Owned by the Mob Boss

by Ashley Hall

  When I woke up, I kept still, feigning sleep since Ivan was still asleep himself. My mind had been made up. I would run. I would find a way to disappear. I couldn’t let Ivan have the baby, no matter what contract I signed. He was a dangerous man. Yes, he might have feelings for me, and I definitely had feelings for him, but that he could kill without any regret…that was a deal breaker. No child should be raised by a man like that.

  Mine sure as hell wouldn’t be.

  It wasn’t easy, staying in his arms, pretending to sleep, pretending that everything was fine, but I managed, thinking and planning my escape. I’d leave Mom with most of the money. I would only take what I needed to get away, and then I’d figure something out. I was resourceful. I would make things work. Somehow.

  Finally, Ivan woke up. He stirred and kissed my forehead, and I had to suppress a sigh. How could a man be so tender at times yet also be such a ruthless man who would kill others without batting an eye? He was Jekyll and Hyde.

  That was my biggest issue, and had been all along. Reconciling the two sides of the elusive, enigmatic Ivan Kovalsky. He was dangerous in every sense of the word—dangerous with a gun and dangerous with his touch and kisses and words.

  Tenderly, gently, he climbed out of bed and dressed. He was trying not to wake me. I couldn’t risk even peeking with my eyes. If he saw I was awake, he might pounce back on top of me, and I would give in again, and I had to be strong. I had to get away.

  Only after the door quietly shut behind him did I open my eyes. I was alone, and I had a feeling I was going to be alone a lot for the next eight or so months. Take a deep breath, Rachel. You can do this.

  My hands trembled as I gathered my few belongings. Anything Ivan had bought for me I ignored, so there wasn’t a whole lot I had to grab. It wouldn’t be right for me to take them.

  I eased the door opened and made my way downstairs, careful to avoid any servants and especially Leo. While Leo had become a friend, I doubted he would help me with my escape, and even if he would be willing to, I didn’t want to risk him getting in trouble with Ivan. Who knew how Ivan would react when he realized I had gone and taken his baby with me, that he had gone to so much trouble and paid so much to have an heir and for that heir to then be stolen away. Since he would kill his enemies, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to think that he might be willing to also kill his employees, or anyone who stood in his way.

  But for so long, I had worried about others and not myself. I would see to it that Mom was settled in. It wouldn’t be fair to uproot Mom though. She would stay here, with her doctors. I would pay Clara to stay on with her. No matter how angry Ivan would be with me, I did believe he wouldn’t take anything out on my mother, not after he told me about his parents.

  Once I had Mom and Clara set up, I would find a way to take care of myself, and the baby. The leftover money from Ivan should be enough to keep Mom up to date with the hospital and its many bills, and if that money did happen to run out, I’d go back to taking care of her too. Everything would work out. Somehow.

  I called a cab, instructed the driver to meet me a few blocks away, and after making sure no one saw me, left the house behind. The entire time I walked those blocks, I had to fight the urge to look behind me.

  And that was when it hit me. That I’d be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

  But I didn’t have a choice.

  I had to leave now, before the baby was born.

  The cab arrived a few minutes later, and I instructed the driver to take me to my mom. I wasn’t sure where I would go afterward. I only knew that I had to get away.

  Goodbye, Ivan.

  Funnily enough, I didn’t regret signing the contract. My hands rubbed my still flat stomach. I was going to be a mother. Ivan had given me that. I had him to thank.

  Even if I was going to raise the child alone.

  Goodbye, Ivan. Please don’t hate me.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ivan

  My head was swimming. My body felt lighter than ever. Rachel had a way of relaxing me, of making me forget about all of my troubles. Rachel Nevison, the woman I had impregnated. The woman I had already paid one million to so that I could have sex with her for the sole purpose of getting her pregnant.

  The woman who drove me crazy and the woman I had fallen for.

  The woman I just had sex with…or had it been lovemaking? I normally fucked women. I had never allowed myself to fall in love. In my business, it wasn’t wise to fall in love. Not when you had enemies like Vanya Golovkin.

  So while my body felt lighter than ever, my head was filled with doubts and worries. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, and it wasn’t something I was used to. I would have my revenge against Golovkin. And sooner rather than later.

  Things were changing between Rachel and I—for the better and for the worse. I had always wanted to keep her safe, to keep her separate from my lifestyle. Would she understand my life, the hard calls I had to make to keep my men and me safe? It was doubtful, although she might, if I were willing to give up my quest for revenge. No one would be able to get me to stop, not even Rachel. That was just not going to happen.

  If I knew Rachel, and I did, she was going to bring up the man I’d killed, and we might fight again. If it led to more sex, well, I wouldn’t complain, but this was definitely an issue. I had to figure out what to tell her, but not right now. As much as I wanted to go right back upstairs to her room, to crawl beside her beneath the covers, to hold her and explain everything, I couldn’t. I refused to let everything that happened with Rachel distract me. In my line of business, distractions led to mistakes, and mistakes led to deaths. It was too big of a risk.

  She was too big of a risk.

  Maybe I should send her away for the length of the pregnancy or at least until Golovkin was handled. That might be smart. But if Golovkin was following my men and me, she might still be in danger. And here, there were a lot more men around to watch over her. One of Golovkin’s goons gave her a message to pass along to me already. She already had a target on her back. I hated that I had involved her in all of this, but I had been so desperate to have an heir. If I died, if Golovkin killed me, the mob would be over. My family’s legacy would be wiped out. Which was why I had paid Rachel to have a child with me. So that the issue of my mob dying would be fruitless.

  But if anything should happen to her and to me…

  Enough worrying! I was a man of careful planning and precise action. I needed to focus on Golovkin, and Golovkin alone, if I wanted us all to survive.

  What then, though? What if I did survive? What if Rachel and I both came out of this? What if my revenge cost me her, even if she didn’t die?

  I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. The power of meditation was not to overlooked. It was powerful, a useful tool.

  But clearing my mind proved almost impossible. I kept imagining scenarios in which bleak outcomes resulted. The thought of Rachel not being in my life, the thought of the goodness she brought into my life being blotted out, and not even through death but through my own actions…it all made it hard for me to breathe.

  No matter what, I had to ensure that she would not die. Even if it meant we would go our separate ways. If she lived, nothing else mattered.

  Opening my eyes, I squared my shoulders and marched down the hall to my bedroom. As quick as I could, I stripped out of my clothes and showered, imagining Rachel was the one washing my body the entire time. I got so hard thinking about her that I had to find my release. Between the soap suds, the hot pulsating stream of water, my strokes, it didn’t take me long to orgasm.

  I hadn’t thought much about Rachel when she first approached me. I had no idea who she was. I thought her pretty, but then I dug into her life and realized that she wanted to give me a child for the money, but not for herself. For her sick mother. She was beautiful on the inside. I wanted her to be the one to give me an heir because the arrangement would help us both.

  And spending ti
me with her in the bedroom was amazing. Unintentionally, we started to spend time together outside of the bedroom, and that was when I fell for her. My life had been rather dark ever since my parents had been murdered. No one made me smile and laugh as much as Rachel did. With her, I could pretend to be a regular man. I didn’t have to put up walls. I wasn’t a mob boss to her. I was just Ivan.

  We would watch movies. We would talk about nothing important. And we would talk about everything important too. I hadn’t opened up to a woman like this before. Rachel gave me more than just a child. She gave me hope.

  The hope for a future.

  My shower finished, I toweled off and changed my clothes. Then I called Nicolai and instructed him to have everyone come over to my place immediately. Most of my men lived nearby. We lived in an affluent part of town. Being a mobster meant having money, and I shared the wealth with my men. Their loyalty meant more to me than greenbacks.

  After I hung up, I settled myself for breakfast to give the men time to arrive. Rachel didn’t show up, and I found myself looking toward the doorway every few minutes, hoping she would come. We had started to eat a fair amount of meals together, but maybe I had worn her out from all of the sex last night and she was still sleeping. Whatever she needed, I would take care of it. Speaking of which, she needed a doctor’s appointment scheduled. I wondered how far along she was. I’d have to have someone go out and get her prenatal vitamins. Weren’t there foods she should avoid while pregnant? Maybe I should get her some literature. Hell, I’d read it too.

  It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep her in the back of my mind for very long.

  Once I finished eating, I stood. A servant stepped forward to clear the plate and started to hurry away.

  I cleared my throat, and the servant paused, waiting expectantly, a slight smile on her face. Olivia had been working for me for a long while. She was competent and was saving her money to be able to go to college. Even though she would be twenty years older than the other freshman, she wouldn’t let that stop her. I admired her determination. I tried to always surround myself with people who wanted something more out of their life, and that included my servants, not just my men in the mob.

  “Make sure that Rachel gets whatever she wants,” I instructed.

  “Of course.” The servant started to leave again.

  “And if she wishes to eat in her room, that is fine.” Normally, I preferred meals to be eaten at the table, but comfort would be Rachel’s middle name if I had my way.

  “Yes, sir. Anything else?” Olivia asked.

  “That is all.” I hesitated, and she lingered. “Do you have enough yet?”

  Her face brightened. “I should by next fall.”

  “That’s terrible,” I grumbled. “I hate to lose you.”

  “Thank you, but no offense, I really want to be a nurse.”

  “You’ll make an excellent one. If you need anything, a connection to a hospital for hours, a referral, anything, let me know.”

  “I will. Thank you. And…” Olivia cleared her throat. “I like Rachel. I’ve always wondered if you would ever settle down, but I see why you waited.”

  I’d never brought a woman to my house before. I always either went to her place or we fucked at my bar or in a hotel room. Rachel had broken a lot of barriers for me, and obviously I wasn’t the only one to realize that.

  “Rachel was worth the wait,” I said simply.

  Olivia grinned and left, and I departed the dining room for my largest office. With a house my size and no kids to fill it, I had a lot of offices. All of my men were already there, crammed and waiting for me.

  “I apologize for the delay,” I said as I closed the door behind me. I adjusted my sport coat sleeves. For some reason, I had dressed up today. I needed the boost I got from my suit. Power. Control. Domination. I craved respect. I desired revenge.

  I would have results.

  I strolled around the room to make my way behind my desk. I didn’t bother to sit, just leaned down, my hands near the edge. “I have finally made some headway against Golovkin. He has been paying off transactions of a Garcia Trucking company.” My gaze rounded the room, and I shut my mouth when I spotted Alec. I hadn’t expected him to show up.

  Alec nodded from his perch in the back corner of the office.

  “Do you have any news?” I demanded, paranoid his appearance meant ill news.

  The men near Alec moved away so that he could be clearly seen. “Isabella has mentioned that her father does a lot of business with them,” he said.

  “Interesting.” I rubbed my chin. I hadn’t realized just how much information we would be able to get out of the girl. Hadn’t thought Golovkin would be the kind to tell his daughter everything. Yes, she had voiced discontentment to Alec, which was why she was feeding Alec intel as it was. Was she giving us bad information? Was she her father’s daughter after all? Earlier, Alec had gotten out of Isabella that her father owed someone a lot of money and that her father had recently purchased a large cache of weapons. Golovkin was going to make a move. That much was clear. The only question remained was what his target would be.

  “What’s the next step?” Alec asked, his voice cutting the silence like a roll of thunder.

  “I want you to go back to Isabella and find out everything she knows. As for the rest of you…” I stared at each of my men in turn and cracked my knuckles. “I have assignments for you all.”

  ***

  My face wasn’t as recognizable as you would think given that I was the head of a mob. Fucking women who worked for newspapers and other media outlets and knew how to keep me on the down low was a perk I enjoyed time and again. It also meant that if I wanted to go undercover myself, it remained a viable option.

  And I did wish to go undercover myself this time. The rush I had felt while breaking into Golovkin’s car business the other night hadn’t left me. This was a part of me. The danger. The allure. The drive. I had been born and raised into a mob family, and I would live and die by it. I would. I wasn’t about to force Rachel to live and die by it too.

  I didn’t want to take my chances on being recognized, though, so I wore a scruffy-looking wig and colored contacts. My suit was one from Wal-Mart instead of my typical designer ones. As far as disguises went, it wasn’t over the top, but it would be more than enough to serve my purposes. I wasn’t worried about being recognized.

  The final piece of my disguise was a worn-looking rental car. I even changed up my driving, following by the rules and letting people go ahead of me. Not that I was a terrible ass of a driver normally.

  After checking the rearview mirror throughout my leisurely drive to ensure I wasn’t being tailed, I parked in front of the Garcia Trucking office. It was a typical warehouse with a ton of trucks parked out front, along the side, and probably a bunch more out back. The concrete building was three stories tall, square rather than rectangular, and it seemed so ordinary that I just knew something was off.

  I fiddled with my collar, already acting like a person uncomfortable in his own skin, and climbed out of the car. It beeped its lock behind me as I strolled up to the front door. No bells chimed as I opened it.

  A haggard secretary sat behind the desk. Her dark hair had strands of gray mixed in and was somewhat fashioned into a bun. Her lipstick was a terrible shade of purple, and from her frumpy clothes, slumped shoulders, and dejected air, I knew she would be easy to dispose of. All it would take was a little something she obviously didn’t often get—attention. Even looking like this, I had a feeling she would look twice at me. No one else was around, so once I got rid of her, I would be in the clear.

  I adjusted my slightly ill-fitting sport coat and strolled up to the counter, a confused expression on my face. I cleared my throat. “Hello…”

  “Sharon,” she said without bothering to look up at me, her gaze glued to her computer screen.

  “Sharon,” I repeated slowly, drawing out her name. I placed my hands on her desk and lean
ed forward, toward her.

  She looked up, and I straightened. Her gaze went from my face on down to my belt and back up again. “Y-yes,” she said, sitting back in her seat and flashing me a ghost of a smile. “How can I help you?”

  “I’m sure you can be a big help.” I helped myself to one of the pens from the cup she was using as a pen holder and rubbed my fingers up and down the length of it. Women loved long fingers.

  She licked her lips, her gaze following the movement of my fingers. “You are…”

  “I’m looking to expand on my business,” I said smoothly, trying to figure out the best way to get her to go hide away in the back so I could snoop.