Sold to the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Lavrin Bratva) Nicole Fox (most popular novels TXT) 📖

ones who know that they were destined for a grim fate. This one refuses to buckle, despite the odds she faces.

But she’s marked. She’s mine. I paid a fortune for her, and now I’ve claimed her with my cock. I refuse to let her go. Besides, a girl with fighting spirit like her won’t disappear if I send her home. She can pick me and half of my lieutenants out in a lineup, and I wouldn’t put it past her to go straight to the station with a nasty story and the bruises to prove it.

No, despite the unusual thoughts running through my head, I can’t afford to be weak here. I need to make her understand the situation. And even more than that, I need to reassure myself that I’m still in control.

When I answer her, I choose harsh words. I want this new reality to sink in for her. “I don’t think so, kitten. It was a nice fuck. And I will have you again. Get it through your head ... you’re mine. There is no going home, so don’t let me catch you trying to escape again.”

I watch her face closely, but she doesn’t react. She merely blinks, then looks away to where the moon is cresting over the horizon. She’s an interesting character. There’s far more to her than meets the eye, I think.

I frown, deep in thought as I finish buttoning my shirt and reach for the jacket on the floor.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something isn’t right. As I straighten, I glance around. Nothing appears out of place. But I’ve learned to trust my gut. In my line of business, paying attention to the body’s signals helps one stay alive. My focus turns to Annie, who stands next to the table in silence, wringing her fingers and avoiding looking at me.

The terrace is silent.

The music has stopped.

“Stay here,” I order. I head inside, tossing my jacket on the table as I walk by.

Jimmy still hasn’t appeared, but Nikolai should’ve been standing guard. My men know to give me privacy when I fuck, but they’re never too far. I stride deeper into the loft. Maybe he’s sitting at the bar by the radio controls. He might’ve grabbed some spare food and decided to eat while I took Annie.

I turn the corner and all the air rushes from my lungs. Nicolas is lying facedown on my floor in a pool of his own blood. I hurry over to him and bend down next to the body. A long slit runs across his throat, blood flowing thickly from the gash. In the light of the penthouse, it’s a grotesque crimson, sticky to the touch.

“Oh my God.”

I jump up and spin around. Annie stands there with her hands covering her mouth, tears in her eyes. Real blood is nothing like movie blood, just as real death is nothing like movie death. There is no amount of horror that can prepare a person for seeing the life ebb from a dying body. Nicolas’ eyes are wide and vacant. He’s long gone.

Annie takes tentative steps toward me, her eyes focused on the body. She doesn’t scream or try running for the elevator. I’m thankful that she hasn’t yet made too much of a fuss. Something very bad is happening.

I stand and sprint back out onto the terrace, grabbing Annie’s forearm and dragging her with me. We need to get out of here, but the keycards to the elevator are in my jacket sitting on the table outside.

Just as we cross the threshold, mercenaries swing over the edge of the rooftop.

They’re clad in all black, teeming with weapons and aggression. One of them steps forward in a cocky saunter. “Nikita Lavrin,” he drawls.

My hold on Annie tightens as we stop in our tracks. “Annie, stay close,” I whisper.

“So, this is the whore Gino is going crazy over.” He rolls up his ski mask to take a closer look at her. His tongue shoots out and runs across his lips like he’s savoring a hot meal. I feel an irrational anger curl in my gut. The men level their guns at us.

“Why have you come to my house?” I say. As I talk, I’m inching towards the large plant to my left. “If Gino has a problem, he should have taken it up with the council.”

The man snorts. “Gino prefers to handle his business himself. He doesn’t need to ask permission from anyone to obtain what was stolen from him.” The mercenary leader takes a slow stride forward to close the gap between him and us. He walks around Annie, trailing a gloved finger over her bare shoulder, across the back of her neck, sizing her up. “Especially a morsel this tasty.”

I can feel Annie stiffen in my grasp at his words. The soldiers circle us and cut off my path to the keycards. The elevator is no longer an option. But the fire escape behind us could work, if we can manage to turn and run without catching bullets in the back. It should work. It has to.

I tense my hand. I’m closing the distance; the plant is just a foot away to my left.

“The council won’t take this attack lightly,” I warn. A little farther. I’m almost close enough to make my move.

“No, they won’t. But no one will be around to let them know it was Gino.”

In one smooth motion, I throw Annie across me, behind the large stone pot that houses the plant. At the same time, I stoop and grab the gun I keep hidden among the roots, then swivel to wrap my throat around the leader’s throat in a chokehold. I press the gun against his head. “You might want to rethink what the fuck you’re doing,” I hiss in his ear. “Tell your men to stand down.”

The man snickers. “You’ll never make it off this roof alive,” he says. Even with a gun pressed against his temple, he’s