Chained To The Don
I met him in a place no sane woman should ever be in Blackgate Prison. As a prison therapist, I was trained to see danger. Every part of me screamed to stay away, but I couldn’t.
He was a legend behind bars, Nikolai Sokolov, ruthless, untouchable, the leader of one of Russia’s most feared Mafia syndicates. Darkness clung to him like a second skin. The dim light carved his face into something sharp and dangerous.
He looked at me, cold and unreadable, and held me in place with his gaze.
“Who are you?” His voice was rough, heavy with threats and scars I couldn’t see.
I forced a smile, trying to keep my voice steady. And yet… a part of me felt at home in this danger, a shadow inside I had never admitted, one that hummed quietly at his presence. It was darkness like his, though he couldn’t know it.
“I’m Dr. Korovin. I’m here to evaluate you.”
The chains rattled as he shifted, a predator testing the limits of his cage. His lips curved, not into a smile, but into a warning.
“My name is Nikolai,” he said slowly, deliberately, heavy with threat. “Remember it, Doctor.”
I should have been scared. I should have run. But something inside me stirred, something dark, like him, and I didn’t yet understand it.