It’s release day for Ruthless by Michelle St. James. We’re so excited for this sexy mafia romance! Michelle is sharing an excerpt and a fantastic giveaway so be sure to check out all the festivities! 
ABOUT RUTHLESS:
Two years out of college, Angelica Bondesan spends her time working as a barista, keeping in touch with her prodigal brother, and trying to figure out how to bridge the gap with her father, a wealthy real estate developer.
But all of that changes the night she’s kidnapped. Thrown into a windowless room, Angelica is positive there’s been some kind of mistake —until she meets Nico Vitale.
Gorgeous and frightening, Nico became the boss of New York City’s Vitale crime family after the execution style murder of his parents two years earlier. Since then he’s turned the old-school mob into a sleek, modern army of ruthless men who understand that physical violence —while always an option —isn’t the only way to get what you want.
Now Angel is forced to face the truth;
Her father is not the man she believed him to be.
Nico Vitale is dangerous, possibly lethal.
She is falling in love with Nico Vitale.
"From page one you're hooked and sucked into this corrupt thrilling world. A masterful romance of deep dark suspense, complicated emotions, and exciting action." - New York Times bestseller, M.J. Rose
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EXCERPT
Nico Vitale was
kneeling in one of the pews at St. Monica’s,
praying for his mother and father. They’d
been gone two years, but the pain of losing them still lingered. He had only
been twenty-eight when they’d
been killed, and he’d
expected to have them for many more years, to give them the daughter-in-law and
grandchildren they had wanted.
Their
future had been stolen. From all of them.
He forced
down the fury that had become all too familiar. Anger was good. Productive. It’s what drove him to seek justice, to
right the wrong perpetrated against his family, against the honor code that had
survived decades under the rule of some of history’s most violent men.
But this
wasn’t the place for
anger. This was the place for peace. Repentance. He took a deep breath and
tired to calm himself.
His mother
had always gone to St. Patrick’s,
but Nico made a point of moving around the city, sitting in any church with an
open door. He liked the anonymity of it. Liked knowing that no one would know
him or remember his parents.
His faith
was only a shadow of the belief that had sustained them. Nico didn’t believe in the edicts of the Church.
It had been organized by man to benefit man. He worshipped his own god, and his
god didn’t turn the other
cheek. He might forgive, but that forgiveness didn’t preclude a punishment justly earned.
Still, he liked to sit in silence and remember, to send love to his parents,
wherever they were, and to stand on the side of any god who believed in
vengeance.
He was
reciting the Lord’s Prayer when he
felt a tap on his shoulder. He instinctively shook off the hand. When he turned
to see who had interrupted him, he was even less pleased.
“What
is it, Dante?” He forced his voice
even as he took in the leather jacket and jeans worn by the man in front of
him. A dress code was part of Nico’s
organizational reboot, but keeping cool was a point of pride, part of his
mission to remake his father’s
business for the twenty-first century. And having a reputation for being calm
only made him more formidable when the situation called for his wrath.
Dante
shifted in his seat, his face flushed, eyes feverish with excitement. “We got her,”
he
said. “We
got the girl.”
Nico looked
around before tipping his head at the church’s massive double
doors. “Not here.”
Dante
stood, hurrying down the aisle. Nico followed slowly, letting the peace of the
church wash over him as he made his way out the door.
He took his
time following Dante down the steps of the church. When they reached the
sidewalk, they stepped back to stand near an adjacent building.
“Any trouble?”
Nico
asked.
Dante shook
his head. “She didn’t see it coming.”
Nico
didn’t like the note of
excitement in Dante’s
voice. Nico’s father had
ingrained old-fashioned chivalry in his bones, and Nico never sanctioned
hurting women. These kinds of things were a necessary part of doing business,
not something he enjoyed.
“You
didn’t hurt her.”
It
wasn’t a question.
Dante
sighed, and Nico caught a hint of annoyance in the other man’s face before he could hide it. “We
did it just like you said. Knocked her out, put her in the van, took her to the
basement. She’s fine.”
Nico
nodded. “Good.
Make sure she’s comfortable.”
“Comfortable?”
Dante’s laugh was bitter. “Why
do we care if that bitch is comfortable?”
Nico
clamped a hand on Dante’s
shoulder and squeezed until he flinched. “We don’t
call women bitches in this organization. Ever. Understand?”
Dante
nodded, his eyes lit with the fire of indignation.
“Good.” Nico
released his grip. “Now go make the pick-up.”
“Will do.” Dante
rolled his shoulders, like doing so would free him of Nico’s grip when they both knew only death
or dishonor would do that. “Want a ride back to
the office?”
“No.”
He
didn’t owe Dante an
explanation.
Dante
nodded and headed for the car double parked at the curb. Nico watched him get
in and drive away. He waited for the car to disappear into traffic before he
started walking.
Dante was a
problem. Nico understood it, but he was still trying to settle on a strategy
for dealing with it. He knew Dante resented him. That Dante believed his
father, Gabriel Santoro, should have been Underboss to Nico’s father before his death. If that had
been the case, Dante’s
father would be Boss now, and Dante himself would be the crown prince of the
New York territory.
Instead, a
year before his death Nico’s
father had inexplicably turned to Nico, pleading with him to step in as
Underboss. Only twenty-seven at the time, Nico wasn’t ready to take on the mantel of
responsibility held by his father. He didn’t even believe in the mob. Not the way
it was then; stealing and killing and raping in the name of money. In the name
of power.
But his
father had been unsettled. Even Nico, as young and wrapped up in himself as he’d been at the time, could see that.
And his father -- his family -- meant everything to him. So he’d gotten his act together and joined
the business, learning it from the inside out. He was just beginning to feel like
he had a handle on the basic operations when his parents were murdered,
execution style, outside the restaurant where they’d met over three decades ago. They had
been celebrating their thirty-second anniversary.
Nico had
spent the two years since remaking his father’s legacy. Raneiro Donati, head of the
Syndicate that acted as governing body to criminal organizations all over the
world, had stepped in as a mentor and father figure, guiding Nico through the
early stages of grief and the rage that threatened to undo him. Gradually, Nico
had found a focus for his fury, and he’d
poured every ounce of his energy into targeting that focus and reimagining his
father’s legacy.
Some of
Nico’s soldiers embraced
the change. Others, like Dante, clung to the old ways. Nico understood, but the
reorganization wasn’t
optional. They would comply or they would be gone.
Nico
didn’t like taking the
girl. A decade ago, something like that would be off the table, a blatant
breaking of rules that had been in place since before the Syndicate formally
existed. But nothing could be rebuilt without first dismantling the rotting
foundation of what had come before.
And
unfortunately, the girl was part of that foundation.
He checked
for traffic on 2nd Avenue and crossed just before a taxi barreled through the
intersection. He felt liberated by his time at the church. Lighter on his feet.
Maybe he would call one of the women who acted as a physical companion when he
felt the urge.
After all,
he wasn’t a saint.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle St. James aka Michelle Zink is the author of seven published books and six novellas. Her first series, Prophecy of the Sisters (YA), was one of Booklist's Top Ten Debut novels. Her work has also been an Indie Next selection and has appeared on prestigious lists such as the Lonestar List, New York Public Library's Stuff for the Teen Age, and Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best. Her character, Alice, won the Teen Read Awards for Best Villain against Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort.
AUTHOR LINKS
GIVEAWAY
Great to learn about new to me authors, book looks awesome
ReplyDeleteLOVE mob books!!! This one sounds awesome. Can't wait to read it!!
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