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Stitches
Last Updated:
2024-08-06 11:07:37
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Indebted to the Mafia King Swimming with the Fishes
EleniMy stomach roils. The surface underneath me bumps and rolls. My head aches, and my hands scream with pain so loud I’m forced to open my eyes just to see what happened to them.The world around me swims together in pieces. Dark walls, lined with something textured. Sound-proofing? No, it’s hard plastic. The carpet under my cheek is equally plasticky. Something smells like gasoline, and for a single horrifying second, I think I’m back in the basement of Frank Lombardi’s garage, and this has all been a dream. Then, my hand pulls my attention again, and I shock back to now.With aching slowness, I drag my hand up until I can see it. A makeshift bandage rings my palm, soaked through with something red. No, I know what that is. Blood.My blood.The ground bumps again, and something moves in my vision other than me. A vision in white, totally distinct from the black of the walls and the red that is all I can understand about myself. I blink a few times, and the vision resolves.Camila.
Last Updated : 2024-08-06Indebted to the Mafia King Tomorrow and Every Day After
EleniI roll over in the thin cot, my whole body aching, and stare blearily at the dull gray ceiling. The crack in one corner looks like it might’ve grown another millimeter since I last checked. Not that I know how long it’s been. There are no windows in here and just one heavy, metal door without even one of those little, barred windows you always see in movies to give me a clue what time it is. Camila dropped me off days or hours or months ago, and I haven’t seen her since. I push myself up to sit, intending to do whatever kind of exercise I can in here to pass the time or keep in shape for whatever empty opportunity I get. So far, all opportunities have been met with beatings. Bruises collect on my body between bright incisions where the edge of a nightstick or gun caught me.My stomach twists. I lurch to my feet, stumble a few steps, and fall to my knees in front of the flat approximation of a toilet they allow me in here, the only furniture other than my cot. My breakfast—or
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King Knife's Edge
DanteI slam my fist down on the counter, making the cat statue with its paw in the air topple over. “That’s not fucking good enough.”Wing, the boss of the biggest triad in Chinatown, looks at me without a flicker of emotion in his eyes. “You storm into my shop. You set your goon outside to scare away reputable customers. And then you tell me I haven’t met your expectations?”I suck in a breath and grab for the fraying remains of my hold on my temper. A week and a half. She’s been gone for a week and a half, and I’m not any goddamn closer than I was the night she disappeared.If I didn’t know about the three armed bruisers behind the curtain in this stupid fucking tea shop Wing and I both know handles a paltry portion of their money laundering, I’d already have my gun out. As is, I glance at Tony through the plate-glass store windows and remind myself he can’t get in here fast enough.“Is there anything else?” I ask, not bothering to keep the strain of desperation out of my voice.“N
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King Cracks
EleniAnother millimeter on that crack in the ceiling. Or maybe the same millimeter as last time. If the cot were a little higher, I could trace it with my fingers. Yagdash hasn’t been back in three meals, and I don’t know whether I dreamed his message anymore.“—the fuck do you mean, no?” a woman shrieks.I lever myself up on an elbow. I haven’t heard a woman’s voice since Camila last left.“I need more protection here!” The voice grows louder, as if approaching, and I realize it is Camila. “Are you fucking listening to me? At least half a dozen men.”Someone murmurs a response, but their voice is too low for me to hear. Their statement ends in a thud I can’t make sense of from inside my concrete cell.“Last night, those fucking redheaded gnats hit the White Winter. We lost people. And I put my ass on the line, promising the White Winter was fucking untouchable,” she yells. “That means they’re closing in.”“No,” the other voice rumbles. “It means your ass is on the line. He’s not goi
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King Sleeping with the Devil
DanteI slide into the booth in the tiny, barely-Brooklyn diner across from Henry Alcott and a man I don’t know, and I think about killing them here and now. We agreed to be subtle about this. I picked a place outside of any territory worth talking about. I changed in the car, into one of the patterned button-downs I only keep for the barbecue and a pair of shorts. And here these two assholes sit with their high-and-tights, cop shoes squeaking on the stained linoleum, badges and guns bulging their crap impersonation of what normal people wear to lunch. They need to know who the fuck they’re dealing with, and that I’m not fucking around anymore.“Who the fuck are you?” I ask the stranger with no preamble.He prickles. “All right, dickhead, you—”Henry holds his hand out between us. “This is Jace Covett. He’s…a friend.”“Covett.” I roll the name around in my mouth. The shape of it is familiar to me. “There was a Covett in the remains of Thano Coppola’s books.”“Don’t fucking say that n
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King It Can't Be Me
EleniI pace the few steps back and forth in my tiny concrete cell, trying to keep my thoughts in order. Somewhere outside, someone made something with cabbage, and the reek of it is making it hard to think. But I need to focus. If I can count all the meals I’ve had, maybe I can figure out how long I’ve been here, and then I’ll know whether Camila was lying about the baby.Nine meals since Yagdash and the message. I think. Or was it ten? No, eight. Okay, that’s too far. I’ve had one meal since I woke up. Before that….I sit down with a groan. Counting is impossible down here, and the stench is only making it worse! My period has always been regular. Dante and I used protection. Surely, I’ll know when I’m pregnant.Deep in the darkest recesses of my mind, I kind of hope I’m not. I can picture a family with Dante someday, but if I’m pregnant now, and Camila knows, she’s going to find a way to make me choose between the baby and him. I just know it.Muffled by the thick cement walls arou
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King Repercussions
DanteI sit in an armchair I dragged into the master bedroom in my safehouse upstate, watching Dr. Fletcher and his nurse tend to El. She looks so small in the bed, the hollows of her cheeks sunken and her hair lank. Not seriously injured, the EMT said. Still, I’m thrilled I had enough time to hire Fletcher and the nurse before the raid. They’re discreet, professional, and fast. They talk to each other in snippets of conversation that give me the barest hint of what’s going on.“Saline. Her veins are shrunken.”“Heart rate elevated, but not dangerously.”“That laceration is likely infected. We need penicillin and a disinfectant.”I don’t dare interrupt them. I can’t imagine stealing a second Eleni might need to get better. Tear streaks mark her face, and she was already crying when I got in the ambulance. In the end, Camila had her in that fucking house for two weeks. Two goddamn weeks. I am counting my blessings she’s not in more danger, but I’m fucking terrified.Tony leans in the d
Last Updated : 2024-09-09Indebted to the Mafia King Sunshine
EleniI blink awake to something warm on my face. My stomach grumbles threateningly around its emptiness, and I start to sit up to find the bedpan.Something restrains my left arm. Two somethings. I turn slowly in the sun-drenched bed, fighting for enough memories to put together where I am. The first something is Dante, slumped in an armchair from the living room of the safehouse upstate but still holding onto my hand. He looks actually, properly relaxed, his brow unlined for once. The sun sparkles off something in our entwined hands, and for a heart-racing moment, I think he found my engagement ring. But no, he’s slipped his ring onto my thumb, where it barely fits. Tears fill my eyes as I manage a wobbly smile.The second something is an IV full of clear liquid. Unlabeled bag. My arm aches—everything does—but I feel steadier than I have in ages. Like sleep actually refreshed me. I can even tell someone did something to my mouth because it tastes minty fresh instead of like old vom
Last Updated : 2024-09-09
Latest chapter
Indebted to the Mafia King Ambushed
TatianaI regret leaving the house the moment I reach the city. The buildings are monstrous, and I’m not used to a place as overwhelmingly chaotic as New York. At first, I was determined to head straight to the apartment Lev had rented—curious, optimistic, convinced that whatever he’d left there might hold answers about Oleg. I had hoped to find something, anything, that could help the Saints in their mission to dismantle the Romina Empire.I type the address Lev sent via email into the GPS, but I start recognizing the street names—familiar turns, shops and signs. Then I see it— the corner deli where Angelo kidnapped me that day. My stomach turns over and the blood in my veins turns to ice. I’m too close to the place where the wedding ceremony took place. Where I ran from. Where it all began.Emotionally, I begin to unravel and as if that’s not enough, I realize the car behind me has been changing lanes immediately after I merge for long enough that I’m being followed. Panic claws
Indebted to the Mafia King She's Gone
AngeloA sharp beep echoes from the garage downstairs and jerks me out of sleep.For a second, I think it’s part of a dream. I lie still, blinking at the ceiling. But something feels off—too quiet, too empty.I don’t need to look to my side to know she’s gone.I feel it.The air is colder. The silence heavier.I sit up, scanning the room. The door is open. Lights off. Nothing.Then I notice it—my gun, keys, and wallet are missing.“Fuck,” I growl, bolting out of bed. I yank on my pants and shove my arms through my shirt like I’m racing death itself. My chest tightens, adrenaline slamming through my veins like a freight train.She took my car, my weapon, and my goddamn trust.“You can’t do this to me, Tatiana,” I mutter, storming into the hallway. My voice is hoarse, laced with anger and something far worse—fear.“She’s gone!” I shout down the corridor, pounding on Dice’s door without waiting. “Get the fuck up—we’ve got a problem.”Dice swings the door open already halfway dressed, eye
Indebted to the Mafia King Letter from the Past
*Tatiana*Angelo and I ended up in bed after our talk on the porch. Not because we reached an understanding—we didn’t. We’re still standing on opposite sides of a line neither of us is willing to cross. But I knew pushing him harder would only cause more damage.So, I hold my tongue.For now, keeping the peace meant swallowing my pride, locking my thoughts away, and playing the role of someone willing to wait.It’s after midnight. Rain pounds against the windows like a warning—fierce, unrelenting. Angelo lies asleep beside me, peaceful, unaware of the storm brewing right here in this bed.I watch him for a long moment, memorizing the shape of him, the warmth of him, just in case this is the last time.Sleep won’t come, so I reach for the tablet on my nightstand. I browse for a while—news, maps, dead ends. Then, on impulse, I check my old email. I haven’t opened it since I left Russia. I expect spam, junk, maybe nothing at all.What I don’t expect is a message from Lev.Dated the night
Indebted to the Mafia King Conflicts
*Tatiana*I grit my teeth and force myself not to roll my eyes. Throwing a tantrum won’t help—but that doesn’t stop the anger simmering just beneath my skin. I don’t like the way Angelo drew that line between us. Cold. Sharp. Final.It’s not just that he’s shutting me out. It’s how he’s doing it—like I’m still some piece on his chessboard, a liability to manage. A prisoner, technically. But from him? That’s a slap in the face.He’s across the kitchen, body rigid, watching me. I ignore him. If he wants distance, fine. I’ve had worse from men with half his brain and twice his ego.I focus on the window, jaw tight. I will find a way to be useful, whether he lets me or not. I didn’t survive this long just to be benched.“Give me a cigarette,” Angelo mutters, moving toward Sal and snatching the pack from the table.My gaze flicks over in time to see the tension in his shoulders, the anger in his hands.He doesn’t smoke. Hasn’t since I got here.“Sure you wanna do that?” Kian asks, brows ra
Indebted to the Mafia King Disagreements
AngeloI pull myself from the bed and get dressed, still feeling the rush from my quick encounter with Tatiana. As much as I want to spend more time with her, I know I can't afford to linger. Work’s been piling up, and I’ve been slacking lately—ever since things started getting heated between us. The Saints need me, and I can’t ignore them.Keeping an eye on Tatiana, as per Tony’s orders, has also taken a lot of my focus. I haven’t had a chance to personally discuss with him yet what Tatiana shared with me about her past and her involvement with the Rominas, but I know that Sal and Dice have already filled him in. I just hope Tony doesn’t see her as a liability or a potential threat, but instead, as an ally."Can I ask you something?" Tatiana’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. She’s lying there, looking up at me, her lashes fluttering in that way I know always gets me."Sure," I reply, trying to sound casual. I walk back toward her but keep my distance so we don’t end up going for ro
Indebted to the Mafia King Making Up
TatianaThe morning sun warms my skin, stirring me gently from sleep. I stretch my arms above my head, muscles loosening as a sense of peace settles over me. It’s strange how a good night’s sleep can reset everything—my mood, my resolve, even my sense of purpose. Today, I feel new. Whole.Turning to my side, I gaze at Angelo. He’s still asleep, facing me, his features relaxed and soft in the quiet light. I take him in—the curve of his lips, the strong line of his jaw, those unruly dark curls that slip over closed eyes, guarded by lashes so long they could make any woman jealous.He looks like a different man when he’s asleep—unbothered, weightless. Awake, he carries the world like it’s chained to his back.A part of me wants to believe I’m the reason for that peace. That I’m helping him, in the way he’s helped me—just by being here, by seeing him, really seeing him, the way that no one else has. Just as he’s able to see me differently.My heart pounds as flashes of the past two weeks
Indebted to the Mafia King Nostalgia
*Tatiana*Getting to finally meet two other members of the Saints feels somewhat… exciting. I was shocked to see the one I had cut while running away from the wedding was part of their gang. This whole time, I’d just assumed that he had been working for Oleg. At least he doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge against me, which is a relief.The other one, though—Dice—was harder to convince that he can trust me, but in the end, I think they both believed me and my story. I still don’t know the plans they have for me, and I assume they need to tell their boss what I’ve disclosed first, but surprisingly, I’m not that worried about my future anymore. I know Angelo won’t leave me on the street by myself. He’ll find a way to keep me protected, even if his boss tells him I’m of no use to them anymore.Maybe I can return to Russia and start again somehow. The mere thought of leaving Angelo behind hurts my heart, but if that’s what it comes to in the end, I’ll have to find a way. It’s a bit alar
Indebted to the Mafia King Bonding Over Breakfast
AngeloTatiana and I spend the rest of the day in her room, only leaving for dinner, and we’re back in bed before midnight. The house is empty because the rest of the team had to go to a meeting with Tony and left me here watching her—since, in their words, I already know how to deal with her.I wanted to punch the smirks off their faces, but they weren’t wrong.I also don’t want them near Tatiana while they’re still so suspicious of her. That would only scare her. And now that she’s shared everything with me, I’m more convinced than ever that I was right all along—she was never a threat.There’s no way she could be such a good actor and lie about her past. I saw the pain in her eyes, the hatred, and the guilt she carries. It’s the exact same look I see in the mirror when I stare at myself.I told her I didn’t think I could hate Oleg any more than I already did, but now that I know what he put her through… God, rage boils inside me to the point I can barely control it.Luca, Tatiana’s
Indebted to the Mafia King Sharing Secrets
*Tatiana*I lie against Angelo’s chest, staring blankly at the wall, his thumb circling gentle caresses on my back. The sun is setting outside, and I have lost track of how long we’ve been here. For all I care, we could just stay here forever. I wouldn’t mind.I wonder where the other guys are or if they know what we’re doing in here, but I don’t bother to ask ngelo about it. Not that I’m embarrassed about what we did, but we’re supposed to be enemies, kidnapper and kidnapped. This isn’t how things were supposed to evolve between us.I bet they hate me for not giving them what they want, for wasting their time, and for fucking Angelo–something they’re all probably aware of by now.But what can I do? It’s not like I forced him to sleep with me. I didn’t even try that hard to seduce him.“What are you thinking about?” he whispers against my head, placing a soft kiss on my temple.“Not much,” I reply with a shrug.“I doubt that,” he says, continuing his featherlight strokes on my skin.H
