“Nikolai, the visa went through,” Sergei said cheerfully with the documents in his hands.
“Good. Have my bags packed immediately. Everything else is in order,” he commanded. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest with anticipation. I’ll see her soon, and she’ll be mine, he thought.
“Nikolai, I’ve been your friend for twenty years. Do you think it’s wise to off an entire crime family just for revenge?” Sergei asked.
“My friend, I’ve had a change of heart, so to speak. I’m not going to off any of them yet, but instead I’ll be acquiring one of them.”
“Acquiring?” Sergei asked, a bit confused, thinking he couldn’t mean what he thought he meant.
“Yes, little Bianca Rossi will become mine,” he said with a sneering smile.
“Isn’t that a little counterproductive...considering you’re planning to off her family?”
“Since when did you learn a big word?” Nikolai said in jest with a smile. Sergei was floored by the sudden change in his friend and boss. Since he’d gotten the news of the betrayal, Nikolai had been different.
“I know what it means. Do you?”
“Yes. It means fucking a baby into a broad on the kitchen counter.”
Sergei had to process Nikolai’s joke, but when it registered, he asked, “Wait. Is that your plan for her?”
Nikolai looked around to make sure they were out of listening range. “Yes. I don’t know yet how I’m handling the family, but I know one damn thing’s for certain. I want her ass.”
“So fuck her stupid and toss her. Their family is just as fucked in the head as us. What makes you think they’re going to let you knock her up and move into the family?”
“Sergei, you worry too much. They aren’t going to have a say. I’m taking her, and even if I let them live, I might not let her ever see them again.”
“I think you need to go find some bitch to fuck. You’re thinking with your dick and not the fucking brain you were given. This is a deadly game you want to start.”
“I didn’t start this shit—they did. They made the first strike, but they didn’t understand who they were dealing with or the treasure they had in their possession. Now they’ll know,” Nikolai smiled scarily. His scar added to the menacing expression.
“The thing is…” Sergei paused and looked around before pulling Nikolai further aside. “I don’t think it was them.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. Something seems off about the situation. I wanted to look into it, but I didn’t know who to trust.”
“I’ve got the same feeling. Any theories?”
“Yeah. I was thinking it’s someone in the States that’s got it out for both us and them. They see you got released and made it look like the Rossi family were the rats.”
“It still doesn’t change my mind. I want her. I’m still moving forward with it. Instead of offing them, I’ll give the Rossis a change to prove their innocence, but when it comes to her, my mind is made up.”
“When do you plan for us to leave?”
“Tomorrow morning, and we strike two days from now.”
“Wait. That’s the same day you were arrested.”
“Yes. It’s perfect. Don’t you think?” Nikolai said with a wicked grin.
“Sounds good to me.”
Chapter 1
They arrived in America the day before the planned raid and capture. All but a few of the men came with Nikolai. He needed everything to run smoothly at his hideaway in the south of France. He wanted it perfect for her. Looking at her file and her interests, he acquired all of the things he thought she would like.
Everything was going as planned until Nikolai found out something that could get a lot of fucks murdered.
“She’s engaged?” he said, enraged, before he punched a hole in the hotel room wall.
“He’s dead. I want him dead. She gave my pussy to him. I want him gone and done with.”
Sergei looked at Nikolai like he was fucking insane. Nikolai fucked women who were professionals in the sack.
“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. This fuck took what was mine.”
“Who knows if she was a virgin before this guy? We don’t.”
“I do. They protected her until she met this fucking mid-level thug. She’s finally an adult, and they let her get pulled into this crook’s grasp.” Nikolai paced the whole hotel room. He needed to go for a walk. His blood was boiling and his heart was cracking almost as fast as it was racing.
“I’m going out, and no one is going to come with. I need to think, understood?”
The guards wanted to oppose, but telling Nikolai what to do was out of the fucking question, unless they had a death wish.
It was almost the end of summer and the chill had kicked in, so he took his trench coat with him and set out for a brisk walk in the park. The moment he stepped out into the fresh air he felt the chill, but instead of lifting his collar, he let the air hit him. He needed the cold to soothe the burning rage.
The bustling city looked lovely this time of year, but he didn’t notice anything. His thoughts had been his main focus. His Bianca was about to marry another man. Jealousy was an understated emotion at that moment. Virile, violent, possessive hate clouded his brain. He’d been so consumed, he hadn’t even noticed where he was walking until he collided with none other than the woman on his mind.
†††
“Oh my goodness, Bianca. You look amazing. Claudio is going to lose his mind and heart when he sees you in this dress,” Amber said as she looked at her sister-in-law trying on one of her wedding gown choices.
Bianca didn’t smile back at Amber. More and more, she was feeling this wedding was a huge mistake. Claudio Santini may have claimed to care for her, and even if he did, she didn’t care for him. They only started dating about six months ago. She knew that Claudio’s main reason to rush the wedding was because he wanted unification between the two families especially because the Rossi family was most powerful family in the area.
“What’s wrong, Bianca? You don’t seem happy about this,” Amber asked over the partition as she tried on her bridesmaid dress and Bianca changed back into her clothes.
“I don’t think I’m ready to do this,” Bianca said as she ran out of the dress shop. She rushed out of the store to get some air. Bianca wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going until she ran into a wall of man.
Bianca stared up at the man who’d accidentally knocked her to the ground. He was huge and unbelievably handsome, even as she gazed at him under the shade of a tree. Never had she’d seen a man that had attracted her so much. Well, there was a man once, but this wasn’t him, although the resemblance was there in the shadow. Last she heard, he had been sent to prison in Russia. She had fallen in love with just his photo and had kept it in her belongings since then, fantasizing about a future that was impossible. And because of that, she was marrying a man she didn’t love.
The stranger bent down and stuck out his hand to her. The moment their hands touched, they both felt the electricity. He lifted her onto her feet, and she stepped back in fear of what hit her hard—pure attraction and realization. It was him—Nikolai Rykov. The man she still hadn’t forgotten. It couldn’t be. It was her silly imagination playing tricks on her. She stared at him, and even with the scar on his face, she knew it was him. She felt it.
He noticed her scared look and said, “Forgive me. I understand the scar is not appealing. I wish I’d met you before I got this.”
“It’s not the scar,” she said as she walked toward him and reached out her hand and then gently touched his face. The feeling was just like when she touched his hand—scary. He gripped her hand that caressed his face and held it to him, absorbing her touch.
Uncomfortable with the insane feelings coursing through her, she tried to end their meeting. “Thank you for helping me up. I’ve to go.”
“Tell me why you look at me as if you’re afraid,” he asked suspiciously.
&nb
sp; “I can’t,” she said when she turned around.
“Don’t. Walk with me.” He reached for her arm and pulled Bianca along, making her shiver.
“Aren’t you chilled? Where is your coat?” Bianca didn’t want to tell him that she just ran away from a dress fitting. He wouldn’t understand, and it was very embarrassing. She was infatuated with him, but marrying someone else.
“It wasn’t cool when I left,” she lied. He took off his coat for her and placed it around her shoulders. It didn’t escape his notice that she discreetly sniffed his coat and smiled. Nikolai’s heart jumped at her hidden gesture. He realized that her hesitance wasn’t based on fear, but rather desire.
“My name is Nikolai. Will you tell me yours, my lovely princess?” Nikolai’s deep voice only made her blush as he tried to charm her.
“Bianca,” she said, blushing deeper.
“Beautiful Bianca, where were you coming from right now?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I’d rather not.”
“It’s clear you’re not from here. What brings you to America?”
“Several things, but only one is of the most importance. Something I’d rather not discuss.”
“Are you married?”
“No.”
“By the looks of that ring, I would say that you are or will soon be,” Nikolai said in an almost feral, angry tone.
Before she could react to his anger, up walked Amber, clearly out of breath from trying to catch up to Bianca. “Bianca, why did you run off?” she said before she noticed Nikolai.
“Oh my God! Nikolai!” she shouted before giving him a big hug.
“Mrs. Rossi,” Nikolai said as he pulled her away from him.
“Bianca, this is Nikolai Rykov. Your brother and I owe him everything.” She turned back to Nikolai. “I’m so sorry about what happened to you. It was truly terrible.” Amber touched the scar on his face in sincerity, annoying Bianca and embarrassing Nikolai.
“Thanks for your concern. Excuse me, ladies.” Bianca took off his coat and handed it to him. He took his time taking it from her, sliding his hand against hers. Nikolai walked away but took the long way back to his hotel, while the ladies walked back to the dress boutique.
†††
Nikolai walked to the hotel in a state of confusion. A thousand things were going through his head. He’d finally seen her, and she was more beautiful that he had imagined. What perplexed him, though, was why Amber was so nice to him when she should’ve scurried away as fast as she could? Luciano had given up the mob life for a quiet life with his wife according to the files, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t alerted to Nikolai’s release. Luciano would’ve made his guards well aware of his release and the danger Nikolai presented.
Nikolai turned to look back at the ladies and saw them entering a bridal boutique. The same feeling he’d had since he learned of the engagement struck him hard—pure, unmitigated jealousy.
Oh, yes. Tomorrow was still going to happen.
He tried not to get angry again since he had an important meeting to deal with the person getting him full access to the Rossi home.
Once back at the hotel, the greedy fuck was waiting for him. He got the meeting under way with the informant.
“So I want full access to the house tomorrow. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No. None at all. There will be only two guards at Luc’s place. His wife doesn’t like them all around.”
“Perfect. This is the first part of the installment,” Nikolai said as he handed him the phone with the bank information showing the wire transfer. “Once I’m safely out, my men will send the rest. Are we good?”
“We’re great,” the informant said with a creepy grin.
What the informant didn’t know was that Nikolai hated snakes. It didn’t matter whose organization he belonged to, you were still untrustworthy. If you were dirty to your own, you were dirty to all. That was something that he couldn’t tolerate. What made it worse was that he was willing to let him into the house to execute the whole family, including his Bianca. He was glad it was him he was selling out the family to because if it was someone else, there would be no survivors.
The bastard knew what Rykov and his team were going to do once they got in, and he still helped them for money. To top it off, it wasn’t even a lot of money—only two hundred grand. It was clear to him that the guy had a dope problem. He needed to follow through with the initial invasion, or someone may get suspicious.
Sergei walked the fool out of the hotel room before Nikolai killed the pussy. The moment Nikolai got the shady fuck out of his sight, he went to his room and took a long nap. Now that he was so close, he could breathe again. Sleep came to him easily as he dreamed of her.
It was a big day tomorrow, and he planned to keep Bianca up all night. Seeing her today had done something to him. It made what he had been feeling a reality. In person, she was more perfect that any photo could show. Her eyes shined brightly, and her pale face was pinked from the cool breeze. He could tell she was attracted to him, but she had someone else. Something he didn’t foresee as a big problem.
He couldn’t wait to see her again. Although, the next time she saw him, she may not like him very much. There was nothing he could do about it.
Chapter 2
It was just about dinnertime in the Luciano Rossi household. The Rossi family gathered together every week as a family for dinner. It was a tradition that they tried to keep, even when they were very busy. Luciano, Amber, their son, his parents, and his little sister were all at the house. Amber and Mrs. Rossi were in the kitchen cooking dinner. The Don was sitting on the floor playing with baby Luciano and his toys. Bianca and Luciano were sitting on the couch talking about nothing when she asked him a serious question.
“Luc, why do you and Amber owe Nikolai Rykov?” Bianca curiously asked. Amber wouldn’t say anything when Bianca approached her about it earlier, and had decided to change the subject. Amber had been uncooperative, so she hoped that her brother would answer her question.
“Where did you hear that from?” The look on Luciano’s face was one of nervousness and pain.
“Amber said it when we saw him yesterday.” The Rossi men knew of Rykov’s release but didn’t know they were the object of his revenge.
“You saw Nikolai Rykov yesterday, and neither of you or my men told me?” It was clear to Bianca that her brother was not happy with them.
“We’d given Angelo a break while we shopped, so he didn’t have to wait while we tried the dresses on in the shop. I don’t know where he went, but I kind of ran away from the dress shop. After Amber changed out of her gown, she ran after me.”
“Bee, we’ll talk about why you ran later, but first I want to know what happened when you saw Rykov.” Luciano looked at his sister intensely while waiting for a response. They owed Rykov and wondered if he was coming back to claim his due. What he could want from them, they didn’t know, but Luciano hoped it wasn’t too much trouble to meet.
“Nothing, really. It was windy. I ran out not watching where I was going, and I ran right into him. He helped me off the ground. We spoke briefly, but that was it. Amber came right out and immediately hugged him.” Bianca knew she shouldn’t have said that to her brother. She knew that he was jealous of anyone near Amber.
“She hugged him?” Luciano asked angrily.
“It wasn’t like that,” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes.
“I know my wife. I don’t have to worry about her, but what did he do when she did it?”
“Really, brother, you’re ridiculous. You think everyone wants Amber.” Luciano noticed her sister’s jealous tone, something he hadn’t heard from her before. Bianca tried to backtrack, but it was too late. There was something she wasn’t telling him about Rykov and her conversation.
“Are you interested in him, my engaged sister?” he asked suspiciously.
“No. It�
��s not that, but why can’t a guy be interested in me? Why do you always think it’s Amber they want?”
“Cara, you’re a beautiful woman, but she’s my wife. My first concern is her and any men that hit on her, but that wasn’t why I asked.”
“Then why did you?” Bianca asked, hoping he would tell her more about Nikolai.
“It’s nothing. Let me go look for my wife and spank her ass,” Luciano growled before he walked away and into the kitchen on the hunt for his Ambrosia.
†††
“Mrs. Rossi, I believe we need to have a word,” Luciano growled as he stalked into the kitchen.
“Mama, can you excuse us?” he asked without waiting for an answer, grabbing his wife’s hand and walking her upstairs to their bedroom.
“What is it?” Amber asked, confused by his interruption.
He placed a finger on her lips and said, “Shush. Wait until we get in the room.”
Once they got in the bedroom, he pinned her to the bed. “Wife, do you mind telling me why you didn’t say anything about seeing Rykov, let alone hugging him?” he growled as he lifted her dress.
“I was going to tell you, but you were busy talking to Angelo, and well, I don’t trust him?” she answered anxiously as she looked at her angry, yet sexy husband. She loved the heated looks he gave her.
“Why didn’t you tell me that before? I would’ve gotten rid of him immediately.”
“It’s nothing. Bianca and I just get an uncomfortable feeling around him,” Amber whispered as Luciano began to kiss her neck.
“I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” he murmured, still continuing to kiss her neck. His hands slid underneath her panties, letting his fingers play with her wet lips. Amber moaned from his touch.
“I love you, Amber. I need you right now. When my sister told me you hugged him, I wanted to just slam my cock into you.” Luciano knew Amber loved him, but Rykov saved her, which earned him her love and respect. She was seriously upset when she learned of his imprisonment and that I couldn’t do anything to help get him out.
The Russian's Captive (The Captive Series Book 2) Page 2