Deviant Desires

DEVIANT DESIRES A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE THE VALENTI CRIME FAMILY BOOK TWO KELSIE CALLOWAY Copyright © 2023 Kelsie Calloway All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact Kelsie Calloway at [email protected]. Exceptions: Reviewers may quote brief passages for reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. CONTENTS Newsletter Sign Up Prologue 1. Mateo 2. Bambi 3. Mateo 4. Bambi 5. Mateo 6. Bambi 7. Mateo 8. Bambi 9. Mateo 10. Bambi 11. Mateo 12. Bambi 13. Mateo 14. Bambi 15. Mateo Also By Kelsie Calloway Have you left a review? Follow Kelsie Calloway NEWSLETTER SIGN UP Sign up for my newsletter and stay up-to-date on my new releases. Newsletters include links to new books, sales, freebies, bonus content, and more. I also include promo materials for free book giveaways and links to books by other authors. Newsletters are sent once a week and you are welcome to unsubscribe at any time. :) PROLOGUE BAMBI “I-I walked in even though the little voice in my head was screaming at me to run in the opposite direction.” Every eye in the courtroom is trained on me, from the jury to the lawyers to the benches full of public attendants. A trickle of sweat forms between my breasts. My underarms feel hot and sweaty. My mama would say that feeling this nervous means that I know I’m doing something wrong, but what other choice do I have? “I called Mateo’s name, but he didn’t respond. I checked the kitchen and he wasn’t there, but dinner was cooking on the stove so I knew he was home. When I heard noises from upstairs, I assumed he was packing.” We’d gotten engaged a month before and he was still slowly moving into the house he’d bought for us. It was a beautiful split level in the Candlewood neighborhood with plenty of space for us to grow into. He helped me move in the first week after it closed. Though he spent every night with me, he still hadn’t finished packing all his belongings. That night we were supposed to pack up his kitchen after dinner. “I went upstairs and the noises became more defined. There was grunting and arguing, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. The noises were coming from his bedroom and the door was cracked. When I looked inside, that’s when I saw it.” A lump forms in my throat as I stare straight ahead. I’m afraid to look at Mateo sitting behind the defendant’s desk. He wears an immaculate black suit that only makes him look more handsome. If we lock eyes, I’m afraid that I’ll crumble. My lawyer is gentle with me. We’ve gone over these questions a hundred times, but he still has to prompt me when we get to this part. “And what did you see, Ms. Schelling?” Every time I close my eyes, I can still see it in my mind’s eye. “I saw Mateo Valenti with his hands wrapped around a man’s throat. The man’s face was already black and blue and there was some blood trickling from his nose. Mateo’s fists also looked bloody, but I wasn’t sure whose blood it was.” I’ll never forget the look in the man’s eyes as the life was squeezed out of him. He looked at me standing in the doorway and tried to plead with me. His mouth opened and he formed words, but the pressure of Mateo’s hands around his neck kept me from understanding them. “Then what happened, Ms. Schelling?” My lawyer prompts me again, drawing me away from getting lost in the memories of that day. As I blink, I hold my eyes shut a few seconds longer than normal. You can do this, I tell myself, he’ll be behind bars for the rest of his life. When I open my eyes, I can’t help but stare directly at Mateo. “Then I left the room. I ran down the stairs and left through the front door. I don’t know if Mateo heard the door slam shut or if it was the start of my car that got his attention, but as I was fumbling to pull out of the drive, he appeared at the front door. He-he looked angry, but he didn’t try to stop me.” I called the cops as I sped away. I don’t even think I knew where I was going, I just drove as fast as I could. I barreled around curves and almost hit a parked car on the side of the street. My heart was racing as I tried to explain to the 911 dispatcher what I’d just seen. My words came out in a jumbled mess and I didn’t even realize I was crying until I pulled over by a park and saw confusion reflected at me from the couple walking by. My lawyer takes a seat; he has no further questions. From his place behind the desk, he gives me a small thumbs up. I can barely see it behind the cloud of fear obscuring my vision. Mateo’s lawyer is an impeccably dressed woman. She wears a stunning black pantsuit and a pair of gold heels that make her look impossibly tall. “Ms. Schelling, you said that you saw my client, Mr. Valenti, in the process of choking a man, correct?” I nod my head yes slowly; I’m not sure where she’s going with this. “Yes, ma’am. I saw his hands wrapped around the guy’s throat.” “But you didn’t actually see my client kill anyone, did you?” She crosses her arms over her chest dramatically. “By your own admission, you ran from the room when you saw what was happening.” “I-I,” I start to