All Chapters of Claimed by My Mafia King: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Evelyn's POV"What are you doing?" I lunged and snatched the burger back. "Why would you throw this out? Do you know how much it cost?""It's not healthy." Brode looked down at me. "I cooked. Go eat.""What I eat has nothing to do with you." I said it through clenched teeth. "You eat your food. I'll eat mine."His face tightened for a second. I drove it in. "Stop meddling in my life. It's annoying."I didn't expect what he did next, he reached into my bag, pulled out the food, unwrapped the cold burger, and took a bite. Then washed it down with a swig of my Coke."You just said it's unhealthy and you're eating it!" I exploded. If I could see myself from the outside right now, my face would've been glowing red.The most shameless man in the world. And he happened to be a Don I couldn't afford to cross. God. Someone please save me.Brode watched my outrage like it was entertainment. The corner of his mouth lifted. Something like amusement in his eyes."You said I'm annoying, didn't you?"

Evelyn's POV"Calmed down?" His voice came from above, low and steady. "Then go eat. I had the housekeeper warm it up again."I dropped my head and stepped around him. "I'm not eating. Just go. I don't feel well."I'd barely taken one step before Brode caught my damp arm.His breathing had quickened. There was desire and alcohol on his breath, hot against my forehead, my neck.That's when I realized, he was drunk.My spine went cold. I tried to peel his hand off. His grip was too strong."Let go… let go of me…"His silence was worse than anything he could have said. I looked up. He was staring straight ahead, jaw locked, lips pressed tight. Completely still."I said," he spoke at last, slow, with nothing readable in his voice, "go eat.""I…" My arm ached in his grip. I gathered my nerve. "I said no. Leave.""What?"He dropped his head. The light fell from behind him, throwing his face into shadow. He looked like something crawled out of hell."What did you say?""I'm not eating. Get ou

Evelyn's POVRocco Cortez's revenge came on a Saturday, before dawn. He set fire to my building.All because I'd refused to be "bought."I woke choking on thick smoke. The hallway was already a wall of flame.Fire engines wailed in the distance. I wrapped a soaked blanket around myself, ran barefoot across the scalding staircase, and half-crawled, half-fell my way down.By the time I stumbled out the front door, the entire old apartment building was collapsing behind me.I dropped to my knees on the pavement, gasping. Firefighters were already aiming hoses at what was left.Neighbors were screaming. Someone was looking for their child. Someone else was calling out for their parents.And I had nothing.That apartment, broken-down as it was, it had been three years of my life. The cheap furniture that had kept me company through all those nights. All of it, gone."Evelyn!"Sarah jumped out of a cab, one of her heels already lost. She threw her arms around my ash-covered body and sobbed.

Evelyn's POVMy breath caught."What do you mean?"Brode didn't answer directly. He pulled his phone from inside his jacket, opened a photo, and held it in front of me.It was a photo of me.I didn't know when it had been taken. I was walking on the street below the office, briefcase in hand, looking relaxed.Below the photo was a line of text in Spanish.I couldn't read it, but I recognized the skull icon.The Cortez family crest."What is this?" My voice was starting to shake."A bounty." Brode put the phone away and raised an eyebrow. "Signed by Rocco Cortez. Five hundred thousand dollars for your head."Every drop of blood in my body went cold. My limbs went numb."So?" I looked at the man on the couch. "Why are you telling me this?"Brode seemed mildly surprised by my reaction."You're not scared?""I am." I kept my voice level. "But does being scared help? Will fear stop someone from cutting my head off?"I paused, then added: "You burned my lease. You're trying to show me I have

Evelyn's POVAfter breakfast, Brode went to reorganize the fridge. One look inside and his brow furrowed."What is this?"He pulled out a bag and held it up.It was canned luncheon meat. I'd bought it on sale at the supermarket. Three days left before expiry."Luncheon meat," I said, unapologetic."I know what it is." He turned the bag over, examining it. His frown deepened. "But the expiration date—""Three days. And it's still fine past that."He looked up at me with an expression that suggested he was about to ask if I'd lost my mind.I dug into my bag and produced the rest, hot dogs, salad dressing, jam, a few bags of chips."I have to eat." I set everything on the table. "You can't cook for me every day.""So you buy this?" He picked up the hot dogs, flipped them over to the ingredients list. If he weren't so naturally composed, his face would've said can a person actually eat this. "Preservatives, additives, artificial color, flavoring… is this food or a chemistry experiment?""I