Kiss Of Death: A Dark Mafia Romance

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“Innocence is like polished armour; it adorns and defends.” - Robert Bishop

Blinking my eyes open, I groan and flinch back against the bright fluorescent lights over head. My head is pounding and my body feels stiff and achy. All at once, everything comes rushing back. Anna. I panic, sitting bolt upright. The motion makes my head spin and my vision dip in and out. All I can see is concrete. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, all grey and bleak. No windows, no anything. I’m laying on a fashioned bed, hanging from the wall via two chains. It’s a prison cell. I notice a security camera set into the corner of the room above the door, the red light on it blinking. I pull my knee’s to my chest and wrap my arms around them, fighting back tears. I squeeze my arms tighter in an attempt to stop the violent shaking of my body. Anna and I have never had it easy, but we at least had each other. Only now, I’m here, and she’s still there at the mercy of that evil woman.

And me…I’ve heard stories of The Volynschik. The children he takes are never seen again. A tear tracks down my face and I swallow around the painful lump in my throat. I jump when the door screeches and then opens. The second I see him, the fear grips me so hard I think I’m going to be sick. A horrible smile pulls at his lips as he comes to a stop a few feet away from me. I curl into an even tighter ball, trying to make myself smaller. Another man walks into the room, lingering by the door.

“Hello, child. My name is Erik.” The Volynschik has a name. I drop my gaze to a spot on the bed directly beside me. I don’t want to look at him and I don’t want him to look at me, to see me.

“She’s pretty.” The other man says in a way that makes me shiver in fear.

“Why do you think I brought her back?” He laughs. “Stand up, girl.” He barks, but I don’t move. I can’t move. My limbs are locked in place. I yelp when he reaches for me, grabbing a handful of my hair and dragging me off the bed roughly. My knees collide with the concrete floor and pain ricochet’s up my legs. His boots are right in front of me. I want to get as far away from him as possible, but I stay still, staring at the floor as tears track down my cheeks steadily. He drops to a crouch and his calloused fingers grip my jaw, forcing my face up. I slam my eyes closed and he laughs.

“Close your eyes all you like. Do you remember what I told you?” I say nothing, but feel his hot smoke scented breath on my face. “I promised I’d break you.” He whispers. The words trigger something in me and animal instincts kick in. I wrench my face away from him and scramble backwards, pushing to my feet and pressing myself against the wall in the far corner of the room. His laughter echoes around the small space and a frustrated cry leaves my lips. I’m not getting out of here. Two grown men, against me, a girl. He’s going to break me and probably kill me, or worse, make me a whore. I know all about these things, the places they send girls my age. I’d rather die.

His laughter cuts off and he storms across the room, reaching for me. I lash out at him, but it’s a pathetic attempt. Gripping the top of my t-shirt, he tears it apart, straight down the middle. I yelp and curl in on myself, covering my body from him.

“She hasn’t even got tits yet.” His friend says, spitting on the ground.

Erik grabs my hair, pulling my head back so hard that I cry out as I’m forced onto my knees in front of him. He steps close and pulls me into him until my cheek is pressed against his crotch. “I don’t mind.” He laughs. Bile burns the back of my throat and I fight the impending panic that makes me want to curl into the foetal position and just blank it all out. For a few seconds my mind tells me to just accept it, that this is what I must do to survive, but the second the thought crosses my mind, I recoil from it in disgust. I snarl and lash out, punching him between his legs. His hold on my hair becomes so painful that I scream, but then he lets go. Staggering back, he sucks in ragged breaths, cupping his crotch. I know it will be short lived, but I bask in the small victory for a second.

“You little bitch! Hold her.” It all happens at once. The concrete floor hits my back. Hands grab at my arms and body, pinning me down. I scream and my nails rake over skin. Erik’s body falls over mine like a lead weight and hot breath blows over my face making me wretch. I kick and lash out and when it does nothing, the tears blind me. He pulls at my jeans so hard my entire body jerks and he’d drag me across the floor if it weren’t for the other man holding me down. He throws my jeans to the side and I try to pull away, to curl my bare legs closer to my body. Fingers wrap around my ankles, wrenching them apart. A sickening grin works over his face and it feels as though someone has a hold of my heart, squeezing it in their fist. He reaches for my cotton panties and I manage to work one arm free, swinging at him and slapping him across the cheek. My palm meeting his cheek sounds like a thunder clap in the room. His hand slams around my throat and he snarls in my face, spraying spit over me. I gasp for breath, bucking my body uselessly. He rolls his hips between my legs, groaning as black spots dot my vision.

“Enough!” The voice comes from the doorway and Erik stills. The guy holding me down releases me as if I’m on fire. “Get off her.” The voice says. Erik flashes me one last glance and pushes to his feet. I sit up and scramble backwards into the corner of the room, holding the tattered pieces of my shirt together as I pull my knees to my chest. I don’t want to be here. I want to be anywhere but here. Pressing my face against my knees, I close my eyes. I imagine I’m back at the orphanage with Anna sitting next to me, her sweet smile on her face.

Something brushes my knee and I whimper, lifting my face. A man crouches in front of me. He has dark hair with a few gray streaks at his temple, and eyes the same colour as a stormy sky. He wears a suit with a waist coat beneath his jacket and a red tie knotted neatly at his throat. A small smile touches his face and his eyes meet mine, watching me for so long that I have to look away. He doesn’t try to touch me though. Slowly, he reaches inside his jacket pocket and takes out a lollipop, offering it to me. I frown, confused. I don’t trust him and I don’t take it from him. He shrugs and takes off the wrapper, popping it in his mouth before he slides his jacket off his shoulders and slowly drapes it around me. I grab the two sides and pull them together, covering my entire body inside the material.

“What’s your name?” He asks. I don’t respond, and he lowers himself to the ground, sitting on the dirty concrete in his nice suit, propping his back against the bed. All I can hear is him sucking on the lolly. “My name is Nicholai.” He stretches his legs out and crosses one ankle over the other. “Nicholai Ivanov.”

“Una.” I whisper.

“You’re strong. A fighter.” He says, holding the bright red lolly in front of his face and inspecting it.

“Please let me go.” I whisper, fighting back tears. “I want to see my sister.”

He tilts his head to the side, rubbing a hand over his chin. “It’s the strong that survive in this world, Una. And the weak…they die, forgotten and inconsequential.” I sweep my hair back behind my ear and he tracks the movement. “I can offer you the greatest gift of all, little dove. I can make you strong.”

“How?”

A smile pulls at one side of his mouth. “I can make you a warrior.” He stands up and offers me his hand. “If you survive…and I truly hope you do, little dove.”

I put my jeans back on and Nicholai leads me up a set of stairs into what looks like a normal house, except it has a prison in the basement. There are lots of women here, most of them wearing nothing but their underwear. They all smile at Nicholai, some wave or blow him kisses. Men with guns stand in doorways, and they all bow their heads as he passes them. I cling to his hand. I don’t trust him, but I trust them less. After all, isn’t Erik one of them? And Nicholai saved me from him.

When we step outside one of the men call to him and he turns around. “I’m taking this one.” He places a hand on top of my head and I want to shrug out from under his touch but I don’t.

The man looks at me and an amused smirk appears on his face. “That one?” He laughs. “Boss…”

“Borris, do I look in need of your opinion.” The hand falls from my head as he steps forward, staring at the man. He’s still sucking on that lollipop, and he releases it with a pop. He says nothing, just stares.

“No, boss.” He mumbles.

“Good.” He presses a hand to my back and starts walking me in the opposite direction. “Come, little dove.”

He walks to a black sports car and holds the door open for me. I get in and he leans across me, grabbing the seat belt and fastening it before closing the door. I have no idea where he’s taking me but it has to be better than staying here with Erik. I don’t have a lot of options right now.