Protected by a Mobster: A Russian Mafia Romance (Volsky Mafia Book 1) (8 page)

Conversations pick up around the room in thick Russian accents and I wish I could understand what is being said. I’m at a loss here and it sucks. I’m a Russian mafia princess staying with a Russian mafia boss – a fucking hot one at that – and I can’t understand a damn word they say.

“What’s wrong, Liliya?”

“Nothing. Well… um… I was just thinking about how sad it is that I don’t speak Russian.”

“That can be remedied.”

“Yeah, I guess it can.”

We never got around to shopping due to Dane’s visit. Ruslan spent the afternoon holed-up in his office with two other bosses and a few of their men. With war looming, and not knowing exactly what my father and Dane would do now, they had to try and get ahead of things. I hated that I was the centerpiece to a war I knew nothing about. If I returned home and married Dane, then three other families would fall because of my weakness and my brother’s death would be for nothing. But if I stayed here in Vegas with Ruslan, I had a chance of choosing what I wanted for myself. It seemed that a war between the five families would come no matter what I did. I was unprepared for this life. At least I now had choices of my own.

Chapter Twelve - Ruslan

“I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid.”

-
      
John Gotti

It had been hours since I last saw Liliya. What should have been a short meeting turned into an all-afternoon affair. Ivan Babkin, Abram Klepin, and I tossed around different ideas, trying our damndest to find a way around an all-out war. Bloodshed was inevitable; we all knew that. With Dane Duskin and Lyosha Markow banding together against us, we had to be careful. Thanks to Liliya, we weren’t sitting around with our heads up our asses waiting for them to take us down. We had a fighting chance. The odds were in our favor.

The problem we kept running into was Liliya’s marriage contract and a way around it. If Dane married Liliya, then he would outrank all of us. He was a loose cannon and a total idiot. There wasn’t a single one of us willing to kneel before him. Fuck that!

“Ruslan, there is one way we could get around the contract. It hasn’t been done in years, though. How far are you willing to go with this girl?” Abram asked as he drained his glass of Vodka.

“I’ll take this as far as I need to. Why?”

“Being that two men are interested in claiming the same woman, you could demand a fight to the death. Winner takes all. A fight like this supersedes any mafia contract. Is she worth your life?”

“A fucking death-match to stop a marriage she doesn’t want? You have to be kidding me. Would the marriage still have to take place if I won?”

“Oh yeah. The old ways leave nothing to chance. The marriage must take place after the fight… so if you do this, she will be yours permanently.”

“I can’t make that decision on my own. I’ll talk with her and see how she feels about it. When I agreed to help her, I never thought it would lead to a death-match with a weasel like Dane.”

“The prize is pretty damn nice, Ruslan. You could do a hell of a lot worse than a woman like that. Did you see the look on Dane’s face when she called him a pussy? That was something. He’ll never forget that. I know I won’t.”

We all had a good laugh at Dane’s expense. Liliya was definitely a spitfire, but I loved that about her. She didn’t take shit from anyone. Not even me, and that was sexy as hell. “Da. She’s a wild one but I can handle her. I can handle her just fine.”

Abram and Ivan took off after that. Now I had to have a little one-on-one with Liliya and get her opinion on the only plan we have at the moment. A fight to the death… followed by a marriage to the last man standing. Would I be that man?

Sure, me and the boys occasionally hit up the underground fight clubs and watch a few fights here and there, but I hadn’t gotten in the octagon in years. Mafia bosses couldn’t put their lives on the line like that and throw off the balance of power. But now it was likely I had no choice. At least I was still in good physical shape, and if this fight happened, I’d have time to train.

Heading upstairs, I knocked on the guest bedroom door. Twisting the knob, I stepped inside to find Liliya curled up on the bed asleep. Looking at her now, the simple beauty – the untamed fire – glowing within her, I knew I wouldn’t mind winning the fight and keeping her for myself. Fight or not, I wanted her. I didn’t need a fucking contract. This woman was worth long-term. How did I know that? There’s just something about her that feels right, like our paths were meant to cross. We may not know each other very well, but there’s plenty of time for that.

“Liliya, wake up.”

“How was the meeting?” she asked, half awake.

Seeing her curled up in bed so peaceful, all I wanted was to forget about the mess we were all in and lay down beside her, pull her body against mine, and close the world out for as long as possible. I’ve never wanted a woman so much. There’s something about Liliya that calls to me, mind, body, and soul. Is it love? I don’t know. I’ve never been in love with anyone, never had the need for more than one night. A quick fuck has always been enough, but something tells me that one time with Liliya would never be enough. Men of the Bratva kneel to no one, but she makes me want to kneel before her, just as she did for me at the club.

I shake myself from my imaginings and look at her. She’s looking at me, her head tilted slightly to the side, as if trying to figure me out. I’m usually pretty good at keeping my emotions in check, but this new situation has me reeling with concern and excitement, with undercurrents of lust and longing always lurking just beneath the surface. If she agrees to this plan, I would have her always. And I don’t think that would be a bad thing.

“There might be a way out of the marriage contract between your father and Dane,” I said. “It’s risky. Abram suggested an old-school method for dealing with our problem, and I’m all for it if you are… but like I said, there is a great risk for both of us.”

“Okay. What is it?” Liliya sat up and grabbed my hand, obviously reading the tension coursing through me.

“I know we don’t know each other well, and for that reason alone, this might not be something you wish to do. I would have to challenge Dane to a winner-takes-all fight. Two men enter but only one walks away. You, Liliya, would be the prize.”

“So it’s a fight to the death over me? That’s crazy.” The irritation in her voice revealed her opinion about being treated like a trophy. “There isn’t another way?”

“I don’t think so. There’s more. You can’t just be with the winner. You have to marry him, no matter who it is, and it’s just as binding as the original marriage contract with Dane.”

“I… I can’t ask you to do that. I won’t ask you to do that for me.”

“I’m willing to do it. Give it some thought. You don’t need to decide right away. But soon, you’ll have to make a choice.”

“Ruslan, I can’t marry him. I just can’t… but I don’t want to force you into a marriage, either. It just isn’t fair to you.”

“Like I said, I’m willing to do it. I’d treat you right. I promise you that.”

She sighed, frustration warring with defiance on her face. “Okay,’ she huffed. “If it’s the only way, then that’s what we’ll do. But if there is the chance that another way exists we should try to find one. But at least I do have a choice in this however small it might be.”

Even though her lips arched up into the most beautiful smile, I still saw that little sliver of doubt. My chest constricted, as though crushed in a metal vice, forcing all the air from my lungs. This woman left me breathless. I’d say her worry didn’t bother me, but it did. Emotional attachment wasn’t, and never had been, my thing. But from the moment I saw her, she slid beneath my skin, burrowing deeper and deeper. There was no way to explain the feelings inside me. It was all so foreign, this need to protect her. Even more so was the need to have her, to consume her. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted. But men like me rarely did anything but hurt others. It was all part of the job. Part of this life. Unavoidable.

Regardless of the icy exterior, I want everyone to see when they look at me that I’m not an unfeeling jackass. I feel things, just not very often. Liliya makes me feel things. Why she does is still a question I cannot answer. But seeing the worry in her eyes as the words we just spoke finally settle in cuts me deep. Unable to resist, I pull her into my arms, her warm breath sweeps across my neck, her body fitting against mine like a missing puzzle piece. The sweet scent of vanilla fills my senses as I kiss the crown of her head.

“You have a choice in this, Liliya. If you really don’t want this, we’ll find another way. Dane and your father may prefer forcing your hand, but I’m not that kind of man.”

Her hands fist into my shirt and I hope that she can’t feel my heart thumping its excited beat against my ribs. A chill races down my spine as she slowly pulls away from me, tilting her head up to gaze at me. Her eyes are a thing of pure beauty, the deep rich color like a shot of expensive whiskey, so seductive that merely being caught in her gaze is intoxicating.

Her soft lips ghost over mine before I even catch her movement. And just like that, she has me hook, line, and sinker. My hands slide up her arms slowly, teasingly. She trembles under my touch as my fingers dive into her long blonde hair. She whimpers as I break the kiss and tug her head back. “It will always be your choice, LyubImaya moyA. My Sweetheart. I will never force you.”

A sweet little moan escapes her lips and I know she understands that it is not only protection that I promise, but so much more.

Chapter Thirteen - Liliya

“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”

-
      
Judy Garland

It has been days since Ruslan explained to me the only way we have to break the marriage contract between Dane and myself. I remember so clearly how my heart thundered and my pulse raced at the thought of trading one marriage for another. One made man I knew I could never trust for another man I barely knew. At first I was shocked speechless. The urge to run seeped into my every pore. Then I looked into his eyes and let the deep timber of his voice hypnotize me. Before I knew what the hell I was doing, I had agreed to let him take a risk that could end in his death. But if it didn’t, I’d be walking down the aisle, not with Dane, but with Ruslan.

Was that a bad thing?

Was Ruslan any different than Dane? Was he any better? Any safer?

I wanted to believe that not all made men were the same. The more I thought about each man and compared them, I realized that each one was more than the sum of their work. Ruslan, from the moment we first met, had treated me with respect and kindness. Dane had always been forceful and distant. I would only ever be a piece of property to him, a way to crawl up the ladder of power within the mafia, bettering his standing among the families. With Ruslan, it would be different. He was already at the top. Sure, he was a dangerous man, but there was a kindness and gentleness in his eyes that let me know there was more to him beneath the surface.

But still I was confused. Seeing Dane in Ruslan’s office had unleashed anger so terrible that even now I couldn’t believe how I had acted. My mother would have been shocked by my actions. Did I feel guilty for striking him? Hell no! I felt empowered. I hungered for more.

Questions flooded my mind, but the answers eluded me. I needed advice. I needed my mother. She was the only woman that could help me understand, the only woman I knew who could help me see the right path to take.

Groaning, I eased up from the cloud-like comfort of my bed and grabbed the cell phone from the nightstand. The need to speak to my mother overwhelming me, I scrolled through my contacts and gave her name a tap. The phone rang once, then twice, before her sweet voice met my ear. My throat tightened with regret for leaving her behind, never explaining why I had to leave. Would she have understood?

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I spoke. “Mom, it’s me. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Oh my god, Liliya. Is that you, baby? Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom. I’m safe.”

Hearing the sadness in Mom’s voice damn near choked me up. She had always worn her emotions on her sleeve, unable to hide how she felt, and because of the life I now knew we were drowning in, I saw just how much my mother didn’t fit in it. The mafia wasn’t a place for a woman like her. She was too feeling… too real.

“I heard your father talking about you. He said you were living in sin with a rival of his. He’s sickened by your actions, Liliya. My God, you are engaged!”

“It’s not what you think, Mom. I…”

“I raised you to be better than this. Why would you dare to shame your family like this? I don’t even know who you are anymore. What happened to you? Tell me!”

The demanding tone was one I had never heard from her mouth before. It rattled me deep inside, breaking my heart. “You have no idea what you are talking about, Mom. God forgive me, but you are the one who should feel shame for letting that man bully you into believing every word, every damn lie, that falls from his lips. You shame the memory of your very own son by taking your husband’s side in this. Yes, I’m living with father’s rival. But it’s for my protection. We are not living in sin as we do not share a bed. It’s not like that.” I huffed out a breath as my vision began to blur from the storm of tears threatening to fall. Having to speak to my mother like this was something I would never have thought I’d do in my lifetime, but it was happening. The pain was sharp and agonizingly brilliant.

Everything that had happened was changing me. Was it for the better? I wasn’t sure, but it was making me stronger and surer of myself. “Hear this, and understand it, Mother. I will not be marrying the man who killed my brother, and I will not live under the same roof as the man who ordered his death. You can, but I just can’t stomach the betrayal that your home is drowning in. I love you, Mother, I do, but I need to do what is right for me.”