Possessing Her Petals: Dark Hearts Mafia, page 1
Possessing Her Petals (Dark Hearts Mafia Series) by Ember Davis
Copyright © 2023 Ember Davis
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, organizations or locals is entirely coincidental. The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
For permission requests, email Ember.A.Davis@gmail.com
Contains explicit love scenes and adult language. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older.
Cover Design: Cover Girl Design
This book is available exclusively at Amazon.com. If you’ve obtained it anywhere else, you have an illegal copy.
For my readers.
You have been amazing as I explored the Agosti family and tried something a little different.
Thank you for reading!
Table of Contents
TRIGGER WARNING
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
EPILOGUE
DARK HEARTS MAFIA SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY EMBER
TRIGGER WARNING
This story has dark themes and a morally gray hero. You’ll still find an insta-love story that is spicy and isn’t necessarily simple, but with darker themes, situations (including abduction), rough spicy times and depictions of violence (not between the MMC and MFC).
There is no cheating with a guaranteed HEA, however, if you don’t like darker themes, then this book may not be for you.
CHAPTER 1
KIEFER
I’m just as surprised, now, by who my sister has chosen to attach her life to as I was months ago when I was first introduced to Tazio. Dahlia says she loves him, but how can it be true? Their meeting wasn’t normal and was rooted in violence and betrayal. As if that isn’t enough, Tazio is an enforcer for the Agosti Family.
Can she really want to be with a man whose soul is tainted by death? Hell, Tazio killed our brother Brett.
I’m not saying Brett didn’t have it coming. He did, for so many reasons. Brett’s the reason Dahlia’s path collided with Tazio’s. If it hadn’t been for our brother’s debt and his awful decisions to try and barter Dahlia to get those debts wiped clean, my sister wouldn’t be tangled up with one of the most powerful crime families in the city.
I would resurrect that bastard and kill him all over again for the position he put our sister in.
Tazio might have taken him out and protected Dahlia, but that doesn’t mean I like the man. I sure as hell don’t trust him. How could I?
Tazio can say he took Dahlia from Brett to protect her when our brother offered her up as payment, but is it true? How the hell can my sister trust him?
I don’t understand and I desperately want to steal my sister away. Has she been brainwashed? How the fuck can she justify the road she’s going down? With a man covered in blood? With a man who knows what it feels like to take a life?
I don’t need to know Tazio to know his soul is tainted. It’s oozing off him.
What would happen if I were to pick her up and run out of here?
I’m torn because as I look around their home, it’s clear Dahlia’s been given freedom to decorate however she wants. Does that mean it’s not a prison?
I study my sister as she looks at Tazio with a smile on her face. It’s genuine, I can’t deny it. Does that mean she isn’t suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? I’ll need to look it up because it’s the only explanation I can come up with for this whole fucking situation.
Tazio gives Dahlia a soft smile. “I’m going to give you two a chance to talk,” he speaks softly to my sister. When he glances over at me and his eyes harden, there’s a warning in his voice, “Don’t upset her or you’ll be answering to me.”
I barely stop myself from scoffing. Me? Upset my sister? She’s the only family I have left at this point. I want to save her and take her away from this life which can only lead to heartbreak, destruction, and death.
Dahlia gives Tazio a chastising look and he does look a little sheepish. On him it’s totally incongruous. He’s not a tall guy. Hell, I’m taller than him at 6’0”, but that doesn’t mean much.
Tazio is built like a fucking tank and there’s an air of danger wafting around him. He’s the kind of guy who could clear a path without doing more than giving people a look. He’s intimidation personified and if that’s the case, I hate the thought of my sister spending time with the rest of the Agosti family because they must be worse.
There are rumors all over the city about Elio Agosti, the man who sits at the head of the family. His brothers, Constantino and Luca, aren’t talked about as much, but everyone knows they’re still in the family and part of the life. The whole organization hides behind this notion of them being businessmen, but that’s not the truth and everyone knows it.
I wouldn’t doubt that they have people in their pockets all over the city who spin everything for them and keep them out of trouble. How hard could it be to buy off people in authority? The same people who are supposed to be keeping the city safe.
Corruption is the bread and butter of these types of people. And violence. Can’t forget that one.
Dahlia sighs and I can already tell she’s gearing up for some shit. Shit I don’t want to hear. I also don’t want to lose the only family I have left.
“We’re getting married,” Dahlia’s voice holds a note of resignation in it, and I latch onto it.
“He’s forcing you to get married?” Her eyes widen in surprise, but I’m already on a roll. “It’s clear by your voice. You don’t sound excited about it. You were excited before, when he asked you,” I pause and shake my head, “or demanded you get married. Whichever,” I sound petulant as fuck, but I don’t care.
Dahlia narrows her eyes at me. “Are you done?”
“Hardly,” I scoff. I lean towards her slightly. “What are you doing? You’re with a man who has killed, Dahlia.” I shake my head as she glares at me. “This isn’t you. It was the situation you were in which threw you two together, but staying with him makes no fucking sense now.”
“Kiefer,” she sighs and looks at me with disappointment in her eyes. “I really thought that if I gave you some time, then you’d see how happy I am and accept my relationship with Tazio.” She looks away from me and whispers, “I thought you might even start to like him.”
“Not going to happen,” I bite out the words and feel like shit when she looks at me again with tears in her eyes.
“The only reason we waited to get married was because of you,” Dahlia’s voice is soft even though it feels like she’s dropped a bomb on me. “I wanted to give you some time to come to terms with everything that’s happened, the man I love, and the life I’m walking into.” I open my mouth to point out that’s exactly what I have a problem with, but she holds her hand up to stop me. “The life I’m walking into with my eyes wide fucking open.”
“Dahlia,” my voice is coaxing.
“No,” she snaps and shakes her head. “I already know what you’re going to say. It’s the same shit you’ve been saying. You love to point out that Tazio is so violent, but the reality is that he’s never touched me with anything less than love and reverence.”
“I don’t need to hear that shit,” I sneer.
“You don’t?” There’s a challenge in her voice, “You don’t want to hear how happy I am or how much the man I’m marrying loves me? Yet you want to tell me I’m ruining my life and making bad decisions.”
“Brett was a sick fuck with what he did and how he tried to use you,” I try and make my point. “There’s no reason to continue with this because he’s no longer a threat to you or your happiness.”
“No, he’s not. Now you’re the one who is a threat to my happiness.”
My heart drops and I hate how serious she looks. Like she believes her words and this whole thing isn’t some sort of quarter life crisis or something brought on by an extreme situation she had no control over. I admit, I’m surprised it’s lasted as long as it has, and Tazio does look at her like she’s his whole world.
But it’s just not enough. Not when her life could be in danger because of her association with a fucking mafia family.
“I want you to be happy,” I insist. “I also want you to be safe.”
“I want to marry the man I love,” she pleads with me. “I want my brother, the only family I have left and the guy who has always been there for me, to walk me down the aisle.”
“And give you away to a criminal?” I sneer, “You can’t be serious.”
“This is why I’m not going to wait to marry the man I love anymore. I had so much hope that things would work out. I tried to tell myself that if you just gave
“He took you as payment,” I protest, my voice rising slightly.
I know I can’t push her too much. I don’t want to lose my sister, but I also don’t want her to throw her life away. My anger at Brett spikes. He’s the one who put us in this situation.
“He did it to protect me and get me away from our brother,” she sneers the word and I get the feeling she’s directing it at more than just Brett. It makes my heart clench.
In so many ways, Dahlia is the only family I have left. Brett was always the favorite child. He could do no wrong, no matter how much shit he got into. I’m pretty sure it’s why he ended up the way he did—there were never any consequences to his actions when he was growing up.
I swung the other way in our youth. Brett was five years older than me and I’m five years older than Dahlia. I swear she wasn’t planned. Hell, maybe I wasn’t either. Our parents always seemed happier with Brett and being his cheerleaders.
Dahlia and I were left on our own. She internalized that shit and it drove her to be better. I think she did it for her just as much as she did it to try and gain their favor. I could have told her it was never going to happen. I just never had the heart to do it.
I rebelled in my teenage years and tried to get the attention of our parents by doing bad shit with bad people. They didn’t give me consequences either, but I sure as fuck learned that I was going down a bad path which wasn’t going to lead anywhere good. I wasn’t getting the attention I wanted, and I couldn’t stand the way Dahlia looked at me with disappointment.
It’s similar to the look she’s giving me right now and I fucking hate it.
“I just,” I sigh and look away from her, not able to take the way her eyes are filled with tears and yearning. “I don’t know that I can support this, Dahlia.” I lower my voice to a hiss, “He’s not a good man.”
Dahlia scoffs, “What makes a man good? You and I both know people thought Brett was a good man because he had people fooled. He still gambled away his life thinking nothing would ever catch up to him. He didn’t hesitate to try and use me for his own gain.”
“It’s not the same,” I grumble, knowing my attempt to argue doesn’t ring as true as I want it to.
“Tazio would never hurt me. He treats me like a fucking queen. He makes me happy,” her voice holds so much passion and earnestness that I almost believe her words.
Is this how he got her to ignore all the red flags which must have popped up when they were starting out? Is it all an act? Is it real?
I don’t know anymore, but I know it’s dangerous as fuck for her to be with him.
“Dahlia,” I soften my voice, wanting her to hear me, “I want you to be happy. I also want you to be safe.”
Tazio’s voice comes from the doorway, full of determination, “I would burn down the entire fucking world to keep my woman safe.”
His features are hard and unyielding. My shoulders drop because I know I’m not going to be able to convince Dahlia that this thing between them is a bad idea. The thought of them getting married has fear filling me. Once they’re tied together like that, I’ll never be able to talk sense into my sister. It’s probably already too late.
Maybe it’s time for plan B. It’ll be reckless as fuck, but my sister’s life hangs in the balance. I’m sure of it.
I stand slowly and look at Dahlia. “Reconsider,” I insist, and she starts shaking her head before I even get the whole word past my lips.
“You’re not going to walk me down the aisle, are you?” She looks sad and broken as her eyes plead with me to support her. For all her life I’ve stood next to her. We clung to each other and relied on each other because we had to.
“I can’t.” A few tears trail down her cheeks and Tazio closes the distance between them to pull her out of her chair and hold her in his arms. The look he gives me is a promise of death if I’ve ever seen one. “His life will put yours in danger. I can’t stand back and lie about supporting that.”
I turn and walk out of their home, the sound of my sister crying making me feel like scum. Just because I feel bad about hurting her doesn’t mean I’m wrong, though.
Now it’s time to make the only play I can to ensure my sister stays safe, even if she’ll hate me for it.
CHAPTER 2
HYACINTH
I’m getting that feeling again, one I have often. It’s like I’m sitting on the other side of the glass and all I can do is watch the interactions. It makes me feel separate, apart from the action and not really understanding what’s going on. I’ve gotten used to it over the years, but, somehow, the feeling is sharper now.
I think it’s because the circle of women around me has expanded. Daisy Agosti was my only friend for most of my life. For a long time, I wasn’t sure if she was friends with me because she wanted to be or because we were kind of thrown together. Her father, Cedro, was in charge of the Agosti Crime family until his death when Elio took over.
My parents were part of the life and the closeness of our families meant Daisy and I were together a lot and left to our own devices. I’ve always been one to shy away from being seen, but Daisy is the opposite. Maybe that’s what happens when you’re treated like a princess.
The only person who has ever treated me like that is my brother, Tazio. He’s always been there for me, especially when our parents couldn’t really be bothered. They had their own thing going on and I sure as hell never wanted to interfere in their lives.
Any time I tried to get attention from them it backfired on me. They never hit me or anything, but they clearly wanted me to be so much more. I think they would have been happy if I was more like Daisy. I’m not.
I prefer to stay in the shadows. I prefer to not have attention showered on me. I’d rather be seen and not heard.
Cliché. I know, but it’s true.
The things I was proud of achieving weren’t things my parents found any pride in. They didn’t care when I got good grades. They didn’t care about the recognition I got for my art, which included being featured in a city-wide art exhibit when I was in high school. They didn’t care about the time I spent volunteering at various places.
They wanted me to be more seen. They wanted me to be social and have that help their own social standing.
I wasn’t going to ever be the girl who put herself out there to find some important man and be his arm candy. If my parents thought they could increase their status in the family by marrying me off to someone, they would have. Thankfully, the most influential men in the family looked at me like a little sister and wouldn’t have gone for such a suggestion.
Tazio also would have threatened their lives. So, there’s that.
My brother is overprotective in the best of ways. It can be annoying at times, but I know it comes from a place of love. In so many ways, he raised me after my parents checked out because they knew I wasn’t going to be able to help them climb the ladder of power.
Daisy leans closer and whispers, “You’re a million miles away.”
There’s no derision in her tone, probably because she’s gotten used to it over the years. It was my job to keep her in check and it’s been her job to pull me out of my shell. We’re opposites in so many ways.
I swear my best friend is glowing as I look at her with a sheepish smile and she only winks back at me. She’s so joyful, it’s radiating off her and I’m so fucking happy for her.
It wasn’t always this way. Only a year ago she was pining for Elio’s right-hand man, Lorenzo Vitale. She had a crush on him for as long as I can remember, but he never gave her the time of day.
It’s not like I could blame him. Who would want to be the guy to go after the Agosti princess? Lorenzo valued his life and wasn’t going to cross that line. It wasn’t easy for him, though. Anyone who paid attention to the two of them would have seen that Lorenzo was smitten with her.
He just wasn’t going to rock the boat.
At least, not until Daisy did something so out there and wild that it left him with no other choice. My best friend waited for a while after she turned 18 and then decided enough was enough. She signed up for an underground auction to sell her virginity.
