Dark BWWM Mafia Romance | Mafia Surrogate (Boston Irish Mafia Romance Book #3)
Rian is the craziest brother so far — at least according to my patrons, who I trust completely with everything. The third book in the series explores some of my favorite romance tropes and we get a deeper dive into Rian Murray and Tegan Murray’s backstory. You might remember Tegan being an important supporting character in Book #1, Mafia Playmate.
Here are the steamy tropes you can expect in this book…
an extremely dominant alpha male (Rian will blow your mind)
a STRONG black female character who uses her wits at every turn
a single dad romance
a nanny/boss romance (in a way, a workplace romance)
lightly kinky romance scenes (very hot, but not disgusting)
a litttttle bit of dub-con
Rian Murray’s new nanny, Heavyn Murray, comes highly recommended by her BFF, Kamari (from Book #2). Tegan needs help badly as she suffers from PTSD and struggles to bond with her father, Rian, after his release from prison.
Life with a mobster ex-con for a boss takes a dark turn almost immediately after Heavyn moves in. Has Rian messed with the wrong woman? Read to find out… 🔥
This story is dark — possibly the darkest in the series so far — and the content in this book is not suitable for all readers, especially sensitive readers.
While events in this book were spurred by events in Book #1 and Book #2, all the books in the series may be read as standalone stories. As always, keep scrolling to read the first chapter in the book FREE.
Click here if you want to pre-order without reading the excerpt.
Romance Novel Excerpts | Mafia Surrogate | Dark Mafia Romance
Chapter One
RIAN
Freedom. It feels fucking good.
It would feel a lot better if I could be done with Aiden for the day and alone with my daughter for once. I missed her like hell, and our reunion since I got out of prison has been more anguish than I could have ever imagined. My daughter has been through worse than I have and I need to know that she’s going to be okay.
While I was behind bars, my half-brother kidnapped my daughter, held her captive, and brutalized her in ways I can’t even imagine while I had my ass locked up behind bars. My brother, Aiden, stand-in leader of the Boston Irish Mob, pulled every string he could to get me out, but I still had a year for manslaughter. Every day behind bars was fucking agony. Add to that agony the news about my daughter.
Tegan’s gone. I’ll remember hearing those words and the powerlessness I felt in that situation for the rest of my life. I wanted to help my daughter, but I couldn’t. I’d done dirty work for my family, but I couldn’t protect my daughter. That nearly broke me.
I had to find out that some motherfucker kidnapped my kid on a revenge quest while I was doing push ups and fighting over ramen noodles. I wanted to get out. I thought about paying some motherfuckers to help me escape, but Callum called the night I nearly did it and I backed down. I waited every painful fucking day to get here – to the minute I get to see Tegan Murray again – and she’s scowling.
Aiden stands next to my daughter with his hand on her shoulder. She’s looking at him like he’s her father figure. He’s standing where I should be and I want to sink into the ground. But you grow up and you have to face the shit you’ve done – including all the bad shit like leaving your daughter behind because you couldn’t stay on the right side of the law.
My stomach hurts when I see how much older she looks. Seeing my daughter for the first time is painful. Pure pain. She’s taller, but her hair is shorter, which I didn’t expect. She lost her childhood blonde completely. Her hair is completely brown now, like mine.
Holy fuck, I feel guilty. I missed so much more time than I should have. I know I have to say something and be her dad but… it just hurts. I should get used to the pain, but I can’t. It tears at me. The pain of knowing how much I missed has forced me to hurt more people than I probably should have. I just want her to smile, even if I know I can’t force it.
“Tegan,” I say her name as loudly as I can, but it’s barely louder than a whisper.
Nine hours ago, I emptied two magazines into a room full of Italian men and killed twenty-five people. Four of them were women, which is forbidden in our family. I didn’t give a fuck. As far as I was concerned, these people were responsible for what happened to my daughter. She’s safe now. She’s here.
“Hi dad,” she says, her voice all sarcastic and grown-up, like she’s already tired of me. She sounds like a fucking teenager. My heart drops. Where’s the bouncing little girl? Where’s her smile?
My throat tightens and I fight back tears. I love her so much it hurts.
“I missed you,” I tell her.
I’ve thought about this moment a hundred fucking times, but I get here in front of my daughter and I can’t say shit. The words don’t come out of my mouth and I feel stupid as fuck, the way I always did in high school.
“Whatever,” Tegan says. Her voice cuts at me. I bristle immediately.
“Not whatever. I’m your fucking father. I can’t stand that we’ve been apart.”
Tegan glances up at her Uncle Aiden for support. He rubs her shoulder slowly to calm her down. I fight the urge to deck my brother in the fucking face. It’s pure envy on my part. I want the bond she has with him. I wanted to be totally selfish about my bond with my daughter, but my family fucked it up. My father effed it up. He made me the fall guy on purpose. He’s been making me the fall guy Tegan’s entire fucking life, and I’m done with that shit.
I’m just glad he’s nearly dead. Awake, but nearly dead. We’ll have time to sort our shit out before he starts messing with us again. Once he’s sure he’ll survive, Padraig Murray will be back on the prowl. I’m sure of that much, at least.
“It’ll be a matter of time before you’re in jail again,” Tegan says stiffly, mumbling an apology when Aiden loudly clears his throat.
I don’t respond to her harshness. I guess I fucking deserve it, but it surprises the hell outta me because she’s my kid and the only thing I want in the fucking world is for my princess to love the hell outta me the way I love the hell outta her.
“Not this time. I’m here for good. I’m here to make up for what I missed.”
Tegan stares at me with round eyes that make me nervous. She has my eyes. I knew she was mine the second I saw her, even if I knew her mother messed around on me a couple times. I was never in love with her, and never thought she would get pregnant, so I didn’t mind her messing around. I got pissed about the kid though. She wanted to “get rid of it”, but I told her I would blow her shit up if she tried to mess with my daughter.
She never wanted Tegan, but I always did. She’s mine, through and through. You can’t mistake my daughter for anyone else’s and I love that about her as much as I love everything else.
I wish I could get the time back, but I just can’t.
Aiden drives me and Tegan to the place Darragh sorted out for me. He stuck to my specifications despite his bitching. I like a very specific type of home and I refuse to compromise. For my type of business and lifestyle, I need an older home well suited to my temperament. I like dark corners, libraries stuffed with books, velvet, the color black, dark leather, robust shades of red, and Victorian mansions.
My bedroom is down the hall from Tegan’s. Her bedroom has everything she needs and the theme she wants — Harry Potter. I read those books when I was locked up and I enjoyed them too. I tried to bond with Tegan and help her pick everything out, but she wants nothing to do with me. It’s like I’m fucking foreign to her.
Evie and Valentina, Aiden’s girl, want me to give it time but she’s my kid. Shouldn’t this shit be easy as fuck? She knows I would do anything for her. Fuck, now that I’m outta prison, I’m proving to my daughter that I love her and I’m there for her.
I’ll always find a way out of trouble and back into her life. Once Aiden clears up the shit with the Italians, I’ll be the father Tegan needs.
I’ll make up for lost time if she’ll just give me a chance. Maybe some dick heads are too fucked up to deserve second chances.
Tegan rushes to her bedroom and I head straight to the kitchen to ensure Darragh followed all my instructions. Aiden lets Tegan bound upstairs alone and hovers around me like a mountain lion, which means my brother must have something important on his mind. I pretend I don’t notice the shift in his stance or the way he fixates on me obnoxiously as I open my liquor cabinet.
Darragh. He might hate my guts, but I can count on him for whiskey. The brand new bottle of Glenfiddich calls to me. I hurriedly twist it open and swig as much as I can handle. I haven’t had a proper drink since prison. Hooch made me sick to my stomach, but I had to drink it to survive the bullshit behind bars. This is delicious. Sharp. I love the way it burns down my throat.
Merciful Aiden allows me to enjoy a few swigs before he interrupts me.
“I want payment for what you’re making me cover up,” he says. “It’s going to cost me a fuck ton of money and we’ll have to pay three more lawyers to deal with the evidence and the BPD bullshit.”
“What kind of payment?”
Aiden and I can talk straight with each other. It’s what I like about him. He doesn’t pretend that he thinks I’m some great fucking guy, but he accepts me and treats me with the respect I deserve as long as I don’t fuck with him. He’s not as easily ruffled as Darragh.
“Dad woke up. We’re all fucked up over it. I just think about Tegan and what she went through…”
He trails off and I try to be a little less harsh. Jail and prison fuck you up to the point where it kills any softness that might exist in your heart. You learn not to trust anyone and you get in those bad fucking habits that don’t serve you on the outside. I trust Aiden, but I’m still wary of him. I haven’t been out long enough for this shit to be normal to me.
But Tegan. She’s the one person on this earth who can make me get my shit together. If it weren’t for dad, I would have never left her. It’s my fault this shit happened to her, and if that’s what Aiden’s implying… I can’t hold it against him.
“I know it’s my fault. I know she won’t forgive me…”
I throw back more whiskey. Enough to make Aiden raise an eyebrow and then quickly lower it once he realizes I notice his flash of judgment.
“That’s not what I meant,” Aiden says. “I didn’t explain how dad reacted during Tegan’s… ordeal. I didn’t want you fucked up in prison any more than you already were.”
“My child was missing. I killed someone.”
My voice is flat as I admit that to Aiden. He nods, but he doesn’t seem surprised, which means that he already knows. I don’t know which of the guys inside told him, but it’s at least proof that Aiden has been a competent boss in my absence. Although, there are other signs of his competence.
“I know,” Aiden says. “I didn’t want you doing anything worse. I didn’t like how dad reacted. Like Tegan wasn’t family. I know you screwed around but… she’s just a little girl.”
“Is this related to your request for payment?” I don’t want to discuss my pain with Aiden. What matters is that I’m out of prison and I can start putting this shit behind us. Dad might be awake, but he’s far from healthy and probably more fixated on his survival than fucking with us. He’s weak.
“Yes,” Aiden says. “And you understand people better than any of us. In that fucked up head of yours, you understand power, control and people. What motivates them. Their hidden desires. So you already know what I want to ask.”
I did suspect what Aiden would ask. Anyone in his position would make the same calculation that I made when I heard the news about dad being in a coma. He’s weak. This is the best time for the next leader of the mob to strike. If it’s not Aiden, it’ll be someone else and whoever comes for our father’s spot might not want to leave any challengers alive. By any calculation, even if dad didn’t have it out for me, or Tegan, or anyone with a different skin color, this would be the most humane time to do it.
“You want me to kill our father and risk more jail time away from Tegan.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Rian,” Aiden snarls. He’s more subdued than he used to be. I’ve been gone a long time, so it’s reasonable to assume that life has changed Aiden as much as it has changed me.
“Okay.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Aiden barks impatiently.
“It’s not my job to question your orders. Dad’s weak. If you don’t kill him, someone else will. You make the incident in Little Italy go away and I’ll handle this.”
“I don’t know who has the tougher job,” Aiden grunts.
“What was the final body count?” I ask him, more out of curiosity than concern.
Aiden’s voice flattens. “Twenty-eight. It’ll take time and a fuck ton of money, but I can make this go away.”
“Do we have to worry about the press?”
“No.”
“Good,” I tell him. “I don’t want anything getting in the way of business once I’m settled in.”
Aiden’s scowl intensifies. I offer him some whiskey, which calms him temporarily.
“You will keep your ass out of business until you handle this shit. Four days. That’s all the time you have to finish this shit.”
That isn’t exactly the most generous timeline, but I owe Aiden my loyalty. Not just for getting my ass out of trouble this time, but for the way he took care of my daughter when I was gone. Aiden has done more for me than anybody. But he’s asking a lot and he wants it done quick.
“Will you be ready when I do it?” I ask him. “Because I can’t be reckless this time. I have to be careful.”
Any hesitation with regards to his issued orders makes Aiden uncomfortable. He scowls at me, like a simple question signifies reluctance on my part. He’s wrong. I share no compunctions about doing the job I have to do. Aiden’s my boss now. He’s been my boss since dad entered the coma.
“Yes, asshole,” Aiden says. “I’ll be ready. Now… let’s discuss more pleasant matters like your reunion with Tegan. You need to get her a cat and a nanny.”
It’s an order, not a request. I’ve never questioned my family’s structure, so I nod, despite my internal bristling at the thought of having two additional creatures wandering around my new house. I prefer to be alone. After jail, after prison… all I want is quiet.
“I will never know peace, will I?” I grumble.
“Tegan’s almost a teenager. Your days of peace are behind you, motherfucker.”
I hate to admit it but… Aiden’s right.
Tegan needs a nanny. She really needs a mother, but she can’t have her mother in her life right now. Or ever. A nanny sounds like a good first step.
“A nanny suddenly sounds like a good idea,” I mutter.
Aiden chuckles and thumps me on the back. “Perfect. Darragh and Kamari will help you find one.”
“Darragh?”
“His new girl has a college degree. She’s fancy and she’ll find someone perfect for you.”
I don’t know what Aiden means by that. I don’t typically get along with anyone, so the thought of finding someone college educated who could handle me sounds… unrealistic. I give him a skeptical look, but Aiden keeps smiling like an idiot. He smiles too much.
“By perfect, I hope you mean Irish…” I grumble, but Aiden ignores me.
“Worry about Tegan,” he says. “I’ll worry about the nanny.”
* * *
Click Here To Order The Story:
Thanks for reading! I would love if you left a comment. I know people sometimes don’t know what to say, so I have a couple questions for you because I would love to hear from you. You can answer any or all of the questions. 😇
Which character from a previous mafia series do you want to see in this one?
Do you want to read chapter #2?
Do you want this book available as a paperback or hardcover?
Thanks again for reading! 💞
Here’s the link to the FREE first chapter of Book #1: https://www.jamilajasperromance.com/blog/mafia-playmate
Here’s the link to the FREE first chapter of Book #2: https://www.jamilajasperromance.com/blog/mafia-property
Here’s the link to Book #1 on Amazon: bit.ly/bostonirishmafia1
Here’s the link to Book #2 on Amazon: bit.ly/bostonirishmafia2
Do you want to just get a text update when my new bwwm romance book releases? It’s free to sign up for the updates AND you get a free book. You can wait until January to buy the book.
