
Devil at the Altar - A Mafia Romance
nicolefox859 · Ongoing · 172.6k Words
Introduction
Chapter 1
Angelo
I glide through the night in my sleek black sedan. Windows tinted. Watch golden. Knuckles bloody.
It’s time to take up our collections.
The men I am calling upon do not want to see me darken their doorstep. But they deserve neither my pity nor my mercy. I am coming to collect what is owed. What is rightfully mine. Nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, my second-in-command, Levi, doesn’t agree with me being here. I can feel him scowling, seated next to me in the back seat. He believes that a man like me—the son of Carlo De Maggio and the next in line to become don of the infamous De Maggio Family—should not dirty himself with something so simple as the collection of tribute money. He’s been in my ear about it since the moment we set out on this little errand.
“Tell me something, Giuseppe,” I muse, interrupting Levi’s whining.
Giuseppe glances in the rearview, guiding the steering wheel. He is a giant man, my lieutenant, with a soft face and dark eyes. A good, trustworthy soldier.
“Yes, boss?” he asks.
“Is it possible for the men to respect a leader who hides in his castle?”
He narrows his eyes. That’s what I like about him. He always thinks carefully before speaking.
“No, I don’t think so,” he rumbles. “Not if he stays there all the time. Or unless he’s old. Men can respect a man who’s already paid his dues.”
Levi grunts beside me, shaking his head. He’s stick-thin with a wisp of black mustache and dark brown eyes. I’ve known him since we were kids, and those eyes have always been the same: searching. Perceptive. Aware.
“Dio aiutami, Angelo,” he growls. “Next thing I know, you’ll want to clean the fucking toilets, just to prove a point. Tell the truth: you just want to take your anger out on this poor city.”
I grin savagely and punch him in the shoulder. A little too hard, I’ll admit. He raises his fist as though to strike me back. Both of us smile.
“The collections have to be made, my old, grumpy friend, and who better than us, the most dangerous and capable men in the city?”
“Remind me to get you business cards with that printed on it,” Levi drawls. “Christ, you’re on something special tonight, even for you.”
“Get with the spirit, Levi,” I say, laughing. “It’s collection time. Best time of the month.”
“For you, maybe,” he drawls. “Not so much for our evening’s hosts.”
He scratches his chin and broods as Giuseppe pulls up outside the rundown apartment building and parks. The three of us step out and stride over to the intercom. As usual, bystanders scamper out of our way.
I press a buzzer at random.
“Y-yes?” an old-sounding lady inquires, voice crackly. “Who is it?”
I pitch my voice up high, feigning innocence, as I say, “I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we have important business in 10F and I’m afraid they are not answering. Would you be ever so kind as to buzz us up? Now, I know you must be careful nowadays—this city can be dangerous, can’t it?—but let me just tell you two things: my name is Angelo De Maggio and I have it on good authority that as soon as my business is taken care of, you’ll find two-hundred dollars under your doormat.” I let go of the button. Levi laughs and shakes his head sadly at my side.
Silence, and then, “Yes, yes.” The door opens.
I glance at Giuseppe. “Attend to the cash for our little helper. We’ll take the collection.”
“You got it, boss.”
Levi is not happy with me. “You gave your real name. That could be dangerous. What if her nephew is a goddamn Albanian lieutenant or something?”
“You are the most paranoid man I have ever met. Come on, we’re running behind.”
We head to the top floor of the apartment where our target—Derrick Salsworthy, a two-bit dealer of stolen and knockoff electronics—lives. He borrowed from the Family because he had a business opportunity that he thought just couldn’t fail, and men like him can’t exactly stroll into a city bank and get a legitimate loan.
But of course, it did fail. They almost always do. And now, the time for repayment is past due.
I knock heavily on the door so it trembles in the frame. Levi stands back, hand idling impatiently near his hip, where his gun hides.
“How crazy do you think this poor bastard is?” I laugh. “You think he’s going to kill Levi Mancini? He’d get drawn and quartered and have a different chunk of him sent to all five boroughs. Relax. You’re putting me on edge.”
Levi shakes his head. “It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s you. You shouldn’t be out here.”
“Relax,” I repeat. “Rilassare. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Who is it?” Derrick finally grumbles from the other side of the door.
“You know who it is,” I say pleasantly. “Open up, Derrick. First and final warning.”
The door cracks open and immediately, he’s full of excuses. Derrick has greasy hair and dirty fingernails and—oh, for fuck’s sake—he’s trotted his wife and kid out to try and make us soft. They stand at the rear of the apartment, near the grimiest, water-stained section of wall, wearing hangdog expressions as if to fill us with pity.
My rage rises. What sort of man uses his family as props?
“We have been calling, Derrick,” I growl.
“Have you?” He tries to laugh as his eyes move over me and Levi, his Adam’s apple shifting as he swallows nervously. “My phone’s been broken, Angelo. You know me. I’d never ignore a call from you. I’m not an idiot.”
I don’t even listen to what he says. It’s as meaningless as a cow bleating at the slaughterhouse. “You’ve missed your payment. You owe us two thousand dollars. Does it seem like a good idea to owe the De Maggio family two thousand dollars?”
I walk close to him, having to force myself not to look at his family. The wife has her hand across her kid’s chest. She’s shielding him from me. As if I’d ever fucking hit a woman or a kid.
Anger rages in me. Derrick is the one who borrowed money and couldn’t pay. He should be the one cowering. Not this desperate woman. Not this innocent child.
He blinks stupidly at me. “I …”
“Spit it out, Derrick.”
“I’m just surprised to see you here, Mr. De Maggio,” he splutters. “I expected—”
“Some poor bastard you might be able to talk into letting you off in exchange for, oh, I don’t know—an hour alone in bed with your wife? Someone gullible? Someone merciful? Let me spare you the trouble and inform you: you expected wrong.” I feel a cold spear of anger moving through my spine. I try to control it. I try to breathe.
Most of all, I try not to look at his wife and child cowering in the corner.
“Do you have my money or not?” I snarl.
“I can get your money, sir,” he mumbles.
“Wrong answer, Derrick.”
“Stronzo,” Levi swears in mock disgust, shaking his head. “I think you owe us four thousand dollars now, Derrick. For the medical bills.”
“M-medical bills?” There is no color left to his face.
Last Chapters
#143 Chapter 143 145
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#142 Chapter 142 144
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#141 Chapter 141 143
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#140 Chapter 140 142
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#139 Chapter 139 141
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#138 Chapter 138 140
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#137 Chapter 137 139
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#136 Chapter 136 138
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#135 Chapter 135 137
Last Updated: 3/31/2026#134 Chapter 134 135
Last Updated: 3/31/2026
You Might Like 😍
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Surrendering to Destiny
Graham MacTavish wasn't prepared to find his mate in the small town of Sterling that borders the Blackmoore Packlands. He certainly didn't expect her to be a rogue, half-breed who smelled of Alpha blood. With her multi-colored eyes, there was no stopping him from falling hard the moment their mate bond snapped into place. He would do anything to claim her, protect her and cherish her no matter the cost.
From vengeful ex-lovers, pack politics, species prejudice, hidden plots, magic, kidnapping, poisoning, rogue attacks, and a mountain of secrets including Catherine's true parentage there is no shortage of things trying to tear the two apart.
Despite the hardships, a burning desire and willingness to trust will help forge a strong bond between the two... but no bond is unbreakable. When the secrets kept close to heart are slowly revealed, will the two be able to weather the storm? Or will the gift bestowed upon Catherine by the moon goddess be too insurmountable to overcome?
Shattered Girl
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.
Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother
who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.
When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
From first crush to wedding vows, George Capulet and I had been inseparable. But in our seventh year of marriage, he began an affair with his secretary.
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Oops, Wrong Girl to Bully
My back hit the desk. Pain exploded through my skull.
"Girls like you don't get to dream about guys like Kai." Bella's breath was hot on my face. "You don't get to write pathetic love letters."
She shoved me again. Harder.
"Maybe if you weren't such a desperate little—"
I fell. My head cracked against the corner.
Warmth trickled down my neck. Blood.
Their laughter turned to gasps.
The door slammed.
I tried to stand. Couldn't. The room was spinning, fading to black.
Someone... please...
Angelina, the most powerful Alpha who conquered forty-nine packs, dies in a yacht explosion—only to wake up as Aria Sterling, a fifteen-year-old Omega's daughter who just died from bullying.
The original Aria's life was a nightmare. Humiliated when golden boy Kai Matthews posted her love letter online, then shoved to death by his girlfriend Bella Morrison. But that's not all her family faces:
"You got until Monday," the tattooed gangster sneered at Aria's mother. "Ten grand cash. Or I'm taking collateral—your kids' organs fetch top dollar. That pretty daughter of yours? She could make us money another way too."
Now Angelina's lethal combat skills awaken in this fragile body. No more hiding. No more fear.
Armed with an Alpha's ruthlessness and a mysterious blood-red pendant, she'll dismantle everyone who hurt this family—one calculated move at a time.
The Prison Project
Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?
Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.
Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.
Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...
At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…
Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?
Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?
What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…
A temperamental romance novel.
The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates
"Let me go," I whimper, my body trembling with need. "I don't want you touching me."
I fall forward onto the bed then turn around to stare at him. The dark tattoos of Domonic's chiseled shoulders, quiver and and expand with the heave of his chest. His deep dimpled smile is full of arrogance as he reaches behind himself to lock the door.
Biting his lip, he stalks toward me, his hand going to the seam of his pants and the thickening bulge there.
"Are you sure you don't want me to touch you?" He whispers, untying the knot and slipping a hand inside. "Because I swear to God, that is all I have been wanting to do. Every single day from the moment you stepped in our bar and I smelled your perfect flavor from across the room."
New to the world of shifters, Draven is human on the run. A beautiful girl who no one could protect. Domonic is the cold Alpha of the Red Wolf Pack. A brotherhood of twelve wolves that live by twelve rules. Rules which they vowed could NEVER be broken.
Especially - Rule Number One - No Mates
When Draven meets Domonic, he knows that she is his mate, but Draven has no idea what a mate is, only that she has fallen in love with a shifter. An Alpha that will break her heart to make her leave. Promising herself, she will never forgive him, she disappears.
But she doesn’t know about the child she’s carrying or that the moment she left, Domonic decided rules were made to be broken - and now will he ever find her again? Will she forgive him?
Invisible To Her Bully
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Alpha Twins' Mate's broken Human
Rise of the Banished She-Wolf
That roar stole my eighteenth birthday and shattered my world. My first shift should have been glory—blood turned blessing into shame. By dawn they'd branded me "cursed": cast out by my pack, abandoned by family, stripped of my nature. My father didn't defend me—he sent me to a forsaken island where wolfless outcasts were forged into weapons, forced to kill each other until only one could leave.
On that island I learned the darkest edges of humanity and how to bury terror in bone. Countless times I wanted to surrender—dive into the waves and never surface—but the accusing faces that haunted my dreams pushed me back toward something colder than survival: revenge. I escaped, and for three years I hid among humans, collecting secrets, learning to move like a shadow, sharpening patience into precision—becoming a blade.
Then, under a full moon, I touched a bleeding stranger—and my wolf returned with a violence that made me whole. Who was he? Why could he wake what I'd thought dead?
One thing I know: now is the time.
I have waited three years for this. I will make everyone who destroyed me pay—and take back everything that was stolen from me.












