Devil's Playground

Navigating the mafia underground in Chicago is not easy. It’s like a waltz where nobody ever taught you the steps. You show respect when it’s due, never back down, And kill who they want you to kill. I didn’t become a Made Man by being careless, but even the most ardent professional stumbles now and again. Sophie’s job is to keep me from ending up in the slammer, She thinks we’re done once I walk out of court a free man. Too bad I’m hooked on my defense lawyer’s lovely charms, and what I want, I get. You see, Indro Lastra is a Made Man, and a Made Man gets what he wants.

I grew up in the Family, navigating the labyrinth of courtesies in the layer cake of the Chicago Mob. When the capo says jump, you ask “how high?” They tell you to off somebody… You get the job done or you don’t come home. Play your cards right, and you’ll be a Made Man. Set for life—a violent life, but set. Play them wrong… well, the pay is great, but the retirement plan stinks. Enter one Isabella Lastra. Beautiful but sad, thoughtful but spirited. One look, and I know… I have to make her mine.

I came to save her life. She took my heart. They call her Zola. She’s the Don’s daughter and the girl I gotta protect. A curvy little bombshell, this little ball of spitfire has somehow gotten herself mixed up with the wrong people. They’re coming for her now. And only one person is gonna stop them. Me.

Othello Maloik. The name should strike fear in your heart if you know who I am—a man of violent extremes. I got the taste for the finer things in life. Fine wine. Five-star food. And of course, beautiful women. But something is missing. More than money and fancy cars, I want a woman. Not one of the floozies that go in and out of my life. But a woman who will truly accept me for the violent man that I am. Who will revel in my kill count.

I’ve lived my life giving in to my darker desires. And now I’ve found the darkest desire of all—Bianca. Let’s start out by agreeing I’m not a nice man. I’m not a good man. I’m not kind or compassionate. Hell, my dad made me kill my first guy when I was twelve. But Bianca Salerno? She’s the real deal. Sweetest girl in the world. A real beauty, too. The kind of beauty you’d take home to meet your parents. It's funny. This is the girl that gets me to stop killing.

Angelo never thought he’d settle down–never answer to one woman. His life was like the lineup at Sinsations. On the stage for a bit, thrown some cash to, and then out of his life forever. But what he finds in Sonya has him questioning everything he’s ever believed in. And finding things he never believed existed… Like love. Da fuq?