Sitting at my desk in my large office in the back of the casino looking over the books as I drink a very expensive bottle of Merlot while puffing on an expensive Italian cigar. It’s about four am. I’ll be leaving soon to go rest in the penthouse suite of the hotel that the casino is located in. That’s where I’ve been living since Violetta went off to do her own thing. I didn’t like the idea of her breaking free on her own, but I needed to let her spread her wings or my little dove would be a sad little caged bird. So, I let my little dove spread her wings and fly knowing one day I’d have her as my wife.
I’m about to turn twenty-seven and I plan to bring my little dove back home for my birthday which is in exactly three months from today. There’s a huge party planned at the casino. All the guests will get to play on the house. It’s going to be a night to remember because that is the night I also plan to put a ring on my little dove’s finger. I have everything set in motion, and I’m anticipating finally bringing her home.
My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door. “Boss, one of the men assigned to keep an on Dove has reported to me something you need to know.” Jullian, my head of security and best friend informs me through the door.
“Come in.” I reply before Jullian opens the door and walks into my office, making sure to close the door behind him.
“One of the men assigned to Dove at the hospital said she got a visit from Anthony fucking Ronka.” Jullian informs me his voice is laced with displeasure.
“What!” I rage as my fist slams onto the desk in front of me, rattling the wine glass and bottle which are set very close to some paper documents that happen to be a bit important..
“I know, it’s not something you want to hear. I was informed they didn’t talk for long, but it appeared he gave her a phone. Probably a burner.” Jullian continues to deliver bad news, but he’s not the one I’m angry at.
“Why the fuck is Anthony making a move on my Dove?” I demand, tossing the wine glass against a nearby wall.
“I don’t know. We’ve always suspected that Mario might have also promised Violetta to Anthony. He was playing both Dons. Not to mention Anthony is now the head of the Ronka family mafia. He doesn’t have to abide by any rules or agreements his father set in place while he was in charge. You need to push your father to give you Don.”
“I know, Jullian.” I seethe. “The asshole won’t hand me Don until I’m married.”
“I think it’s time you rush that wedding with Violetta or seriously think about pushing your father out in other ways .” Jullian points out.
“I know. I didn’t think Anthony Ronka would make a move on my dove. That definitely is a problem because I can’t have Violetta taken from me. She means far too much to me. It’s not even about the marriage at this point. It’s about the fact that she is someone I need in my life. I don’t like the idea of Anthony tempting her away from me.” I confess.
“I know, Boss. Think about what you want your next move to be and let me know. I’m on your side and I will only follow your orders.”Jullian responds.
“Thank you, I will.” I say as Jullian leaves my office.
I don’t like Anthony trying to make a move on my dove. I’ve always known it was a possible that Mario had promised Violetta to Anthony. He was playing both families. The Ronaka and DeLuca’s have been enemies for decades now. I’m not really sure why our families hate each other at this point other than territory. Anthony is freshly appointed Don of his family. He has an advantage right now with being Don. I don’t want to be enemies just because our families have been for years, but I swear if he steals my dove from me, I will wage war.
I’m thrilled when my shift ends at seven am. I waste no time going to my locker, grabbing my things and hightailing it out the door. I take the bus to my little one-bedroom apartment in an average part of town. I try to avoid the wealthy part of the city and the not so wealthy part of the city. I find the average parts of the city are where I prefer to hideout. I have a cozy standard one-bedroom apartment with a bedroom, kitchen, full bath, and a living room. There’s also a small dining area that I have set up with a small table and one chair. My little apartment is my safe place. My mind is spinning, so I need my safe space so I can come down from the adrenaline pumping in my veins from tonight's shift.. Once I enter my apartment, I lock my door and drop my backpack by the front door before I kick my black sneakers off. I make my way to my bedroom and grab my cotton cream nightgown and a pair of fresh panties before I head to my bathroom. I pop on my shower, lay my clothes and fresh
I’m running on four hours of sleep, but I don’t care. I’m going to Violetta’s apartment. I hate where she lives, but of course she would pick some cheap, basic ass apartment complex to live in. Violetta has always been a stubborn dove. She would defy her father at every turn. Her mom died when she was young in some mafia involved violence, well, that’s what Mario claims. My theory is that Mario killed his wife because after Violetta was born, her mom started fooling around with one of the men under Mario. I don’t know all the details, and to ask my father about it now, I doubt I would get the truth. My father used to tell me everything. I was in on all his plans and secrets. Two years ago my father started to become paranoid that everyone was trying to kill him, even me, which at the time I thought was crazy. Over time, it’s gotten worse. I think he’s losing his mind from years of doing terrible deeds. My father has done some serious fucked up things that I never agreed with. My fath
My heart beats hard as paranoia begins to fuel my adrenaline. The first thing I do is grab the burner phone from my side dresser. Then I grab a pair of my skinny jeans with a red rose colored t-shirt before I grab a cotton black bra and pantie set. I dash to the bathroom and make sure I lock the door. My hands fumble with the phone. It’s a black flip phone that brings me back to being a teenager for a moment before the panic of my reality takes back over. I flip the phone open and text Anthony. 911! Nico just showed up in my apartment while I was sleeping. He’s forcing me to leave with him. What should I do? I hit send and set the phone on the counter and begin changing my clothes while I wait for Anthony to text me. Why am I texting Anthony? I have no fucking clue, but I feel like a stray dog who just got caught by animal control. As I finish dressing, the phone lightly vibrates. I snatch the phone up desperate for a way out. Of course he fucking did He’s impulsive when it comes to
I sorely underestimated how quickly Nico would react to me visiting Violetta. He’s desperate to marry her, but why now? I think it has something with him getting Don from his father. It makes the most sense. It’s not ideal that my violet is back with Nico. At least, she had the good sense to text me on the burner phone. She might not trust me, but she did reach out to me in desperation. So, I’ll take it. Nico acted impulsively, which means he must be feeling desperate. I might be able to use that to my advantage. The hard part is going to be getting Violette away from him. I know he is going to keep her under lock and key. I might have a chance to steal her back at Nico's grand birthday party, but that’s months away. Even then it might be hard. He clearly knows I’m in pursuit of Violetta. The feud between the three families has been going on for decades. The three Italian families have been fighting for control over the Italian parts of the city for far too long. The Russian, Japan
Against my better judgment I let Nico take me out to dinner instead of getting the food to go. I realized that would mean going home sooner with Nico, and I prevented that for as long as I could. However, now we are home, well, Nico’s home. Nico has four homes. One, a condo in the best part of the city. It’s his private place and that is where he has has taken me thankfully. The Second home, is also in the city, but it’s the Ronka home where his parents reside. Nico is an only child which is partly why I think he liked having me around when we were kids. I'm an only child as well, so I guess in some way we bonded over having no siblings . The third, is the Ronka’s family manor in the country. It’s beautiful. The fourth is the Ronka family villa in Italy. Nico takes my backpack and begins making his way to his bedroom. I know the lay out of this condo well. Part of me thinks Nico intends this to be our place. When he bought it he made sure I liked it. He has brought me here every chan
I’m in my study nursing some vodka on the rocks while I flip the burner phone in my hand contemplating what to do with it. The truth is, I know I need to talk with Anthony. There’s a lot at stake right now and I’m not talking about me getting passed Don by my father. There’s enemies lurking waiting to take down the top dogs. Unfortunately, Mario’s greed and poor choices continues to effect us. He gave the other underground families the key to wedging themselves in our operations. The Russians and Irish have always primarily been gun and other illegal weapons. They fight over weapon territory and distribution. The Mexicans obviously have their drugs that they use as their main operations. The Italians stick to illegal gambling, brothels, and those types of scenes. Of course, there are other underworld families like the Japanese that prefer to keep to themselves and do their own thing. Mario wanted to be the top dog, the top family, the top everything. His goal was to be the only ruler
After my bath I change into the silky black nightgown that has been laid out for me. There’s no panties or thong so I guess that means Nico wants easy access to his goods. Although, he did say that he wouldn’t have sex with me until our wedding, however, that doesn’t mean he can’t touch me in sexual ways. Not that I would be mad about the sex part with either Anthony or Nico. Both of them, though, that appeals to me, but there is no way that will ever happen. They hate each other. It’s only eight o’clock. I’m not tired. Usually I would clean my apartment, do my food shopping to have it delivered to me because it’s what’s easiest for me, and probably doing laundry. Adult things that I currently find myself no longer needing to worry about as my warden will make sure I’m taken care of. Nico is definitely my warden, but he’s more. I hate that he's more, but I can’t help my heart from wanting him. I love him even if I try to deny it, which is why I find it so strange that I’m equally dr
I have to admit I was surprised Nico reached out to me. I thought for sure I was going to have to trap him into a meeting using Violetta to do so. However, it seems Nico is aware of the threat we face. That’s a good thing because I’d like to avoid elimination, which is the only way that the other families of the underworld would be able to take our reigning position. So, if the two of us can come to some compromise where Violetta is concerned and have a united front, we might stand a chance of preservation instead of intinction. Of course, this whole thing could be a trap, but somehow I doubt it. While the Ronka’s and Deluca’s might not always see eye to eye, Nico hasn’t personally attacked my family. HIs father has but my father also is guilty of attacking our so-called enemies. The problem is the Italians need to get over whatever pretend fake civil war that has been going on for decades. Our enemies have noticed our divide and they simply waiting to strike. The Russians love to at
Max and I have been married for a little over five years now. We have two sons who are Irish Twins because they are born less than twelve months apart. After my miscarriage, I was so devastated. Thankfully, I had an amazing support system that came around me. I was so angry at myself because I was focused on getting pregnant because that’s where I thought my issues lied. I was wrong, but thankfully with my mom on top of everything we quickly resolved the issue. When I got pregnant a couple months later with Misha, I was a wreck of emotions from happy to full on anxiety of losing the pregnancy. With careful monitoring from my doctors I carried to thirty eight weeks and gave birth to Misha Anthony and then about when he was about two and half months old I found I was pregnant with our second son Dimitiris Nico. I thought it was a fucking joke when I got pregnant with Dimitris. It was not a joke, and I was very glad to have not only Max to help me, but Nat as well. Nat has turned out to
It’s been about six months since we officially took Chatworth down. The media ate up his suicide. It was a satisfying victory and with our revenge satiated Toni and I focused on starting our family. We had a good surprise about four months ago. Toni got pregnant with what felt like so easy, considering we were expecting a battle to even get pregnant. Turns out that getting pregnant wasn’t the issue Toni was going to face, but her challenge comes with keeping the pregnancy. In the wake of her miscarriage, I felt fairly helpless to help her, which is why I was thankful for Nat living with us because she help me care for Toni after her procedure. Toni was only nine weeks old, but she needed a procedure to clear out the failed pregnancy. Violetta, Lucy, and Roxy have been helpful with Toni’s recovery. With testing they were able to figure out that Toni needs progesterone supplements during her first trimester minimum possibly the whole pregnancy. At least we have an answer, but even then
This is a surreal moment in time. Max sent proof of my father’s dead body a mer minutes ago and I’m still staring at the picture with a bag of mixed emotions. Relief is the biggest emotion coursing through me. My whole life my father has forced his control over my life. I’ve never even known what it was like to embrace my own self because I had to bury it deep down to survive. When my father sent me to cozy up to Max, he was supposed to be just a target. A means to end. My father was promising me freedom, but I know now it was all a lie of manipulation. I don’t know the full story behind my father and Misha, but they were friends at some point. Then one day they become more enemies. I’m sure it was my father who did something he shouldn’t have against Misha. The first moment I saw Max, I was attracted to him and it made sex easier. It’s hard to have sex with someone you don’t find attractive. I ended up keeping coconut oil or unscented lube to make myself easily wet so the men I was
“Good morning, Toni.” Nat greets. We decided to only use our nicknames when we are playing. Except for Max and I because we are married and clearly in a romantic relationship. “Morning, Nat.” I reply, flipping the french toast. “Is that French Toast?” Nat questions with a smile as she walks over to where I’m cooking on my built in skillet that is next to the stove. “It is. You earned it.” I wink at her. I told her last night that her reward for pleasing us like a good girl that I’d make her favorite breakfast. She earned it all right. “Good because I was really hoping I’d wake up to it.” She says as she moves over to make herself a cup of coffee. I giggle at her as Max walks freshly showered from his work out. He strides over to me and kisses me on the lips. “Morning, Princess.” He says breaking our kiss. He glances over at Nat. “Morning, Nat.” “Morning, Czar,” I reply, flipping a couple of pieces that need it. “Morning, Max. So, is today the day you think?” She questions as sh
It’s been a couple of weeks since Natalia essentially moved in with us. She is staying in one of the spare rooms. Our house has six bedrooms, and while I do want kids, I do not want more than two. Maybe three, but that’s my limit. Of course, all of that depends on how easy it is for me to get pregnant. Although, I’m glad I have the option to even try. As a woman, I’m outraged at what Chatworth did to Natalia. He had no right to take her womb for her. He stole her chance to be a mom and he did it in such a dirty way too. However, Natalia is at peace with the fact that she can’t have children. That doesn’t mean I won’t make sure Chatwroth doesn’t pay for his crime. No one has the right to make that choice for someone else.Natalia picked the room she wanted. I made sure she got a new wardrobe and she was happy to get a new one. Turns out, Natalia isn’t terrible in her taste in clothes, but clearly her father is. She’s also a pretty nice house guest or she might be trying to kiss my ass
“Alright, Czar, what is going on?” Toni demands when she stops in front of me. “Mona asked me not to kill her, and I realized I can’t be her executioner.” I confess. “Why the fuck not, Max?” Toni aggressively questions, tossing her one hand on her hip. “Do you love her?” “What? No! It’s not like that at all. I promise you, Antonia, you are the only I love. I care about her. I hate to admit it, but I did get to know her a bit over the two years. It just happened naturally in platonic friendship way. That’s the best I can explain it. I hate myself for even saying these words to you, Princess. When I told you she meant nothing before we got married, I meant it. I truly believed it until I was faced with holding her life in my hands. I’m so sorry, I’m sure you feel betrayed and I wouldn’t blame you if you did. However, I promised I’d be honest with you, so that’s what I’m doing.” I honestly explain, hoping we can somehow work past this. Toni’s demeanor softens and the hand that was on
I can’t believe Mona is between Leo and I as we ride to stash house, and it’s the type that houses drugs. No, we have integration stash houses that we take people to integrate them. Some make it out alive, and others not so much. It’s not surprising Mona went after Toni since she’s looked at Toni as her enemy since day one. Toni is of course well trained in defending herself, it makes sense given who her parents are, but especially her bio dad, Anthony. Those two are some dark horses. Sometimes I think Toni is more morally grey than me and that just only makes her hotter. In all our scheming to take Chatworth down we never really discussed what to do about Mona. In the end she wasn’t the enemy that threatened us the most. She has always been this weird side show on her own. I spent two years fucking her, and while I never developed romantic feelings for her, I hate to say it but I got a soft spot for her. Maybe it’s because I saw the vulnerable side of her that no one else did. Mona
Once I’m done checking on everyone I head toward the kitchen and double check things. Lucy and I have hired trustworthy bakers that hold up to our standards. As much as Lucy and I would love to bake everything ourselves like we did when first opened, it’s no longer practical. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t get our time in the kitchen. After I check the kitchen, I finally head to my office to go over the next couple of weeks donut flavors since we do rotate some of the flavors, but always keep the classics. I used to the schedule for the kitchens and the front, but thankfully I was able to pass that duty to my managers who got a raise for the extra work. Lucy and I make sure our employees are fairly treated and that they are paid what they are worth. I don’t always love going to my office because of the drab behind the scenes stuff. Some of it isn’t too bad, but the office is still not my favorite place to be. I like to move around. It’s probably why I enjoy the bounce around I d
A couple of weeks ago a news article was published by a disgraced journalist on Chatworth that was only the beginning of a trail of news stories coming out to disgrace the Senator. Chatworth’s PR team is working overtime trying to save his ass, but every time they put out fire we start a new one. They are struggling to keep up and it’s starting to show, which is good for us because if we set him a blaze long enough he will have no choice but to resign. I can only imagine the spiral Chatworth is on and it makes me happy that he’s suffering because he murdered Misha. Misha was a third father to me. I adored him for treating me like I was already his daughter in law. I pictured him being a grandpa with my two dads. Max and I might be freshly married, but our families have been entwined for decades. Misha’s loss will be felt forever. I enter the bakery from the side entrance where all the employees, vendors, and other services we have like washing for all the towels, aprons, and various