Impulsive Desires (The Mafia Wives Club Book 1) Read online

  Impulsive Desires

  A.F. Montoya

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33 (Epilogue)

  Connect with me

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2022 A.F. Montoya

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  ISBN: 9798440927599

  Imprint: Independently published

  Cover Designer: Olatunji Olawale Iyiola

  To my loving husband

  Thanks for being my inspiration,

  my first reader,

  and my never ending source of support

  Chapter 1

  No good deed goes unpunished. That’s the saying, isn’t it?

  When I woke up this morning, I had no idea how much my life would change based on a split second decision. It wasn’t much of a decision, more of a reaction. And yet, here I am.

  It was supposed to be an ordinary day. Classes with obnoxious professors who all thought their classes should be the top priority, followed by a couple hours at my part time job working at the café, then heading home to study in my tiny apartment with three roommates before trying to get at least a small amount of sleep. But today was just not my day.

  It started with my phone dying in the night so my alarm didn’t go off this morning. My roommate never bothered to wake me, saying she assumed that I had the day off or something. We aren’t close so she said I shouldn’t expect her to know those things. I barely had time to run a brush through my wavy brown hair, tugging on my favorite white sweater and a pair of jeans. They were getting loose and baggy. I really needed to eat more. I nearly fell on my face as I pulled on my boots, dashing out the door.

  After running to class, making it just after the professor started the lecture, he spent the first fifteen minutes of class lecturing me about punctuality and not wasting everyone’s time. Even though he was the one wasting time berating me instead of going forward with the lecture, I was the one who got more dirty looks than usual for it.

  I couldn’t eat lunch since I didn’t have time to pack one this morning and being on a poor college student budget, I couldn’t afford to eat on campus. I was starving by the time I headed into work. Luckily, my boss is a nice guy and he gave me a scone during my first fifteen minute break when he noticed I was dragging.

  My shift was hectic. Everyone was eager to grab a coffee and warm up in the frozen Chicago winter. We weren’t far from Lake Michigan so the wind blasted through the door every time someone came in, making me shiver. Things finally slowed down once the snow started. I groaned, leaning my head against the counter.

  “Hey, Jo? Looks like the rush has passed. Why don’t you head home for the day?”

  My boss, Patrick, had been trying to get me to go home early all afternoon. He worried about me, which was nice considering no one else did. My parents have always been the ‘hands off, foster independence’ type parents. Which is a nice way to say neglectful and uninterested in parenting. The last time we spoke a couple weeks ago. They called to say they were going on vacation and wouldn’t be home for the holidays so don’t bother to come home. Not that I was planning on it anyway.

  “You know I can’t afford that, Pat. I’ve got tuition bills coming up.” I barely looked up at him. This was an age-old argument. He thought I should be out having fun like the other college kids instead of here working as many hours as I could muster. Without help from my parents, I was forced to take out loans and they couldn’t cover everything so I made payments out of pocket too.

  He sighed, shaking his head. “The sun is going down, Jo. We’d be lucky to get in a trickle of customers after that. Clean up and go home. I will pay you for the full hour, you won’t lose any money.” He nudged me off the counter and toward the door to the backroom where I stored my stuff. Groaning, I conceded.

  “Alright, fine. Only because I’ve got finals in a few weeks and I really need to study. Professor Stevens has been a real jerk lately.”

  He frowned. “That man is harassing you. Have you talked to admin like I suggested?”

  I snorted. “No. I told you, I’m not giving him another reason to hate me. Besides, there’s only a couple weeks left, I can deal until then. Then only one semester left to go.”

  He rolled his eyes before shooing me to the back.

  After grabbing my things, I pulled on my jacket. It wasn’t a winter coat but I couldn’t really afford one so I just layered up instead. Grabbing the hat Patrick’s wife made me, I tugged it on. It would make my hair a staticky mess but I’d rather be warm than worry about how my hair looks.

  “See you tomorrow, Pat!”

  “You should take a day off! You haven’t had a break since you started!” he called after me. I just waved over my shoulder. We both knew I’d be back right on schedule tomorrow. I can’t afford to take a break.

  Trudging through the snowbanks, I crossed the street and walked the few blocks to my apartment. It was close to campus and nearby work so I didn’t have to go far. It's why the rent was so steep and four of us had to live crowded in a two bedroom, one bath. The wind blew right through me, making me shiver, but I knew better than to shove my hands in my pockets. The sun might just be going down but it still wasn’t safe for a woman to travel through the city alone. I never wore headphones, never put my hands in my pockets, and always kept my eyes peeled for muggers in dark alleys.

  By the time I finally arrived at my apartment, the sky had gone dark. I had to pull hard on the front door to get it to open, the gathering snow making it nearly impossible. Our pain in the ass landlord would never get around to shoveling. I tried complaining once but he just said if I had time to complain, I had time to shovel it myself. Since then I don’t bother.

  Stomping the snow off my boots, I grabbed the mail from the boxes right by the door before heading upstairs. Our apartment was right off the stairs, which was lucky since I was freezing. It wasn’t until I stepped up to the door though that I noticed the sock tied around it. I groaned loudly. It was a stupid college rule that when your roommate is going to have sex, they put a sock on the door so you’ll give them privacy. I hated that rule. I wanted to go warm up and make some cocoa while I studied.

  I debated knocking, seeing as I had no idea how long it had been since the sock went up, but decided against it. The last time I bothered my roommate when she was with her boyfriend, she ‘accidentally’ dropped my toothbrush in the toilet. I can’t stand her.

  Pivoting on my heel,
I headed back down the stairs, tossing the mail in my backpack. I could head on campus to the library but it was a long walk and the snow was getting heavier. The closest place that I could think of was work. Angry, I stood on the stoop for a minute, fists clenched, repeating in my head ‘one more semester, just one more semester.’ Not that I knew where I’d go afterwards but I knew it wasn’t here. I could probably find a studio farther outside the city and just take the train everywhere. It was pricey but hopefully I’d have a job by then.

  Taking a deep breath, I made my way back to work, dodging cars that slipped in the snowy weather. I swear, people forget how to drive in the snow every year. I pulled the door to the café open, the bell jingling overhead. Patrick came out of the kitchen, his eyebrows flying up as he frowned at me. “I thought I sent you home?”

  I gave him a look, frustrated. “My roommate is getting laid and locked me out. Can I study here? It’s too cold to go all the way on campus.”

  He scowled. “That’s like the fourth time this week alone. You need new roommates.” He waved his hand at the tables. “Go on and study, I’ll grab you something warm to drink. You look like a snowman.”

  Shaking the snow out of my hair and jacket, I dropped myself into the closest table by the door, right at the front windows. Since the café wasn’t busy anymore, I didn’t feel too guilty taking one of the best seats in the house. Peeling off my outer layers, I draped them over the chair next to me. They wouldn’t dry by the time I went home, but hopefully they wouldn’t be soaked.

  By the time I set out all of my books, Patrick was back with a large mug of cocoa. I gave him a grateful look.

  “Best boss ever. Seriously.”

  He chuckled, waving at me as he headed back to the kitchen. He was either going to prep the dough for pastries tomorrow or start cleaning up the dishes. Normally I’d help with that but today I dove head first into the readings that were assigned, barely looking up to sip my cocoa.

  Chapter 2

  After an hour and a half I got a notification on my phone. It was the group chat for my roommates, demanding to whoever had the sock up to hurry up because everyone was tired of waiting. Smirking, I put the phone back in my pocket. Finally, someone else said it so I wouldn’t have to. Stretching, I glanced outside. It was dark, the streetlights glowing orange on the white blanket that now covered the ground. There weren’t that many people out anymore, even cars were minimal. Artists throughout the city were probably outside taking inane photos of the empty streets with ridiculous hashtags.

  I was glued to the view, wishing I could enjoy it instead of being trapped under a mountain of homework. I used to love the winter. I would take walks in the snow just to enjoy it. Since moving to the city though, I don’t do that stuff anymore. It isn’t safe for one thing and the city is too loud to really enjoy it. I watched as a little family crossed the street in front of the café, chatting and smiling. They walked leisurely, like they had nowhere in the world to be right now. A pang of jealousy smacked me right in the stomach.

  The woman held a baby in her arms, her hand clutching the mitten of a little girl who trailed behind her. The baby was bundled in one of those adorable snowsuits, its arms not strong enough to hold them down so they stuck out. I giggled to myself. Cute. The little girl was bundled in a snow coat, a scarf covering most of her face. The family looked so happy, the adults laughing as they talked to one another. It wasn’t until they reached the middle of the street that everything went wrong.

  I watched as the little girl dropped something on the ground, releasing her mother’s hand to hurry back and grab it. The adults barely noticed, their focus on their conversation. Probably not overly worried because there were no crowds or cars around. Except I could see something they couldn’t. A car pulled into the street and was barreling down the road, straight toward the little girl who was pulling off her mitten to wipe snow off the toy she dropped. I felt my heart stutter in my chest. The parents’ view was blocked by a van parked on the side of the road, they had no idea what was coming.

  Without thinking I shoved away from the table, sprinting out the door. I could hear the engine of the car revving. It was like they weren’t even trying to slow down. The mother turned right as I passed her, screaming when she finally saw what was happening. After that, it was like everything went in slow motion. I felt my foot slip in the ice hidden by the snow, making me stumble. I didn’t have enough time to right myself and get to the girl so I threw myself forward, tackling her. We both went sailing, the car missing us by inches. I twisted, desperately trying to keep the girl from taking the impact as we slammed to the ground. Sliding through the snow, we crashed against the curb near the bumper of another parked car. The wind knocked out of me, I gasped, trying to force air into my lungs. My vision was blurry from tears and there was static in my ears, blocking out the shouting.

  As I blinked, clearing my vision, I thought I would see the parents running towards us. What I saw instead left me confused and frozen. The man was shoving the woman and baby into the nearest apartment building, trying to protect her from the guys with guns around us. Wait a minute. Guys with guns?!

  Suddenly, it was like someone pressed fast forward and everything sped back up. The car that had been flying down the street was now faced at an angle, a group of guys hiding behind it as they aimed at the family. Another car was screeching to a halt near the apartment building, men in black suits piling out and firing back. Shit. I was caught in the middle of a gang war or something.

  The little girl whimpered, jolting me back to reality. I had to get her out of here. Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I pulled her along the side of the parked car we had landed by, keeping my head low. I managed to get to the front of the car, peeking out at the chaos around us before looking down at her. Her gorgeous green eyes were filled with tears, her nose red.

  “It’s gonna be okay.”

  I didn’t really believe myself but it felt like the right thing to say. The girl didn’t look any older than five, she was tiny. Glancing around, I saw a couple of the guys from the first car edging towards us. My stomach dropped. I had no idea what was going on but I knew for a fact that the guys who tried to hit her with the car were not the good guys. Pulling her tightly to me, I darted across the street behind the van, yelping as gunshots seemed to go off in my direction. I fought back tears. I had never experienced anything like this in my entire life. If it wasn’t for the little girl clutching her arms around my neck, I would probably just drop to the ground and play dead until the shooting stopped.

  Glancing around the van, I saw a couple of the guys in suits firing back at the car, using trash cans and other parked cars as cover. Behind me, across the street, the bad guys were sneaking toward me. Shoot. The little girl peered up at me, frightened. “Let’s get you back to your mommy, okay?” I plastered a smile onto my face before leaping over the snow bank and onto the sidewalk. I only got about two steps toward the suit guys before someone grabbed my hair, yanking me backwards.

  “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

  I cried out, dropping the girl onto the ground. Grabbing the hand that held my hair, I fought against him. The little girl sat unmoving at our feet, bawling.

  “Run! Run to your mommy! Go!”

  She wasn’t listening, too scared to move. I could hear the guy clutching my hair chuckle, dragging me back against him.

  “You two are coming with me.”

  Tears spilled from my eyes as I tried to figure out what to do next. I wasn’t very skilled in self defense. I only took a couple classes when I got here freshman year, a gift from a high school friend. When he leaned, reaching for the little girl, I panicked, deciding to do the one thing I knew how to do. I dropped my arms from my hair and slammed my elbow backwards into his stomach before smashing my boot onto his foot, making him release my hair with a yelp. Spinning, I threw my fist into his nose, hearing a crunch, though I couldn’t tell if it was from his nose or my hand. Tears burned my e
yes but I resisted the urge to shake out the stinging pain. Finally, I kicked my foot between his legs. He dropped to his knees, groaning, but I didn’t wait to see what happened next. I swung myself around, snatching the little girl from the ground and bolting towards the guys in suits who were finally looking this way. One of them motioned for me to get into the apartment, the others pointing their weapons in my direction. No, not in my direction. Behind me.

  I was only a couple feet away when a blast went off and a burning tore through my side. Pain made me stumble, nearly losing my grip on the little girl who was screaming in my arms. Locking eyes at the nearest guy in a suit, we silently made an agreement. I gathered the girl close before tossing her at him, my body blocking her as another shot went off, this one wide and over our heads. He caught her and immediately disappeared into the apartment.

  Relief was short lived as shots continued to go off around me, closer this time because I was right in the middle of it. Panicking, I tried to run past, back to the cafe. I was about to step off the curb when I was tackled, hitting the ground again, pain shooting up my wrist as I landed with my attacker on top of me. Why couldn’t this night end already? The guy who tackled me smelled like whiskey and pine. I don’t know why I was focused on that. He grabbed me by the shoulders, dragging me to my feet and shoving me until I fell through the door of the apartment building that the little family was hiding in. The little girl was wrapped in her mother’s arms, both of them crying. The man who was with them held the baby close, his face dark as he watched the gunfight behind me. What was left of it anyway. I felt a hand on my shoulder, roughly turning me to face the man who had tackled me.

  “Who do you work for?”

  What a weird question to ask at a time like this. I couldn’t manage an answer though. I suddenly felt like I was floating, the pain in my side going from a mild burn to an inferno. I looked down, the white sweater I was wearing slowly dyeing red on one side. Red? Did I spill juice or something? I looked back up at him, panic making me hyperventilate before darkness filled my vision and I felt my body give up. Great. One semester left and now I was going to die.