Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into th
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need
Author Note: The beginning of Submitting To The Devil prefaces the end of the previous book, His Pretty Little Liar. Niko and Bianca's story begins in Luca's office, where Dimitri reveals that the pair must marry. This means there will be a slight overlap in storylines at the beginning of the book. Niko The drive home has been somewhat quiet. We've just left Rossi's home, where Emma made her claim on her father's men. I wasn't too pleased to know she did that with the intent of leading, but even Luca knelt on bended knee to show his respect for her. Luca's behaviour of late has been erratic. He's not the man I once thought he was, but then again, I see a new him paving his way outside of his mind, and I'm unsure whether to worship the changes he's making for my sister or hate him for being less of the person I learned to fight alongside. Exiting the cars in silence, Emma climbs the steps towards the house. But Dimitri calls for her, demanding she take him to Luca's office.
Continued: "No. The deal with the Densels is off. You'll marry Niko here. The pair of you match well and Luca can keep an eye on you. But—" A sound somewhere between life and death leaves my throat, and he cuts off my attempt to decline him. "You will not have a second chance," he addresses Bianca. "I am giving you the chance to live. Fucking take it without complaints. Do as you are told; keep my and your sister's secrets silent. Work alongside my son to enable the pair of them to take over as planned, and I'll have no reason to kill you. But step out of line and know I give no mercy." His tone is menacing, and he's stepped five steps closer to emphasise his control. Even for me, it's nerve-wracking, but I never agreed to this. “I'm not marrying her," I finally interrupt him as he stands close to Bianca. Standing, I fist my hands to prevent myself from grabbing my blade and swinging it at Bianca's back. Looking to Luca and then Emma, I try to assess whether they knew this was the
Continued: I watch him enter his car, his driver instantly starting it up and turning in the drive. Watching him disappear with my sanity, I light the joint in my left pocket, dumping the ordinary cigarette back in my right. The drug's high is short-lived, though, because I find Bianca hurtling into my body at speed. Luca throws her quite literally at me, and I decide not to help her stop, her head bouncing off my sternum as I hold my arms wide in a stance that screams get off me. "I need to care for my wife..." Luca tells me viciously. It's obvious he's making a point to show his dislike for this situation, yet he was the only one with a forewarning, so surely he's had time to get used to her coming back after only leaving a few days ago. It's also a power play, Luca's way of staking a claim that she is not his problem, that she falls down to me. "Keep her under control and stay away from my wing. If you don't, there will be consequences," he tells us, but I know that's s
Bianca I storm through the kitchen into the hall and down to Niko's room, teetering on the edge of the boundary line his office door poses. I don't want to go inside, but I also don't want to go and find one of Luca's men to ask if there's a spare room in this godforsaken house for me to take respite in. He angered me so much with his words but even more so because his nostril flared with need whilst his eyes looked between my legs with that look of sexual frustration that nearly enough every man I've encountered since I turned thirteen and sprouted breasts for them to fantasise over has given me. It's sickening, and what's worse is my father condoned their sexual desire. Why does he have to look to me with sexual need like that? Why can't we just be friends? Friends with a mutual desire to get out of the nasty situation we have found ourselves in. I'm not stupid; I know he's a victim of Don Dimitri, too. I might be young, but I see things for what they are and that every decis
Niko I stay away from my bedroom for as long as possible, but duty calls and my laptop is in my office. So I entered quietly, hoping by some grace of God that Bianca had fallen asleep after our sexually charged encounter in the kitchen. Not that I told her to go to my room, but there's nowhere else for her to sleep here. Her smell was enticing, and I hadn't forgotten what it felt like to sleep beside her warmth in my bed. The emotions are conflicting, yet I'm still leaning towards being annoyed for having her—particularly as my wife. Luckily for me, though she probably wasn't asleep, she shut the bedroom door, leaving me to roam my office as needed without her knowledge. There are a few shipments due for arrival, and I must make the calls to see whether they've arrived at their destination. These are shipments of girls and drugs, just a wonderful part of my unwanted fucking job. But as they say here in the mafia, exclude yourself from the job, put on a brave face and fake your way
Continued: "I'm scared to know she's lying in a bed not far away from your collection of guns," she states. "I'll move them," I nod. I hadn't thought about this, but she's right. Bianca will be trained to some extent. To what? I don't know, but having my guns at her fingertips probably isn't the best of ideas. "What if...What if she continues with this tirade of wanting him?" "Soon, she'll be my wife. I won't let her take him from you, not that he deserves you." "I'm sorry you've been brought into this mess," she sighs. "Could be worse; I could be marrying a girl I have no fucking interest in." "You like her?" She perks up. "I did before she hurt you. Perhaps that'll come back, perhaps it won't. Either way, she belongs to me now, and I won't leave room for childish behaviour. She'll grow up real fucking fast. You don't need to worry, Queen." "You're not planning on fighting Dimitri over this?" I wish I could... "I owe him, and we need her to keep things secret. It's the on
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need
Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into th
Continued: "Stop calling me Bambi." "Don't you like to be reminded of who you belong under, Bee?" "Benji, I—." Surprisingly, he pushes past me, heading for the opened suitcase on the bed. He shoves a few loose articles inside, then walks off to bathroom returning with a wash bag that goes in too. I blink, like a retard. What in the hell? "Don't play games with me, Bambi. Sit down," he scowls at his hands, speaking in the same tone as before. And yet his whole demeanour changes. He drops the knife on the bed, disregarding it as if it hurt him to hold it up to me. I frown at the door I'm still stood before and I talk in a genuinely frightened and confused voice. "Okay, okay. Where do you want me?" I ask. "There," he point to the desk. "I'll sit," I tell him, moving with my hand before me to show I'm playing his game. Even if it seems demented at this point. I walk to the desk, and I see a notepad and pen supplied by the hotel. Taking the pen I write down on the note
Bianca Niko executed his plan very promptly leading me and grabbing the girl as we compiled out of the small door that led us back here in the first place. But things don't continue as expectedly when I start to veer off from Niko with the encouragement of a hand that surely isn't his. "Let go of me," I hiss in pain as I'm dragged by the wrist through the crowd of people. The hand holding my wrist is cold, and unlike Niko's warm and inviting touch, I recoil very quickly from the individual leading me away. I try to turn away using my weight as a tool to pivot in the direction I want to head in, my aim is to head back to the group of people that are now lingering outside the door. Back to Niko, back to safety but my feet lose purchase on the floor, my body being lifted quite easily as if I weighed nothing. The strong smell of aftershave fills my nostrils, a stark reminder of him, of Don Densel. "Let me go! Let go of me," I begin to shout. Pushing away from the body I fi
Continued: Fuck, I knew bringing her here would mean trouble. No girl enters the den if not to be sold. "Stop," I hiss at Alexandra's struggles as I circle in a hurry. The weight of her stare has me wilting, yet I cannot concentrate on protecting her as I should. I should be hurrying her out of the hotel, getting her into the getaway car. Yet I'm failing my job because of Bianca's whereabouts. "Niko?" Alexandra's voice shows her confusion as she looks up from where my hand is crushing her wrist to my face. I allow myself one moment to look her in the eye, and then I continue to look around the dispersing people for Bianca but not before I see her shoulders square up rather than drop in relief. "Yes, it's me. Please stop trying to get away from me. I've lost Bianca," I worry aloud. "She's over there with Mr Densel," she points out. I halt, turning the way she looks as I see the tail end of Densel leading Bianca through a door at the back of the restaurant's main room, much
Niko I barely had enough time to glance at Alexandra's way, let alone devise a plan with Bianca to lure her away from that table and to safety. I took too long entertaining Bianca and failing to ignore the men's stares when, in fact, I should have been devising a quick escape plan as per my brief. I start thinking of big distractions. Having something like a fire creates chaos seems the best bet. We could grab her as everyone rushes to safety, but the Densels obviously do not want to play around. This Passover seems to be happening far quicker than many before it, and Alexandra is in serious danger of being lost to the Densels. No one has a clue about their bases or where they take their girls, but they live off the grid somewhere protective, and no soul has breathed a word of their whereabouts in years. I've lost a fair few girls, and none have ever shown up afterwards so I fear that's the reasoning for the lack of information. And unfortunately each girl is a life etched int
Continued: Again, I feel the weight of each gaze around the room. Are they seriously waiting for me to eat so they can perve on me some more? I push aside my discomfort and begin to eat. My mind replays our conversation, and I get the intense feeling of needing to push Niko on the subject of his private work. What's their deal, anyway? "There she is," I note, seeing one of Ivarni's sons holding onto a girl's bicep. She looks far from in perfect condition. Despite ample make-up, there's a noticeable darkened mark around her lip as evidence she's been maltreated unacceptably. Her blonde hair screams fake, especially against her tanned skin, and she looks highly dishevelled. Niko tips his beer up, and now I see why he ordered a drink with such a big glass. His movements are half hidden by the fact that he's drinking, but of course, he looks back their way as I try to place the girl's face. Her name is in the back of my mind, yet I struggle to recall it or who she is. But I rec
Bianca Our first proper fight after marriage entailed with me opposing Niko's need to protect me from coming along on his mission as Dimitri had stated I should. It was heartwarming, even if I was creating distance where I definitely didn't want it. I won, though, if that's something to be proud of. I dressed in a little black dress supplied by Sven, an extension of Dimitri, that hugged my every curve, while Niko was dressed smartly in a suit. I hung on his arm as we were escorted to a private dining table in a back room that did nothing for my nerves at the most expensive restaurant chain on the mainland. This is evidently where all the mafia eats, though, because soon after our arrival, other guests filled the room, dining with beautiful women and good-looking men. Everyone around us spoke in every language except English. Italian, Russian, and even Lithuanian. I could string a few conversations together with the few words I knew of those languages. Most weren't wort
Continued: He's one hundred percent right. Why the fuck do they have Mitchel's wife? More importantly, what do the Densels want with Alexandra? I mull this over, overthinking every possible avenue today's mission might take me on. Each one gets worse than the last, but something that stays with me is the fact that Alexandra knows her life hangs in the balance, but equally, her husband does, too. She's not been trained like a typical Italian woman heiress would be; she's common—Italian but common. Can she even take the impending abuse obviously headed her way? She knows things, especially being married to one of the highest-ranking men within the Cartel. She must know something that the Densels want, and I don't doubt they will use whatever means possible to extract whatever they need from her before exposing her in a way that has the Cartel and lowly gang members talking. I hate that Bianca is dragged into this mess, especially considering the current bad blood b