followed me here in a blue Toyota Camry,” I told the tech on duty. “See if he’s still hanging around.”

It took a few minutes of searching, but my guy eventually found the car parked in the alley across from the club.

“Can you zoom in on the car?” I asked.

He complied, but the reflection on the windshield made it impossible to see the people inside.

I knew I couldn’t deliver De Sade’s payment to Lau if a robber was lying in wait.

I was contemplating sending some of my security team out to ‘talk’ to the car’s occupants when the Camry pulled forward, out of frame.

“Zoom out!” I ordered.

The tech zoomed all the way out. As the car turned onto the street, the shadows of the surrounding buildings cut out all glare for a second, giving us a perfect side view before the Camry drove away.

“You recorded that, right?” I asked excitedly.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Rewind it and zoom in on the person in the backseat.”

My tech guy did as he was told.

A few seconds later, I was staring in disbelief at a grainy image of a Caucasian male in a hoodie and sunglasses.

I would have known the shape of his nose and the perfect curve of his cheekbones anywhere.

Roberto.

“Mother FUCKER!” I swore out loud.