Broken Crown

Book 5: Mafia Royals

by Rachel Van Dyken

Genres: New Adult Romance; Romantic Suspense; Love Triangle; Romantic Suspense; New Adult romance; mafia romance; Italian Mafia

Synopsis

Unrequited Love. Arranged Marriage. A love triangle for the ages. A contemporary mafia retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.



I will do anything for my family, and as the heir to the Campisi Mafia throne, I fall on my sword and do what's expected of me—it wasn't an accident that I was given the name King.



I marry the girl I love—who's already in love with someone else, and because I'm a masochist, I make him her personal bodyguard. After all, who better to protect the woman I love than the man she loves?



I have seven days after our wedding to own her—body and soul. Seven days to show her everything I feel.



But tragedy strikes, and I'm forced to take the weight of the mafia crown on my head. Now I need my Queen by my side. I don't know who's with me or against me, but I will rule them all with an iron fist and make everyone proud. As our seven days come to an end, I wonder how I will ever be able to let her go.



"Until it ends," I whisper. A tear slides down her cheek. "Until it ends." Amen.



Contains mature themes.

Release date: February 1, 2022

Publisher: Van Dyken Enterprises INC

Print pages: 324

Sample

Author Note

 

This is the final Mafia Royals Romance standalone; I know you probably already know that since you picked up this book, but hey, let’s just repeat it again! ;) If you recognize some of the names in this book, it’s because back in 2010, I wrote a series called Eagle Elite, and the parents in this series are the OG’s of Eagle Elite. That series got extremely long (as you can imagine), so I decided we needed fresh blood back at Eagle Elite University, and that started with Ruthless Princess and continues the saga with Scandalous Prince, Destructive King, Fallen Royal, and finally Broken Crown.

If you are an EE fan, then this is the part where you may nerd out and want a family tree; I have that on the very next page, NEVER FEAR! If you’re new, just scroll on by, it won’t matter to you, haha, and you’ll be like yeah, I don’t care. And you don’t NEED to know any backstory, because again, this is a standalone series.

So if you’ve made it this far, this is the part where I tell you what I always tell you, and that’s that this book is very different from the others. It’s always so hard to one-up yourself. With this book, I was like, oh man, how do I do King’s story and do it justice? At the end of the day, he told me his story the way it was supposed to be told. I’m so honored and thankful that my character found his voice. Yes, his story is different, but it’s everything I needed after being on deadline and stressed. He brought me life; I hope he brings something different to you as well.

I was definitely shocked at this book, the outline, the ending. I can’t wait for you to read it. Know that this is NOT the end of Eagle Elite but just a slight pause as I finish some other series. Love you guys super hard.

 

Up Until Now Review…

 

Junior and Serena almost died for their love, total enemies to lovers romance where bad things happen, but in the end, they survive. As all of the second-generation young adults are at Eagle Elite, they soon realize that someone wants to kill them—and they’re out for blood, sending anything from bombs to warnings like white stuffed horses. Valerian and Violet are also together, and he’s now taken over as the boss of another family. Ash’s book focuses on his emotions after being threatened with his fiancé all over again. Then there is Maksim and Izzy, our fun-loving science and math nerds. As Maksim tries to pull the pieces back together—he just might have to get his hands covered in blood to do it. That brings us here, to our final story—King…

Who’s Who in the Cosa Nostra

 

Nixon and Trace Abandonato. Nixon is the boss of the Abandonato Family; he's a bit psycho, has a lip ring, and in his mid-forties, looks like a freaking badass. Think if Jason Momoa and Channing Tatum had a baby. SURPRISE, Nixon! Trace is the love of his life. Nixon’s daughter, Serena, is his pride and joy; she's the heir to his throne and married to Junior Nicolasi. His adopted son Dom is ten years older than Serena. At thirty and married to Tanit, he's ready to step in if he needs to, but he really doesn't want to, not that he's thinking about a family of his own. Nixon’s youngest, Bella, was a most welcome surprise.

Phoenix and Bee Nicolasi (formerly De Lange) have one son, Junior, and he's everything. The same age as Serena, he has only ever had one thing on his mind. Her. And now he has her. Pursuing her was like signing his own death sentence. The one rule that the bosses gave all the cousins, all the kids, no dating each other, it complicates things. They all took a blood oath. But he risked it all, for just one taste—and is still here to tell about it (Ruthless Princess).

This brings us to Chase and Luciana Abandonato; their love story is one for the ages. He had Violet first, gorgeous, Violet Emiliana Abandonato, now married to her own boss Valerian Petrov. And then he had twins; God help him. Asher (Marco) and Izzy. The twins… well, they are polar opposites. Izzy is quiet and reserved, taking after her uncle Sergio in the tech support part of the mafia, but now that she and Maksim are an item, all bets are off. While Asher was an assassin at age twelve. He takes care of everyone even though he's younger than Serena and Junior. Falling in love with Annie has made his protective streak even stronger. And don’t forget the baby of the family, Ariel, who everyone dotes on.

Tex and Mo Campisi. He's the godfather of this joint. Gorgeous, he's a gentle giant unless he's pissed, and his wife, Mo, is just as violent as he is. They have two sons, Breaker and King. Breaker, their adoptive son, is really Valerian Petrov. He just took over as the boss of the Petrov (Russian) Family, releasing Andrei Petrov Sinacore from that role. He’s now married to Violet Abandonato, the love of his life. On the other hand, King is vying for top whore at Eagle Elite University, going as far as to seduce his own older… tutor (that he doesn’t need). This is King’s story. Where he rises up and takes what’s his. Get ready; things are about to get a bit dicey.

Sergio and Valentina are also Abandonatos. While Val is quiet and reserved, Sergio is the resident doctor of the Families. He's also really into tech and loves spying on people. They have two gorgeous daughters. Kartini has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. He just hopes he survives her first year of college without shooting one of her boyfriends, like her newest obsession, Tank De Lange. With Lydia, he knows she can take care of herself. She already beat up the class bully, making Sergio quite proud.

Dante and El don't have things easier; they're one of the younger mafia families, he's the head of the Alfero Family. And he has two twin girls at age twelve who are making him pull his hair out. Raven and Tempest are adorable, but they're feisty like their mom. He lets them have more screen time than he should, but they say he's their favorite in the world, sooooo… he lets it pass.

Andrei and Alice have been through a lot. Their name single-handedly brought the Russian Mafia into the Italian fold then successfully handed over the Russian throne to the true rightful heir, Valerian. Andrei is both Petrov and Sinacore, meaning that the oldest Italian mafia family is now part of the Cosa Nostra… Forever and will stay that way if he has anything to say about it. Their son, Maksim, was a total flirt; he takes nothing seriously—until he admitted his feelings for Izzy! Watch out because he can flip a switch in a minute if someone he loves is threatened. Anya is his little sister, and he would do anything for her; she seems fragile but studies Krav Maga, so nobody messes with her.

These are the Families of the Cosa Nostra.

Welcome to the Family.

Blood in. No out.

 

Prologue

“The trust of the innocent is the liars most useful tool.” —Stephen King

King

 

Sometimes I wonder.

Sometimes I think.

Sometimes I ponder.

Sometimes I drink.

Is this normal? This anger? This disappointment?

Maybe.

Maybe.

Maybe.

I twirl the whiskey glass in my hand and stare into the amber liquid. Why am I this way? Why do I need to feel so deeply? So desperately? Why am I broken?

And why is the person that’s been born to be the glue—lost and unable to keep things together?

"I would love you for an eternity,” I murmur, glancing at her across the room, watching her stare at me like it’s going to make things better when we both know we’re done. “I would die for you. Kill for you. I would bleed for you.”

"I don’t need your blood," she whispers as a tear runs down her cheek. I want to catch it, but what do you do when you catch someone else’s tears? It’s a metaphor because, at the end of the day, the tear disappears, and so does your fucking hope.

My crown is heavy.

My love for her is heavier. But I can’t let her see me crumble, so I continue to stare, and I continue to give her a choice.

And then I experience pain so searing, so horrible that I wonder if I’ll survive it as I say the words that will damn us forever. “Go to him.”

"But—” Her eyes close. “I know what this means for us.”

"I know,” I say. “But this is how our story both ends and begins, with you walking out that door, toward him, and me carrying the weight of the Families on my shoulders. Go.”

"King—”

"How funny, right? My name… King. As if I can control anything when it’s all out of my hands when a happily ever after is a joke…” I sniff into my drink. “It’s okay though, it’s going to be okay.”

"How?”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Because I have no other choice. And neither do you.”

"I care for you—”

"No.” Humiliated, I return my stare into my drink and find my voice cracking. “You love him.”

Chapter One

"We loved with a love that was more than love.” —Edgar Allan Poe

King

 

The Engagement Party

 

"No.” That’s all I really remember. That one word repeating over and over again in my head. Like sand sifting through my fingers, I am losing my grip on reality and on everything I thought I had control over.

My life.

My future.

My soon-to-be wife.

Married.

Had someone told me that I’d be having this conversation with my dad at my age, I would have laughed. Hell, last year, I was fucking my tutor—spoiler alert, it wasn’t because I was failing math.

"Sit,” Dad barks out the order.

I will have zero choice over this.

I know that, even as my ass hits the leather chair. But something in me still needs to fight it—mainly because he doesn’t know. My cousins do, my friends, they all know now after I’d hidden it for a while—super awkward, by the way, having that conversation with Maksim, but that’s an entirely different story, apparently.

I am fighting for peace in a world of nothing but war, and I am already exhausted as my dad stares me down and sighs.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t let him see me break.

I am the main heir—next to my half-uncle—in line to take over the Five Families—now six.

God, six.

I still can’t believe that we sucked in another Family from Italy, completely pissing off the older families in Sicily by bringing someone else into the fold by way of marriage.

I remember the day I found out we were combining the Five Families of the Cosa Nostra with yet another powerful Family. I laughed, nearly feeling sorry for the poor bastard that had to sacrifice his dick on the altar of marriage to someone he didn’t love.

I shake my head at my dad before he can even get more words out. I’m not shaking my head at him because I’m rejecting what has to happen.

I’m shaking my head because I still can’t believe it’s her.

Anyone else. Literally anyone else.

This is the part of the story where you feel sorry for the poor bastard because he’s marrying someone he hates, but my story’s different.

She’s someone I love.

I just wish she loved me back instead of him.

My eyes squeeze shut. Maybe they’re afraid to stay open because my dad will see too much. Nah, he’ll see it all. Of course, the one time I’m ready to commit it’s to someone who wants nothing to do with me because she loves someone else.

This is a last-ditch effort on my part to stop the world from spinning out of control, to stop myself from making the mistake of living a life where I know the person lying in bed next to me shares her heart with someone else, along with her body, because what sort of sick bastard would I be if I kept her to myself when all she wants to do is give those pieces to someone else?

Unrequited love sucks.

It’s not like in the movies where the girl finally sees the light, and that’s the worst part. I know women find me appealing, but that doesn’t really matter where the heart’s concerned.

Del.

I think about her way too much.

About our friendship.

Our secrets.

And the day I reached for her hand only to have her jerk it away and shake her head slowly like she knew what she would eventually have to say to me.

“No,” she whispered. “I like you, I really do, King. Maybe in a different life this could have worked, but this has to strictly be business. A transaction we both sign off on in order to keep the peace between the Buratti Family and the Five Families.”

Stunned, I could only look at her and nod my head when everything within me was screaming, “unfair!”

Unfair that everyone around me finds their happy ending.

Unfair that I have to look at someone I’m falling for and tell her to kiss someone else.

It’s all unfair.

It’s fucked.

And still, I put a ring on her finger.

Still, I make promises in my heart and soul, wondering if I’ll even last long enough to know what it’s like to feel again.

Dad sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal.”

I snort. “You’re kidding, right?”

“King.” He swallows then looks down at his folded hands. “The situation is precarious. The Buratti Family has risen in power, and they want in, they’ve made promises and what’s better is they’re some of the best bodyguards I’ve ever seen.”

I frown. “What's that have to do with anything?”

"We have money,” Dad says. “They have soldiers.”

I fall back against the leather chair. “Are we short on soldiers?”

"After the cleansing of the De Lange line,” Dad says with a shrug, “we lost a lot of people. And not just that. Our family keeps growing, and we need more men to put on the kids. We can’t just pick some random people off the street.”

“So, I’m marrying a girl who doesn’t love me in order to make sure some foot soldier can follow one of my cousins around school and do their Bio homework?”

It makes zero sense.

He’s hiding something.

I lean forward. “Dad?”

He sighs and checks his phone. “She’s here. Be nice. Pour her a glass of wine and try to enjoy it.”

"Sure.” I lick my lips.

That’s like asking someone to enjoy a root canal.

Dad gets up and walks around his desk, then puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Tell me you can do this. Tell me you can not only be my heir but unite the Families. Tell me you won’t rebel… for once in your life.”

I put my hand on his, my words heavy. “I won’t fail.”

"Good.” He nods. “Very good.” His footsteps are heavy across the hardwood floor before I hear the door open and him call over his shoulder. “You have five minutes.”

Five minutes until my life changes forever.

Five minutes to digest the shame that washes over me in panicked waves like I’m drowning in the ocean.

Five minutes to come to the conclusion that I will live forever in a loveless marriage and that the one rule you’re given once you say those vows is to never cheat on the woman you’ve sworn to protect.

And yet I’ll let her do exactly that—because I love her.

In that single moment, I realize… in five minutes, I’ll be celibate for the rest of my life, however long or short that may be.

I’ll never laugh over dinner and hold my biological daughter or son close and wonder if they look more like me or more like her.

Because I can’t. I can’t sleep with her knowing she’s with him.

So if she gets pregnant, everyone wins.

And I get to help raise someone else’s son as if he’s my own.

It’s too heavy to think about.

I want to vomit.

Instead, I stare straight ahead at my dad’s chair, knowing one day I’ll fill it and that my sacrifice is for the greater good of the Five—no Six Families.

It was always going to come down to this, wasn’t it?

I pulled the short straw.

I close my eyes. Inhale. Exhale.

It had to be me.

Because who else could it be?

I had a sudden vision of grabbing the invisible crown off my head and setting it on fire. Instead, I feel its weight. I relish the pain. And I breathe.

I have one minute left.

I stand.

I turn and face the door.

I count my steps.

And I reach for the knob, taking a reassuring breath and whispering, “Time for my engagement party.”

Nobody sees the tear that slides down my cheek before I open the door, just like nobody hears the sound of my heart breaking as it slams against the floor.

I walk out of that room different.

I will never be the same.

If I want to survive.

I can’t be.

I'm King Campisi.

And the cross is almost too much to bear.

Chapter Two

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” —Edgar Allan Poe

Del

 

I'm so nervous I want to puke.

King still hasn’t shown up.

I know this is one of those days where we have a serious talk about what our future looks like and how things are going to work out. It’s going to get complicated, but he did promise me.

He promised nothing would change.

And it was the only promise I needed, that I could still love Roman. Even though I knew we couldn’t get married now, at least I could have him.

He’d been so pissed when I gave him his ring back, and then he’d cried, gotten drunk, yelled, apologized, then asked if there was any way we could run away together.

Instead, I ran toward King.

It was the only way to save my family and the only way to strengthen theirs. Everything was a power play, and we were nothing but pawns in that game.

I asked my uncle a week ago if I had a choice. He seemed so confused by the question itself that I already knew the answer. As he stared at my left hand, my engagement ring burned on my finger. When my dad died, when my other uncle died, I knew in my soul I would take over my Family.

Until my last uncle rose up and took the throne.

Now I’m screwed.

Now my life is not my own.

My story is already written.

I never imagined when I said yes to Roman that I would, a week later, be handing back that small diamond ring and telling him that I couldn’t marry the pauper anymore. No, I was marrying the prince himself.

Roman had grown up poor; his dad was still working on becoming a made man. We met by accident, Roman and I. We met when I got in a fight with my boyfriend at the time and ran across my yard and tripped, nearly landing headfirst in one of the gorgeous fountains on my father’s property.

Roman caught me when I stumbled, and I swear my world went into slow motion as he twirled me in his arms and looked down at my face. “Not the intro I was waiting for, but I’ll take it.” He winked.

And I nearly died.

He had jet-black hair, the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, and his smile was devastating as he set me on my feet and announced, “One day, I’m going to propose to you at this fountain.” He tilted my chin toward him. “And you’re going to say yes.”

“Who the hell are you?” I jerked back.

He shrugged. “Your future husband.” Then he held out his arm. “Want to go for a walk?”

And that was it.

Literally.

We saw each other every day after that.

Until I gave him his ring back.

His dad recently died, and now Roman was a captain for my family, the Buratti Family, working his way up to a made man and more.

I am so damn proud of him in his black suit as he stands next to my uncle, staying close just in case someone tries to carry out another ridiculous assassination attempt.

Lately, it seemed like everyone was trying to kill my family.

My long-lost uncle was powerful in Sicily, but here in the states? Here people just wanted what he had, which was control over several of the cities in Italy. He had more power than local authorities and all because he cared about the people. But he got hungry.

So hungry.

Mom died.

Dad changed, then died.

And my uncle? He followed suit.

Until the final heir rose to the occasion—the uncle that never really gave a shit—and took the crown I was owed. After all that work. All that blood. I still ended up being a pawn in a game I never wanted a part of.

My uncle suddenly wanted more than cities.

He wanted it all.

And there I stood, helping him.

Taking a ring off my finger and replacing it with a heavier one, because what freaking choice did I have? Do I have?

Roman looks over at me and nods his head once.

I jerk my chin toward the bathroom.

He blinks slowly.

I don’t need anything but him.

Nearly falling off my heels, I make my way to the bathroom, open the door, and step inside. Then I close the door and wait for his knock.

He knocks twice.

I jerk open the door, grab him, and pull him in, kissing him as he lifts me onto the counter and spreads my legs wide so he can walk between them.

“I missed you,” I say between kisses.

“I’m dying for you. Where’s this King guy anyway?”

"Late.” I kiss him harder. “I know it sounds weird, but you’ll like him. Plus, we came up with a sort of arrangement.”

"Doesn’t matter.” His grip tightens on my ass, fingers digging in. “You’re mine.”

“Yours,” I promise. I swear. I speak it out loud, willing it to be true until my voice is hoarse. King is great.

But Roman is my forever.

My lips are swollen when we finally stop kissing. I have no lipstick on them anymore but don’t care as we sneak out of the bathroom a few minutes later.

Roman goes back to my uncle’s side.

I walk to the bar and grab a glass of wine.

The room stills as King enters and slowly makes his way through the crowd, and he honestly does look like a king in his black suit, clear blue eyes, chiseled jaw, and messy hair. Yeah, he looks like a king you don’t want to piss off, but one you so desperately want to get to know.

In another life, he would have been perfect for me.

In another life, I would have been perfect for him.

I shoot a glance toward Roman, and I know the minute he sees King because his entire demeanor stiffens while his skin pales, as though he’s seen a ghost.

King smiles at people as he walks through the crowd and finally stops in front of me, towering over me by at least six inches.

I look up and try not to gasp. He’s almost too striking to be pretty, and yet he’s beautiful in his own terrifying way. He’s like a historical romance novel all in one package, with the way he stands, walks, stares like you can’t tell if he’s entranced or pissed off.

“Hey,” I whisper.

He cracks a smile, reaches for my hand, kisses the back of it then says, “Hey.”

I smile despite my nerves.

And then he says something I never expected in a million years. “Why don’t we go meet the soon-to-be bride’s new bodyguard?”

"Sure.” I shrug. “I just assumed it would be a Campisi, maybe Dom.” I frown. “No… Dom has better things to do. Axel? I’d probably drive him crazy and make him—”

I quit talking when we stop in front of Roman.

King’s calm and collected as he drops my hand, leans in, kisses my cheek, then whispers, “Be happy, Del.”

My mouth drops open.

Roman stiffens, his face blanching to the point it resembles kindergarten paste. “I thought I was guarding some new spoiled princess?”

King laughs and turns to me. “Is this the part where you raise your hand?”

I slap him on his ridiculously tight stomach. “Very funny.”

“Meet your new assignment,” King says to Roman, leveling him with a glare. “She dies, I slit your throat, rip the rest of your head from your body and feed it to the pigs out back.”

“You guys have pigs?” Del asks.

“Long story.” He sighs. “Long, long, story.” He swallows and looks between us. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

I shouldn’t watch him walk away, but I do.

Because he just gave me a rare gift.

My freedom.

But at the cost of him walking into that prison cell, turning the key, and tossing it away.

Be happy?

But what about him?

Chapter Three

"Science has not yet taught us if madness is or is not the sublimity of intelligence.” —Edgar Allen Poe

King

 

I'm an idiot.

Like a complete idiot.

I have nothing coursing through my veins… unless you measure the blood and ask how much of it pumps for her, burns for her.

I have zero things left in my arsenal.

So I give up.

No, fuck that, I don’t give up.

I give her what she needs, what she says she wants.

My soul feels like it’s scraping my insides as I watch her walk out of my house, the house I’ll most likely inherit when I become the new Capo. Del strolls outside like my heart isn’t ready to snap like a rubber band in my chest, slamming against my insides, causing internal bleeding.

She looks up, and her green-eyed gaze takes in the stars while I watch like a complete fool. My body tells me that she wants me. My heart tells me that we have a chance.

My brain, however, jolts us back into the reality we now live in.

I'll marry her because that’s my duty as the next Capo of these Families But love? It was never for me, and why should it be? What amazing thing have I done to deserve to have the sort of love my cousins have? My best friends? They all sacrificed. And this? This is being fucking handed to me on a silver platter with gold oven mitts and diamond-encrusted decorations.

It’s not the same.

Not that I want it to be.

Maybe I just thought my journey would still include something—epic.

I almost laugh because yeah, bullshit, I’m literally hiding behind a giant-assed oak tree watching Del like a friggin’ stalker as she looks up at the sky while Roman comes up behind her.

I keep my growl back.

Not gonna turn into a werewolf, so why worry everyone that I’m going crazy as he wraps his arms around her middle, resting his chin on her head.

My hands shake at my sides as her smile matches his. I’m going through absolute hell while they experience heaven.

I swallow the lump in my throat and try to take a few deep breaths. I’m the next Capo, after all. I can’t be weak or show weakness, so I know I only have a few human moments left before I give them my back while they most likely kiss under the stars, and I walk back into the house to do my job.

My job is my life now.

My lover.

My past, present, future.

She’s just a girl I’ll put a ring on and smile with during family dinner while everyone else has kids, experiences passion, fights, chaos—I’ll sit there with a perfect smile on my face and pretend that everything’s perfect.

And at night, I’ll stupidly dream of a world where the person I married looks at me the way I’ve always secretly looked at her.

How fun.

A future of self-inflicted torture.

Can’t wait.

Eyes still closed, Del stays that way like he’s her center when all I’ve ever wanted in the last six months is to take that position away from him, even though I know I haven’t earned it.

Does it matter, though? In the end? When she’s his? He’s hers?

No. Every part of my body tells me no. Even the beat of my stupid heart seems to take up the cadence.

Nope. Doesn’t matter.

Because no matter how many gifts I shower her with, how many compliments, the heart wants what it wants.

Mine wants hers.

Hers wants his.

Five seconds.

Four.

Three.

Two.

I smile and lower my head, then I give them the privacy they deserve. Her and her bodyguard.

"Keep her safe,” I whisper. “With your life, Roman.”

And I hear the whisper of his promise in the wind answering, “I will.”