Devil's Claim: A Dark Mafia Romance (Devil's Syndicate Book 2), page 1
DEVIL'S CLAIM
PIPER STONE
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
Chapter 34
Afterword
Books of the Devil’s Syndicate Series
Books of the Legacy of Kings Series
Books of the Vengeful Empire Series
Books of the Brutal Empire Series
Books of the Savage Empire Series
Books of the Ruthless Empire Series
Books of the Benedetti Empire Series
Books of the Mafia Masters Series
More Mafia and Billionaire Romances by Piper Stone
Books of the Claimed and Protected Series
Books of the Mountain Men of Danger Falls Series
Books of the Montana Bad Boys Series
Books of the Missoula Bad Boys Series
More Rough Romances by Piper Stone
Books of the Alpha Beasts Series
Books of the Cenzan Mates Series
More Sci-Fi and Paranormal Romances by Piper Stone
About Piper Stone
Copyright © 2025 by Stormy Night Publications and Piper Stone
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 publisher.
Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.
www.StormyNightPublications.com
Stone, Piper
Devil’s Claim
Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson
This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.
CHAPTER 1
Christine
Today had turned out to be an absolute shit show.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I asked, although I’d heard his words.
Every single syllable.
In every shade of danger possible.
The man standing in front of me could easily make me drool. Tall, dark, and handsome had nothing on him. Whew, baby. But since he had a gun pointed at me, I’d managed to curtail the drool before it gave away the fact I was hot and bothered. Yes, this day had slipped straight into hell.
My alarm had failed to go off, yet I’d only had two hours of sleep.
I was exhausted and cranky as fuck.
I’d been staring at the bottle of wine with a crazy desire to shoot the blood-red liquid into my veins like some mind-fucked junkie.
I’d been late to work after suffering through a flat tire.
In the middle of a massive thunderstorm.
I’d made forty-nine dollars and twelve cents, yes, including pennies in eight hours of hell.
I’d endured leers, butt pinches, and three twisted proposals from men old enough to be my grandfather.
And I’d had buttercream frosting likely covering every inch of my body.
Every single one of the atrocities I’d suffered paled in comparison to what I’d just heard.
The only good news? The bastard threatening me had done so with a highly sensual yet brusque tone in the most beautiful accent I’d ever heard.
“If you move, I’ll be forced to kill you.”
The mystery intruder repeated the shocking statement word for word. Thankfully, in the same deep baritone.
I’d been right. Today could suck donkey turds as far as I was concerned.
Somehow, I doubted laughing hysterically would make the boogeyman go away.
This was something that even Taylor Swift music couldn’t cure.
On the bright side, the intruder intending on forcing me to meet my maker smelled divine.
Like sweat and the most intense alluring aftershave with a dash of blood mixed in.
Like money, the kind I didn’t have.
Like power, which all men craved.
In the case of my wretched piece-of-shit-with-bad-breath ex, demanded.
I straightened from my hunched-over position, determined that if I was to die tonight, I’d do so looking like a lady.
Oh, who was I kidding? I was a fucking mess.
I had on my oldest yoga pants and a tie-dyed tee shirt in gaudy colors. The fact it had shrunk several times highlighting my bare midriff added to my embarrassment.
I was in bare feet and had promised myself I’d polish my toes.
I’d lied.
My hair was in a haphazard ponytail.
And the worst thing ever?
Since I’d hit the ground running after my alarm had failed to go off, I’d selected mismatched underwear.
Yep. My life sucked.
I slowly tipped my head so he wouldn’t blow it off and so I could bask in what should be his obvious glory before lying in a pool of blood. The icing paddle was still in my hand, likely dripping the way I was certain my pussy was doing.
And holy hell in a handbasket, the man was built for sin, the perfect alpha male.
Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t cut it.
“Put the weapon down,” he commanded, the same husky voice yet laced with more… danger.
“You mean this?” I stuck the small paddle out further. Icing a cake was all about expertise and precision. “I doubt this will do you any harm.”
Seeing him was not to believe, unless I was living in every woman’s fantasy.
Okay, perhaps a nightmare, but he was without a doubt the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on. And in Miami, Florida, half the men looked as if they’d just walked off a runway or had climbed off a powerful and very manly Harley.
In my defense, I wasn’t normally the kind of girl to try to antagonize a man holding a gun at me, but my nerves were raw.
He walked closer, his actions predatory.
I sucked in my breath.
He narrowed his eyes while sweeping his gaze back and forth across my cramped apartment.
I finally started to tremble.
He now stood within a few feet, allowing me to bask in his sculpted glory.
I could no longer feel my legs.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I croaked.
His silence was strangely alluring.
“I think it’s fairly obvious by the shabby yet chic look of my living room and kitchen that I don’t have anything to pay you with. Unless you like buttercream frosting, which I do have a ton of. That’s because I suck at baking but was stupid enough to agree to make an engagement cake.”
He didn’t respond or even grunt, instead continuing his cursory look around my apartment.
“No one else is here.” I hated the slight sound of sadness in my voice. Even though the apartment was small, I’d never felt so lonely in my life. When he headed toward the hallway leading to two bedrooms, I almost threw myself at him, coming within a few inches of his massive form. With my icing-covered paddle within inches of his deeply cobalt blue, mesmerizing eyes, I briefly felt like a badass. “My bedroom is off limits, buster. I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just come into my apartment and invade my privacy.”
His upper lip curled, those gorgeous eyes reflecting immediate rage.
Oh, good, Christine. Just taunt the man with the gun.
The man was going to kill me.
And I wouldn’t even die in decent underwear.
Very slowly he dropped his gaze, his nostrils flaring. When he lowered his head and reached out with his free hand, I bit my lip. Not only was he somewhere around six and a half feet tall, his shoulders likely to fill any doorway, but the glint of steel was a good reminder he was holding a dangerous-looking weapon.
Everything suddenly slipped into slow motion as he wrapped his hand around my fingers holding the decorating paddle, somehow maneuvering it from my hand.
A shot of electricity was as shocking to him as it was to me. I think we both sucked in our breaths.
“Wow. You are… strong.” And virile. And lickable.
Christine. He’s a killer.
That remained to be seen.
His complete silence was thoroughly unnerving, but it allowed me to realize my heart had an irregular beat.
He motioned with his head toward the kitchen and who was I to ignore his command?
With deliberate movements, he lowered the paddle to the table, staring down at the cake I’d been in the process of icing. When his thick index finger slipped through a glob of icing, I had a sudden, very strange and disturbing thought of dragging my tongue through the goo acr
The intruder did it for me, pulling his long finger into his mouth. With his eyes half closed, I was able to admit he was even more handsome than I’d originally thought.
My mind wandered to sinful places, including what icing-covered cock would taste like.
I managed to steal another glance at my sliding glass door. I’d forgotten to latch the screen door, not that it had worked properly since I’d moved into the dive. The landlord was shit and I’d give him a piece of my mind when this was over.
Maybe that wouldn’t occur if I was dead, but a girl could hope.
It was entirely possible I was hearing things, but was that gunfire? By the sexy intruder’s sudden sharp interest in the noise and the fact he took thumping, long strides toward the back door, I had a feeling I was spot on.
Ding. Ding. I’d just won the kewpie doll.
I watched him standing off to the side, darting glances into the street below. He’d scaled three stories to break into my home. Who was he, Spiderman? “Um, at the risk of sounding ungrateful for you not killing me right away, who are you and who are you looking for? It’s not me because no hottie such as yourself ever looks for a girl like me. And since it’s been established I don’t have any money, I think it’s fair to say you’re not here to rob me blind. But somehow, I doubt you’re a thief. Right? I’m good with sizing up people and I’d say you’re more like an assassin.”
The evocative mystery man threw me a look that would burn most people into the ground. Given all the shit I’d been through over the past few months, his shush-little-girl-or-I’ll-fuck-you-blind look set fire to my core instead.
He closed the sliding door, locking it then pulling the blinds.
My knees were knocking.
When he was finished, he turned his head ever so slowly toward me. He appeared confused but also amused at hell. Was he making fun of me? If I survived this, my drinking habit was going to get so much worse.
Every step he took toward me stole another few minutes of my life.
At this rate, gray hairs would start sprouting.
“Look, seriously. I have a deadline. I need to finish this cake tonight or I’ll never hear the end of it. You don’t know my friends. The girl throwing the party even mentioned she might be stopping by to check my progress. She’s a bitch, by the way. Someone I need to impress. Do you get it? They are incredible, powerful women with no tolerance for mistakes or second class anything, which is why I often wonder why they’re my friends in the first place. I, on the other hand, don’t swim in their league. They’re like piranhas and I’m a guppy. I know what you’re thinking. Why in the hell am I friends with them in the first place? Right? Trust me. I ask myself that every time we get together.” I raked my hand through my hair, ready to rip out my ponytail. Why, oh, why was his aftershave so exotic?
And why were my thoughts so undeniably and ridiculously filthy?
“Anyway, unless you’re going to kill me, I’ll kindly ask you to leave. If not, I might have to scream and I’m certain that won’t be the best thing to do, but I feel as if I have no other choice and…” My nerves were getting the better of me. I sucked in my breath, the last few words little more than squeaks, like nails being raked down a chalkboard.
He crowded my space, his actions pushing me against the edge of my cheap Formica table. As he peered down at me, I was certain dying this way couldn’t be too bad.
Instead of pressing the barrel of his nasty-looking weapon between my eyes, the dark, dangerous, and delicious intruder surprised me.
Something that rarely happened in my world any longer.
He kissed me.
CHAPTER 2
Kruz
Women.
More to the point, American women.
Although I had to admit the one in my arms had been a complete surprise. Not only in the fact she’d remained fairly calm after being faced with an intruder, but also because she’d tried to talk me down, expecting me to willfully follow her demands. I gave her credit for bravery, although if she knew anything about me, she’d realize challenging someone who enjoyed killing for a living wasn’t in her best interest.
I’d reacted without thinking, which was also rare for me. The need to kiss her soft lips had risen from the darkest part of my being. As I held her in my arms, I sensed some of her resolve crumbling, but the way she was clinging to me, arching her back as I swept my tongue inside didn’t indicate terror.
Instead? Desire.
Maybe I was blowing things out of the water, but I’d even gathered a whiff of her hunger.
What a bad little girl to entice a monster like me.
There was something about the beautiful, distressed, and very sassy woman that had aroused me almost instantly.
Her eyes were the light green of clear ocean waters, the darker irises creating images of swimming in them. Her body was perfect in every way, voluptuous in all the right places. Even the ugly fluorescent light of the kitchen hadn’t dulled the brilliant light streaks of gold in her copper hair. What had caught my attention immediately was her face, which had captured me in a chokehold that had stilled everything else around us.
She remained scared, yet her heated gaze trapped me in a vision of sin that could become a problem. Well, fuck. This was the last thing I’d expected would happen.
When I finally pulled away, her lips were still pursed and her eyes remained closed. In my mind, she looked like an innocent angel. Only I knew better than to think she couldn’t be the kind of trouble I didn’t need.
Not right now.
Not with enemy soldiers somehow managing to corner me and my men in a highly populated area of Miami. The goal hadn’t been to start a battle where innocent lives could be lost. It would seem Fassi’s soldiers had other plans. We’d been significantly outnumbered.
Jamal Fassi had almost managed to destroy the powerful empire I worked for, attempting to assassinate the drug lord and myself in the process. The Moroccan piece of shit had also attempted to overthrow two powerful cartels who controlled Barcelona. The ploy had hidden the fact he’d stolen close to a billion dollars’ worth of precious jewels. The asshole had been a poor loser when we’d hijacked his cargo ship.
While Fassi had gone deep into hiding, we’d done the right thing and turned the diamonds over to the international police. We weren’t in the business of importing or exporting diamonds, whether legally or illegally. Too messy. Too… passé.
Now Fassi had an ax to grind. Unless I found him first. Which I would. When I did, I’d use a sharp steel blade for a long time. And I’d enjoy every moment of it.
Sadly, it seemed my night would need to wait. I wasn’t a patient man. Although I had to admit I could think of worse ways to spend my time avoiding disaster than with a beautiful woman who tasted like sweet cherries.
How the fuck had they found us? I couldn’t be certain, but I had to believe they were Jamal Fassi’s men. If the intel received only days before was true, Fassi had slithered his way from the hole where he’d been hiding for months. His first stop after retaking his throne?
Visiting his mistress in Miami.
The tip had called for immediate action. I’d jumped into the private jet with three of my men, hoping for the element of surprise. Instead, I’d underestimated Fassi’s propensity for deception.
Through careful reconnaissance, we’d found the woman, or so I’d thought, but the car we’d tailed had obviously been a trap. That’s how I’d ended up here, forced to find refuge for an undisclosed timeframe.
Fuck. The only saving grace was the number of apartments on the block. After a few hours, the soldiers would back away. But only if my men followed my orders and disappeared.
I backed away and the girl stumbled forward, barely catching herself by clutching the edge of her table. She licked her lips and I found myself watching her, both amused and annoyed.
It was obvious she was alone, which would make the time spent together somewhat easier. Unless she continued with her nervous banter. Then I’d need to fill her mouth with something to keep her quiet.
My cock twitched at the thought, but it wasn’t the first time my body had reacted since slipping in through her back door. Perhaps I’d recommend she be more careful with keeping her doors locked in the future. From what I knew about the city, it was a dangerous place, this part of town certainly not known for its glamor or safety.
