I Saved His Daughter And The Mafia Boss Won’t Let Me Leave Chapter 01
The day my divorce was finalized, my ex-husband took a baseball bat to my food truck and smashed it to pieces.
He said I was too rough, too loud, that I reeked of grease and had nothing feminine about me.
With no way to make a living, I grabbed my belongings and hit the streets.
That’s when I saw three men shoving a little girl into a black SUV.
I chased them for two blocks, grabbed a fire extinguisher off a loading dock, and beat all three of them to the ground.
The little girl curled up in my arms. It took her a long time before she whispered:
“Miss… I’m hungry.”
I spent my last five dollars on a box of mac and cheese, borrowed a pot, and made her a bowl.
The next day, a fleet of black cars pulled up to my apartment — they wanted me to be her stepmother.
The man in the wheelchair said calmly:
“My daughter will only eat what you make. Name your price.”
Room and board included? I said yes on the spot.
Later, my ex-husband sneered at me:
“You really are pathetic. You left me just to marry some cripple?”
The little girl planted her hands on her hips and shouted:
“You’re the cripple! You’re crippled in the brain!”
Her father took my hand and looked straight at Derek.
“My wife carried a fire extinguisher and totaled a car with it. She can carry me just as easily.”
“So tell me — who dares call her useless?”
I never expected that the little girl I saved on a whim would deliver the most powerful man in New York right to my door.
…I was dragging my belongings down the sidewalk when I saw them forcing the girl into the SUV.
She was fighting with everything she had. “Who are you? Help! I don’t know these people!”
I dropped everything and ran.
The SUV started pulling away. I grabbed the door handle and got dragged along for thirty feet.
The driver swerved hard and threw me into the curb.
Right next to a delivery guy unloading fire extinguishers.
I grabbed one, sprinted after them, and smashed through the back window. The SUV swerved into a guardrail and stopped dead.
Three men climbed out, cursing. “You crazy bitch — you got a death wish?”
I rolled my wrists.
My ex always said I was too aggressive. Too rough. Not ladylike enough.
He was right about one thing.
I’m no lady. I’m a goddamn force.
Less than two minutes later, all three of them were face-down on the pavement.
I pulled open the car door.
The little girl was curled up in the corner, shaking all over.
I held out my hand.
“Hey. It’s okay. The bad guys are all down.”
She stared at me for a long time. Then she crawled over and grabbed onto my sleeve.
At the police station, every footstep in the hallway made her flinch. She pressed herself against me, trembling.
Then her stomach growled. And she whispered:
“Miss… I’m hungry.”
I turned my pockets inside out. Five dollars. That was everything I had left in the world.
I ran to the corner store, grabbed a box of mac and cheese with my last five bucks, borrowed a pot from the station kitchen, and made her a bowl.
She stared at the food but didn’t touch it. Not until I smoothed her hair and said:
“Go on, eat up. I’m right here.”
She picked up the spoon. Ate every single bite. Scraped the bowl clean.
The officers got hold of her family and told me I could go.
But the second I stood up, her face went white. She threw her arms around my leg and held on for dear life.
“Don’t leave…”
I knelt down beside her.
“Your daddy’s coming to get you real soon, okay?”
Her eyes were red and brimming. “Will you come back?”
I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t make a promise I might not be able to keep.
So I hardened my heart and gently pried her fingers loose, one by one.
Back at my apartment, the landlord was blocking the door.
“You don’t pay rent by tomorrow, you’re out on the street.”
I’d picked this place because it was cheap and close to the block where I parked my truck. It was also a short walk from the hospital where Derek’s mother had been bedridden for years.
I worked during the day. Took care of her at night. Crashed here when it was too late to go anywhere else.
Derek never stayed over. Not once. Said the place was beneath him.
Two weeks ago, she passed away.
The very next day, he showed up with his side piece, shoved divorce papers in my face, and took a bat to my food truck.
And now my last five dollars were gone too.
The next morning, I was heading out to find day work.
A line of black SUVs screeched to a halt right in front of me.