A Mafia Royals Romance Book 3
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Rachel Van Dyken
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In a world where love and loyalty are tested by the dark underbelly of mafia politics, Violet Abandonato finds herself entangled in a web of power, betrayal, and forbidden romance. As she navigates her forced betrothal to Valerian Petrov, a man with a hidden past and dangerous secrets, Violet must confront her own feelings and the violent world around her. With her heart torn between love and duty, Violet's journey is one of survival, passion, and the quest for truth.
Prologue
Book Two: Scandalous Prince
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could⊠âRobert Frost
***
Prologue One
I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be. âCharles Dickens, Great Expectations
Valerian
I watched her often.
Sometimes I imagined I was her guardian angel, or maybe her avenging knight, the fallen hero who would never have her but could watch from afar.
Watching, after all, didnât mean touching.
She was wearing white again, so pure as she did a twirl under his hand and then threw her head back and laughed as he bowed, she curtsied, and then the rest of them joined in, the cousins of the Italian mafia.
The royals.
The untouchables.
They had no idea how lucky they were to grow up in a house where parents loved you rather than told you that you shouldnât have been born. Of course, that was after, but that didnât lessen the effects of those words.
Bastard.
Liar.
Fool.
For years, I thought that my middle name was Bastard until one of the men took pity on me and told me it was just Valerian.
Imagine a ten-year-old introducing himself as Bastard and not understanding why everyone around him laughed and mocked him in Russian.
Her laugh brought my thoughts back to the present as I stood behind the tree and continued watching, hiding my face in the shadows like I always did when I watched.
She may as well be a siren.
My siren.
And I, the pathetic sailor, begging for her to just let me drown in her arms.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, interrupting my stalking. I quickly answered it. âDa?â
âPora Umerit.â
I hung up.
I had always known the day would come.
âTime to die,â heâd said.
Was it so wrong to hope to see her in my dreams?
âOne day,â I whispered, my accent thicker than usual. âI will have you, Violet Abandonato, and it will be my name you scream⊠not his.â
I turned on my heel and walked off.
Because sometimes, dying meant you were finally going to get a chance to live.
***
Prologue Two
The BeginningâŠ
Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what Iâve tasted of desire, I hold with those who prefer fire, but if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction, ice is also great and would sufficeâRobert Frost
Breaker
Christmas 2019
I tapped the thick red invitation against my thigh. My all-black suit felt like it was choking the life out of me; at least I didnât have to wear a tie. With my free hand, I adjusted the red mask on my face.
You could see my unnaturally green eyes, square jaw, and full lips, but that was it.
And wasnât that the point?
Secrecy.
Power.
Greed.
Smokescreens.
âSir.â An attendant dressed in an all-red suit and black mask held out a tray of red wine. I almost rolled my eyes. Were we fucking mafia vampires now?
Bad enough that I had to even be there when every one of my cousins got a free passâeveryone but Chaseâs kids, who were probably bored to tears and ready to set fire to the place.
So many politicians and celebrities to rub shoulders with. My presence alone should make them feel uncomfortable. I was armed to the teeth, ready to act if needed, and prepared to do the one thing I promised Chase Iâd do.
Make sure Violet didnât try to sneak off.
Theyâd gotten in another fight about the facade of being both a politicianâs daughter and an underbossâs daughter and feeling like a fraud every single time she wore her white dress and perfect nude heels and smiled for the cameras.
She would be easy to pick out in the crowd.
Her sleek black hair was the envy of literally every female I knew, and that, matched with her light blue eyes, seriously hot body, high cheekbones, and full lips, made her look like a fallen angel.
One I would desperately like to corrupt. Not that we hadnât had our moments, some of them embarrassingly fast, but most of them firsts becauseâregardless of how she treated me in front of her dadâshe trusted me, and I was in love with her.
The shitty part was that she never let me get that far, almost like she knew the minute we crossed that line, there would be no going back and only death in our future.
Delivered from Dear Old Dad himself.
I smirked to myself.
Right, the last thing I needed was Chase Abandonato murdering me for touching his perfect daughter.
After all, my blood was no good, according to him.
He didnât know, thoughânone of them didâhow easy it was for me to play the dumb sheep when Iâd been a wolf since birth.
Ready to devour the innocent.
Corrupt the powerful.
And take my rightful place on the stolen throne.
I was running out of time.
This year, I would need to choose.
This year would be the year my adopted dad would find out and force me to make a choice.
I downed the wine in one gulp.
âGulping wine, how savage of you,â came Andrei Petrovâs rough voice from behind me.
I steeled my expression, chased away the easy-going smile and wink for the cameras as I shed every last emotion and turned to give the boss of both the Russian Petrov Family and the Italian Sinacore Family a cold look.
âVodka does go down better,â I commented.
âThatâs the spirit.â He put his hand on my shoulder and gripped until his fingers dug into my muscle so miserably hard that I winced.
Sick bastard liked to torture people by dangling them in a fucking tiger cage; the last thing I wanted was to get on his bad side.
âDid you need something?â I asked in a bored tone, jerking out of his reach.
Those passing by gave us a wide berth, their ill-concealed whispers drifting to my ears.
âMonsterâŠâ
âMurdererâŠâ
And then, of course, âGorgeous,â from a few women who watched with rapt fascination even though he was married.
âA favor.â He licked his lips and grinned over my head.
Slowly, I turned.
There she was in all her stunning glory, dancing with her father and smiling.
Violet Abandonato, my mission, my curse, the one woman I wasnât allowed to touchâlike the pretty crystal you save for special occasions, the silver you only polish during Christmas.
I might as well be dirt beneath her fingernails.
Chase shot me a wink that just dripped with fake enthusiasm.
I nearly flipped him off in return.
âWhatâs this favor have to do with?â
âSome⊠associates.â
âSo, some assholes? Awesome, where do I sign up?â
âRich assholes.â He grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter.
âIt wonât take long. My sources say a group of women were trafficked from Europe late last night. Theyâll bring them to the club as per usual. Iâll try to get as many away as possible, and as for the remaining onesâŠâ
Bile rose in my throat. âCanât save them all.â
âIâll let them choose; I always do.â
They either chose service or death.
The only choices given, so it didnât look suspicious, so Andrei could control the trafficking underworld without as much of a hint of goodness. They had to believe he was the demon he claimed to be when people closest to him knew bestâhe was their dark knightâtheir savior.
The ones that stayed werenât allowed to be beaten, but being sold into prostitution, no matter how high profile, wasnât usually what little girls grew up wanting to pursue.
âWish I could help, but Iâm on babysitting duty.â
Violet did another twirl with her dad. The lights overhead caught the shine in her hair, which was pulled into a bun so tight that I wondered if she had a throbbing headache.
Diamonds dripped from her ears, sparkling with each turn, and her white form-fitting strapless dress did nothing to hide the curves I was itching to palm.
Andrei snorted. âPerfect little Violet looks ready to run away screaming. One day sheâll snap. I hope itâs you who gets to see it happen.â
I cursed. âAre you insinuating that I should bring her to your club, where several high-profile people will be bidding on women? Are you insane? Besides, they know who she is.â
Andrei rolled his eyes. âNothing happens in my club without my permission. Weâll let her sit at the bar and drink away her sorrows.â
âYes, because that wonât make Chase want to murder meâgetting his daughter drunk on guard duty,â I spat.
âGrow a pair,â Andrei growled and then crooked his finger at Violet.
She seemed relieved that the devil wanted to chat with her.
Never thought Iâd see the day when Violet was happy to see Andrei.
He was like the horror story you tell small childrenâthe monster who lived under your bed, the demon that hovered over your lifeless body at night.
She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and then made her way over to us. Her perma-smile made my face hurt.
âGentlemen.â She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed Andrei once on each cheek, and then gave me a cold stare.
Deserved.
She hated that the one guy who got under her skin, the one person who knew her better than she knew herself, was forced to watch her while she pretended to be what Chase needed her to be.
I swear every single time I stole a heated glance in her direction, I prayed sheâd remember our first kiss or dry-humping like idiots with raging hormones in her dadâs pool house.
I blew her a kiss and winked.
She clenched her teeth like she wanted to bite me and then turned her attention to Andrei, flashing him a shiny bright smile. âDid you need something?â
âI thinkâŠâ Andrei grinned. ââŠitâs you who needs something. Weâre going to let you escape, though youâll need to make a small detour at the club.â
Her eyes widened. âReally?â
âReally,â I said dryly. âIâm going to help Andrei. It wonât be long. You can drink your weight in cosmos, and Iâll even carry your ass out the door when youâre too drunk to walk in a straight line.â
She flinched. âMy hero.â
âI try,â I smirked.
She seemed to shudder, and then she gave Andrei a curt nod. âSounds fun. Let me just let my dad know Iâm not getting kidnapped.â
âI wish,â I muttered under my breath, earning a sharp heel slamming into my right foot.
I winced.
Again, deserved.
Candles flickered around the room as more people started to dance and drink. Hell, it felt like a cult; the way they worshiped Chase wasnât right.
He was too rich.
Too powerful.
Too good-looking.
And he had the ear of the United States President.
Hell had indeed frozen over for the state of Illinois. If only they knew who wielded all the power now that he was in office, now that he could put who he wanted into the cabinet, now that heâd helped pick advisors.
I sighed as he made his way over to us.
âKeep her safe,â he snarled under his breath.
âMy blood for hers.â I gave the pledge I always did since I had first started following her last year.
Chase leaned in and kissed my right cheek, then whispered, âMake sure she has a bit of fun. Sheâs pissed sheâs had to wear those heels for three hours.â
âWhen is she not pissed at these things?â I wondered out loud.
âItâs necessary,â he said coldly. âAnd remember the rules: no touching her, no looking at her and fantasizing, absolutely nothing that could mean Iâll have to kill you.â
âGot it.â I stood back and winked. âPlus, I have enough female attention; the last thing I need is one whoâd probably suffocate me with a pillow just to see my legs twitch.â
Chase grinned. âThat was a good day.â
âYeah, it really wasânearly dying.â I rolled my eyes. âHave fun. Give Luc my love.â
âMy wife,â he barked.
I made a face. âIâm eighteen; donât be weird.â
Andrei just chuckled under his breath while Violet returned with her matching white coat.
Sometimes I wondered if Chase did it on purpose.
Made her wear white to make himself look less covered in blood.
Made her wear white to remind me she was an untouchable queen.
And I? I was the slave. The adopted bastard son of someone he didnât even ask to know.
Wouldnât that be the shock of his life?
I almost laughed.
âLetâs go.â I put an arm around Violet and attempted to keep my body from reactingâ
like it always did when we were this close.
But it was like holding your breath.
You last thirty seconds, maybe more, and then youâre gasping for air, greedy for it; my hands trembled a bit as I lowered my palm down her back and held it there.
She sucked in a sharp breath but didnât look in my direction.
And when we got into the waiting limo, she kept her expression blank as she stared straight ahead.
Classical music turned on.
I groaned. âTchaikovsky? Really, Andrei?â
He smacked me in the back of the head. âItâs called culture, Iâm almost insulted to call youââ He hesitated. âHuman.â
I exhaled the breath I hadnât realized Iâd been holding.
Nice save, asshole.
Violet shifted in the leather seat, drumming her fingertips along her tanned thigh.
I reached for her hand and scowled. âRed fingernail polishâhow scandalous! Next thing your dad knows, youâre going to start having sex and watching porn.â
She jerked her hand away, her cheeks flushed. âCould you keep your lewd thoughts to yourself, Campisi?â
âI could. Will I? No, no, I wonât. I like pushing your buttons.â Pushing, touching, caressing, really, I didnât discriminate when it came to her or any other girl. I gave her a chipper grin.
âBesides, who else is going to teach you about the birds and the bees? See, guys have these things called cocks andââ
âAndrei, if you donât muzzle him, Iâm going to pull out my knife and shove it against his scrawny throat!â
âThere she is.â I slowly clapped. âWelcome back to earth, princess. Youâre not in front of the cameras; people arenât hanging on your every word while you discuss global warming and the need for true leadership in America. Youâre so damn uptight I wouldnât be surprised if those diamond earrings came from your ass.â
Andrei chuckled and looked up from his phone. âI approve of this message.â
âYouâre both impossible.â She crossed her arms and then moved against the leather again and sighed, pulling down her skirt.
âKnife.â I held out my hand.
After some hesitation, she dug into her purse, then handed it to me; it had the Abandonato crest on the hilt and was sharp as hell.
I tore into her expensive dress and made quick work of creating two slits on either side of her dress. âBetter?â
She swallowed uncomfortably and nodded.
Shit, she was still thinking about the party, still wondering if her performance was good enough, probably going over every mistake that nobody even saw.
I sighed and handed her the knife back. âThe pointy side goesââ
She let out a shriek, then held the pointy side dangerously close to my dick. See? All she needed was a bit of encouragement.
âYou better pray to God we donât get in an accident or slam on the brakes because youâll lose the smallest appendage you have.â
I barked out a laugh. God, I loved her like this. âYes, because thatâs what girls say when I fuck them. You were on vacation with us last year. Did you hear any complaints?â
Her face fell.
Best friends that can never be together.
Fun story.
Tell me more.
âChildren.â Andrei yawned. âPut the knives away, please.â
Violet jerked away.
I flipped her off.
And the universe naturally restored itself to rights.
With Violet ready to impale me.
And my body wishing it could impale her.
Fantastic.
The car finally pulled up to Andreiâs club. One of his giant bouncers was already opening the front door to let us in.
People waited in the freezing Chicago cold with the hopes of gaining entrance when it was nearly impossible after eleven at night.
Shrieks were heard when all three of us made our way to the front of the line. They knew what we were, who we wereâthe whole world didâbut nobody could really prove shit, and when you had people in the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the highest levels of government on your payroll, things just naturally went missing.
Files.
Hard drives.
People.
We ducked into the club; the techno was a welcome change from the classical music in the car.
We wandered over to the bar, I pulled out Violetâs chair, and then I crooked my finger at the bartender. âKeep her hydrated.â
âWhatever you say, Breaker.â Tank winked.
Not only did the guy work for the FBI, but on really busy nights, he took on a shift at the club to learn peopleâs secrets, because alcohol tended to make you loose-lipped and because we still had lots of enemies.
âThink youâll be able to survive without me?â I whispered in Violetâs ear.
She shot me a glare. âMust you stand so close?â
âMust you be so fucking tempting?â I snapped my teeth and then ran a bare knuckle down her shoulder.
Her skin immediately broke out in goosebumps. âNot here, Breaker, donât.â
âI love it when your innocent little mouth lies while your body shakes for me⊠literally,â I growled. âOne day, I might lose all self-control. I hope to God Iâm the one that gets to watch you come undone.â
She gave me a hard shove, but her eyes said something completely different; they always did, they always had, they always would. âIf I wanted syphilis, there are more enjoyable ways to get it! And people to get it from.â
I cackled out a laugh. âYeah, okay, donât go running off, Iâll be right back.â
I was gone maybe twenty minutes, helping Andrei with the girls as they were introduced one by one, given numbers instead of namesâhis idea to keep it all about business. Money exchanged hands. And then the announcement was made.
The auction would start in four minutes.
Men of all shapes and sizes started shuffling into the private rooms to watch the women, to watch the show.
They couldnât touch, but they could bid, and all their money was going into setting the women free that we could.
It was a shit show.
All in all, about half the women decided to stay as long as they were given citizenship.
The others wanted to go back.
I yawned behind my hand as I watched it all go down and then nearly shit myself when a group of five men walked into the room who were most definitely not Team Andrei.
Or Team Italy.
âDrei,â I barked as my worst nightmare walked into the small room, holding my everything hostage, including my heart. âProblem.â
My life would not be the same after this.
Neither would hers.
For once, I understood the feeling of being completely powerless as I looked into her eyes and knew.
This moment would alter us forever.
And there would be no going back.
I moved to grab her, to kill every last one of those bastards that held her in their arms, but Andrei held out his hand, stopping me instantly in my tracks. âNo.â
Rage pulsed in cadence to the heavy drum of my heartbeat as blood roared inside my body.
They had no right to touch her.
Violet locked eyes with me and slowly nodded as if to say, stop, itâs okay, but she didnât know what these guys did, and she had no clue that the look she was giving me would haunt me into the next lifeâand maybe more.
It wasnât a look of war.
It was one that said to keep the peace.
And she would be the first sacrifice.
