by Lylah James
Tears of frustration blinded my vision as I tried to think of a way out.
I took a step toward the opened door, my heart beating hard and fast against my ribcage. I could go in. I could hide in there and most likely nobody would see me. I would be safe for some time, until I had a plan.
Before I could take more steps toward the door, a shout came from behind me.
“Hey!”
I froze and turned around to see two of the guards running toward me at full force.
“Stop right there!” one of the men shouted, his expression furious. I saw both of them taking their guns out and pointing them at me.
My heart stuttered and my vision turned blurry with panic. Without a second thought, I turned around and ran toward the opened door.
I felt them behind me. They were closing in and their steps sounded hard and angry.
My pulse drummed in my throat. My breath came out in short pants and I smelled it—fear. Fear surrounded me.
The doors were so close. I was almost inside the mansion.
They came close, their heat at my back. Feeling a touch on my arm, I let out a small scream and increased my pace until I passed through the door.
I ran blindly. Between sofas, chairs, a table, and then the stairs. I didn’t pay attention to where I was going. I just ran.
When I reached the second floor, I tripped over my legs and almost went down in a heap. Saving myself in time with the help of the banister, I continued running.
All I heard were furious shouts. Even when several men came from different directions, I didn’t stop running.
The halls were big and filled with many doors. When I heard distant screams, I blindly moved toward one door and opened it. I ran inside and slammed it behind me.
My body prickled with tension, like thousands of pointy knives piercing my body. My heart was beating as fast as the thrumming wings of a caged bird. It sounded like drums to my ears. It was the only thing I could hear.
I closed my eyes and leaned heavily against the door.
The mansion was too big. It would take them some time to find me. I slowly slid down until my butt met the floor. Pulling my knees toward me, I hugged them tight to my chest. I placed my head on them and tried to calm my breathing.
When I could finally breathe normally, and my gasps no longer filled the room, I looked up. Noticing that I was in a bedroom, I stood on shaky legs and moved away from the door.
The room was massive. There was a king size bed in the middle of the room and a nightstand on either side. A bench sat in front of the bed. I walked closer and pressed my hand into the soft cushions.
Looking to my left, I noticed a chest against the wall. I turned around to see a sitting area. There were two couches and a coffee table in the middle, facing a fireplace.
I looked to my right and saw that instead of walls, there were big paneled windows framed by intricate draperies. The room was welcoming, but dark.
My breath picked up when I heard someone at the door. The knob moved and my eyes widened in panic. My heart pounded faster. No. No. No.
I searched the room for a place to hide. The bed was the closest to me, so I crawled under it.
I lied down on my side. Bringing my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them and closed my eyes tightly, praying that whoever was at the door wouldn’t find me.
Chapter 2
Alessio
I opened the door to my bedroom and slammed it behind me. Viktor had been busy with the clubs’ problems, to make sure all our businesses were running smoothly, so house check-ups fell on me. That was Viktor’s job and I didn’t trust anyone else to take care of it. So I went myself.
Shifting my weight on my feet, I jerked at my tie hard until it came undone and I pulled it off my neck. As I was taking off my suit jacket, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Taking it out, I saw Phoenix’s name flashing on the screen.
“What is it?” I growled into the phone.
“Boss,” he said, sounding panicked and out of breath. I almost rolled my eyes.
“What is it?”
“Boss…”
I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence, instead tuning him out.
My eyes widened when I noticed a white cloth extending from beneath my bed. I walked closer, the phone still at my ear.
When I reached the cloth, I crouched down and touched it.
As I lifted the covers around the bed and looked down, my mouth fell open at the sight, then anger coursed through me. I could feel my eyes narrowing into slits.
A girl. A dirty-looking girl was hiding under my bed.
“Boss, boss, are you there?” Phoenix yelled through the phone.
“What?” I bellowed, as I kept my eyes on the little intruder.
She jumped at my tone and started shaking, her chin trembling and tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
I bared my teeth at her and she tried to scoot away from me, but I didn’t give her a chance. Grabbing onto her white, shredded, dirty dress, I held her still. She wasn’t going anywhere.
I fisted the material in my hand and pulled until she was no longer under the bed.
“Boss! Someone broke into the estate,” Phoenix screamed through the phone, sounding frustrated.
I smiled. The girl kept her knees against her chest, then wrapped her arms around her head as if to protect herself from me.
I laughed at the thought. Poor girl. She didn’t even know what she’d gotten herself into. Breaking into the house of the Bratva’s boss—the Pakhan—and then hiding under his bed.
“Boss?” Phoenix said, sounding confused.
“I got this,” I growled through the phone, glaring at the intruder. I ended the call before he could answer.
Putting it back in my pocket, I grabbed her arm and pulled her upward. She whimpered painfully and her sniffles filled the room. She kept her head down, her hair falling like a curtain around her face, shielding her from me.
When I tried to pull her close, she resisted and tried to twist away. I tightened my hold on her small wrist, and I knew I was hurting her. Her wincing told me so, but I didn’t let go.
If I wanted to, with barely no effort, I could break her hands in half.
I let her go and took a step back. She did exactly what I expected. She ran straight toward the door.
I smirked, pulling my gun from the back of my pants. I pointed it at her and spoke calmly.
“Another step and I’ll shoot you.”
She stopped. Her body trembled badly and I knew it was from fear. What she didn’t know was that I fed on fear.
I laughed and it sounded harsh to my own ears. She jumped but didn’t run for her life.
“Turn around.”
She didn’t turn around.
Red hot anger coursed through my body. Nobody dared to ignore me. Yet, this girl….
“Turn around,” I shouted at her back.
My little captive jumped again, but this time she swiveled around quickly. She kept her face down.
I wanted to see her.
I blinked at the sudden thought. What?
Shaking my head, my brow furrowed as I watched her. What was she doing here? Why was she here? By the look of her, she didn’t belong in a place like this. Not in a Mafia house. Especially not in my house.
“Look at me,” I said before I could stop myself. My fingers tightened around the gun as I waited for her to do as she was told.
She took longer than I expected. If she was one of my men, I would have already shot her for disobedience. But I couldn’t bring myself to move.
For some unknown reason, the way she covered her face with her long dark hair, looking so childlike, made my chest hurt.
What the fuck?
“Look at me,” I said again, this time my voice grating. She slowly brought her head up and I saw doe-like eyes peeping through her hair. I sucked in a breath and took a step toward her.
As she continued to lift her head, I saw a tin
y round nose and then pink full lips that had dried blood on them. Her cheeks were round, but obviously bruised. I couldn’t see her face properly, it was so covered with dirt and bruises.
She was hugging her arms around herself, her body shaking with silent tremors. The little intruder was obviously frightened. She was a tiny girl and I felt my heart twisting at her fragile state.
Taking a step forward, I saw green eyes peeping up at me under her long lashes. She blinked away tears as she saw me approaching, my gun still pointed at her.
When I was close, I slowly brought the gun down and glared at her menacingly. When she flinched, I felt my resolve slipping.
She took a step back and I growled, “Don’t move.”
She flinched again. My heart was beating fast in my chest. What the fuck is wrong with me?
I moved closer until our chests were almost touching. I felt her tremble against me, and she whimpered in fear. She hugged her body tighter and folded into herself, as if she was trying to hide from me, even in plain sight.
I brought my empty hand up to her face. She winced but didn’t move. Silent tears streamed down her cheek and I touched a drop, thumbing it away. She froze and I felt her suck in a breath.
I froze too. Something was wrong with me.
Before I could stop myself, my hands went to the strands of hair hanging over her face. I slowly moved her hair to the side until her whole face was visible to me. Maybe my heart stuttered for a moment. I didn’t know.
She slowly lifted her gaze until she was staring at me with glassy green eyes, the color of the rain forest.
I swallowed hard, slowly moving my thumb over her soft cheek. When she winced in pain, I let her go, taking several steps back.
A wave of emotion ran through me. First sadness, then tenderness, and finally anger. I decided to hang on to the anger and let it consume me.
There was no place for tenderness in my life. Tenderness made you weak. Any emotion other than anger made you weak.
And I couldn’t be weak. I had thousands of people behind me and I had thousands to lead.
So, I grabbed on to the anger and let it course through me until my body was shaking.
Red hot anger. I glared at her and pointed my gun at her again. Her eyes widened and she let out a cry, her hand coming up to her chest.
She shook her head repeatedly, her mouth opening and closing silently as if she wanted to say something.
“Who the fuck are you and why are you here?” I growled at her, my voice low, but my tone dangerous. It spoke volume and it was obvious the girl understood it.
If she didn’t give me an answer that I was satisfied with, I would shoot her without a second thought.
Chapter 3
Ayla
I stared at the man standing in front of me, my body shaking with indescribable fear. When he pulled me from under the bed, I didn’t notice his face. I was too scared to look at him.
But when he ordered me to look up, I was surprised. He took my breath away. For a minute, I stopped thinking that he was about to shoot me. I stopped thinking that I was supposed to run away.
All I could do was stare into the bluish-steel eyes that reminded me of the midwinter sky.
When he took a step toward me, my heart stuttered. His steps were powerful and hard. He moved confidently. I tried to take a step back, but he stopped me with his gun.
His presence was one of a leader. A dangerous leader. The air around him felt frigid.
As he came to a stop in front of me, our chests almost touching, my body trembled both in fear and in anticipation. I should have been screaming and running, but something about him caused me to remain immobile.
His touch felt electric. My body hummed in response and I no longer felt cold. His warm hand caressed my cheek and I wanted to rub against his palm like a kitten craving attention.
I realized how big he was. Compared to my small size, he was gigantic. My head only came to the middle of his wide, muscled chest. I felt fragile and small next to him.
But for some unknown reason, my body was warming up in his presence. Even though fear coursed through my body, I didn’t mind him being near me.
I hated when Alberto was near me. My skin was always crawling in disgust and fear, but with this strange man, I only felt comfort. Even with his gun pointing at me, I felt oddly safe.
But that changed when his face turned hard and then angry. I jumped in surprise as he took a sudden step back. His whole body tightened and he pointed the gun back at me. My eyes widened and my heart beat faster.
Was it all a game? Did he act like he was softening up to me, just to calm me down so he could shoot me?
Tears fell down my dirty, bruised cheeks.
His eyes were trained on my tears. His gaze followed the drops. When they reached my chin, I saw him smile. His mouth quirked up to the side, but his smile looked dangerously malicious.
Oh God. This man was going to kill me.
“Who the fuck are you and why are you here?” he growled deeply, his voice low but the tone dangerous and angry. I knew that tone.
Alberto used it when he was about to kill someone. He used it on me too, whenever he took me against my will…every single night.
I shivered in terror, my distress likely evident on my face and the way I was trembling. I felt my pulse beating in my ears, blocking out all other sounds except my gasping breath.
I felt myself growing colder. His hard eyes were penetrating mine and I had to lock my knees together to stop myself from taking a step backward. I knew if I moved, he would shoot me.
He took several steps backward, the gun still pointed at me as he waited for my answer. When he reached the couch, he sat down and crossed his right foot over his left knee. The gun was still pointed at my chest.
“I…I am…my…” I stuttered, finding it hard to talk. Alberto and my father had many enemies. What if he was one of them?
“I won’t repeat myself, so you better start talking. You have thirty seconds,” the man said. He was losing patience. It was evident in the way his face twisted angrily with each word.
“Ayla. My name is Ayla,” I said in a rush, my voice raspy.
“Ayla,” he whispered, my name rolling off his tongue as if the word itself had been laced with molasses. His voice was deep and it vibrated throughout my body.
“Ayla,” he said again. I hated to admit it, but I liked how my name sounded when it came from him. I liked how he said it, almost gently.
Get yourself together, Ayla. This man is about to shoot you. Stupid, Ayla. Stupid. Focus.
“What is your last name, Ayla? And why are you here?” he asked, this time slowly as he continued to stare at me.
I sucked in a deep breath, trying to figure out how much I should tell him. His gaze never left mine, and when I didn’t answer quickly enough, he sat forward angrily.
“Now, Ayla. You are very lucky that I am being patient. But I won’t ask again.”
I nodded, but he continued.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m sure you’ve heard my name. Alessio Ivanshov,” the man stated, his tone low.
My body froze. I stared at the man sitting in front of me, speechless, as my body started to go numb. No. It couldn’t be.
My heart drummed in alarm as I stared into his unmoving, cold eyes. Oh God. Please, no. It couldn’t be him.
“Does it ring a bell?” he asked.
My stomach twisted painfully and my vision blurred. I felt myself stumbling forward. Quickly, I righted myself before my face met the floor.
Oh, it definitely rang a bell. Dread and horror filled me. I thought I ran away from dangerous men, but this man sitting in front of me was more dangerous than any of them. He was feared by all.
But most importantly, I was trapped because I was his biggest enemy. My family was his biggest enemy. The Italians. The Abandonato.
The Russians and the Italians had been enemies for so many decades. But the Ivanshov and Abandonato, their enmity ra
n deep.
And I was standing in front of the Boss, who would kill me mercilessly if he found out that I was an Abandonato.
I stared into Alessio’s eyes. I ran from a deadly man, and now I was awaiting my fate in front of another. A deadlier and more dangerous one.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. Think, Ayla. You ran from one. You can do it again.
Opening my eyes, I met his gaze. My body still shaking with silent tremors, I stood up straighter.
“Ayla Blinov. My name is Ayla Blinov,” I said slowly. I wasn’t ready to die. I ran away because I wanted a better life so I could finally be myself. I wasn’t letting this man take away my newly found freedom.
So I lied.
I swallowed hard, and continued. “I have been living on the streets for a few months, and some men found me and wanted me to work at a brothel. I ran away and hid in your car. When your guards found me, I panicked, so I hid under your bed.”
The lie rushed out from me effortlessly. My heart was beating hard against my ribcage. This was a big risk, and I hoped, prayed, that he would believe me.
Alessio sat back and uncrossed his legs. “Hmmm,” he said, never shifting his gaze from me.
Both of us stayed silent for a few minutes, my body tensing more with each passing second. My stomach cramped in fear.
Alessio moved forward again, until his elbows were on his knees and his fingers were crossed together. That was when I noticed he didn’t have his gun with him anymore.
My gaze moved to his sides, and I saw his gun sat next to his hip, on the couch. I looked back at his face, and he kept staring at me, his gaze more intense.
Did he believe me? Alessio Ivanshov was a man with many secrets. Dark secrets. He was also very unpredictable. “I have a deal for you,” he said suddenly. I jumped at his voice, my body shuddering.
“You have three options,” he continued, as I stood in front of him trembling. “One: You work for me,” he said. His voice was monotone, so I wasn’t sure what he might be planning.
“Two: You go back to the streets, unsafe.” He paused as my body froze. “Three: Or I shoot you for trespassing,” he finished.