The Rising Prince

The Rising Prince MAFIA EMPIRE BOOK ONE SIMONE FOX Contents Reading Order Reading Order Prologue 1. Max 2. Aylin 3. Ricard 4. Max 5. Max 6. Aylin 7. Max 8. Aylin 9. Max 10. Aylin 11. Max 12. Ricard 13. Max 14. Max 15. Aylin 16. Aylin 17. Max 18. Aylin 19. Ricard ARC Sign Ups Before You Go… What Do You Crave? Freebie Friday Book Shark About the Author The Rising Prince Copyright © 2023 by Simone Fox. All rights reserved. First Print Edition: May 2023 Crave Publishing Kailua, HI 96734 www.cravepublishing.net Formatting: Crave Publishing ISBN-13: 978-1-64034-667-3 No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental. Reading Order PART ONE “The Rising Prince” story starts here… ↓ A Billionaire’s Secrets Series By Simone Fox Lured (Book #1) An Arranged Marriage Romance Provoked (Book #2) A Mafia Romantic Suspense Reading Order PART TWO Enjoy these other great reads that take place in the same world as The Rising Prince… Deep Dark Secrets Series By J.J. Love and Simone Fox Instant Billionaire (Book #1) “I was a fan of weddings, until I was forced into one with one of the most despicable human beings I’ve ever met…” Instant Heiress (Book #2) “I’m the rightful heiress to our family throne and someone is trying to take it from me…” Prologue MAX I had to say, sitting alone in a bar in downtown Brooklyn on a Friday night wasn’t my idea of a fun time. What I’d expected when coming here and what I was currently getting were on opposite sides of the spectrum, and it was starting to make me feel fucking antsy. This bar was in a shady spot down in the underbelly of Brooklyn, snuck between two finance buildings that ran along the long alleyway that opened up into a small hub where drugs, guns, and all the riff-raff liked to hang out. Normally, I liked going to bars with a little bit more class, but I’d had a hard day, so blowing off steam with a pretty girl’s wet mouth all over me wouldn’t be hard to find even in this kind of place. Tossing another few dollars onto the bar, I caught the attention of the man behind it and held up two fingers to him. He nodded to me and headed to the other side of the bar, grabbing me a fresh glass off the top rack to fill. This little project I had going on with Ricard was starting to really become a hassle more than it was supposed to be. I’d begun it because I’d been bored walking the halls of the Machiavelli family estate with fuck-all to do and way too much pent-up energy that was going to start getting me into trouble if I wasn’t careful enough. When Ricard had come to me with a proposition to start some kind of side business behind his parents’ backs, I had a hard time saying no. I mean, what kind of influence would I be not to let the kid spread his wings when his own father clearly wasn’t going to encourage it? In fact, the old man was recently going so far as to clip his damn wings before he could even make it out of the nest. That kind of shit pissed me off to no end. Not like it was triggering any of my age-old daddy issues or anything. Not at all. Once the bartender slid my drink down to me, I grabbed it and chugged back half of it. Dredging up that kind of shit wasn’t going to do anyone a favor—least of all me. Better to forget and move on. Across the way, and at the other end of the bar, I watched as a woman made her way over to one of the bar stools tucking into the very corner. She simultaneously looked completely out of place but then not—with the way she looked. She was wearing a light t-shirt and a leather jacket over it, some patches of it roughed up around the collar and arms that made it seem like she’d done her fair share of street fighting. What stood out about her was her face. She was too beautiful to be in a dump like this—let alone by herself from the looks of it. She had long, thick, black hair that had tight waves to it, framing around her dark, tan skin that the yellow light shining over her didn’t serve any justice for her. Her dark eyes scanned around the bar, stopping right as they landed on me. That perfectly plush mouth of hers—the kind that would look good wrapped around a hard cock—smiled. I smiled back. Look, I was a simple creature. I saw something I liked, I wasn’t afraid to go get it. That was the difference between Caleb and me. While he was fine with brooding in the shadows, I liked to get out and live a little. Especially since my life expectancy was putting me at middle age at the moment. Getting up from my stool, I took my glass with me and headed over to her side. Her eyes tracked me as I moved, carefully taking me in the closer I got to her. She rested her cheek on her hand, those long lashes of hers fanning over her eyes a few times. “Hey,” I said, taking the stool next to hers. “What’re you drinking?” That smile widened. “Surprise me.” Oh, I liked her already. “You adventurous?” I asked. “Of course.” Excellent. My kind of