The Debt: Mafia Vows One

by SR Jones

  She’s bratty, and I like that about her. I like to be in control during sex, but it’s no fun if the person you’re in control of gives it up without a fight. It’s much better if they go down with a struggle. Something tells me Maya’s struggle will be beautiful.

  The show she put on for Alesso, the way she winked at the camera, may seem about nothing but sex, but underneath it, beneath her bravado, I saw something else. Maya wants to be seen.

  Really seen.

  Not only for her smoking hot body, but she wants someone to see her soul, deep down. There’s a sadness to her, in the depth of her gorgeous green eyes, and I saw it the most when we went around the art galleries. Away from her home, when not with her friend Stella, or the other couple of girls she sometimes hangs around with, Maya has serenity to her one might not normally notice if one wasn’t paying attention.

  I noticed.

  I’m trained to do so. Part of the work I did for the government involved intelligence work, and a lot of the skillset there is peeling away people’s masks, seeing them for who they really are. In a room full of civil servants and politicians, which ones can you corrupt? Which can you pay for information? Who has a closet full of secrets?

  Once you’ve learned to read people, it’s a skill you can’t switch off. Maya puts on a front of being a fluffy, spoiled princess, but she’s much more.

  I want to see deeper inside to what makes her tick. I’ve already discovered part of the puzzle. With a father like Spiros, it’s no wonder she’s more than a little bit messed up. I don’t mind her messed up parts; I’ve plenty of my own, and they only make her more interesting.

  I reach the door and pull it open, taking in a breath of cool air, only to feel it turn to hot rage in my chest. Yannis is getting out of a car, his father on the other side of him.

  This day keeps getting better.

  Oh crap, I hope Maya isn’t wearing her ring still. Stamatis doesn’t want Yannis to know until after our wedding that she’s marrying someone else. He’s going to frame it as his bodyguard, which would be me, and Maya falling madly in love and eloping, and he didn’t know until after the fact. Then, he’ll put the whole weight of him and the organization behind us.

  It means I can’t throttle Yannis with my bare hands right now.

  Bodies frame me either side, and I don’t need to look to know it’s the boss man, Maya’s piece of shit father, and Alesso. Yannis saunters up to Stamatis and Spiros and gives them a lazy grin.

  “Ah, the Uncle and the Father in one place, how fortuitous. Father needs to discuss some of the finer details of our union. Where is my betrothed?”

  “Down the hallway,” Spiros says, shooting me a triumphant look.

  Bastard knows I can’t say anything, and he knows Yannis is an unexploded bomb of fucked-up-ness. It’s another notch against him in my mind, because what kind of father exposes his daughter to alone time with a psycho just to make a point?

  “You ought to call Marina,” Stamatis says. “My niece is virtuous, and it isn’t good for her to be alone with the groom before the wedding.”

  At the word virtuous, Yannis makes a small coughing, grunting noise, and I slap his back—hard.

  “What the hell?” He whirls on me, eyes blazing.

  “Oh, sorry.” I hold my hands up. “I thought you were choking.”

  Yannis narrows his eyes and gives me a cold stare. If he thinks he can intimidate me, he’s dead wrong.

  “Since when did your gorillas start ‘roiding up, Stamatis? If you ask me, makes a man look weak if he needs someone of this size looking after him.”

  “Shut your mouth and show some respect.” Lefteris cuffs Yannis up the back of the head, and the kid glowers at his father, but does as he says and shuts up.

  Wise choice. Stamatis won’t take to being called weak in public, no matter if the person doing it is a rival family’s kid.

  ‘Roided up, as if. I don’t touch them. I’m naturally big built, and I worked hard to make my natural size a foundation for getting seriously strong. Six-feet-four-inches and weighing in at two hundred and sixty pounds, I could squash Yannis like a bug.

  I have never taken steroids, but I do eat a high protein diet, and I work out like a beast. I lift, but I also do a shit ton of isometric exercises where you use your own body weight to train. There’s no use being able to bench three hundred pounds if you can’t haul your body up a cliff or chase after someone fleeing.

  Yannis is one of those guys who does nothing but weights at the gym, and the wrong ones too. I can tell. He’s got airbag biceps, but skinny forearms and wrists. His legs look like twiglets compared to his upper body, meaning he focuses most of his working out on his chest and upper arms, and the rest of him looks odd in comparison. He’s a weasel who likes to take his inadequacies out on women, and if he lays a finger on Maya, I’ll end him, whether it starts a war or not.

  “Of course, Father. Sorry, Stamatis, no disrespect meant.” Yannis manages to make his apology sound superior somehow, the little rat.

  Stamatis gives him a smile so cold it would chill a man with more sense, but Yannis keeps on grinning like a fool. He sniffs and moves from foot to foot then scratches the back of his head and sniffs again.

  I watch him as the adults begin to talk. He’s twitchy, unable to stay still, and his constant sniffles mean he’s either got a sinus problem … or he’s using. Given his antsy inability to stand still for one fucking moment, I’m going with the using hypothesis.

  Great, a drug addict on top of a total douche.

  Maya and her mother come out of the house, and Marina gives the men an easy smile. Got to give her credit where it’s due, she’s a smooth operator.

  “Gentlemen, why don’t we go sit out back by the pool? There are heaters on, and I can make you all some drinks.”

  The men nod, and as they follow Marina inside, I watch Yannis go up to Maya. He runs a finger down her wrist, and she flinches. Then he leans in and whispers something in her ear, her eyes go wide, she swallows hard, and nods.

  What the hell is the sick bastard saying to her?

  “Yannis, Maya, you two are welcome to come and join us by the pool, or you can go somewhere more private, if you wish?” Stamatis says. I bristle, but his next words have me biting back a grin. “Damen will stay with you wherever you go. He’s my best, Yannis, so no need to worry for you or your future bride’s safety.”

  Yannis gives me a filthy look, sniffs, then nods. “You’ve got that game room, right?”

  Maya gives a tip of her head.

  “Lead the way, wifey.”

  She does as he says, and he and I follow her down the hallway, through the kitchen, and into a room Spiros had made into a game room, apparently. There’s a pool table in there, a card table set up in one corner, but the cool thing is there are two original arcade game consoles to one side, and a pinball machine. The arcade games are original Space Invaders and Pacman.

  Maybe Spiros isn’t a complete dud as a human.

  “Your dad’s got good taste,” Yannis says as he stares at the room.

  Maya shrugs. “The pool table and card tables are Dad’s, the Space Invaders, Pacman, and pinball machines are what I bought.”

  My eyes flick to her. She bought these? Another layer to the princess. Maybe I ought to stop calling her that. It’s not as if she’s ever made us drive her forty minutes to get a pedicure like the last mafia wife we ended up babysitting as a favor to Stamatis. She was such a pain in the ass. In fact, does Maya even get all that shit done? I’m pretty sure she gets her pussy waxed as it’s totally bare, but as to the rest, I’ve never taken her for any of that shit during my days babysitting her.

  “Most women don’t like playing computer games,” Yannis says.

  Maya snorts and shakes her head. “Shows what you know; there are more women gamers than men. Although,” she says, and her face gets this faraway look as she recalls the facts, “that is if you include things like Candy Crush, which some gamers don’t s
ee as real gaming, so if you took those out it would be interesting to see the stats, but a lot of women do indeed game.”

  Yannis is staring at her as if she’s grown another head. “Are you a gamer?” he asks, and the tone to his voice isn’t hopeful, like mine would be, but sneering.

  “Not massively, but I do like to play now and again. I love these old school games, though. I read a lot, and I’m full of useless facts.”

  She gives a soft, disparaging laugh, and I hate it. Hate the way it mollifies the creep, and hate the fact that she does it as second nature because she’s been mollifying another creep most of her life … her loser father.

  “When we’re married, you don’t go spouting off weird facts like that at any social events, okay?” Yannis is lucky I’m a trained professional, because if I wasn’t, I’d be ripping his head off right about now. “I don’t want everyone thinking I’ve married a weirdo, as well as some fat cow.”

  And … that’s it.

  I’m crossing the room before my brain engages. One moment Yannis is still talking, the next he’s screaming as I bend his arm behind his back at an angle I know is agonizing, but it won’t do any lasting damage.

  “Apologize.”

  “Get the fuck off me, you fucking ape.” Yannis tries to yank his arm away, which in his position is a stupid mistake, because it only hurts more.

  “Say sorry, and you can have your arm back,” I offer, voice calm as fuck.

  “I’ll have you sacked and have your balls for this.” His face is red as he spits the words out at me.

  “Damen, let him go.” Maya’s hand on my forearm wrenches me out of the rage, and I stare at her small, cool fingers burning a brand on my skin.

  My eyes meet hers, and in this light, there are flecks of gold in the green. She’s stunning.

  “My arm, motherfucker,” Yannis growls.

  I let him go. “Don’t speak to her that way again,” I tell him.

  “You’ve overstepped the mark, ‘roid boy, and you’re gone.” Yannis is fuming.

  I don’t give a shit. He doesn’t get to call her fat or make her feel stupid for the way she is. “I saw a threat, and I acted. For another three weeks, until you two are married, I’m here to keep her safe.”

  “What threat? I didn’t raise my hands to her once, and I’m about to be her husband, you stupid lug.”

  Maya smiles at Yannis then, and it’s a smile I’ve never seen her give before. Bright, radiant, but practiced. “Hey, Yannis, why don’t we have a game of pool? I’m fine, Damen, you can sit over there.”

  She points at a chair, and her stare when she turns her gaze to me is pleading. It’s saying, ‘don’t mess this up, don’t give him a reason, don’t, don’t, don’t’.

  I get it. If I go for Yannis now, I mess this whole thing up. Stamatis would have to sack me, he’d have no choice, then where would Maya be? Back to square one with no one to marry her.

  I back down and reluctantly make my way to a chair in the corner.

  “You’re forgetting something, asshole.” Yannis stares at me, rubbing his arm. “An apology.”

  I grit my teeth, but once more Maya beseeches me with her big green gaze. I sigh. “Sorry, sir. I genuinely thought there may be a threat. You seemed angry, and I acted on autopilot.”

  “Do it again and I’ll see to it you’re sacked. Once we’re married, Maya, you won’t have to put up with this buffoon. I have my own men, and you’ll get protection around the clock.”

  Yeah, the only thing she’d need protecting from is him.

  They play a game of pool, which Maya loses, and I’m pretty sure she threw the game to appease the little man-baby in the room.

  It makes my skin itch to have to sit here and listen to them interacting as if the wedding is still happening, and it should be a big fat warning sign. One that says, you’re already too far in, and you need to step back. I can’t quite bring myself to care, though, or heed that warning.

  Mercifully, it seems Stamatis, Spiros, and Lefteris have finished their conversation, and Spiros calls for his daughter.

  As we’re leaving the room, Yannis pulls Maya to one side. “Listen, there are only three weeks to go until the wedding, and I want it to be the best day of your life, yes?”

  Maya nods, but every time he touches her, her whole body is tense. I wonder why, has he hurt her before? It seems more to me than simple dislike or wariness of him due to the rumors flying around. It’s visceral, and she fights against it every time, but I catch those initial moments when she experiences a flash of flight or fight.

  “And I don’t want you to look back on the photographs with any regrets. So, there’s a gift arriving for you today.” Yannis gives her an oily grin.

  “You don’t have to—”

  He cuts her off with a chop of his hand through the air. “Yes, I do. I’m your husband-to-be, and it’s my job to take care of you. This afternoon, there’s a three-week supply of a calorie-controlled liquid diet arriving for you. I spoke with your father about it a few days ago, and he gave me the go ahead to sort it out. You’ll hopefully lose about twenty pounds if you stick to it. If you would only exercise too, you can tone up as well. You’ll look much better in your dress and on the society pages.”

  Her face falls, and she darts a glance at me before licking her lips. “Thank you, Yannis, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

  I’m imagining cutting his cock off with a rusty knife and feeding him it.

  “And you.” He turns to me, jabbing a finger in my sternum. “You want to watch yourself. I’m not stupid. I know the rumors, that you and Alesso are way more to Stamatis than mere security, but no one is indispensable. You ever touch me like that again, I’ll get Stamatis to give you to my father, and then I’ll spend days happily listening to your screams as my men kill you, slowly. Got it, ‘Roid Rage?”

  Images flash through my mind. My fist smashing into his jaw. His face crumpling as it hits the ground. Blood spurting from his nose. But then I see Maya with no one left to step up for her. Maybe forced to marry Alesso, him resenting her, his life ruined, and Maya feeling like shit. I swallow it all down and bob my head.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I like you calling me sir; something tells me you do too. I bet deep down you want to get on your knees and suck my cock. Guys like you? They’re nearly always hiding some inadequacy by their need to get big. I bet yours is that you love to submit and beg for it.”

  Then he reaches between my legs and grabs my junk.

  Total fucking lunatic.

  I’ve never had to lock myself down like this. Never felt such exquisite rage course through my veins when I can do nothing about it.

  “Oh, feels like an okay sized package. I always thought they said using enhancement drugs made things … ya know … smaller down there. If I keep my hand here, will you get hard for it, ‘Roid Rage?”

  I don’t speak, and I don’t move. Firstly, he’s shocked the shit out of me with this move. It’s not the action of a sane man. He’s grabbing another man’s junk in front of his wife-to-be, and goading a man more than twice his size. Secondly, I’m most definitely not getting hard for him. If I did swing that way, a weirdo like him would be the last guy I’d go for. But he seems to like this quite a bit, which is information I file away.

  I glance down at his pants and smirk at the telltale bulge. He catches the smirk, lets go of my junk, and slaps me openhanded right across my face.

  “That’s for the sore arm, motherfucker.”

  Maya gasps, and out of the corner of her eye I see her moving, but she can’t give anything away, so I put my arm out and wave her back. Yannis doesn’t notice because he’s too busy staring at my face, almost mesmerized.

  Fuck me, I bet I could push him up against this wall right now and kiss him, and he’d let me. More, I bet I could grab his jaw so tight it hurt, and if Maya weren’t here watching, he’d welcome it. Amongst other things.

  He’s into giving pain, but more, I think he’
s into receiving it too. He likes to dominate and scare those he thinks are weaker, but he also gets off on being dominated.

  I make a mental note to dig deep into his life because I wouldn’t be at all shocked to find visits to a Dom, male or female, as part of his life. And that shit would be great blackmail material.

  “Sir,” I say, voice calm and devoid of any emotion as I stand back.

  A flicker of disappointment flashes in his muddy eyes then it’s gone.

  He heads out of the room with Maya trailing him. She shoots me a downright confused glance, and I shrug. This was one of the weirdest moments in my life, and there’s not an easy way to explain his behavior.

  Yannis is a worry because he’s as unpredictable as they come.

  My opinion of him was of a jumped up little shit who liked to slap women around; now it’s much worse. I think he’s genuinely crazy. With a drug habit to add into the mix.

  I call Stella that night as soon as I get the chance to go to my room. She answers on the second ring, and as I’m Facetiming her, she can see me. She gives a little gasp of dismay at my face.

  I’ve got a mark where I hit the desk, and for a moment, I forget I haven’t told Stella about marrying Damen.

  “I know.” I touch the mark. “Going to look lovely at my wedding.”

  She gives me a soft smile. “It should be better in three weeks, babe.”

  Shit, I nearly said something I couldn’t get out of, but luckily my faux pas went over her head. Remembering myself, I smile back. “So, Stella, something weird happened today.” I’ll explode if I don’t, I tell her at least a little of what went down.

  “Yeah?” She leans forward, eager for the gossip.

  “Yannis came to see me, and we went to the game room, and Damen, one of the guards we’ve got from my uncle, came with.”

  “Damen, he’s the smoking hot one, right?”

  Through all the time I spent crushing on Alesso and playing my dangerous game of putting on naughty shows for the security cameras when I knew he’d be watching, Stella always maintained that Damen was hotter.