Elsie Santorini is on the run. She has no choice but to get away from her husband. He's part of the mafia, considered one of the most dangerous capos, and he should have married someone the mafia accepted. She has heard the whispers. They believe her to be a gold-digging whore. An outcast. An outsider.
One woman in particular has told her it was only a matter of time before Massimo woke up.
Massimo knows his wife is in danger. By being his wife, it instantly puts a target on her head. He hated that she ran, but he has no problem kidnapping her, and taking her to his reclusive cabin where she would have no means of escape.
He will not let her go. The moment he met Elsie, she got under his skin, and there is no one else he wants more than her. She is the love of his life, and he will not give her up without a fight.
But what will they do when another woman is determined to tear them apart? Massimo will do whatever it takes, even if that means going to war to keep Elsie alive.
Excerpt:
Elsie Santorini didn’t know how her husband had been able to find her so fast. She was used to sneaking off without anyone being aware that she’d been gone. Years of growing up in the foster care system, bouncing from place to place, she learned how to run and hide.
She thought as an adult her days of running away were over, but it would seem not. Rushing into the apartment she had started to rent just this week, she scrambled toward the closet, grabbing her bag. She hadn’t unpacked. Again, another rule she had learned while being on the run from foster homes. Not all homes were bad, but most of them only had people who were interested in cashing in a paycheck. They had no care for the children they were supposed to protect. Most of the time, they didn’t care. The few that did tended to keep to the younger kids.
Elsie learned not to trust any of them.
The biggest mistake she ever made was getting comfortable, and the same problem happened with her husband. She got too comfortable.
Her hands shook as she quickly checked to make sure everything was packed. She had her passport, some cash, and she moved as fast as she could, heading toward the door only to come to a stop as it slammed open. Her heart started to race as she looked at him, the panic so close to the surface. She stared at the man she once thought of as her hero. He was not her hero.
They were a couple that should never have been. Most of the men and women within his circle didn’t like her. She was the outcast. She hadn’t known, when she’d fallen in love with Massimo, that he was one of the notorious members of the local mafia. He ran the whole freaking city and had businessmen, politicians, and so many more eating out of his pocket.
All she had been to him was a nice waitress. He came for coffee at the café where she worked. She didn’t know her boss was a rare friend to Massimo. It was the only reason he went to the damn café. She had thought it was because he loved her, but in recent weeks that had proven to be wrong.
His betrayal cut deeper than she ever thought possible, and she was used to being betrayed.
Nibbling her bottom lip, she stared at him, at the deep blue eyes she thought stared at her so longingly when he’d taken her virginity. They hadn’t been married when they had sex, but within forty-eight hours, he organized everything so they became husband and wife.
Elsie hadn’t been interested in his wealth or title. She had loved him, the man, the person who made her laugh, who took her on long walks through the park. The man who gave her his jacket because she felt cold. That was the man she fell in love with.
He hadn’t hidden his true self from her. On the evening of their wedding, he had told her exactly who he was and what he did. She knew he murdered people. Part of her knew she should care, but she also knew there were people in the world who didn’t deserve to live.
She had no doubt he probably killed innocent people, but she loved him more than anyone or anything in the world. She didn’t want to be without him. So, she ignored the warnings. Even when his people looked at her with disdain, he was there, always by her side. On her side. They called her many names—a whore, a gold-digger—but she didn’t care. Massimo loved her and she loved him.
“How did you find me?” she asked. She’d been careful in hiding her tracks. She was no amateur.
“I don’t know what made you leave,” he said. “Running around the streets without any protection is stupid.”
She shook her head. “I want a divorce!”
Even as she said those words, she felt like she was plunging a knife into her own chest. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“No,” Massimo said.
“You can’t do this. Just because you don’t want something, doesn’t mean I have to follow along with whatever you say. We’re not compatible, Massimo!”
“You’re wrong, or should I remind you of how good I make you scream?”
Short, hot and so good. I loved reading Elsie and Massimo's story. I'm glad that things turned out the way they did and that these two were perfect for each other. There was some tension and a bit of OW drama but luckily it wasn't a lot and the OW got what was coming to her!!!
Elsie was letting Isabella get into her head. She loved her husband Massimo and knew what he did. But she was a plain jane and Isabella was beautiful and part of that world. Massimo wasn’t about to let anyone hurt his wife. He certainly wanted to know what made Elsie run. He would find out and make that person pay for trying to break them apart. I was a bit surprised that Elsie ran. If she loved Massimo, she should have trusted him, even confront him. But with the way others were calling her a “gold digger” and “whore” I can understand her frustration. Massimo brought her back to the one place that brought them joy. It gave them that chance to talk, reconnect. Isabella was a B#$%^. You knew her fate. Massimo fought for his wife and won.
A fantastic read of a mafia head and the love of his life. Great passion and a little angst makes for a great read. The characters are perfect for each other.
I am so used to the usual they meet, fall in love, and then get married have some conflict and fix it and story done. Sam Crescent has thrown us a new one and I enjoyed it. Yes I would have loved to read this couples story of how they got together as I think it would have been a good one, but this was a very interesting take on their story. Its after they have fallen in love, and like normal the Mafia world if full of backstabbers and people that want to destroy anything that looks like happiness. This story starts out with Elsie having run away from her husband Massimo as all the whispers and one woman who was meddling into everything and trying to set her up to look like she is doing a lot of underhanded things in order to get her killed. Elsie had a hard past and a lot of things she had to overcome but its hard for her to get all those whispers and feelings of being rejected out of her mind so she can let herself be happy and fully trust her husband. Massimo comes back and finds her and kidnappes her to fix things between them and to find out why she ran away. It is a time of self discovery, and learning to fully trust one another. The chemistry between this couple is well- written and a joy to read. Can't wait to see what else this author will send out way.
He’d Never Let Her Go! Elsie ran from him but he soon caught her, kidnapped her and would not let her go. Elsie and Massimo love each other passionately. He was mafia and she was a simple person who had fallen in love. Now he had her alone, he had to make her believe in his love and that he would never let her go! A passionate love story to make your heart swoon, this mafia man is determined to win his future!
This book is a pure love story. There is no outside mafia drama except a conniving woman trying to break them apart. It is a story about a devoted, loving husband trying to win the love of his life back by dispelling rumours of infidelity. He “kidnaps “ his wife away to their secluded cabin until she can see past her hurt and realize the truth of her husband’s love and devotion. Loved it!
Loved reading Kidnapped Wife. Elsie and Massimo’s story was so good I couldn’t put it down. The chemistry between them was super HOT and loved the ending!!
Great easy and quick read! Elsie lets a mafia princess get in her head and doubt her marriage to Massimo. Thankfully Massimo is head over heels for Elsie and was not going to let her go. Really cute story and loved how Elsie comes into her own and realizes her strength.
This was a fun and engaging read that starts after Elsie and Massimo married. He courted her and won her heart, despite his mafia background. Elsie, however, had a hard past and gets knocked off her game by another woman and runs from Massimo. Of course he finds her but then he kidnaps her. So fun! These two take the time to learn to truly trust each other and have that strong foundation to build their future upon. With mafia rules, however, and her life in danger, I was rooting hard for them to keep their happy ending. Definitely a fresh spin for the plot and why I keep coming back for more by this author. Good fun!
Very short simple read with all the feels goods and spiciness you can imagine. Like Elsie and Loved Massimo. I definitely want to read Romero's story just because of the love shown between the two brothers. Isabella got her just desserts and I am glad it was handled by her own family which didn't put our MMC and MFC at risk. Definitely enjoyed the 10 year later epilogue and will search for Romero's story.
Elise worked in a cafe and had a difficult upbringing. She met her husband while working at the cafe, and they fell in love quickly. The story focuses on their marriage and not many details on how they met and fell in love, which is refreshing to get more of the marriage story. Massimo is a mafia don and a hot commodity amongst the mafia, who are unhappy he married an outsider. There are mafia members that work to drive them apart. Elise runs due to misinformation,n and Massimo chases her and works to make her believe in him, his love for her, and their future. He is smitten, swoony, and brings the spice.
Envy is not a good color Sam is like one of my fav writers. This piece she shows us a bit if the Mafia world. The story is based mostly around the Fmc and the Mmc, she's not you're typical mafia wife. No blood, common and a hard past. He is that Mafia Don but in some aspects he isn't i really liked that about him. Trust is big one is given automatically the other is a work in progress. Of course theres is a evil Princess at work. Betrayal is it a act or fact? Running only gets you caught. And No is prominent in his vocabulary. So flip through the pages and get to know our leading characters find out if it's ending in blood.
Elsie never knew how much her life would change when she married Massimo. Massimo was drawn to Elisa at first sight and knew he was making her a target by marrying her, he didn't expect her to run away, but he has plans to get her back, only others have plans of their own to destroy them! Well written steamy fast paced, engaging read.
I enjoyed this book for the most part. It was not a favorite of mine, of Sam's. Elsie and Massimo's story could of been a lot more interesting with having " kidnapped her, his wife" but it was ok. Elsie kept bringing up Isabella and that she thought her husband cheated with her, over and over. That topic got really old. It was good but expected much better.
