Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes Mary A. Wasowski Copyright Copyright © [2023] by [Author Mary A. Wasowski] All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents Dedication 1. Santino 2. Jade 3. Santino 4. Jade 5. Santino 6. Jade 7. Santino 8. Jade 9. Santino 10. Jade 11. Santino 12. Jade 13. Santino 14. Jade 15. Santino 16. Jade 17. Santino 18. Jade 19. Santino 20. Jade 21. Santino 22. Jade 23. Santino 24. Jade 25. Santino 26. Jade 27. Santino 28. Jade 29. Santino 30. Jade 31. Santino 32. Jade 33. Santino 34. Jade 35. Santino 36. Jade 37. Santino 38. Jade Afterword About Author Acknowledgments Also By Stay In Touch Dedication DEDICATION In my heart, Angels exist. They are the ones that lift me up when I forget how to fly. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, but I know they’re always there. I call them FRIENDS. And I don’t know where I’d be without them. I love you. Chapter one SantinoI sat at my desk, viewing the monitors showing me every angle of my hotel. There was not one thing that happened here that I didn’t know about. I designed and built the Elite from the ground floor up. It’s the newest and most luxurious hotel in Las Vegas. Eight years ago, I asked my father to support my decision to move our operations from Chicago to Las Vegas. He was initially reluctant and fought me on every idea I proposed. He was Don, and my father, who always put our family above anything else, even the mafia. My father was the strongest and bravest man I know, but when he was facing a cancer diagnosis, it broke him in more ways than we ever realized it could.I always believed when the time came, I would know when I was ready to step into my father’s place and lead the Murano family as their Don. However, it was bittersweet when my father made the impossible choice to step down because of his health. If word got out about my father’s illness, he always feared it would weaken us and put a target on our backs for our enemies to strike and take what he had worked so hard to build. So, in a quiet ceremony surrounded by our most trusted soldiers and advisors, I was appointed the new Don of the Murano family. Failure wasn’t an option, and I would prove to my father that under my leadership, our family would be stronger and prosperous for future generations that come after us. I believed my father would survive, and he did. It was the most challenging year of our lives, but we got our miracle, and he’s with us today. I almost feared he’d change his mind and want back in as head of the family, but he stood by the oath and honored his promise. Vincenzo Murano is the patriarch of our family, and that will never change, but he’s always been my father first. He’s quietly retired and acts more as an advisor to me. At 28, the only thing that would make my father happy is for me to accept his choice of bride and marry. He said every king needs a queen, but I would sooner stick needles through my fingernails before marrying a viper like Valeria Palermo. But I wasn’t ready, and I didn’t believe in the old-world traditions that sealed his commitment to my mother. When I was a child, my father read to me every night, often telling me how he met my mother. He always said he knew she was the one and fell in love with her at first sight despite being in an arranged marriage. My father was lucky to have found his soulmate, and I hope I will find the same one day. She’s out in the world somewhere, and when I see her, I’ll know.Nowadays, my life revolves around work and overseeing the Murano family and its interests. The move to the West has been profitable, and it keeps the feds off our backs. Our businesses are clean and managed the same way. Yes, it doesn’t come without its challenges, but that is to be expected from time to time. I employ an army of men to take care of areas that require other skill sets that I no longer partake in if I can help it. My father raised me to be fearless and take down the strongest of men. As a result, I fear no one and can handle any situation I face. There may have been a time when using force by any means was necessary, but not anymore. My father believes my approach could weaken us, but I beg to differ. He’s wrong because our family has never been stronger. For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the day my life would never be the same. Every once in a while, I look down at my hands and see them covered in blood. The day my hands took the life of another while saving my father. I was 13.I was the son of a mafia Don, and any semblance of a normal childhood after that day no longer existed. My only choice was survival. It was life or death, and I wouldn’t stand by and watch my father get slaughtered before me. A soldier from a rival family pulled a gun on my father. It was supposed to be a peace meeting between our families, and my father insisted I attend with him. I was considered a child to the outside world, but in our circles, I was a man in my father’s eyes. It was my duty to honor the blood oath I swore to protect. The gun was directed at my father; it would be my first and only test to do exactly what