by Nicole Fox
Pasha steps into the hallway, and I kiss Courtney once and then follow him out. As the door is closing, I think I hear Courtney whisper a teary “I love you,” but I’m not sure, and for some reason, I don’t open the door to check.
I knock on the door and wait.
I’m standing on the porch alone in the dim yellow glow of a porch light. My men wanted to come, but I told them to stay behind. I don’t want anyone with me. Not for this.
When I see Elena for the first time, I want to be alone.
The door opens only a crack, and I see one eye staring out at me. “It’s late.”
“You called me,” I remind her. “I wasn’t sure this opportunity would ever come again if I didn’t answer.”
She stares at me for another second before opening the door.
She looks older than expected. Gray is threaded through her hair now and there are fine lines around her eyes and mouth. She’s solidly middle-aged. It doesn’t help that her face is pulled down in a permanent scowl.
“Come in.”
The house is dark and smells like cigarette smoke, but it’s clean. Pictures of Rurik hang from the walls of the hallway, and I try not to look at them.
I have no regrets over what happened. He tried to kill me, and I defended myself. Still, I’m sorry for Elena. For what she lost.
She and Rurik had been together since they were teenagers and were married for almost as long. I can’t imagine what kind of mess I’d be if something happened to Courtney.
“What do you want?” she asks as she takes her seat in a recliner in the sitting room.
She doesn’t offer me a seat, but I sit on the edge of the sofa and reach into my pocket for the envelope. I hold it out to her, but she doesn’t reach for it.
“What is that?”
“What you’re owed,” I say. “Think of it like social security.”
She shakes her head. “That isn’t mine.”
“It’s Rurik’s. As a widow of the Bratva, you’re entitled to a small sum of money every month. I would have brought it right away, but you refused to accept any of my calls.”
Rurik was a traitor. A liar and deceiver from the start. Still, I feel honor-bound to carry on the custom. To take care of Elena the way I hope someone would take care of Courtney and the girls.
“Because I didn’t want to talk to the man who murdered my husband,” she spits.
“We don’t have to talk,” I say simply. “Truly, I’d rather not. I’m just here to give you this and then I’ll go home.”
“Keep your money and go home.”
I drop the envelope on the table. “Fine.”
“You should have never come.”
At first, I think she means it was a waste of time, but there is something new in her voice. Another layer of emotion beyond pure hatred.
There is … amusement?
The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I stare at her.
She stares back for several seconds before her mouth pulls up at the corners into a hideous smile, like a witch, like something out of a horribly twisted nightmare. “You should have stayed home, Dmitry. You should have been there to protect your precious girls.”
The world stops turning.
It feels like an anvil has landed on my head, crushing me into the ground.
Seconds turn to horrified hours as the meaning of her words washes over me.
This is a setup.
My family is in danger.
There’s no time for anything else as I sprint from her house and back to the car.
I call Courtney over and over again on my way home, but there is no answer. I call the guards on duty, but they don’t answer, either. I call Pasha and leave a message for him to get men to my house now, but he lives further away than I am right now. I know I’ll beat him there, and I’m terrified at what I might find.
I screech into the driveway, and I’m out of the car before it even comes to a halt. The front door is cracked open. I can barely breathe as I run up the stairs.
Everything looks so normal—just as I left it—but dread creeps into my bones like a chill.
All the doors upstairs are closed except for the nursery, so I take a deep breath, draw my weapon, and tiptoe towards her room. I push the door open slowly.
It takes my eyes a second to adjust, but when they do, I see Tati sleeping in the baby crib.
She’s too large for the small bed, her little body curled into a ball, and she doesn’t move as the light from the hallway washes over her, but I can see that her little chest is still moving. She’s alive.
Then, I see a larger figure on the floor, and when I realize it’s Courtney, bound and gagged and unconscious, I take a large step forward, instinctively wanting to drop to my knees and check on her.
“Ah-ah,” a deep, familiar voice warns.
My blood runs cold, and I turn to see the large shadowy figure of Devon sitting in the rocking chair in the corner. Olivia is sleeping peacefully in his arms.
Courtney never liked Devon. She told me over and over again that he made her uncomfortable, but he was dating her best friend, so she tried to forgive him. And I tried to be open-minded since Courtney wanted us all to get along.
Now, I wish I’d listened to her.
“You don’t want to wake them up,” Devon says, a devilish smile on his face. “They’re sleeping so peacefully.”
“What did you do to them?” I growl, nostrils flared.
He rolls his eyes. “A little sleep aid. They’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
I point my gun at his head, and he holds Olivia closer to him. “How confident are you in your aim?”
I slide my finger away from the trigger. Not confident enough for that.
“That’s what I thought,” he says.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask. “Has this been your plan all along?”
Devon looks down at Olivia and smiles as though he cares for her. As though he isn’t a monster. “How did you enjoy your visit with my mother?”
I frown, confused by his question. But when he looks up at me, it becomes clear.
He has the same thick nose as Elena. And the same mean slant to his eyes as Rurik.
How did I not see it before?
“My father was always a planner,” Devon says. “He had a plan for his life, and he knew I’d play a part in that. Of course, I’m sure he thought he would be alive when he revealed his secret son, but plans change.”
“What do you want?” My hands are fists at my side. “Why are you doing this?”
Devon waves a flippant, casual hand. “To take what you have. Isn’t that fair? Wouldn’t that make us even? You took everything I had, after all.”
Courtney’s foot slides out, and her head turns ever so slightly. Enough to let me know she’s alive and trying to wake up. God only knows what kind of drugs this fucking monster dumped into her system.
“That one is a fighter,” Devon says. “Always has been. A real stubborn bitch. It took all of my strength to knock her out.”
Fire roars in my chest, and all I see is red. “I’ll fucking kill you for touching her. I will rip your—”
“Tut, tut,” he says, wagging a finger at me. “You should not threaten the man who has your family. Their lives are in my hands now.”
I take a deep breath. “I’ll give you money.”
Devon bobs his head back and forth like he’s thinking. “Nah, I’m okay. You know, I think I’ll make more money elsewhere. These three will fetch a healthy price from an interested bidder.”
This time, no amount of deep breaths in the world can ease my rage.
Just as I lunge forward, ready to snatch my baby from his arms and strangle him until he turns blue, Yakuza soldiers run through the door behind me and grab my arms.
I scream, not worrying any more about waking up Tati or Olivia. I just want to save them.
I thrash and fight, but then I feel a cold poke in my arm.
Whatever they’ve injecte
d me with warms my bicep and works quickly.
I lose the ability to stand as my legs turn to mush, but I crawl across the floor, reaching for Devon’s foot. I won’t stop until I kill him.
He lifts his foot and brings it down hard on my hand.
I can’t even scream in pain.
I’ve been betrayed again and this time, my family’s lives are the ones at stake. I try to say Courtney’s name, but my lips move around silent words.
Everything goes black.
Dmitry and Courtney’s story will continue in DAYBREAK. Click the link below to get your copy!
www.amazon.com/DAYBREAK
Also by Nicole Fox
Click any of the covers below to go straight to the book page!
Owned by the Mob Boss: A Dark Mafia Romance (Ivanovich Bratva)
She is untouched. Innocent. Desperate. Mine.
I was raised to rule.
Hardened by the laws of my family:
Take what needs taking.
Break what needs breaking.
Camille is no exception.
Her body belongs to me now,
Courtesy of a substantial cash payment to the Archangel Vision auction.
I know she fears me.
I know she wants me.
But what I want to know is this:
Is she ready to give me a child?
Unprotected with the Mob Boss: A Dark Mafia Romance (Alekseiev Bratva)
My enemy’s daughter. My unprotected bride.
Allison thinks that this is a fair world, that justice exists.
I’m here to show her there is no such thing as innocence.
In my world, it’s might makes right.
Kill or be killed.
And I’ve caused my fair share of bloodshed.
But when I discover her with an innocent man’s blood on her hands,
We both know that there’s only one way out of this mess:
On her knees before me.
So I give her an offer she cannot refuse.
Become my wife.
Carry my baby.
Or prepare to suffer the consequences.
Broken Hope: A Dark Mafia Romance (Volkov Bratva)
They kidnapped my wife and baby. I’ll go through hell to get them back.
Eve was a pawn in a violent game.
Until she became the queen of my world.
She saved me from my own darkness.
But now, my past is threatening to consume us both.
I tried to keep her safe.
Locked away like a princess in a tower.
Up there, she was protected from everything…
Except for me.
Now, I’m knee-deep in the underworld.
I’ll do whatever it takes to rescue my family:
Lie.
Steal.
Kill.
And once this is all over…
Once my wife and baby are back in my arms…
I’ll slaughter every man who laid a finger on them.
No one takes what’s mine.
Broken Vows: A Dark Mafia Romance (Volkov Bratva)
She’s my fake wife, my property… and my last chance at redemption.
She’s beautiful. An angel.
I’m dangerous. A killer.
She’s my fake bride for a single reason – so I can crush her father’s resistance.
But marrying Eve brings me far more than I bargained for.
She’s fiery. Feisty. Won’t take no for an answer.
She makes me believe that I might be worth redemption.
Until I discover a past she’s been hiding from me.
One that threatens everything.
Now, I know that our wedding vows are not enough.
I need to make sure she’s mine for good.
A baby in her belly is the only way to seal the deal.
In the end, the Bratva always gets what it wants.
Knocked Up by the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Levushka Bratva)
They’re coming to take her baby. They’ll have to kill me first.
She’s an innocent maid.
I’m a ruthless Bratva boss.
She says she wants nothing to do with me.
But in my world, when I want something, I take it.
And I want her.
The problem is, Zoya is hiding a terrible secret:
A baby in her womb that was never meant to be.
And I’m not the only one who knows.
Our enemies are coming.
To hurt her.
To ruin me.
What they don’t know is this:
I’ve found what I want in this world.
And they’ll have to kill me to take it.
Sold to the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Lavrin Bratva)
An innocent girl like her… sold to a beast like me.
Nikita
As the boss of the Bratva, I live my life by a code: Always stay in control.
But I broke my own rule on the night I bought Annie.
She was so delicate and desperate up on that stage.
I’d pay any price it took to own her.
She says she can’t be bought.
But she doesn’t know how this game is played.
In my world, everything has its price.
And like it or not, she’s mine now – my property, my possession.
I’ll claim her. I’ll break her. And I’ll protect her until the end…
Even if it costs me everything.
Stolen by the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Luchok Bratva)
A mob boss killed her family. Now, he’s sent me to finish the job.
Lucy is an innocent girl – orphaned by a terrible tragedy.
Then she sees me kill a man in cold blood.
I can’t let a witness roam free.
But I can’t bring myself to kill something so innocent and beautiful.
She wants revenge on the mob boss who stole her family.
I can help her… under one condition:
As long as she’s here, I’m going to make her MINE.
Trapped with the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Petrov Bratva)
I kidnapped her to break her. Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.
YURI
In this business, you cannot afford to lose control.
No emotions. No weakness.
I’ve worked too hard building my mob empire to let one feisty little girl ruin everything.
But Bella refuses to fall in line.
I’ve pushed my prisoner to her limits, and yet she will. Not. Break.
She takes every savage kiss…
Every cruel touch…
And asks me if that’s all I have to offer.
Breaking her down will require breaking a rule of my own:
Never, ever fall in love.
But when Bella’s senator father doesn’t follow orders like we expect, things get more complicated.
I’ll need her help to take my rightful place on the throne of the city.
And more time with her by my side means unleashing something inside me that cannot be contained again.
As our fates become entwined, betrayal barrels towards us.
I’m forced to make an impossible choice:
Do I follow my destiny to become the mob boss I was raised to be?
Or do I sacrifice everything to save the woman who has stolen my heart?
Vin: A Mafia Romance
I’m caught between a mob boss and a madman.
I was drowning in debt with no way to get out.
All I had left was my body…
Until Vin took that from me, too.
He offered me protection from my abusive ex.
And saying no to Vin was never an option.
Now, I’m at the mercy of a mob boss.
A vicious killer, with a kiss as filthy as his reputation.
Nights in his bed are spent stripping bare, bending at the waist, and doing EXACTLY as I’m told.
And days by his side are spent seeing a criminal underworld I never knew existed.
For a moment, I thought this was my life now:
Existing only for the mobster’s pleasure.
But then my ex came back to finish the job he started, and I remembered:
This nightmare is far from over.
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