WARNING: This book contains 18+ content for violence, explicit sexual content, strong language, etc. At 24, Callie had seen her fair share of cruelty in the world and struggled to survive. But it wasn't until her uncle, buried in gambling debt, sold her off to Vincent Baros, the ruthless mafia boss, and ruler of the Ashen City, that Callie fully understood what cruelty and hardship really were. Vin wasn't one to keep toys, but the moment he met Callie he was intrigued. After he took her in as his personal slave, Vin's curiosity turned into something deeper... something stronger. How could a woman keep such an innocent view of the world despite facing its darkness? And how could a cold and broken soul find warmth and love once again? Find out as we dive deeper into Vin and Callie's story in The Mafia's Songbird.
View MoreTo survive in a world full of chaos, one must learn to embrace it.
It was hard— Callie knew that awfully well. She lived in a city where guns were easier to acquire than medicine, and where violence was the answer to everything. A place that the government has forgotten about and where the police worked for infamous crime lords.
To survive amid chaos was hard, and Callie was only barely able to hold her head above water. And with each passing day, she feels herself sinking further and further, deeper into the filth.
“Ugh, can you believe this?” Sienna asked with a sigh. She and Callie have been friends since they were teens. Now, they go to the same community college where the bulletin boards are riddled with dozens of warnings, curfew notices, and missing person posters. “You would think living so far away from the Ashen City would protect us from the scum that live there—” Sienna shook her head in disbelief. “But no, we still live in a nightmare.”
Callie looked away from her beautiful friend, whose blonde hair she had envied for a long while. “It’s not so bad,” she said. “I mean, it’s been pretty mellow these days.”
“Not so bad?” Sienna asked in disbelief, whipping her perfectly styled blonde hair around to face Callie fully. “Callie, people have gone missing, and you work as a courtesan servicing those scum I just mentioned. I don’t say this to belittle your work or anything, you know I love you. It’s just that—”
“You don’t approve of my clients.” Callie smiled softly at her friend, before tilting her head endearingly, her luscious chestnut-colored hair swaying with the action. She knew Sienna was only worried. “I don’t like them either, but they’re tolerable, and they’re paying for my education, thus if not for them, I wouldn’t have met you.”
Callie never resented her work or her Uncle Jimmy, who owned the brothel slash club, Euphoria. He took nine-year-old Callie in when her parents died in a tragic car accident, fifteen years ago, the same year of The Great Burning. Sure, the man was a sleazy old businessman, but he loved Callie’s dad in his own way, so he couldn’t give Callie up.
He was a shit father figure, but he provided for Callie’s basic needs. Once Callie was old enough to bus tables, he made her work at the club. It wasn’t until Callie was thirteen that she decided she wanted to work as a singer. Then, fast-forward six years later, Callie wanted to go to college. She would never have been able to afford it if she didn’t work as a courtesan.
Nobody ever forced her to sleep with men for money, Callie did it to survive and further her education. In these dark times, a woman must learn to survive. And what Callie needed most was a way to escape this rotting place.
Sienna sighed and reached for her friend’s arm, giving it a little squeeze. “You make a great point.” Sienna slides her hand down Callie’s arm to hold her hand. “Still, be careful, okay? I worry about you. And I don’t trust your uncle. No offense.”
Callie giggled, amused at Sienna’s expression. “I’ll be fine. Thank you, Sienna.”
“Love you. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sienna replied, letting go of Callie’s hand before heading in the opposite direction. “Don’t forget to buy our tickets for the senior party at the club next week! We may live in bleak times, but we deserve some fun!”
“Love you too, take care!” Callie waves goodbye now left alone among the dozens of pairs of eyes staring at her from the countless wanted posters on the board.
“Why bother printing these when the police have the mafia lining their pockets?” Callie muttered to herself, annoyed at how shitty the authorities were handling these cases.
Several people have gone missing in the past week, some of them were Callie’s classmates. Though she tried to sound optimistic for Sienna earlier, Callie knew that things were looking bad for all of them living near the Ashen City.
It has been fifteen years since the Great Burning took place in the middle of the city of Santa Barbara. No one knows precisely what happened that fated day. Some say it was an accident, while some say it was done by terrorists. But there’s one story people believe the most—the one where a man burned the city for revenge. Parents started to use it to scare children who liked to stay out late, saying a dragon would descend from the skies to burn and punish them.
Since then, the city was renamed the Ashen City after what was left. Hundreds died during the fire and every year, families would light candles around the perimeter of the city to honor those who died. But even then, the city and the surrounding areas became a hotspot for criminal activities. Some managed to flee, but not everyone could afford it. And those that remained, learned to live in dire circumstances.
With a sigh, Callie adjusted her backpack and starts to head home, her mind swimming with worry.
It usually took Callie twenty minutes to walk back home from school, but today she felt as if something was dragging her feet to go slower. But Callie knew she couldn’t be late, she had a client coming in tonight.
The apartment that Callie and her uncle live in wasn’t in the best neighborhood, so Callie didn’t think much of it when she bumps into a heavy wall of a man. There were no thoughts in Callie’s mind even as she falls to the ground, overcome with fear. She doesn’t even bother fixing her white dress when it rode up to the tops of her thighs.
“I’m so sorry,” said Callie. Striking blue eyes met her brown ones, and she immediately lowered her head to show submission. She proceeded to apologize profusely when she noticed the man dropped his cigarette. “Please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry, I’ll pay for it.” Though she knew the brand might be worth more than what she earned in a week, Callie offered anyway.
Heart pounding, Callie braced herself for a strike that might come.
“I won’t hurt you. Don’t worry about it,” the man said, surprising Callie with his deep, rich voice. The stranger walked past Callie, leaving a trail of a delicious scent that could only belong to someone who dripped money. But there was something about that man when he spoke that instantly sent shivers up Callie’s spine.
Still shaking, Callie dared to sneak a peek of the stranger, only to see him get inside a pitch-black McLaren GT.
“Right. Definitely not from around here,” Callie whispered to herself as she watched the mysterious man drive away. She didn’t know who the man was, but she could take a wild guess and wonder who among her neighbors got involved with a loan shark.
But the moment Callie entered their apartment complex building, she knew something was wrong. It was awfully quiet on their floor, which was unusual given the families living there with their noisy kids. But it was silent as death save for the sudden bang of a gunshot coming from their unit followed by a pained scream.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Callie’s panicked thoughts jump back to the man she bumped into. “Did he come from my house?” she muttered to herself, but wondering was useless. It was obvious there was still somebody inside.
Without another thought, Callie fishes her phone from her pocket in one hand and dialed 9-1-1, and with the other, she pushed the door further.
Callie carefully entered the apartment. She reached into her backpack for a small can of pepper spray she kept for emergencies such as this one.
‘9-1-1, what’s your emergency?’
“Someone broke into our house,” said Callie, then without waiting for the operator proceeded to tell them her address. “Please send help quickly. My uncle is inside, and I think I heard a gunshot.”
‘Help is on the way, ma’am. Stay away from the apartment for now. Find somewhere safe to hide until the police arrive—’
“What the?” a man’s voice called out, and Callie immediately aimed the can and sprayed the stranger in his eyes. The assailant jumped back, screaming in pain. That was when another man popped out to check what was going on.
‘Ma’am? What’s going on? Ma’am?’
The second man, taller and meaner-looking than the one Callie just sprayed, stared at the phone in her hand before he shook his head and clicked his tongue. His eyes were gray and stared at her with a promise of death if he didn't get what he wanted. Callie felt her legs shake as he opened his mouth to speak.
“You called the cops?” he asked, disappointment evident in his voice, but something shone in his eyes akin to excitement. “That won’t do.”
Callie couldn’t react in time. Within the next second, the man had snatched the phone away, throwing it against the far wall, crushing it into pieces. It was over before Callie could process what had happened. Before she knew it, she was pulled and dragged further inside.
“Who the hell are you people?” Callie screamed as she struggled against the man’s iron grip. “Let me go!”
The gray-eyed man complied, throwing Callie forcefully to the floor. She yelped in pain when she landed on her wrist, trying to soften her landing. Tears threatened to spill over and through Callie’s blurred eyesight, she saw the horror surrounding her.
Blood splatters decorated the kitchen floor as if someone had coughed up blood and saliva, puking all over the floor. The splatters continued across the kitchen until her eyes found the unmoving lump of flesh leaning heavily onto the dining table for support. It was her uncle, bloody and barely breathing from what Callie assumed was a heavy beating.
Injured wrist forgotten, Callie pushed up from the floor, “No! Uncle—” only to be stopped by the man shoving her back down to the floor.
He clicked his tongue and pushed her back down. His next words tuned Callie’s blood to ice. “Sit down, pretty. I’m not done with dear old, Jimmy here. Be patient, dear. Then, you’ll have your turn.”
Fresh out of the bath, Callie softly called out that she was done.The woman who had prepared the bath for her entered with a white fluffy towel draped on one arm, and a salve resting in her other hand.“Thank you…” Callie started when the woman handed her the towel.“Nabi,” the woman answered, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.“Thank you, Nabi. I’m Callie.”Nabi offered a small smile as Callie slipped into a fresh white robe, then she led the singer to sit in front of the vanity.“I’ve heard your name before,” said Nabi as she pulled one drawer open to grab a brush. Slowly, she took a section of Callie’s hair and started to brush it.Callie didn’t ask her to elaborate. Somehow, people knew her name by her association with Vin, and every time, nothing good came out of it.They stayed silent even as Nabi pulled the hair dryer out of another drawer and started to dry Callie’s hair. The blonde brushed and pulled sections of Callie’s hair and pinned them away from her face in
Callie’s ears rang with Cullen’s howling of frustration but her mind remained on the memory of Vin. His words, no matter how hurtful, his touch no matter how brief.She couldn’t look him in the eyes, feeling disgusted to put on display like that to a man who threw her out once. But she caught glimpses of him. His tired eyes, the downward curve of his mouth, the way his shoulders sagged a bit, these were details only Callie noticed. To anyone else, Vin was a picture of a bored man, but Callie saw through the façade. She saw the darkness that ringed his eyes, his pale skin, and sunken cheeks. Her stomach twisted with worry that he hadn’t been eating well.Maybe he’d changed his mind. Perhaps he’d come to save me, Callie thought earlier. But Vin’s words cut too deeply to be fake. She was a passing plaything. And she will never be more, because Vin had cast her aside for the second time.Callie’s empty stomach tightened as she swallowed the bile that threatened up her throat. Disgust cra
Vin drummed his fingers onto the tabletop of Cullen Reich’s private game room. The wait was pissing him off. He had a clear idea why Cullen ever so politely invited him into his territory and into his private establishment.“He’s going to gloat,” said Soren during their earlier meeting. “Callie will be there, that’s given. But we have no news whatsoever after her location was confirmed. We don’t know if…”“We don’t know if she’s alright,” Vin finished for him. “She’s alive. That much, I’m certain. He wouldn’t call me out like this otherwise.”The date of their meeting came. Two full days after Callie left, no, since Callie was taken.Vin reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small flask. The whiskey burned down his throat, but it did nothing to ease his nerves.On the outside, he was a picture of calm, but the storm in his eyes betrayed his exterior.Callie was somewhere in Reich’s territory. The plan was already in place, he only needed to set a few more pieces on the board
Callie woke up shivering and sputtering the water that was thrown in her face. Disoriented and cold, she was pulled from the floor and forced to sit in a wooden chair.“Tie her legs and arms,” said a voice she vaguely recognized. “I don’t want her filth touching me.”Callie’s head pounded along with the throbbing ache in her jaw. She ran her tongue across her lips, surprised when she tasted copper upon them. The slap from earlier must have left a cut. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt her wrists being bound together by zip ties, followed by her ankles.“Is she alive? Wake up, darling.” It was the same voice, deep and masculine, but it held a sinister vibe that Callie couldn’t help but shiver. Another splash.Sputtering and coughing, she slowly opened her eyes, groaning when the bright overhead light invaded her vision, worsening her headache.Memories came flooding back after she’d regained her bearings.She had been kidnapped; beaten; drugged three times with sedatives; and now
Ella stared at Vin’s back wondering what the best way to murder him was. She’d asked him—no, begged him before not to hurt Callie, and yet he still did.The doctor waited until Liam was out of earshot before she spoke, and she didn’t bother disguising the venom in her voice.“You fucked up,” she told him icily. “You fucked up big time, Vin. Callie is a one-in-a-million. No, one in a zillion!” Ella watched Vin’s shoulders straighten as he faced her, his face a mask of indifference. “You’ll never find another woman like her, and you gave her up just like that, for what?”Vin’s skull throbbed with a migraine on top of the ache he felt in his right thigh. With his hands fisted at his sides, he fought through the pain to answer Ella.“I didn’t give her up,” he replied. “I gave her freedom.”His voice sounded strained and tired, but it held a hint of doubt.“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Ella scoffed. “You’re an idiot.”She turned his back on him and started to put away the
The air in Vin’s office seemed to thin by the minute. It had not been a day, and yet Callie’s absence weighed on him like they had been apart for years.There was only so much he could do to distract himself from the fact, but Sienna, Callie’s best friend was not making it easy for him.“How could you?” Sienna asked, disbelief thick in her voice. Vin didn’t need to look up from his laptop to know she was glaring at him. He had enough on his plate, Sienna’s outburst was the least of his priorities, but Raleigh’s presence warranted the crime lord’s attentionRaleigh was like a son to Vin, so when he looked up and saw confusion and disbelief in Raleigh’s eyes, Vin’s chest pricked.“I never question you, Vin. You know that,” the boxer said in a low, even voice. “But this is just wrong. You know more than anyone that Callie belonged here with us.”A muscle throbbed at Vin’s jaw upon hearing those words.“That’s enough,” he growled. “I don’t need any of your opinions, and I do not appreciate
Callie’s heart thudded in her ears. Nothing registered except for the pain, so much pain that she couldn’t tell what was hurting.It was like Vin ripped her heart out from her chest, dropped it on the ground, and stomped on it with heavy boots.Tears blurred her sight, she struggled to pull herself and the suitcases out of the elevator, and once the doors closed behind her, she collapsed.It was over.She hit the ground hard, scraping her knees and palms, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain in her chest.She sobbed into her hands, crying out, uncaring that a few stories above her, Vin was probably hearing her as he sipped on his drink, uncaring.The tears were unrelenting as was the stabbing in her heart. She sat on the ground, crying until no more tears fell from her eyes. She cried until she felt exhaustion wrapping its arms around her. She needed to leave before she collapsed in front of Vin’s elevator.Mustering the strength to stand was equivalent to squeezing her heart
Soren stared at Vin, worried about his friend. He had suspected that the letter would contain some kind of message from Jimmy, but he didn’t want to break the news to Vin. There was no way to make this easy for him.Vin could lie to himself all he wanted, but anyone with eyes could see that he was in love with Callie. And his reaction to the letter he held in his hands was proof of that.“Callie’s free,” Vin whispered a second before crumpling the piece of paper in his hand.The world seemed to spin around Vin. Callie had been a constant in his life for only a few months, but he knew he couldn’t live without her.Everything in him screamed not to let her go. To find an alternative. To buy her back. But another part of him, the moral side of him, knew that Callie deserved to be free.That deal was to play with her, right? Never did he think he’d be this devastated when this day finally came.Callie wasn’t a bird trapped in his cage anymore, and she deserved to see the world, as the wor
“Where are we going?” asked Liam as he sucked on his chocolate drink. Vin helped him get strapped into his seat in the back. “Home. We’ve been gone for too long.” Callie looked at Vin nervously, but she managed to plaster a smile on for Liam. “You hear that Liam? We’re going home!” she said excitedly, buckling her own seatbelt. She turned to Vin then. “You okay?” Vin glanced over at Callie as he eased the car out onto the highway. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” But Callie could tell something was wrong. Something had been wrong since the night of her attempted kidnapping. Had she said something to piss Vin off? But if she had, then he would have called her out on it already. Vin wasn’t the type of person to hold back on her punishments if she needed it. So, what was wrong now? “We’re driving straight home,” said Vin after a couple of minutes on the road. “If you need something, just let me know. We can pull over for food or bathroom breaks.” Callie’s eyebrows scrunched together
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