Dead Man's Hand: A Dark Mafia Romance (Vegas Underground Book 7)

After recuperating from his wound that he had at the ambush at hands of the now dead Russian Bratva finally it’s now time for his story ,although physically healed he is constantly haunted by nightmares about the day of the shooting which always feature the young girl that was serving in the cafe that day and who tried to warn the Taconas of the trap . Her name is Marissa who is actually the granddaughter of the cafe owners she’s a trained chef , although she’s working at the family business , it’s not her only job she also works in a restaurant across town as well just to keep the family business afloat . The second job is getting her down though as she’s subjected to a lot of sexual harassment from the owner and the chef that works there . Her life is about to get complicated when Gio enters her grandparents cafe and it’s clear that he’s interested in her and not just her cooking abilities , so when her niece needs a hip operation that the insurance won’t cover she turns to Gio for a loan . While Gio & Marissa's relationship moves very fast indeed it’s a fact that’s not welcomed by her family when they find out about it . Will there be a happy ending for these two who are so in love with one another or will Marissa’s family put a stop to the romance .

Gio Tacone was shot in a Russian ambush which is first covered in Jokers Wild. Now recovered from his injuries he goes back to the cafe where he was shot to see Marissa, who tried to warn of the ambush, and, with inevitable predictability, finds himself attracted to her. He wants to look after her and protect her (quite out of character for a Mafia member!) and do what he can. He is up against the suspicions of Marissa whose family have been beholden to the Tacone family in the past. If Gio is to make the headway he wants he has to overcome these obstacles. How this is achieved forms the basis of a very good story in this series.

I enjoyed Gio's story. Him and Paulo are the brothers I don't know too much about. Gio spent most his scenes recuperating in bed after being shot in a previous book so didn't have much to go on. It was a great pairing with Marissa though after both experiencing a traumatic event they both found comfort in each other and also brought out different sides. They soon realised what they wanted in life. Next and final book is Paulo's, hopefully it will be interesting.

Another fab read from Renee! I really love this series. I think Gio has become my new favourite.This one wasn't as dark as I was expecting, but the plot was good and there were lots of steamy sex scenes with the dominant Gio! Loved it!!

I've loved all the brothers in this series, but Gio is one we don't really get to know about until now. We met him properly in Junior and Desiree's book, but it's been really nice to read his character development and learn about the man beneath the suit.He's paired with Marissa, who I really like as a female lead. Just because it's fiction, doesn't mean the characters aren't life-like.

Another brilliant read well written and a great cast of characters and story line absolutely loved it couldn't put it down

I didn’t think anything could make this series better but boy was I wrong. Dead mans hand is the best one yet and gets into my top 5 romance list! Would def recommend

Another superbly written story!It has everything you expect from Ms Roses writting, action , angst and steamy scenes!Loved Gio and Marissa!Highly recommended.