by Alone Eagle
He turned away from her before he said something stupid.
Vlad had to deal with his father for now.
31
Chapter 31
Vlad had already instructed Gabriele and his men at home to bring his father in.
Now, Enzo stood in front of him in the basement cell.
Vlad kept cells like these.
They weren’t at his place, but in a secret, secluded area that he had purchased under a fake name. He didn’t want to leave a trail.
Enzo stared angrily at Vlad who looked at him from outside the locked cell. Enzo didn’t sit on the single dirty, yellowing mattress. The basement was filthy. It wasn’t supposed to be heaven. Vlad had purposefully kept it this way.
This man was his blood. The previous Don.
Vlad studied Enzo who stared at him with animosity. He looked like he wanted to set Vlad on fire. Vlad crossed his arms calmly over his chest as he stared at his only remaining family. Well, the first of the two remaining members. Gabriele was still alive. He knew he had family in the Bratva still, but he didn’t know them.
Vlad hadn’t bothered to shower yet. He let Enzo see him in this state so that he knew in what situation he had placed his heir, his only son. He could have died today.
Two of Vlad’s men stood behind him, and there were five outside the area, guarding it. He’d left Gabriele at home to protect Dahlia. For a second, he wondered if he should be more alert about Gabriele too. But then he shook his head. Gabriele wouldn’t go against him.
“What is the meaning of this?” Enzo demanded, narrowing his eyes at him.
Vlad looked at him, amused. “Don’t you know why you’re here, Father?” He used the word to taunt him. He no longer meant it as an endearment.
Enzo’s eyes widened at him and he clenched his teeth at Vlad.
“Is it because of that girl?” Enzo shot at him.
Vlad stayed quiet.
“Are you fucking serious? All this for one girl? You hold me captive here now because of that whore?” Enzo threw his hands up in disbelief.
The words stung, but Vlad didn’t let them get to him
“I warned you the last time,” Vlad began.
“You’re getting too damn soft to take care of this empire!” Enzo roared at him, marching toward him, and pounding on the cell.
“Careful there. You’ll break your own hand before I can,” Vlad said coolly.
Enzo stared at him, open-mouthed, stunned before he stumbled back in shock.
“You would hurt your own father?” Enzo questioned him in disbelief. Then he pointed at himself, “You would kill me for her? You would kill me?” Enzo shook his head before scoffing.
“You killed my mother, didn’t you?” Vlad asked calmly.
Enzo’s nostrils flared, and he stared back at Vlad.
Enzo stared at him, his fists clenching in and out. “You were becoming disobedient. You were picking her over family. I realized that when I told you to check if her tits were real. It was the first time you had said no to me.”
Vlad remembered that moment only too well.
“So, you decided to get rid of her?” Vlad concluded.
Enzo didn’t reply.
Vlad moved closer to him, while ordering his men to bind Enzo to the chair with rope. His men did as he requested. They obeyed him, not his father.
Enzo protested and shouted. He fought against the men, punching them. Enzo could still fight well, but then Vlad pointed a gun at him.
“You fight, and I will kill you right now,” Vlad gritted out, anger roaring through his veins.
Enzo pressed his lips together and gave him a curt nod.
He sat calmer now that he was tied to the chair.
Vlad entered the cell, although he tried not to inhale the stench, so it didn’t penetrate his nose.
“Do you know what happens to traitors?” Vlad questioned him, toying with him.
A nagging voice at the back of his mind told him to stop, that this was his father. To show mercy but mercy was for those Vlad felt pity for. He didn’t feel any ounce of pity or remorse for his father. He should have done this a long time ago.
“I know you like to start the torture by pulling out their nails.”
Enzo’s gray eyes widened before he began spluttering out shouts.
Vlad only smirked. “I don’t do that though.”
Enzo sighed deeply in relief.
Then Vlad said, “I start by scorching their bodies first.” He was eager to get started now.
Enzo’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“You can’t kill me Vlad!” Enzo shouted at him.
Vlad looked at him, amused. “And who’s going to defy me?”
There was only silence in the room.
Vlad seemed so far away from reality.
His father hadn’t raised him. Never showed him any kind of love or affection. He’d never received any parental love in his whole life. Natalie had acted in the place of his parents.
Enzo had just existed as if a formality.
Vlad nodded at one of his men to get the fire poker.
He ignored his father’s protests, shutting off his mind and thoughts. He was going to be today exactly what his father had tried to drill into his mind since childhood.
Ruthless.
His man returned with the fire poker that was red-hot and shimmering with heat. A cruel smile played on Vlad’s lips now. He would hurt anyone who tried to cross him. Even if the man bound in front of him was his father.
Vlad placed the hot poker on his father’s flesh, who groaned but didn’t scream. He had to give it to his father though, Enzo was still strong for a man close to death.
You made me swear an oath now your flesh will burn.
Enzo hissed through gritted teeth as Vlad switched to burn his other hand.
Then, he pressed the hot poker against his father’s chest on top of his button-down shirt. The heat scorched through the fabric and pierced into his skin, burning it, and making him bleed. A cold smile played on Vlad’s lips at the sight. The fabric was stuck to his father’s skin now. He liked it. A permanent tattoo.
That’s when his father lost it. His father pleaded with him, begged him even, but he didn’t listen. He seemed so lost, so far away. He didn’t recognize himself.
For a second, it occurred to him, that he didn’t like being cruel. But then, he shook his head. He wanted more of this power now. Now that he’d had a sniff of it, he didn’t want to stop.
He was going to draw this out. He already knew that.
He wasn’t going to kill his father quickly or easily.
He would keep Enzo here for weeks drawing his death out.
Vlad felt a piece of himself die.
His humanity.
It was shedding away slowly.
He’d killed people before but never relished in the act of torture. He’d never watched when Leo would handle that aspect. This time, he enjoyed it.
Enzo’s pain gave him satisfaction.
No one would ever dare to defy him or take what was his again.
This empire was his.
Dahlia was his.
The city was at his mercy.
32
Chapter 32
Two weeks later
Vlad and I were tangled in his sheets.
I was on top of him.
Surprisingly, our clothes were still on.
I leaned over and playfully flicked his nose as I gazed at him. His eyes were closed as his face rested, facing the ceiling. His
hands were tucked behind his head. I leaned over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.
He opened one eye and stared at me with mild amusement.
My face broke out in a smile as I snuggled close to him. I gazed around his large bedroom. It was bigger than mine, filled with golden furniture and marble tiles. I caught a few guns on display on the wall but that was about it. There were no photographs or paintings in his room. The walls were bare and creamy. There wa
s almost a haunting feeling about his wing. It was too empty.
Vlad caught me staring, and my eyes jerked in his direction. His eyes turned soft as they looked up at me. My breath was caught in my throat at the way he was looking at me… with adoration. I’d never had someone look at me like that. This was more than desire and lust. I looked away from the intensity of his eyes, cowering now. When I sneaked a glance at him, he was still staring.
His eyes glinted under the moonlight. His full, soft lips were captivating to look at, inviting me in, drawing me closer to him. His rugged features were alluring. Seductive even. The dark alpha. Many women’s secret desire. It wasn’t about the way he just looked. It was about the way he spoke too.
I sighed deeply.
“You’re creepy.” I accused him.
A small, amused smile played at his lips, and I wanted to kiss it off. “How am I creepy?” he asked.
I blinked at him slowly. “All you do is stare at me.”
“Potrei guardarti tutto il giorno.”
I smiled at the Italian words coming out of his mouth. It sounded like poetry. Right now, anything that came from him would be amazing.
“What does that mean?”
“I could look at you all day.”
I licked my lips nervously.
“Besides, I can’t look at what’s mine?”
My heart raced at his. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Are you mine too?” I asked.
I didn’t know if he slept with other women. He had never made it clear to me before.
He tilted his head as he leaned up and nipped at my chin with his teeth.
I smiled at him, unfolding like a small kitten.
“I haven’t touched anyone else,” he murmured.
My eyes widened at him. He had my full attention now.
“You believe in monogamy?” I joked.
He gave me a small smile before he began nipping my neck.
I needed to ask him something, so I pulled away.
“Vlad?”
He paused and looked up at me.
“What are we?”
I wanted to know where we stood.
Was I his mistress?
His lover?
His girlfriend?
So many questions burned through my mind and only he could give me the satisfaction of an answer.
Instead of answering my question, he said, “I’m going to take you out tomorrow.”
My heart filled with hope. “Really?” I practically squealed.
Vlad smiled at me and traced my lower lip with his finger. I simply stared at him, hypnotized at his movement.
“It’s a private little ball. I thought you might like it.”
I grinned at him then.
“I have a deal there, but I also want to spend time with you outside.”
Deal? I blinked. “What kind of deal?”
He blinked at me slowly, like I was stupid that I didn’t know what he did for work.
“Drugs,” he mumbled.
Vlad leaned up and tucked a tendril of my hair behind my ear. The gesture felt so intimate and sweet. I smiled down at him.
“If you keep smiling at me like that, I’ll fall in love with you,” he said, teasing me. His wolf-like eyes glowing at me.
I held my breath before slowly blowing it out. It landed on his lips.
What did he just say?
Repeat please.
Maybe I was hallucinating.
I rumpled his hair playfully. “Big bad criminals don’t fall in love. This isn’t a fairytale. It has no happy ending. You don’t know how to love, mister.”
He gazed at me, and his upper lip curled in a knowing smirk. “And what if I do?” he asked with a challenge in his voice.
I stared at him open-mouthed.
Did he even realized what he had just said to me?
Before I could reply to his question, he leaned up and pulled me closer to kiss me. Our mouths sealed together, and he drew his tongue over my teeth, swallowing my moan. Our tongues hungrily saying hello to each other.
These past two weeks, he hadn’t touched me, only hugged me
when we were asleep. We still wore our clothes even then. But now he was close to me again, I realized just how much I’d missed him. He leaned his face closer to mine and began kissing me.
His kisses started out gentle but became deeper and more urgent with each passing second, imprinting me as we united. His hands cradled the back of my neck, making me light-headed before he pulled away from me. My eyelids slowly opened. I sucked in the cool air. I looked up and met Vlad’s glimmering eyes that always seemed to twinkle at me like stars in the sky. He was intoxicating. His woodsmoke and cedar smell was amazing.
I reached out and ran fingers through his soft, silky hair. I arched my back when he placed small, feather-like kisses on my jawline, smothering me with them. I smiled against his touch. His sweet kisses sent me over the edge now. I shoved my fingers deeper in his hair, pulling him closer to me. His lips dragged lower to my neck, kissing my collarbones.
Then he paused and looked up at me.
“I want you so bad. Are you ready?”
His voice was gruff and husky, like he was breathless. He stared up at me hopefully. When he asked me like that, I would have done anything for him. I nodded at him slowly. I wanted to. Never had I wanted someone as much as I desired him.
I was his Doll, and he was my darkest fairytale.
Vlad pulled my blouse over my head, exposing me to the cool air, causing goosebumps to bloom all over my body. For a few moments, Vlad watched me. I moved my hands to cover myself because I felt too exposed on top of him, but then he stopped me and shook his head. His hands were colder today. The usual warmth in them was missing. It made me frown. I hissed through my teeth when they met my heated, warm skin.
My hair was wild, tumbling in a black curtain around us, covering us, sheltering us. I was floating now as he entered me from below, making me gasp. The rush of blood in my veins was intense. The blaze of desire in the very atmosphere around us. I watched him the entire time he moved against me, as I glided over his body. I never once let my eyes travel elsewhere. I held those eyes with mine the whole time.
He flipped me over, taking me by surprise and getting on top of me.
Vlad covered me, all of him pressed against all of me. I liked how our bodies fit together, like we were meant for each other. That thought scared me. I shouldn’t feel so much for him.
I was on the brink of failing.
My pulse quickened in fear and excitement. I’d never felt so alive until this moment. He brought out a side of me that I had only recently discovered
Vlad was so tender and gentle with me.
We were no longer fucking.
This wasn’t just about sex.
He was making love to me.
He was everything.
He might be the beast, the monster, the enemy, but right now, he was all that I wanted.
33
Chapter 33
The next afternoon, Vlad left me a golden dress with a note.
Get dressed my beauty.
Gabriele will pick you up.
Your Don
I grinned to myself.
He was finally taking me out. I’d waited a long time for this.
I stared at the luxurious golden gown in front of me. A dress fit for a queen. His queen, maybe. The neckline and sleeves were sparkling. When I stared closely, I realized they were diamonds.
I stared at it, dumbfounded.
Of course, he was wealthy.
The dress was stunning. I quickly showered and blow dried my hair. Once I had finished, I curled it until it cascaded down my back and then applied my makeup. I spritzed some perfume onto myself and put on the dress.
Then, I stared at myself in the mirror.
It fitted me perfectly, like a glove. The diamonds around it sparkled when the light hit it. The dress’s neckline was scooped, exposing the swells of my cl
eavage. From the back, the dress was backless. I couldn’t wear a bra with this one. The dress hugged my curves in the right places. It was like it was made for me. For a moment, I twirled into the mirror, but then I stopped, feeling stupid.
I could hardly recognize this as me. The girl who had grown up in foster care with nothing of her own.
My makeup and hair were all made up.
My dress expensive.
I fitted into this place now, into this mansion, this palace, but did I really want to?
Was that what Vlad was doing?
Getting me ready?
I shook off my thoughts and wore matching golden heels.
I exited my room and headed toward the exit until I bumped into Natalie.
“Oh, my dear, you look so lovely,” Natalie beamed at me.
I blushed at her words before saying, “Thank you.”
She eyed me curiously now. “Vlad’s very fond of you. Don’t break his heart.”
My eyes shot up at Natalie.
What did she know?
Of course, she was protective of him. That must be it. There couldn’t be anything more behind her statement, could there?
Then Natalie said, “Vlad said the Gabriele is here to pick you up.”
I only nodded before hurrying away to the Porsche outside that awaited me. Of course, it was black. At least the rims were golden.
We began driving in silence.
This was lavish. Too lavish. I had asked for a simple thing, just to go outside. Vlad had not only given me that, but he had made a fairytale come to life. The dress. The diamonds. The car. I squirmed in my seat, wondering why he hadn’t come himself?
I stared straight ahead until I felt Gabriele’s eyes on me. He stared at me through the rearview mirror. I looked at him, waiting for him to say something.
“I don’t know what kind of voodoo you’ve done on Vlad,” he mumbled at last.
I hid a smile. “Black magic,” I replied cheekily. “Maybe you need some too.”
Then, Gabriele smiled at me through the mirror. He graced me for the first time with a damn smile. It was nice on him. It transformed him into a decent and approachable golden boy. He didn’t have much resemblance to Vlad. He was paler, almost like a vampire when compared to Vlad’s tanned complexion. I couldn’t tell they were cousins until he had told me. His smile made him look sweet, then I caught myself when I realized I was staring too intently at him.