ENORA The same nightmare had hunted me since I was a child; a woman with a face like my own staring back at me, a man with a voice like my papa’s roaring, screams from a voice I was not familiar with, and the sound of my own voice crying.It always felt the same whenever I woke from the nightmare. My body was always wet with sweat, my heart pounding as if it wanted to explode, and I had this feeling that it wasn’t just a dream.Deep voices and footsteps came from downstairs. I remembered falling asleep after Nikolai humiliated me and left the room.That man had an effect on me that I didn’t like one bit. A single touch from him evoked so much emotion in me and he knew it. I knew he was baiting me, making me go crazy for him until he decided it was time to devour me.Yet, I couldn’t resist him. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.I’d been so wet, and he would have discovered that if he’d stayed back to touch me a little more. Goddamnit! I was even wet right now just thinking of him. I’d tr
ENORA “I want you dead.” I didn’t know if that was even the truth anymore. “I fucking want you and every other bastard like you dead.”Intense darkness seeped into Nikolai’s eyes. “Guess what, sweetie?” His words came out like a bare whisper. “I am hard to kill.”He tossed my hair away, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground. He lowered himself to a squat, brushing a bloody thumb on my lips. “There are many things you do not know, many things.”“Maybe there are.” I shook my head to fling his fingers away from my lips. “But I do not want you close to me. You’re fucking disgusting.” I didn’t know that I wanted to say those terrible things to him. I hated that I wanted to see to this man’s death myself. I hated that he’d just gone ahead and killed someone for me. I hated it even more that a part of me liked what he did, and that part of me wanted to pull his bloodstained body in and kiss him. Maybe I was a monster after all, maybe I was just like my papa and every other bl
NIKOLAI I found it quite odd how repelled Enora was by the sight of blood considering she’d had it covering half of her face the first time we met. I’d even thought she’d be more pleased if it was the blood of that fucking raccoon who had the guts to laugh at her to her face.I’d had him tied to a chair and tickled till his eyes turned crimson with tears and his lungs almost ran out of air before cutting his tongue out like he fucking deserved. I had no regret, even if Enora thought otherwise. I’d be quite satisfied killing a hundred more men who dared to cause her pain.Carlos Patrizio included.Footsteps padded into my room just as I was about to turn off the shower, I picked my glock from the phone holder by the wall and threw a towel around my waist before leaving the bathroom. I’d not bothered to turn off the shower; in situations like this, it was better to let the intruder think you weren’t aware of their presence.A clang sound came from the room as soon as I was able to ope
ENORA I’d always thought men like Nikolai were somehow immune to pain, but now that his blood was dripping on the floor, and his eyes were flickering with fury and…pain, I couldn’t escape being trapped in my own conscience.Truth is, I hadn’t intended to stab him, I’d thought he would move away before the knife reached him. He didn’t, and blood was dripping down his chest, the part where my name was inked on.It wasn’t the right time to note something like this, but he looked like the painting of the hottest demon in hell.The drip, drip as crimson liquid fell to the floor was the only thing heard in the room for the seconds after I cut him. My nerves were working up, making me anxious. I knew I’d crossed a line. What Nikolai would do to me now could only be left to my imagination.And I wasn’t going to apologize.“You really shouldn’t have, malysh.” He grabbed the knife from me and tossed it across the room, smearing the floor further with red. His jaws twitched and his eyes gloomed
ENORA I complied; he’d turned me into a horny idiot.“Take your hands off,” he demanded. “I want to see everything.”Slowly, I moved my hands away from my breasts and let them fall to my sides. His eyes beamed with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint as he stared at me.“God, baby. You’re so fucking beautiful.”Heat rushed to my cheeks, maybe because he just picked up another nickname for me, baby. Or because he just called me beautiful. Could have been both.“Lie on your back with your legs apart.”I gasped, my throat dry with a slutty thirst.“Now!”I lay on my back, spreading my legs with my eyes closed. I heard Nikolai’s footsteps and he came to me before I felt his paper-light touch on my thighs. “Beg me to lick you, malysh.”There was no way I’d beg him, he either wanted to or not. But that was until his finger slid into my pussy; this man would make me go insane. “Please.”“Say it like you mean it, baby.”“Lick me, please,” I panted. It was hard not to with the way his finger
ENORA Nikolai definitely chose Mikhail to chaperone me out of spite, that much I was sure of. The man hadn’t moved his eyes away from me since we entered the tattoo shop, but that was less of a problem compared to the fact that he hadn’t spoken a single word to me for the past three hours since we left the house, not even when I asked what type of tattoo his brother would like.Truthfully, I’d only asked because I wanted the exact opposite of what Nikolai would like, but when Mikhail returned my question with a glare more terrifying than death itself, it made me feel like I was being ridiculous. He was probably one of the old-school kind of guys that thought women had no right to tattoos. Most men in our world were like that, closed-minded and misogynistic. Ewww!“They’re so pretty,” the tattoo lady said to me with a beam. “How did you think of something so lovely?”I glared at Mikhail standing by the door like a mannequin made for the gym and then gave the tattoo lady my kindest sm
ENORA“I need something expensive.”She gave me a full-length glance, condescension lurking being her polite smile. “Uhm…”“What? You think I can’t afford to buy something expensive?” I’d worn another set of Nikolai’s oversized baggy shorts and tees which I understood could make me look shabby, but they were designer and looked as expensive as they felt on my skin.“No, ma’am, not at all.” She gestured for me to follow her. “I’ll show you our new arrivals.”“Thank you,” I said, holding a confiscated smile.I spent the next hour picking out new clothes, bags, and shoes and by the time I was done, my knees were weak and my stomach was rumbling. I regretted not having breakfast before leaving.“Your bill is fifty thousand dollars, ma’am.”I removed Nikolai’s credit card from my shorts with glee and handed it to Sophia. It felt good spending someone else’s money, at least someone who wasn’t my papa, not that he limited how much of his dirty money I spent. I just didn’t enjoy spending it a
NIKOLAI Enora Patrizio was going to be the death of me—that was a fact I didn’t need to deny. Sitting in this dark container with these freaking Chicago Al Capone was the last place I really wanted to be, especially not when I had an ass as soft as Enora’s to get back to.It’d been five fucking hours since I left her earlier today, yet I couldn’t get the image of her naked body out of my head. Her delicate olive skin, her full breasts that kicked every sexual nerve in me into action, and Christ, her loud moans.I took a pack of cigarettes out of my suit jacket, pinned one between my lips, and lit it. Every pop sent smoke and dirty images of my little slut to my head. I’d even lost control and fucked her so roughly that her skin was purple with marks this morning. It was probably for the best that I marked my territory on things that were mine.My phone bleeped; it was a message from Mikhail. He’d sent a picture of Enora’s tattoo; she’d made one that looked almost like mine except f
- RomanMy leg wouldn’t stop shaking from my place in the waiting room chair, nerves completely frayed.I intended on being in the delivery room with Aria, but after seeing her in pain without being able to do anything about it, slicked it sweat and wincing, I’d flushed.The doctor’s attention shifted to me not far into it, and she told me to take a walk. Not wanting to disobey a good doc’s orders, I complied and walked out.I didn’t want to admit to anyone that the thought of witnessing the bloody scene that was to come made me feel woozy, but once the chance to take a break from it arose, I took it.Yet it didn’t make me feel any better about it.I should be in there with her, I thought to myself, fighting a silent battle.I was no stranger to blood or gore. In fact, I had seen the worst of the worst while working, yet it seemed completely brand new to me today.Head in my hands, I closed my eyes and tried to pull myself together.“Couldn’t handle it?”Lifting my head, I found Valen
AriaA pleasant haze consumed me as Roman continued to dote on me, taking the time to carefully wash my hair and free me of that grimy feeling. He even rubbed my neck and shoulders, releasing all the tension left there. His touch was like magic and exactly what I needed.I didn’t realize how tense I had been until all the knots were worked out, and I sat more relaxed in the tub.With my long, even breaths, I felt better than I had in quite some time, in complete awe of Roman and his care. It was like he wanted to make up for lost time, and I didn’t mind one bit.“I could get used to this,” I sighed, eyes closed as he returned his hands to my neck and didn’t let up.He chuckled quietly from behind me. “Don’t worry, massages will be an often occurrence. You say the word and I’ll get to it, or I could hire someone to set up a massage table for you.”Both sounded incredibly perfect. I hummed, “Don’t tempt me.”“Whatever you need. Whatever you want, it will be yours,” Roman promised, dipp
Aria It felt like having a rock in my gut to finally put that ultimatum on the table, but I knew it needed to be done. I couldn’t sit around and pretend like this baby didn’t exist. Like it wasn’t a critical conversation we needed to have.Roman paused his scrubbing and leaned against the tub, ensuring our eye contact was held. His tone was genuine. “I know that I didn’t react how I should’ve, but I won’t miss out on a second of raising our child. You shouldn’t have to face this difficult thing alone. In fact, you don’t need to return to work or your old life. As long as you let me, I’ll stand with you and this baby until my last breath. I will take care of you both.”My heart swelled at his words, feeling a sort of relief that I hadn’t known in some time. Tears ran down my cheeks as I was overwhelmed by his sincerity.Roman reached out and wiped a tear away with his thumb. He smiled warmly. “I tried so hard to not fall for you. The first time I saw you, I knew it would be nearly imp
- AriaI never thought I'd miss Roman's house as much as I did until I ended up in that cold basement.The relief I felt upon returning was immense, despite how exhausted I was.I couldn't believe I had been kidnapped again. How had I somehow managed to get caught in the middle of it all? It wasn't ideal, and it certainly wasn't how I had hoped the night would go.But Roman had found me. He risked his life to get me back, and while it didn't fix everything, it was a start.Shaking even as we walked into the warm house, I couldn't seem to get the chill out of my bones.Roman noticed at once, expression riddled with concern. Instead of making me walk another step, he scooped me up in his arms and held me against his chest."Don't worry about anything, I'll draw you a bath."Lacking the energy to fight or say otherwise, I relaxed in his hold, cheek pressed against his warmth.We went down the hall and up the stairs until we reached his master bedroom, to my surprise. I was placed on the
Roman He paused, pretending as if he were giving it some consideration. He sucked in air through his teeth. “No, I don’t think I will. We both know that would never work.”He wasn’t as stupid as I initially thought. He was right, it would never work. Hence why he wasn’t going to make it out of that basement."We wouldn't be in this standoff if you hadn't walked into our house with your guns drawn," Marco said, expression souring. "For full transparency, you were supposed to wait until we moved her. Until I got my answers and had a little fun. But you just couldn't wait. Why are you the only one who gets to bed your captive? God certainly has His favorites."I clenched the gun in my grasp, losing my patience. "And you can't be killed soon enough."Marco laughed at that, relaxing the blade before securing it against Aria's neck again. She flinched. "You're just mad that I managed to pull off what you failed to do. Teresa had been practically waiting to get abducted. It was the perfect
- RomanMy gun was aimed at Marco while Dimitri had his pressed against Sal's head, a warning to Marco that his father's life was on the line and that we would waste no time ending it.With his knife pressed against Aria's throat, we were at a standstill.Marco laughed to himself, starting with a low chuckle that built into a full one, amused by it all.It made my blood boil.Aria closed her eyes despite her tears, trying not to move, should she force the blade closer to her skin by accident.Seeing her there, under his mercy, was my worst nightmare. She was innocent to our world, having only exposed herself to it through her novels. Through her passions. Yet, she found herself in the position that no woman in the mafia world wanted to be in. To the Espositos, her capture was nothing more than a tactic to get us to comply, a means of having something over my head. But to me, her being taken meant everything. Her safety meant even more.I hated imagining how scared she was to be taken
RomanAs quietly as I could, I opened the back gate, careful not to let it squeak. The two of us slipped through, moving silently through the elaborate backyard. Even if he was facing us, the guard likely wouldn't have caught sight of us through everything in the garden and the decorations.Blending in with the darkness around us, we split apart, and Dimitri got himself in range while I kept going toward the back deck.One small pop took the guard out as he slumped in his chair, blood streaking down his head and neck. Dimitri joined me at the back door, sliding through the gap he had left open.Entering the house was disorienting. We didn't have a floor plan on hand, and it was up to us to sneak around without being caught.The silent main floor allowed us the chance to breathe and make a decision. We could either cover the whole level then move upstairs, or assume Aria was up there to begin with. That seemed unlikely, but starting from the top seemed to make more sense.We crept thro
- RomanMy knuckles strained white against the steering wheel as I pushed the engine as hard as it would go, not caring how fast I went.The city was a blur around me while I drove, at my wit's ends. I stopped at every place I thought she might be, suspicious of any warehouses not owned by my family.Aria had been taken and she was surely held somewhere nearby. They would want us to locate her eventually, as it would give them full access to us, hoping to trap us. But we would be ready.Our numbers outdid that of nearly every other family in the city, and with a cause, we wouldn't stop until we got what we wanted.I had been driving for hours, nerves fraying while I glanced out the window, silently begging that I would find her soon.Unfortunately, New York was a big city, and there were plenty of places to hide someone. It was a matter of us getting the right coordinates and ambushing them before they had the chance to do the same to us.The regret and guilt sat heavily in my chest,
Aria That irritation flared inside my chest again, accompanied by my reoccurring anxiousness. If only my hands weren’t bound, I’d punch him in his rich face.“I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that your kidnapper boyfriend would want to take my sister for no reason. You can play stupid all you want, but I know that you know something. Just spit it out before I get bored of you.”There was a venom of warning in his tone, but I wasn’t scared enough to speak. In my mind, I had nothing to say to him.After another moment of silence from me, Marco rolled his eyes and exclaimed as if it was the biggest inconvenience he had ever experienced.“You’re killing me!” Marco cried out, returning that smug glare to me. “Spit it out, sweetheart. It’s a miracle the Lantsovs didn’t throw you out just for boring them.”“I don’t know anything,” I spat, gritting my teeth at him. “You’re wasting your time.”“While I do agree that my time is being wasted, I have the feeling you’re trying