The Mafia and His Obsession: Part 2 (Tainted Hearts Series Book 5) Read online

  I have done way too much bad shit to ever be forgiven for them, but raping kids? Stealing their lives and their innocence in the cruellest way possible…

  I was no saint, but those bastards didn’t deserve to fucking live.

  Motherfucker. Anger rolled off me like crashing waves.

  Irina choked back her cries of pain. “I was twelve when I was bought the first time. Fifteen for my second buyer. And then seventeen when Valentin saw me and bought me. He is my third buyer, and I am now twenty-one. I should be dead or discarded by now—maybe he’ll sell me soon, looking for newer flesh to brand. I am too old for The Kingpin. I’m just waiting for my final moments, but Valentin doesn’t seem to want to let me go. He has branded me. Again.”

  My eyes snapped open to see her turning around, giving me her back. I walked closer and she moved her chopped hair out of the way. And there it was.

  A brand. It looked fresh and brutal. The skin was marked and burned. From the look of it, I knew it was made from a heavy branding iron.

  I winced at the sight, almost feeling the pain they must have gone through—having their skin branded like this.

  “I never saw this. How did I never see this on you?” I whispered, my finger feathering over the raised, scarred skin.

  She flinched away and turned to face me. “You never paid attention to me. You never saw me. It was faded, anyway. It had been years since they branded me. But two weeks ago, Valentin branded me again. He wanted his mark to be visible for everyone to see.”

  Her words were a gunshot to my heart. She was right. I never saw the truth because I never saw her. I never looked closely to see what was inside. Her suffering. The torment she lived through.

  “Back when you were living in this estate, Valentin wasn’t visiting me as much. I guess his attention was on someone else. I was free for the littlest time. I wasn’t wearing my shackles or my collar. That’s why you never noticed anything—the reality behind the mask,” Irina mumbled. “I saw you and I thought, maybe, just maybe, I could feel some gentle touches. For once.”

  “I used you. Just like Valentin did,” I croaked through a heavy lump in my throat.

  At that, Irina smiled and shook her head. Her tiny hand wrapped around mine, and she squeezed. “After living in this world for so long, I can tell the difference between a good man and a bad man. I can tell whose heart is tainted and whose is just darkness.”

  I can tell whose heart is tainted and whose is just darkness

  Powerful words that could bring any made man to his knees.

  But she was wrong.

  I was both tainted and darkness. I was a whole lot of fucked-up-ness. If only she knew…

  “You are not a bad man, Viktor. That’s why I let you touch me. For the briefest moment, even if it wasn’t the best fantasy, I still felt a gentle touch. I know it wasn’t me you were touching. I know you were thinking about someone else when we were together. I know you wished I were someone else, but I let myself believe for a moment.”

  “How did I not see this? How did I not know? I should have fucking known!” I snarled before pulling away and punching the wall viciously. I looked at the torn skin over my knuckles. I didn’t register the pain; everything was just so goddamn numb.

  “You were blinded by the world you lived in.”

  Her shackles rattled behind me as she walked closer. “But you can see the truth now. What are you going to do?”

  I turned to face her, my jaw clenching and grinding together, aching with the need to unleash my fury. “I will end it. And I am going to take you out of here.”

  Irina’s eyes widened and she took a step back, shaking her head. “You can’t. You will only get killed. We will all get killed. And Valerie will be hurt.”

  I froze, my stomach churning at her words. “What did you say?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  Irina shook her head over and over again. Her words were laced with desperation and panic when she spoke. “Valerie. My friend. Valentin’s wife. We are his favorites. If Valentin is giving me all this attention right now, that means Valerie is being left alone. I know that. It’s either me or her. I can take her pain away if Valentin continues to focus on me.”

  My mind reeled and I remembered Valerie’s words.

  Irina and Valerie.

  Sisters, not by blood—but by choice.

  They took each other’s pain, so the other could be safe.

  Yet they were both trapped in a never-ending cycle of nightmare.

  There were selfish people in this fucked-up world. But there were also selfless souls who were wandering aimlessly, chasing the unknown.

  Irina and Valerie fell into the latter circle.

  Walking closer, I palmed her cheeks. My thumb swiped under her eyes gently, chasing away the tears that had spilled over. “I’m going to get you out of here. Both of you,” I vowed.

  More tears slid down her cheeks. “You can’t.”

  I growled low in my throat. Nothing was impossible for me. Not for an Ivanshov. “I will. Trust me. I will end this. You will no longer wear shackles. You will be free, Irina. That’s my vow.”

  I stepped back and let her go. “I will come back for you. Wait for me.”

  She let out a loud sob and fell down on her knees. Her hand covered her mouth, smothering her cries.

  Our eyes locked, and Irina shakily nodded at me, silently putting her fate in my hands. I gave her a final glance before walking away.

  My steps faltered at the door. Turning around, I looked down at the broken girl weeping on the floor.

  “There is someone waiting for you. Desperately wants to meet you. And I know she will be very happy to see you again.”

  I didn’t wait for her answer. I closed the door behind me and walked away. The game has changed.

  In the Bratva, you walked in and there was no out. The only way out—was your dead corpse.

  Our lives had been built on years and years of revenge. Kill after kill.

  Blood for blood. Bodies after bodies. A death trail.

  I made a promise, and I didn’t intend to break it.

  Chapter 2

  Viktor

  Valerie stirred in my arms, forcing me to loosen my hold on her waist. She nudged her head up and stared at me through sleepy eyes. My myshka gave me a smile and she stole my breath away, right from my fucking lungs.

  Valerie was a soul catcher. Once she had her grip, her fingers digging into the depths of you, there was no escaping. She trapped me in a reverie, and just like that, I was drowning in her. Her smiles had a way of making my heart stop and then beat with a frantic rhythm. It’d dance the same way Valerie would, intense…free…like a poem telling the beautiful tale of a mad, delicate love.

  “Hi.”

  The sound of her voice was throaty, and she brought me back to the present. Her speech patterns were almost as natural as everyone else. The way Valerie spoke her words, you wouldn’t be able to tell she was deaf if one didn’t pay close attention.

  But I did. I always caught the way she couldn’t tell how loud or soft she was speaking. A few times, her speech turned out a bit slurred if she spoke too fast. I also noticed that now she would always place her hand over her throat while speaking. Valerie said it helped when she vocalized. She felt the vibration through the palm of her hand, so it helped her control how loud or soft she was speaking.

  “Hi,” I replied, watching her blink up at me with those hazel eyes I had learned to adore so much. They followed me even in my dreams, taunting me, holding me captive, and begging me to steal my myshka away.

  “How long have you been here?” she questioned lightly.

  “About an hour. You were sleeping when I came in and I didn’t have it in me to wake you up.” I brushed away the stray strands of hair from her forehead. When I tucked them behind her ears, Valerie smiled again and then snuggled closer into my arms.

  “You looked so peaceful,” I whispered before kissing her forehead. My lips lingered there, and Valerie released a soft sigh.

  “So, you decided to stare at me while I was sleeping? Not creepy at all,” she teased. I felt her lips on my chest through my shirt. She placed a kiss there before tucking her face into my neck once again. A soft…sweet kiss, almost like she did it unknowingly.

  Valerie and I had found a comfortable pattern. We had settled with what we had now, living in the moment, stealing little pieces of happiness. It was dangerous, forbidden, but my soul craved danger. It craved the darkness that came along with it.

  Valerie was part of it, the danger…she was the fucking center of it. And I kept crawling to her on my knees, like a damn sinner at church, begging for mercy. Yet I wasn’t begging for mercy. I was begging for every kind of wrong that existed in this world.

  I was begging for corruption, for blood, and fucking passion.

  Valerie played with the buttons of my shirt, her fingers rubbing circles over my chest. My heart thumped. When she placed another kiss against the side of my neck over my throbbing vein, I smiled. I loved the way she couldn’t stop touching me. Almost like she had to remind herself I was here, real…and hers.

  My arm tightened around her waist, and she hummed in response. In my arms, she was happy. I wished I could keep it that way. Forever.

  I wished I could steal her away right fucking now. Throw her over my shoulders and march out of this goddamn estate. Fuck everyone who would come into my way, I’d put a bullet into their skulls.

  Valerie lifted her head up and stared into my face. Her brows were knitted together, looking thoughtful as she searched my face. “You are silent. Your face has hardened and you lost your smile. What are you thinking about?”

  “I am thinking of stealing you away. Right now,” I admitted. I cupped her face in my hands a
nd swiped my thumb over her lips. They parted with a tiny breath, and Valerie shivered at my touch. I felt it against me.

  “If I steal you away, then you will never lose your smile.” My whispered confession hung heavy into the room.

  Valerie squeezed her eyes shut for a second, as if she were in pain, before opening them again. My gaze met her hazel ones. She leaned down and pressed her forehead against mine.

  “One day…one day you’ll steal me away. Our day will come, Viktor. Right?” she murmured.

  She looked at me for confirmation. Almost as if her sanity depended on my agreement.

  I nodded. A simple nod and that was all she needed. “I will be yours. And you will be mine,” she confessed.

  At her words, I gripped the back of her head. Her eyes widened and she stared into my face, curious and suddenly nervous.

  “You are mine, Valerie,” I growled. My rough, angry voice sounded grating and unfamiliar even to my own ears. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to claim her right now…to show her she was really mine.

  I gripped the back of her neck tighter, bringing our faces really close. I knew my hold wouldn’t hurt her or cause any discomfort. It kept Valerie grounded. It kept the fucking beast inside of me grounded.

  Her eyes went to my lips. She watched with rapt attention as I spoke, taking in every single word.

  “These lips are mine, aren’t they?” I muttered. Valerie swallowed and shuddered on top of me. Her eyes held a hint of heat and a hidden need. Her eyes had the power to bring me to my knees.

  “My lips to kiss,” I continued, my lips feathering over hers. “Right?”

  She nodded, but it wasn’t enough for me.

  “I want to hear you say it.”

  She jolted at my demand. “Yes,” she breathed.

  I grinned. And then I pressed the softest kiss to her mouth. It wasn’t a hard kiss. It was sweet, like her. She seemed surprised at first, but then she returned the kiss, just as sweetly.

  I could feel her heart beating against mine. Loud, and a little out of control. Just like mine.

  “Viktor.” She said my name like a whispered prayer.

  This crazed obsession could get me killed. But my heart was just too dark to care. I was a bad man and I did all the wrong things…all the wrong, forbidden things. They pulled me in, like a moth attracted to a red, shining flame. They made me sin.

  And for Valerie, I would gladly sin.

  “Valerie, say it,” I growled, possessive of her words, hungry for her, begging for her to say it.

  “Yours. I am yours, Viktor.”

  I grunted in response. This time, I devoured her lips. She moaned into the kiss. When we pulled away, we were both breathless.

  “You are mine to worship, to caress, to love—”

  Valerie breathed against my lips, and I tasted the saltiness of her tears. I licked them away, kissed them…and made love to her lips again. My sweet, beautiful myshka.

  Her body rubbed against mine. She gasped and then stopped. My cock was hard and straining against my slacks. She felt it.

  Her eyes opened. When I was sure she was reading my lips, I said, “And Valerie, you are mine to fuck.”

  Her red, swollen lips parted in surprise. Valerie blinked and smiled and then let out a small, silent laugh. “You have a way with words, Viktor Ivanshov. Truly. A silver-tongued devil you are.”

  Before I could respond, she leaned down and gave me a hard kiss. Fuck, she knew how to steal my breath away. Literally and figuratively.

  “Viktor, I remember, you were watching me behind the door. I was knitting. I saw you, briefly. I couldn’t stop thinking about you after that. You were a mystery. I thought it was my imagination until you made your appearance again. You came into my room, waltzed in like you belonged here. I became yours the moment you handed me that notebook and your pen, and you demanded I speak,” she whispered into our kiss. “Fate has a strange way of playing with us.”

  Valerie snuggled back into my arms. She nuzzled her nose into my neck, breathing me in. I buried my face into her hair and closed my eyes.

  She was right. Fate did have a strange way of playing with us. We were its unwilling victim. But now, I didn’t regret this chance encounter. I believed everything led to this…this moment; it led me to her, my sweet Valerie.

  Fate played matchmaker.

  It was almost a laughable thought. Viktor Ivanshov fell into a little trap. Alessio would be laughing his ugly ass off. No, on second thought, that would make him a hypocrite. That fucker was living his own definition of happily ever after.

  “I’m going to take a shower.” Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I blinked my eyes open, watching my woman closely as she got off the bed and walked into the bathroom. My gaze found the clock, and it appeared that I had dozed off for about an hour.

  I eventually got off the bed too. Valerie hadn’t locked the bathroom door, and I walked in, knowing this was her unsaid invitation. I closed the door behind me while my eyes found her in the shower. The glass doors were a little foggy, but I could see every single inch of her beautiful lithe body.

  A tempting sight that made me want to sin all over again.

  She turned toward me. When our gazes met, her movement faltered for a brief second. Her arms wrapped around her middle, almost as if she were trying to hide her nakedness from my wandering eyes.

  I stood there, unashamed. In my head, she was my woman. Every part of her was mine. And I would take my fill, as much as I wanted.

  If I couldn’t touch, I would look.

  If I couldn’t touch or look…I would feel her. Deep in the core of me. She was in every blood cell, stuck deep in a place I didn’t know I had. In the little forgetful place of my heart. A place I thought was dead and only filled with darkness. But she found her way in there.

  I waited to see if Valerie’s shyness would win. I walked deeper in the immaculate, dainty bathroom and stood in the middle. The longest minute passed between us. The water continued to cascade and glide over her naked skin, leaving a glistening afterglow.

  My myshka had an allure around her that captured me. When she was within my sight, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Valerie was silver stars shining brightly in the dark sky. She had permanently left her mark on my soul.

  Finally, her arms fell away.

  She appeared nervous, but under my gaze, she slowly grew bold. I watched as she lathered up her body, her fingers gliding expertly over every inch of her, slowly, teasingly…tempting me.

  I watched and had her memorized in my brain.

  Wet, wavy, blonde hair. Hazel eyes that fascinated me. Creamy skin that demanded to be kissed by my lips. I couldn’t help but stare. She had me hypnotized.

  When the water finally stopped running and she opened the doors, I went on autopilot. Grabbing the nearest towel, I walked over to her. She averted her gaze shyly, choosing to stare at my chest instead. But I didn’t miss her smile, oh her beautiful smile.

  Opening the towel, I waited for her to sink into my embrace. She did, without a word, without a thought. She came to me willing and as if it were natural. I wrapped the towel around her petite body and held her close.

  She burrowed into me, and I absorbed her perfect love in this imperfect sublime moment.

  Valerie shivered against the cold air. I hoisted her up over the counter and sat her down. She spread her legs enough so I could stand and settle between them. A giggle escaped past her lips when I took another towel and started to squeeze the water from her hair.

  After making sure her hair was somewhat dry enough, I went to push the towel around her body away. My gaze found something else instead, and I stopped, my hold tightening around her lush white towel.

  Where her collar started around her neck, her skin was red. On the side, the color was starting to turn a light purple. I saw the fingerprints. Always like her neck had been gripped hard.

  I hadn’t noticed it before, when we were in the bed. The darkness had hidden those marks, but now I could see them clearly. They marred her beautiful pale skin, causing my blood to boil at the sight.

  “Valerie—” I started to say, but she shook her head.