Devotion

DEVOTION A FORBIDDEN LOVE BILLIONAIRE NOVEL MONTAVIO BROTHERHOOD JANE HENRY Copyright © 2023 by Jane Henry All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover art by Jason O’Bannon CONTENTS Synopsis 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 Epilogue Meet Jane SYNOPSIS Eden Soul made the brave decision to flee the darkness of her past... And landed straight in the arms of Boston's most formidable and feared mobster, Sergio Montavio. She's penniless and virtuous. He's wealthy and wicked. She's innocence and light to his depravity and darkness. But when Sergio makes her an offer she can't refuse, Eden faces a choice: Leave the only refuge she's ever known... or sell her soul to the Devil. CHAPTER ONE Eden “I’ll come back for you.” My words feel like a strangled plea, as if I’m somehow begging Starla to believe me. I need to give her the hope I can barely hold onto myself. My hands in hers, I squeeze, trying to convey with a touch what words can’t. I’ll move heaven and earth to come back for her, even if it kills me. And it might. When she squeezes back, I can feel her own desperation coming off her in waves, but she manages to put on a brave face. For me. Starla whispers back, “I know you will.” I have to pretend I don’t hear the pain in her voice. The worst of it all is having to leave her in misery to set her free. I stare into my sister’s hopeful blue-gray eyes and see the courage that I need. They see her as less than, as weak and damaged. Imperfect. Cursed, even. I think she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. In her plaintive voice, barely above a whisper, she begs me. “Go, Eden. You have to. We’ll be back together again, I know it.” Somehow, the confirmation that she knows I’ll be back gives me the little boost of courage I need to move. To face the wide-open world that’s a black hole of uncertainty. To leap over the cliff and into the wild. A twig snaps in the underbrush of the woods beyond the fence. We both CHAPTER TWO Sergio “Boss?” Gino’s husky voice draws my attention to the bar. I look over to my bodyguard, our stoic yet fiercely loyal enforcer, built like a brick-eating linebacker. He’s loyal to the core and not what I’d call the most intelligent guy I’ve ever met, but he can knock a grown man out with one solid punch and sniff danger out a mile away. In other words, he’s a goddamn human pit bull. I’m glad he’s here tonight. “Yeah?” “You wanna drink?” he asks. When he grins at me, his gold tooth flashes. Goddamn Italian icon. I shake my head. Opening night means I need to be in complete control. “I’m good, thanks.” There’s a time and a place for a drink, but tonight isn’t one of them. I stand at the entrance of Bella Notte, my pride and joy, and take in every detail. I scan the crowd for any signs of trouble. I can’t help it—Bella Notte is my baby, and the people here are under my protection. I can’t deny the sense of pride, ownership, and responsibility I feel. It’s taken years of work and planning to get here, and I won’t let anything slip. So I’ve checked every lock, gone over every detail, made sure everything is perfect. Florence Mascarelli, affectionately dubbed “Aunt Flo” by our entire crew, saunters in as if summoned with a platter of meatballs. At first, I didn’t get why half the women in the