Prisoner

by Skye Warren

  What other choice do I have?

  I step over the veined marble threshold.

  The man closes the door behind me, shutting out the rain and the traffic, the entire city disappeared in one soft turn of the lock. Without another word he walks down the hall, deeper into the shadows. I hurry to follow him, my chin held high, shoulders back, for all the world as if I were an invited guest. Is this how the gazelle feels when she runs over the plains, a study in grace, poised for her slaughter?

  The entire world goes black behind the staircase, only breath, only bodies in the dark. Then he opens another thick wooden door, revealing a dimly lit room of cherrywood and cut crystal, of leather and smoke. Barely I see dark eyes, dark suits. Dark men.

  I have the sudden urge to hide behind the man with the golden eyes. He’s wide and tall, with hands that could wrap around my waist. He’s a giant of a man, rough-hewn and hard as stone.

  Except he’s not here to protect me.

  He could be the most dangerous of all.

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  Sneak peek of Dark Mafia Prince by Annika Martin

  I plead repeatedly for news of my father, if only to know he’s still alive. My captor just texts.

  A crash from inside our mansion. They’re wrecking the place.

  “This is pointless.” When he doesn’t acknowledge me, I grab his wrist. “What does this get you? Come on!”

  He looks at my hand and then looks up at me. For a moment I think he, too, senses the weird familiarity between us. Like we know each other from another life. He drops his phone in his pocket and takes my wrists. “You need to stop focusing on your beautiful life in there and start praying that Daddy decides to come through.”

  “Ow,” I breathe.

  “Good. That’s you getting with the program. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get my brother back. Do I want to hurt you? No. I don’t. Will I?”

  My heart races.

  “Will I?”

  “I get it,” I whisper.

  His grip is too tight, his gaze too intense, like he sees everything inside me. People rarely look too hard at me. When they look at me at all, they accept the version of me I serve up to them. The shopaholic Mafia princess. The dedicated lawyer in glasses.

  “Dad’s innocent. He’d tell you if he knew anything else.”

  “Wrong, Kitten. Dad’s playing the odds.”

  A ping sounds. He lets me go and pulls his phone out of his pocket. A twenty-first century general waging battle.

  Whatever the person on the other ends has texted him, it troubles him.

  That’s my chance—I take off running, tearing for the main road.

  I get maybe ten feet when guys seem to materialize around me, taking me by the shoulders. I twist and fight. They lift me right off the ground, practically carry me back.

  The strangely familiar intruder is still on the phone, eyeing me with that intensity, watching me struggle. A model between photo shoots if you didn’t know any better.

  They put me back in front of him. He lowers the phone and addresses me quietly. “Do it. Go ahead, Mimi, do it again. See what happens.”

  Mimi.

  He blinks, waiting. “Do it, go for it.”

  Mimi. Only one person ever called me Mimi—Aleksio Dragusha. My childhood friend. But Aleksio and his family were slaughtered by a rival clan back when we were kids. I was wild with grief. They had to sedate me.

  Five caskets lowered into the ground. Three small, two large.

  I focus on the familiar freckle on his cheekbone. This man is so much bigger. So much harder and meaner. But his freckle…his eyes... “Aleksio?” I say in a small voice.

  “Ding ding ding, we have a winner.” He says it off-handedly, keeping his eyes fixed on the mansion with its majestic stone wings. The house where he once lived. Prince of a mafia empire.

  “Oh my God. Aleksio!”

  Still he won’t look at me.

  “We thought you were dead. We buried you.”

  “You buried a few rocks. Maybe some boiled cabbages, who knows.”

  I can’t believe he’s being so…flip. “Aleksio! We buried you.” I’m repeating myself. “I thought they killed you…” If my life were postcards on a bulletin board, the image of Aleksio Dragusha’s casket being covered up with dirt would be central, affecting everything around it. He was my best friend. I doubt I was his. Aleksio had lots of friends. Everybody loved Aleksio. Back when he was a boy, anyway.

  He focuses on his phone, running his soldiers.

  “We went to your funeral. It was so, so…” Sad isn’t the word. Sad barely touches it. We were adventurers together, bonded together, carving out a sunny niche inside a world of darkness and secrets we sensed but didn’t understand. I think that’s what made us friends—the feeling of being refugees at the edges of something evil.

  “Aleksio, you’re being crazy!”

  “You need to stop thinking you know me.” He lowers his voice to a threatening tone. “You knew me once, but I promise, you don’t know me anymore.”

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  Also by Skye Warren

  Endgame Trilogy & Masterpiece Duet

  The Pawn

  The Knight

  The Castle

  The King

  The Queen

  Underground Series

  Rough Hard Fierce

  Wild Dirty Secret

  Sweet

  Deep

  Stripped Series

  Tough Love

  Love the Way You Lie

  Better When It Hurts

  Even Better

  Pretty When You Cry

  Caught for Christmas

  Hold You Against Me

  To the Ends of the Earth

  Criminals and Captives standalones

  Prisoner

  Hostage

  Standalone Dark Romance

  Wanderlust

  On the Way Home

  His for Christmas

  Hear Me

  Take the Heat

  CLICK HERE for the complete Skye Warren book list, along with boxed sets, audiobooks, and print listings. Thank you for reading!

  Also by Annika Martin (aka Carolyn Crane)

  Dark Mafia

  Dark Mafia Prince - He’s a devil in Armani with a twisted sense of justice. But when he kidnaps his enemy’s daughter, he puts everything at risk.

  Wicked Mafia Prince - Viktor is stunned when the pretty assassin he once loved—and killed—appears in Chicago.

  Savage Mafia Prince - Baby Brother Kiro is totally fucking SAVAGE. Like, literally. This one stands alone if you have a jones for some serious caveman action and crazy dirty scenes.

  Criminals & Captives standalones

  Prisoner - He seethes with raw power the first time I see him - pure menace and rippling muscles in shackles.

  Hostage - I never knew when he’d come for me. Only that he would.

  Romantic Suspense standalones

  Against the Dark - Cole traps a pretty jewel thief into being his fake fiance…and she’s not at all happy about it.

  Off the Edge - The secret agent linguistics expert with a dirty mind goes up against a psycho.

  Into the Shadows - Thorne won’t trust you if you’re nice to him. Which makes it hard to love him.

  Behind the Mask - What do you do when your twin sister is won in a card game by dangerous cartel members? Trade places, of course!

  MM Spies

  Enemies like You (standalone) - Will has never gone up against anyone like Kit. He's arrogant. Lethal. The most expensive bodyguard money can buy.

  Romantic Comedy

  Most Eligible Bastard (standalone) - He’s sexy. Powerful. A total bastard of a CEO! Then her little dog inherits his billion-dollar company.

  Ultra dirty romantic comedy

  The Hostage Bargain (Free standalone) Melinda is a b
ank teller trapped in a dead end life…until three hot bank robbers take her hostage.

  The Wrong Turn

  The Deeper Game

  The Most Wanted

  The Hard Way

  Click here to see a complete list of Annika’s books.

  About Annika Martin

  Annika Martin (aka Carolyn Crane) loves dirty stories, hot heroes, and wild, dramatic everything. She enjoys hanging out in Minneapolis coffee shops with her writer husband and can sometimes be found birdwatching at her birdfeeder alongside her two stunningly photogenic cats. A NYT bestselling author, she has also written as RITA award-winning author Carolyn Crane.

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  instagram.com/annikamartinauthor

  Visit Annika’s website for her current booklist: www.annikamartinbooks.com

  About Skye Warren

  Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground and Stripped series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.

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  instagram.com/skyewarrenbooks

  Visit Skye’s website for her current booklist:

  www.skyewarren.com

  Copyright © 2014 by Skye Warren & Annika Martin

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or use of this work in any part is forbidden without the express written permission of the author.

  ISBN: 9781940518183

  000012218

  Cover: Bookbeautiful