The Devil’s Plaything: A Dark Mafia Romance

by René, Dani

  She’s different.

  Special.

  Mine.

  Shaking my head at the unwarranted word that comes to me, I exit the vehicle, allowing Javier to open her door and help her from the car. Offering a nod to him, I wait for her to look at me before I lean in close. The moment I do, her fragrance invades every one of my senses, and I’m lost in her sweetness.

  “I trust you to behave.” My words skitter over her skin with warning, and I can’t help staring as her plump pink lips fall open. The only thought in my mind in that second is watching them stretch around my cock as I feed it to her.

  “I trust you to keep your word and let me speak to him.” Her challenge is clear, and she doesn’t have to worry about my word because it’s the one thing people can count on. I always ensure my promises are kept. But I can’t guarantee I won’t hurt Hector for what he’s done.

  “Always, Sofía,” I whisper, allowing my fingertips to find the base of her spine as I lead her toward the warehouse where my men have cleaned up Hector and ensured he’s comfortable. The only reason I did it is to keep the girl from having a complete breakdown.

  If I had my way, I’d kill the fucker for what he put her through, but instead, I’m here playing the happy ruler of my kingdom, allowing a man who stole, not only from me, but from his family, to live… for now.

  Upon entering, I hear her gasp when she sees Hector for the first time in days. He’s seated in the corner of the warehouse, still bound to a chair, but he’s cleaned up. His one eye still swollen, but the bruises and cuts look better without blood oozing from them.

  I want nothing more than to slice him limb from limb, and with my blade in hand, I follow the path toward his chair. He begged me to keep him here for now, to keep him safe, but he doesn’t realize that he’s already given me what I wanted.

  Last night, I made the call to bring her here. My plan to record his demise and have her watch it wasn’t going to work. Not because I want him to live, but because I knew the girl, who’s now on her knees on the cold concrete, would never have survived had she seen her dead father in my warehouse. And she is the one who’s a pawn in this game.

  Perhaps I should fuck her right here, in front of him, ensuring Hector feels the agony and pain I would love to inflict, while getting this need for her out of my system.

  “You like the fire in her,” Javier observes beside me. “I can see it when you look at her.” He knows better than to question me, or even say shit like that, but he’s right, and I can’t admonish him for his observation. There is certainly something about her that’s caught my eye.

  She holds onto her father as if he’s the king of her world. There’s a pang deep in my chest once more. Jealousy. It’s a new and foreign emotion. Something I’d rather not give rise to because the last time I felt anything close to this was a time I’d rather forget.

  Shaking my head of the errant thoughts, I stalk forward, my gaze trained on Hector’s as he offers me a silent thanks, which is uncalled for. He doesn’t realize that even if he didn’t tell me the truth, I would’ve still taken his sweet baby girl.

  “Sofía,” he calls to her, dropping his gaze to hers. “Stand up. Go to Victor.”

  “What?” Her shock is evident. She wasn’t expecting him to say something like that, and neither was I, if I’m being honest. Granted, he knows I’m the only one who can keep her safe, but it was the last thing I ever thought I’d hear him say.

  “I want you to go to Victor, Mr. Cordero will keep you safe.” He sounds broken when he finally admits that he couldn’t keep his own daughter safe.

  “I don’t understand, papá.” Her voice is small, childlike. And the fear lacing her words is the only clue to what she’s truly feeling. Even though she came with me today without a fight, there’s still a fear inside her, and I know she believes I’ll hurt her. Maybe, I’ll show her just how fucking violent I can be. But not in the way she thinks. I won’t mutilate or torture her, I’ll fuck her into submission.

  I decide then and there, I want Sofía Montero in my bed.

  “Sofía, if ever you listen to me, hazlo ahora,” he commands her. It’s the first time I hear him speak with any fire in his tone. Giving his daughter away is a price he didn’t ever think he’d have to pay, but now, as he pushes her away, I see the agony and guilt etched on his features.

  Sofía surprises us both when she rises and spins on her heel, racing toward me, her tiny fists slamming into my chest, over and over again. Hector is calling her to stand down, but I just watch in awe as she spits her venomous words at me.

  “Vete a la mierda, Vete a la mierda!” Fuck you, fuck you! Her voice is drenched in fury as she curses me. Hector, in the background, is trying to abate her. But it’s only when I reach for her wrists, does she realize the error of her ways. I can take certain things, I can even find her feistiness sexy, but nobody, and I mean nobody, curses me.

  My hand tugs at her, and I drop my blade before my other hand fists her long, chestnut waves, pulling her head backward. She winces in pain, the agonizing whimper from her plump lips enough to turn my cock to steel.

  “Pequeño juguete,” I bite out, keeping my voice rigid and drenching every fucking word with the rage that’s brewing inside me. “Never strike me. Do you understand?”

  “Fuck you, Victor! You made him say that, you made him—” I grip her hair so tightly, she cries out, breaking the tirade of venomous words she’s spewing. She’s only making matters worse.

  “Javier, take her to the cells, I think little Sofía needs to calm the fuck down.” I grit out, and he pulls out the sedative. Within seconds, the medication is swimming through her veins, and she falls limp in my arms. Her long dark lashes flutter like tiny butterflies on the apples of her rosy cheeks.

  Fuck, she’s beautiful.

  Shaking my head, I find myself once more pondering what this girl is doing to me. She’s softening me in ways no other woman has, not even Gaia. And it’s time to break that bond because I can’t be feeling emotions, I have no right feeling.

  Javier lifts her and walks her out to the car. The engine starts, and I turn to Hector. By the time Javi returns, I’ll be done with this asshole. Not because his daughter attacked me, but because I’m sick of being nice.

  “We need to talk.”

  14

  Victor

  “Mr. Cordero, Victor, she’s a child. She doesn’t under—”

  “I don’t give a shit anymore, Hector. Your fucking mistakes are what’s making her life a living hell,” I inform him coolly, as I pick up the knife that I dropped earlier. When I close the distance between us, I gesture to one of my men to hold his hand open. “It’s time you paid with a pound of flesh.”

  “I’ve given you—”

  “You’ve sold your daughter for the coke you stole,” I interrupt him once more. “This is for her.” My beautiful, hand-carved steel blade cuts into his skin, causing blood to spurt on my shiny Oxfords, but I don’t care.

  Hector’s cries are music to my ears, a symphony of echoes that ring around the warehouse and bounce off the metal walls. Two fingers down, only four more to go. I consider what I’ll do with him after this, while I watch the red liquid drenching the floor.

  The thick gold band that was on his ring finger falls to the ground with a clank of metal hitting concrete, and I pick it up. The yellow is stained with blood, just like my hands are right now, and I know they always will be.

  I realize as I look at my fingers, tinted with the life force of Hector Montero, that Sofía was right. I’m not a good man, nor did I ever claim to be. But it’s her words that seem to ring in my ears in this moment, as I regard the jewelry that her mother gave her father. It was a promise of forever. And now, I’ll keep this as remembrance that I’m not a good man. I haven’t been for a long time. And when I go back home, I’ll make sure that Sofía knows it.

  She wanted a monster. She’ll get a fucking monster.

  “Are you sure you want to keep the last bit
of information from me, Hector?” I turn my attention on him again. I know there’s more to the fucking story he spewed. Sofía is sick, she’s in need of an operation, and if he doesn’t tell me what the fuck it is, I’m going to cut his heart out.

  He stares at me for so long, I think he’s going to deny me what I want. But what he mutters next is not what I’m expecting. “My baby needs a heart transplant. Please, Victor, your father was a man of integrity. He would’ve done the right thing.”

  My blood simmers in my veins, the thought of knowing this girl, Hector’s daughter, could possibly drop dead if she’s not cared for, does something strange to me. I wasn’t expecting this situation to affect me as much, but it has.

  “Don’t speak of my father,” I bite out, as I regard Hector. “He would’ve done worse to you if you stole from him. He trusted you, considered you a friend.” My words have their intended effect.

  He nods. “Sé que sé. Lo jodí.” I know, I know. I fucked up.

  “Consider this a parting gift,” I tell him, as I grab his other hand and slice off all the fingers in one violent chop. A deathly screech falls from his mouth, and I watch as the thick metallic evidence stains the floor of my warehouse. “I will take Sofía as mine, she will serve me as a slave,” I speak, keeping my voice low.

  Hector shakes his head violently, as he listens to my words. “Please, por favor no,” he mumbles, as tears stream down his cheeks. “Mátame, pero por favor, sálvala,” he pleads once more for her life and asks me to kill him.

  “You would die, rather than have her serve me?” I challenge him. He knows what that means. He’s seen the women my father kept; he’s also met the women who’ve been around my compound. What he doesn’t realize is that those were whores, paid for their service. I don’t pay anymore. I have Sofía, and she will be mine to use as I see fit.

  “Then marry her,” he suddenly blurts, causing me to chuckle. Marriage?

  “You’ve lost your mind, old man.” Shaking my head, I take a step back and pull out my handkerchief, cleaning the blade with the crisp white cotton, before I sheath my weapon.

  “Please, Victor, if you marry her, they can’t hurt her. She’ll be the queen, and she can rule with you.” His eyes are filled with the ravings of an old man. I can never get married. The last time I ever considered something as fragile as marriage, I had to kill the bitch.

  “I don’t believe marriage should be based on emotion, and I certainly don’t love your daughter,” I inform him, but the moment the words leave my mouth, Javier returns. I can feel his questioning glare burning into me.

  He’ll pay for that later.

  “I didn’t ask you to love her,” Hector speaks, his words garbled as the pain takes over his body, and soon, he’ll either beg for death again, or he’ll do something stupid to himself. “I just need to know she’s safe before I take my final breath. Es el deseo de un hombre moribundo.” It’s a dying man’s wish.

  I consider his words. They slowly permeate through me, and I turn to Javier. “Clean this mess up. I have places to be. And Sofía has a choice to make.” I move toward the door, leaving my second-in-command and two of my men to deal with Hector.

  “What do you want to do with him, boss?” Javier questions, before I reach the door, stopping my exit for a moment, and I turn and glance at him over my shoulder.

  “Haz realidad su deseo.” Make his wish come true.

  * * *

  When I get home, I find Camila sitting in my office chair. Frustration grips my chest at her being in my personal space. She knows not to come in here when I’m not here, but she never fucking obeys me.

  “What do you want?” I ask, as I saunter by her. She’s dressed in a deep red pants suit, looking ever the mafia queen. But she’s not mine. She never will be, even though I know she wants it more than anything.

  “I was wondering when you’re going to get rid of the trash,” she tells me, crossing her leg over the other. She’s poised and elegant, everything that my father had wanted for me in a bride. Someone to sit beside me, but I never wanted her, because she never held my interest.

  She comes and goes as she pleases because her father sold her to mine. Now, I’m stuck with a woman I don’t want or need. I have one. The thought comes to me suddenly, and my gaze flickers to the cameras that are currently turned off. Thankfully, I had the sense to flick the switch before I left, or Camila would’ve seen where I’m holding Sofía.

  “She’s not leaving. But you’re welcome to,” I tell her, waving my hand toward the door, wishing she’d take the hint and leave. But she doesn’t. She never does.

  “I want land,” she says suddenly. “I don’t want to live with you and your whore, or whatever the hell she is. I can’t see it.”

  “You want me to give you land?” My tone is filled with incredulity, and I know she’s going to get annoyed with me, but I’m amused that she can walk in here, demand something, and expect it to be so.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want you here, I never have. The only reason I haven’t killed you is because your father was a good friend, a confidante of mine.”

  “Then allow me to take the apartment in the city. You don’t use it, and… I have things I’d like to do without your prying eyes.”

  “Things? Or men?” I challenge. She flicks her gaze away, and I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. I didn’t think that she would feel as stuck here as I do, but it seems she needs an outlet. And I’ll gladly give her that.

  Nodding, I lean back in my chair and regard her for a long time. She’s beautiful, but she’s just not someone I can see myself with long term. Come to think of it, there isn’t a woman on this earth that I would want in my life longer than I need them to get my dick sucked.

  “Fine. Take the apartment, but,” I pause my words, causing her to meet my gaze. “If you ever try to walk into my home again and piss all over me like I’m your territory, I won’t think twice about sending you back to your father.”

  “You have a high regard for yourself, Victor Cordero.” She smiles as she pushes up from the chair, straightening her jacket, before she turns on her Jimmy Choos and heads for the door. “Consider me gone from your life,” she tells me, before exiting my office and leaving me to spy on my prisoner in her small cell.

  15

  Sofía

  When I open my eyes, I find myself alone in the cell that I slept in my first night here. Anger still sizzles in my veins. I can’t believe the asshole locked me up after my outburst. Granted, I did lose it back there, but to drug me and lock in me in a cage is uncalled for.

  I’m on my feet, but a dizzy spell hits me the moment I attempt to stand. Shit. I haven’t taken my medication today, and I know I’m going to need it if I’m planning on living to my nineteenth birthday.

  I stalk to the front of the small cell, and my fingers curl around the bars, the metal cold in my grip. “Hey! Get me out of here!” My voice is hoarse, my throat burns from the screaming, but I don’t care. I need to see my father and ask him what the hell is going on. There’s no way I’m going to let papá tell me I need to stay with Victor Cordero. He will not rule my life.

  Perhaps Victor brainwashed papá to say shit like that. I’m almost certain he has, because I know my father, and he would never allow Victor to take me. The thought sends both heat and fury through my body. I’m still dizzy, knowing I haven’t taken my medication has my heart thudding wildly against my ribs. I breathe deeply, praying that I have time to see my father again.

  “Hey!!” A violent cough attacks me from the word being wretched from my throat, and I’m bowled over onto my knees from the fit. My lungs are threatening to give up, and my heart leaps into my throat, threatening to choke me before giving out. Tears spill onto my cheeks and trickle down my chin as I realize that perhaps my father was right. Victor may just be the lesser of two evils.

  “That’s exactly where I like you, juguete.” The deep amused rumble of Victor’s voice startles me. “On you
r knees.”

  “Fuck you!”

  He doesn’t respond. He merely stares at me, as if I’m the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. He sets a glass down, along with the tablets I know will save my life. Those eyes—gold pools of amusement—only make me angrier than I was moments ago. He tilts his head to the side, watching me as if I’m a wild animal. Maybe I am, because if he opened that door right now, I’d probably claw his beautiful eyes from his skull.

  “You know, little Sofía,” he says, slowly stalking back and forth in front of the cell, “there’s a time and place for such language.” He’s deadly serious as he tells me this. I claw at the medicine, swallowing the medication with a gulp of water, then I watch him once more. “The moment I slide my dick inside you, that’s when you should curse me. You know why?” he questions, meeting my livid glare. “Because that’s the moment I split your pretty little cunt open and own you.”

  “You’d like to think you’ll own me, but you never will.” Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I pin him with a glare so harsh, I hope daggers fly from my eyes, slicing him into pieces, but I know it’s wishful thinking.

  “Can you be so sure?” This time, he stills his slow pacing, his gaze cast over his shoulder toward me. His words still me for a moment. He’s far too confident. There’s conviction in his tone, as if he knows I’ll succumb to his advances, that I’ll submit to him, but he’s wrong because I’ll never do it.

  “I can. There’s no way I would ever fall for your snake tongue. Evil drips from you, and I can never desire a criminal.” My words are fierce, but deep-down, fear niggles at me. I’m not as strong as I may portray myself to be. And I have a feeling that Victor can see my doubt, my innocence. I think he basks in it, revels in seeing me falter.

  “Emotions control actions, Sofía,” he tells me, with a hint of guilt in his tone, and I wonder just what he’s been through. Shaking my head, I attempt to clear my mind of the thoughts that seem to take over. Each time Victor offers me an ounce of his human side, he breaks down my walls. And that’s my mistake. I shouldn’t let him.