There will be consequences

You insist on killing me, why?" Julius glared at my dress, opening my car door for me.

"Well, it's fun, your funeral will be lit and I look good in black. Do I need anymore reasons?" I grinned.

"I should close this door and send you with the driver to get a new dress. Maybe he can drop you off in the middle of nowhere on the way back." I knew my brother well enough to know he was being serious.

"Or you could help me out before your girlfriend wanders off to find a better man." Julius glanced back at his girlfriend who laughed to herself at my comment.

He and his girlfriend were in the car ahead of mine in the convoy. I shared a car with Damian since our parents were already at the gala.

We were being fashionably late.

Julius finally gave me his hand, helping me out of the car outside the hotel's main entrance that was crawling with security.

Despite his clear hatred for my dress, he was still kind enough to make sure the skirt was straight and creaseless.

"I don't know why you're so worried about not being able to find a husband." My brother's red headed girlfriend, Irena, quipped. "You're freaking gorgeous."

"While I appreciate the compliment, it doesn't make me feel better." I frowned, stepping closer to her as Damian approached from around the car.

"Why?" She frowned, moving some hair away from my diamond necklace.

She was like the big sister I never had.

"I want someone to marry me because of me, not because of how good I might look on their arm."

"I hate to break it to you, Maleficent, but you don't exactly have the 'marry me for me' kind of personality." Damian smirked earning a laugh from my brother.

"He's right, you know. You're the queen of resting bitch faces and dirty looks from across the dinner table." Julius laughed, taking a sudden step back when I took one towards him.

"Well maybe if you didn't chew like a fucking donkey then I wouldn't-"

"Okay! I think it's time we go inside." Irena grabbed my hand, preventing me from throttling my brother in public.

The two of them laughed as Irena dragged me towards the lobby doors, her heels clicking in sync with mine.

"Ignore them, Millie. You have the nicest personality...once people get through your cold front and resting bitch face." She added the last part, biting back her smile when I glared at her.

Like I said, she was the big sister I never had.

And never fucking wanted.

"I need a drink." I muttered, heading down the heavily guarded hallway towards the ballroom.

This gala was full of upper class people, politicians, CEOs and criminals from the underworld.

Anyone who is anyone will be here tonight.

Tonight was supposed to be the second time I was meeting Viktor Kozlov to discuss our potential engagement. Last time he said we could discuss our favourite colours and biggest fears.

But instead, I was going to give him a piece of my mind after all those abhorrent gifts he sent me.

I was back to square one in my marriage hunt.

While my father didn't know about our plan to cut things off with Kozlov, he did mention someone from a Swedish criminal organisation wanted to speak to me tonight.

He also mentioned an Australian millionaire CEO who would be here tonight.

I laughed in his face as soon as he mentioned Australia.

It might have been worth considering since I could potentially leave the criminal world which is unheard of. But, I couldn't live with spiders.

I would never do it.

One time in Athens, I woke up to find a thick spider crawling through my hair on my pillow. I saw everything - the black eyes, the legs with those ugly joints for knees and some weird moving pincer things.

I cried more than I've ever cried in my life and I was 23 years old - I'd cried a lot in 23 years.

I'd rather marry Kozlov and wear his collar than move to Australia to face the spiders.

"Champagne?" A young female server stood by the door, holding a tray of champagne glasses towards me. She couldn't have been older than 18 years old and she was definitely nervous.

"Can I have the whole tray?" I smiled hoping to ease her nerves - and mine. I needed the Dutch courage.

Instead her eyes widened and a blush coated her cheeks. "N-no I meant just one-"

"It's okay, I know." I laughed, taking one glass off her tray. The liquid in the rest of the glasses swayed in her nervous hold. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled softly before shifting her gaze towards Irena and Julius coming in behind me.

Our plan was to find our parents, but we ended up getting sidetracked by many different people on the way. Since it wasn't only criminals like the last gala we went to, there were more people my brother and Damian were friendly with.

During each conversation I eventually ended up starting my own with Irena. We'd whisper about the other women around us - their ugly or nice dresses, their strange hairstyles and their thick layers of make up.

One woman walked past me and I was tempted to ask if she had a part-time job in the Macy's perfume department.

Irena and I shared a look and then Damian nudged me when we burst out giggling during his conversation with a French politician.

Irena and my brother had been together for five years after he defended her at a bar. She was a damsel in distress and my brother proved to be her knight in shining armour.

He waited six months before he told her about his role in the Mafia.

First he had to get thorough background checks on her and when they checked out, he asked my father for permission.

It wasn't as easy as he'd hoped. There was no dating in this life and because of his position as a future heir, he was required to marry someone of a similar status.

He went back and forth with my father for weeks before the old man eventually caved when my mother finally got involved. She was tired of their constant death glares and snide remarks at the dinner table.

Julius told Irena about the Greek Mafia, she freaked out and ignored him for a week and then she decided to give him a chance.

They've been together ever since.

It was the kind of love and romance I wanted. I was admittedly jealous of my brother being allowed to choose his own partner, but our positions were very different.

He was devoting his life, his future and his children to the Greek Mafia. I had to play my part by getting married to form an alliance. It wasn't fair, but hardly anything about this life ever is.

"Millicent." My father's warm hand on my back took my attention away from the current conversation. Julius and Damian were talking to some American business woman.

I think Damian was trying to flirt with her.

He was failing miserably.

"Hi, Dad." I turned to give him a smile, noticing the displeasure in his eyes upon seeing the front of my dress.

We still hadn't managed to find him in the huge ballroom, so this was the first time he was seeing my dress. And the annoyance in his eyes only made my smile widen.

"There's someone I would...er-like you to meet." He was uneasy, I could sense that straight away.

He gestured for me to step away from the other group. We took a few steps away, stopping in front of a short, kind of stubby man.

A very tattooed stubby man.

I usually like tattoos, but not when someone is covered in them head to toe.

At this point he probably had more ink than visible skin.

His neck, ears, jaw, hands, and even ankles were all covered. He even had a symbol inked on his left cheek bone.

It took everything in me not to give my father a 'What were you thinking?' look.

"Millicent, this is Nils Olsson. His father leads Sweden's Syriac Mafia. Nils, this is my daughter Millicent."

He's the Swedish guy who wanted to talked to me about marriage.

I guess my uncle was right. After people saw me speaking to Viktor at the last event, word spread in the underworld. And unfortunately, I was still at square one in my marriage hunt which meant I couldn't get out

"Ah, the Princess of the Greek Mafia. It's nice to meet you, Micent."

Princess? Is that what I'm known as? Cool.

"It's Millicent." I corrected him, rather painfully.

"That's vhat I said - Micent."

Instead of replying, I turned to glare at my father who had stupidly put me in this position.

Did he really think I'd survive a marriage with a man who could barely say my name?

"Well, uh...I'll leave you to it." My father was clearly trying to stifle a laugh when he scurried over to my brother.

A second of a awkward silence passed before Nils spoke with a peppy Swedish accent that just didn't match his tattooed appearance.

"So, Micent, you live in New York, ya?"

I'm killing everyone when I get home.

"Ya." I sighed, sipping on my champagne.

"Ah, you will love Sweden more vhen you marry me."

This is going to be a long fucking talk.

This is going to be a long fucking talk

"Costa..."

I sighed when I heard my name being called for the fifth fucking time.

"E adesso? (What now?) I straightened my tie in the mirror before picking up my cuff links. They were gold cuff links with our emblem on.

Subtle yet very eye catching.

"Can you help us with our bow ties?" I slotted one cuff link as I turned around to face them.

The moment I saw those idiots in the doorway of my room, I wanted to throw them out the window.

Gio was helplessly holding his bow tie while Aidan had one knotted around his neck like those little French scarves.

Or a fucking sailor.

"Why...why the fuck did you choose the bow ties?"

"To look like James Bond." Gio grinned, coming further into my bedroom in my New York penthouse.

The penthouse was mine, but I kindly let the rest of my family stay here whenever we were in New York. Although, with the number of times they'd asked for help getting ready, I'm considering checking the twins into a hotel for the rest of our stay.

Gio stopped in front of me so I took the fabric from him, putting it under the collar of his dress shirt. I started tying the bow, smiling when he coughed.

"Too tight!"

"Oh, mi dispiace." (I'm sorry) I murmured, applying a little more pressure before releasing it. My cousin glared at me as I finished expertly tying the bow around his neck.

Meanwhile, Aidan was struggling to untie his previous attempt. I wouldn't be surprised if they both had a hand at tying this stupid knot. They always seemed to do everything together.

I finished Gio's, giving him a rough shove away before turning my attention to his brother. I smacked Aidan's hands away, now making my own attempt to untie the bow.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered, struggling to undo it.

"I tried my best, man." Aidan huffed.

"Le cose belle non accadono quando voi due cercate di fare cazzate." (Good things don't happen when the two of you try to do shit.)

I finally undid the knot, making sure to choke Aidan just like I did with Gio as I tied his bow tie.

I always like the keep things fair between them.

"Non cercare mai di legare una ragazza al tuo letto. Finirà per morire lì quando non potrai annullarlo." (Don't ever try to tie a girl to your bed. She'll end up dying there when you can't undo it.)

Was I trying to be funny? Hell no.

Did they laugh like I was a damn clown? Yes.

I shook my head, trying to control my temper after the long day of work we'd already had.

And tomorrow we had to visit her which I always dreaded. It was emotionally exhausting.

So with that looming over me, this stupid event tonight was the last place I wanted to go.

Unfortunately, when my father found out we were attending, I had to pretend it was for business purposes and not to break up some marriage with my twin idiots.

Saying he wouldn't be happy when he found out what they'd done would be an understatement. The best thing I could do was keep it quiet and hope that, with my help, the twins managed to pull it off and no one knew it was them behind it.

Now that my father thinks I'm going by choice, he's given me a list of people I shouldn't forget to greet when I get there.

Tristano even managed to get out of it to deal with something else. That just left me to babysit the worlds most irritating pair of-

"Can I have some?" Gio stepped up next to me as I sprayed on my cologne.

It was the finishing touch but the most important step in getting ready. It has to be subtle that's it's not overwhelming, but powerful enough to turn heads.

"No. We can't smell the same." I shook my head, putting my bottle of cologne back down among the rest.

"Can I borrow this one then?" Before I could stop him, he snatched up my private blend bottle from Tom Ford.

Then he sprayed five too many pumps of it.

"Gio." To any other normal human being, my menacing tone would give away exactly how pissed I was.

But these idiots were painfully oblivious to any sign of danger coming their way.

I should take them on an African safari.

"I'll use this one then. Then we're all wearing Tom Ford." Aidan grabbed another bottle which just happened to be even more expensive.

I might be rich as hell, but I never waste my money. These two imbeciles wasted it like it was nothing.

"That's enough." I snatched the bottle off him when he sprayed it four times over his dress shirt and then twice into his palm.

He didn't seem to notice my irritation while he rubbed his palms together and then smacked his cheeks like every child does to copy their father.

"Get your jackets, we're already late." I sighed, frowning at the strong scent of cologne in the room.

"That's because you couldn't get your hair right." Gio pointed out and I instinctively turned to check my hair in the mirror. "It looks good now though, Costa. It was a bit flat before."

He left before I could smack him.

I shook my head, putting the bottle of cologne away to finish getting ready.

I put on my second cuff link, my signature gold rings and a Rolex. I strapped my gun to my hip with a knife on the other side. Then I finally put on my Brioni suit jacket to finish.

Just another day at the office.

"Costa!"

"Sto arrivando!" (I'm coming!)

I grabbed my phone, my wallet, my cigarette case and my lighter before leaving my room. We got in the elevator, heading down to the secure parking garage where our security were already waiting.

"Are we taking one of your cars?" Gio grinned as we came to a stop near my parked cars.

I had a few of my favourites in New York but most of my cars were safe in my garage in Sicily.

Along with a Mercedes G Wagon, I had a Porsche Panamera and an Aston Martin Rapide S.

But we were taking a driver tonight. I needed to relax and driving with Aidan and Gio was just the opposite.

"No."

"Oh, come-"

"No."

"Costa-"

"No."

"Plea-"

"No."

"We'll be quiet." As soon as Gio rushed out those three words, I spun around to look at the twins. Despite being dressed to the nines in their fancy suits, they were grinning like children.

"For how long?"

"How long for the Porsche?" Gio questioned, eyeing my Porsche.

"Both drives - there and back."

"Can we choose the music?" Aidan added to the negotiation.

"Not that electric shit."

"Deal." Gio, being the fucking gentleman he is, spat in his hand before holding it out for me to shake.

"Sali su quella dannata macchina." (Get in the damn car.) I shook my head in disgust, heading over to the cabinet to take out my keys.

The two of them pushed and shoved until Gio managed to get into the passenger seat up front first.

So now I had Gio up front next to me and Aidan in the back. Well, he was in the back but he squeezed himself in the gap between the two front seats.

I let out a breath of irritation when he got too close to me.

Thanks to those imbeciles, the car smelled like the inside of a fucking Tom Ford cologne factory.

"So, what music?"

"We agreed you'd be quiet." I pointed out, pressing down on the brake pedal while pushing the engine button. The engine roared to life, the sound reverberating around the low ceiling parking garage.

"The journey hasn't started yet, Costa." Aidan turned to grin at me before shifting his gaze to Gio's phone.

The two of them whispered about which playlist to pick while my security got into their formation. As soon as two SUVs drove out, I put the car in drive and rolled out behind them. Two more security cars followed behind me to form the convoy.

Even after we got onto the main road in Manhattan, these two little bitches were still arguing over the music.

"No, the other one."

"This one?"

"No, that one."

"Which one?" Gio huffed in annoyance.

"This one." I ducked my head just in time when Aidan attempted to shove his entire left arm between the two seats. He narrowly missed hitting my temple with his elbow when he pointed towards the phone.

"Shut the fuck up and sit back - I won't tell you again. It's dangerous and you're pissing me off."

Aidan huffed, sitting back properly in the back seat. Seconds later Gio hit play on a song and we finally got to drive in peace.

For now.

Thirty painful minutes and a few arguments later, we finally entered the gates of the hotel grounds.

"Is she here?" Aidan questioned Gio, squeezing himself between the seats again now that the cars had slowed down.

The two of them were watching a live feed of the ballroom.

How the hell they got access to it is a mystery I don't want to ever solve.

"Yeah, the Flamingo is talking to some tattooed fat guy."

"Flamingo?" I frowned at Gio who grinned back at me. "Yeah. The Greek Princess is the Flamingo, Kozlov is the Chipmunk and you're the Italian Stallion."

A traitorous laugh escaped my lips as I drove further into the hotel grounds towards the lobby entrance.

"Yeah? And what are you two idioti?" (Idiots)

"We're the Lions, bitch." Aidan laughed just as I finally pulled up to the entrance.

"Più come il Pesce Rosso." (More like the Goldfish.) I muttered, turning off the engine. We got out of the car and I handed the keys to the valet attendant.

I waited for my two sidekicks to appear by my side and then we made our way inside together.

"Now what's the Flamingo doing?" I nudged Gio with my arm as we walked towards the ballroom.

Even as we walked, people loitering in the hallways nodded their head in respect or just looked away from me all together.

"She's still talking to il grassone." (The fat guy)

"Is the Chipmunk here?" Aidan asked as I took a champagne glass from the young female server at the door. I didn't miss the look of confusion on her face when she overheard their nickname for Kozlov.

"Nah, not yet." Gio answered, directing the second part to me. "We'll let you know when he's here, Costa."

I hummed in acknowledgement, forcing a cold expression onto my face when guests in the hall started looking in our direction.

They knew who we were, or more importantly, who I was.

I guess you could say I made rare appearances on the social scene - especially outside of our home territory in Sicily. Unless I had specific business to deal with, I was rarely seen out and about at parties, clubs or dinners.

"I have a few people I need to speak to. Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone." I turned back to Gio and Aidan who were busy admiring the lavish banquet hall we were standing in.

I feel like their freaking father. I'm too young to be a dad.

"Don't worry, Costa. We've got our plan to finish, we'll keep ourselves busy."

"Your plan..." I sighed, knowing exactly what was coming. But, I tried to warn them anyway. "Try not to draw any attention to yourselves and make sure she doesn't let anyone know that you're the ones behind it."

"She's a professional improv actress. She'll get the job done." Gio waved me off, downing his glass of champagne like it was beer in a red solo cup.

"I'm being serious, Giovanni. My father doesn't know what you're doing and if word gets out you two were behind all of this, you'll be in for a world of shit."

"Hold on. Why just us?" Aidan scoffed, stepping closer to me. "Costa, you're the captain. The top dog. The quarterback. You have to go down with us - we're the three musketeers. You're the leader, Athos, and we're Porthos and Aramis - your loyal followers and-"

"Shut the fuck up." I cut him off, finally having had enough of his bullshit. "This isn't a game. Screwing up their alliance isn't going to go down well with anyone. Not only will you be messing with Kozlov but we'll also have the Princess of the Greek Mafia on our case. You started this plan before I could do anything to stop it. But, if anyone finds out, there will be consequences for all of us, capisci?" (Do you understand?)

"Sì." They both nodded in unison, for once understanding the severity of my words.

"Good. Just sit back and let it happen and per l'amor di Dio-" I snatched a fresh glass off Gio after he grabbed it off a tray. "-don't drink too much." (For the love of God)

With one last glare, I walked away from them with Gio's full glass of champagne.

With one last glare, I walked away from them with Gio's full glass of champagne

"So vhat you think?"

"Micent?"

"What?" I frowned, zoning back in on the conversation I was currently involved in, again. I think he was getting irritated that I kept zoning out judging by the way he suddenly snapped.

"A vedding!" A vein in his forehead bulged. Like, it actually throbbed under the tattooed skin of his forehead.

I think I'm going to throw up.

My eyes widened a little and I took a step back. A light flush coated his cheeks as a result of his anger. A few seconds later he cleared his throat, glancing at the people standing close to us.

"A vedding. A vedding in Stockholm?" He repeated a bit calmer than before.

His accent is making me dizzy.

"Um...it's a little early to talk about a vedd-wedding." I corrected myself, cringing at how easy he was to copy.

"Vhy? You like me, I like you."

How can he like me when I've barely said two words?

"I don't really...I think I..." I stumbled, searching for a way to let him down without him losing his temper again.

"Speak then." He snapped.

It would be intimidating if we weren't the same height right now.

"Excuse me." Another thick accent suddenly joined the conversation. "Is it okay if I borrow Millicent for a moment?"

"Ve vere talking." Nils glared at Viktor, his irritation peaking.

This guy might need therapy after talking to me. I'll give him my therapist's number.

"I'll have her back to you soon." Viktor smiled before grabbing my hand, whisking me away from the furious Swedish man. A soft laugh escaped his lips as he ushered me away.

I would have been grateful to anyone in this room for saving me from Nils, apart from Viktor.

As soon as we were in an empty space in the ballroom, I yanked myself out of his grip.

"Don't touch me, maláka." (Asshole)

"What?" He frowned, his previous light hearted smile fading. "What's the matter?"

He took another step towards me, clearly misjudging how angry I truly was.

"What's the matter? I'll tell you what's the matter, you arrogant, misogynistic son of a bitch." I glared at him feeling my anger rise at the expression on his face.

He had the nerve to look innocent after what he sent me.

"You think just because I'm a woman that I'll become your property? That I'll just do whatever the hell you want for you and your men? You think that I'll look pretty on your arm in those dresses and jewellery and then I'll serve you at home?"

Viktor rose an eyebrow at me during my rant, watching as I stepped closer to him again.

"You think you'll have a claim over me? That I'll become your submissive?" I spat the words at him, venom dripping in from tone.

Then I found the balls to lightly shove him backwards.

The moment my hand made contact with his chest, I saw two men advance towards us from the side of the ballroom.

Viktor's eyes snapped in their direction and he instantly shook his head, calling off his security.

A tense silence fell around us.

His jaw was clenched while he was probably thinking over my outburst. Meanwhile, I processed the fact I'd just shoved the leader of the Russian Bratva in front of his own security and all the other guests.

"Millicent..." He spoke tentatively, although, this time with a bite of anger in his voice.

He might have called off his guard dogs, but that didn't break through my own anger at all.

"Don't." I scoffed. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know why I'm pissed, Viktor."

"Millie-"

"Just tell me one thing. Was it all a joke to you or are you really just a dick?"

His deep blue eyes were full the the brim with confusion. His lips parted like he was about to speak, but then he stopped himself.

He held my stare for a long moment, studying my expression.

"I'm sorry, Millie, I really don't know what you're talking about." His tone was soft and for a split second, I almost believed he had no idea what what was going on.

But I had to remind myself I was speaking to a highly trained mob boss. He could easily be playing me for a fool. I knew the men in the Greek Mafia could have done the same thing if they wanted to.

"The gifts, Viktor."

"Gifts? What gifts?" Clueless people and their endless questions. They make me want to kill myself.

"The gifts you sent me. The expensive clothes, the apron, the collar?"

"Collar? Like a dog collar?" He smiled. However his smile quickly morphed into a frown when he saw my deadly expression. "Not a dog collar?"

"No, not a dog collar."

His mouth formed an 'O' shape as realisation dawned on him. I rose an eyebrow at him, waiting to see what kind of bullshit excuse he was going to try and feed to me.

Then he burst out laughing.

"S-someone sent you a collar?" He spoke through his laughter making his Russian accent come out thicker.

"You did! And an apron that said 'Property of the Russian Bratva'. All the notes were signed with your signature." He cracked up all over again, even while I continued to glare. It was only when I went to take a step away that he grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards him.

"Millie, I assure you, I didn't send you anything. It's been just over three weeks since we last met, da? I've barely had the time to sleep, let alone send you such creative gifts." (Yes?)

He was still laughing.

"So why did they have your signature on then?" I rose an eyebrow at him, daring him to try and lie.

"I don't know, perhaps one of the hundreds of people I've sent a letter or document to could have copied my signature?" The honesty in his voice was enough to break through my anger for a split second. But that's all he needed.

"Millie, I promise I didn't send you any gifts. I'm sorry if someone sent you something that upset you. I'll have a look into it. They won't get away with it."

"How do I know it wasn't you?" My anger was quickly melting away, revealing the vulnerability left behind.

Whoever I married would quite possibly have the power to control my entire life. If I moved to live with another man and his family and his organisation, he would be my only person.

I wouldn't have my family or my friends. I wouldn't have any home comforts or even a job, if he said I couldn't work.

And if he turned out to be a liar or a bad person...my life would essentially be over.

"Millie, if I wanted to turn you into my submissive-" His lips twitched at that word and I narrowed my eyes. "-I wouldn't tell you about it after the very first time we met. I'd wait until after the engagement, at least."

He grinned and I shook my head, begrudgingly allowing him to pull me into him. "I really would like to get to know you, Millicent. Is that still okay with you?"

"So you don't have anything to hide? You're not going to force me to cook for you and your men?"

Viktor smiled, shaking his head. "No, I just want you to cook for me."

"Viktor!" I tried to push him away, but his grip on my hand was too strong.

"I promise I won't try to make you a submissive or my personal chef." He laughed, although he was being honest.

"Or your arm candy trophy wife."

"Da, or my arm candy trophy wife. I just want you to be...my wife." (Yes) He murmured the last words softly, his eyes taking in my face.

A traitorous smile tugged at my lips and I nodded.

"You still have to convince me first. This isn't me agreeing to marry you." I pointed my finger at him warningly.

"Da, of course. Why do you think I came tonight? I did say next time we could dance." He grinned, tugging on my hand.

He started walking towards the dance floor which was surprisingly busier than I expected. Usually people wait until after dinner to start dancing.

But something tells me even if there was no one dancing, he would have still forced me to dance.

"You came for me?" I smiled at his back as he walked ahead of me, our hands still connected.

"And for the prawn cocktail. They just don't make them as good in Russia."

I rolled my eyes as we came to a stop on the dance floor. He turned to face me placing one hand on my waist. He kept a hold of my other hand so I held onto his shoulder with my spare hand.

A moment of quiet passed between us before he suddenly smirked. "I didn't know you had such a temper."

"Bitch please, you haven't seen the worst of it." I shook my head causing him to laugh.

He thought I was joking.

I wasn't joking.

"You know I've killed people for calling me a bitch before." He murmured with a serious tone although his eyes gave away his amusement.

"Me too." Again, I wasn't joking.

"This is going to be an interesting marriage."

I shook my head as we swayed together to the music. "I never said I was going to marry you. I was quite considering that Swedish guy."

"You mean the guy that's been glaring daggers at me since I rescued you?"

"Yep." I nodded. "We had a connection and he didn't send me any offensive gifts."

"Are you sure he didn't do it secretly just to get me out of the race?" I knew he was joking, but that thought had my movements faltering for a second.

If he didn't send the gifts, then who did?

"Well, whoever did it is a dead man when I get my hands on them." I murmured, that residual anger still burning somewhere in the background. "And if I find out it really was you, Kozlov, I-"

"It wasn't." He cut me off, any previous amusement quickly disappearing. "Besides the fact you almost killed me, I don't like people messing with my business."

He had the same kind of expression that I was so used to.

Growing up in the Mafia, I'd seen countless displays of anger and rage. I'd seen men become possessive over their business territory. I'd seen them become hungry for revenge and those expressions of blood lust. Viktor was just the same.

"Your business?"

"I told you that day we first met, there's a business reason why I'm so interested in this marriage. Finding you sexy as hell was a bonus."

Did it irk me that this was still a business arrangement? Yes.

But, I appreciated that he was being honest with me.

"So how wi-" My attempt at changing the subject was cut off when someone nudged me in the back.

"Oh, shit." He muttered with a strong Italian accent as I turned around, still holding onto Viktor.

"Sorry." The young man smiled sheepishly, his eyes taking me in with a strange expression.

He had olive toned skin and dark brown hair, fitting perfectly with his Italian heritage. His green eyes seemed mildly familiar, but I couldn't quite place them.

"It's okay." I smiled softly noticing he was much younger than most of the other guests here. But, he was still taller than me with his lean frame.

Someone tugged on his arm and I smiled when I saw what looked like his twin brother behind him. They must have been twins because they looked so similar in age and appearance, but they weren't identical.

The other brother gave me an apologetic look although he was much less friendly. Then the two of them scurried away, whispering between themselves.

Did they just say flamingo?

I frowned, shaking off the weird thought. I must have misheard an Italian word. I turned back to Viktor who was watching the two boys with a cold expression on his face.

The coldest I'd seen on him since we met.

Just another harsh reminder that he was absolutely part of this life - perhaps one of the most formidable bosses in the underworld.

"What's wrong?" I attempted to break through the tension between us.

"Nothing."

"Do you know them?" I glanced in the direction they'd gone, but they were completely out of sight.

"They're the Ac-...nevermind." He shook his head, forcing a small smile onto his face just as the song came to end.

I frowned when he started looking around the room in search of something, or someone.

"I think they're serving dinner soon." I murmured, still in his hold although our dancing had finished. "I should probably go and find my fami-"

"Viktor?" We both turned towards the blonde woman who interrupted me. Her eyes were focussed on Viktor first and then they shifted over to me.

"Who is she?" She spoke softly with her heavy Russian accent. Her hair was in curls and she was wearing a formal dark red dress.

It was the colour of the Russian Bratva - the same colour as Viktor's tie. I knew that because one of the dresses I'd received from 'Viktor' was identical to it. It was the same colour, material, cut and it had the same detailing.

My father explained why the colour was so important - something to do with their history and their legacy in Russia.

"I'm sorry, do I-" He started, but she cut him off.

"You haven't been home for weeks. I come to surprise you, you're with another woman." She clutched her full glass of champagne, her eyes brimming with tears. "You said it was business."

"What-" The blonde woman cut Viktor off again before he could question her.

"You liar. You're a liar. Our son is at home. You been gone for so many weeks with her?"

Son?

Her tearful eyes shifted over to me and they quickly became enraged. I roughly tugged myself out of Viktor's hold as if his touched burned me.

"Who the hell are you?" She glared at me.

"I-"

"Why are you with my husband?"

"Husband?" I repeated, struggling to keep up with everything that was going on. It's rare that I'm ever caught off guard like this. Damian never said he was married.

A random Russian woman just appeared claiming that Viktor's son was waiting at home for him while he was supposed to be away on business. Then she claims him as her husband while wearing one of the dresses I'd received two weeks ago.

"You're married?" I shifted my gaze towards Viktor who no longer looked confused.

In fact he looked furious.

His eyes were darting around the room and I could already see his security approaching us.

"Yes, he's married, shlyukha." (Whore)

I can't say I knew what she just said, but I had a feeling it wasn't a nice word.

"I didn't know he was married." I tried to defend myself.

Did it matter? Nope.

She did the unthinkable anyway.

And I was ready to kill the bitch.

And I was ready to kill the bitch

"So, how is your father doing?"

How the hell do you think he's doing?

"He's doing well. He took some time off after the funeral but things are getting back to normal." My response had been the same to every son of a bitch that had the stupidity to ask me that question - referring to the death of my uncle.

I couldn't hint at any signs of weakness, but I also couldn't pretend everything was great after my uncle died. They'd be able to see straight through it.

The monotonous conversation continued for another few minutes. The only reason I was still standing there was due to the vantage point I had.

From my position by the bar, I could easily see Viktor Kozlov dancing with some woman who I guessed was the Greek Flamingo.

I couldn't see her face, but she had a nice ass that I could look at instead of Kozlov's ugly face.

That was mistake number one - thinking she wouldn't believe him when he denied sending the gifts. Clearly by the way his hand was itching closer to her ass, she believed everything he said.

Was she really that stupid? Well, he was telling the truth. But still, she really believed him?

I could also see my cousins when they stupidly bumped into their target on their way to the main doors. Aidan stopped to smile at the Flamingo while Gio had some kind of stare down with Kozlov.

That was mistake number two.

The plan was to stay out of his way and under the radar, but those little shits decided to bump straight into them while they danced.

I tightened my grip on my glass of whiskey watching the two of them walk away. I could see the expression on Kozlov's face and it wasn't a good one.

He immediately started searching the room and I'm guessing he was looking for me.

Thankfully, all I had to do was turn towards the bar for a few seconds and he missed me completely.

Even now with his suspicions, it was too late to call off the rest of the plan. Moments later, the finale arrived.

I sighed watching her nervously approach Kozlov and the Flamingo.

This is going to be a disaster.

"Another whiskey." I fleetingly glanced at the bartender, putting my empty glass down on the bar.

My attention went back to Kozlov who was staring wide eyed at the blonde actress in the red dress.

It was a nice touch giving her the same dress the twins sent to the Flamingo.

Kozlov continued stare at her, but his clueless expression was quickly replaced with one of fury. By now he knew someone was purposely fucking with him.

Their raised voices began attracting attention and people stepped away to create a circle around them in the centre of the ballroom.

They could sense the drama about to unfold.

No matter how upper class some people are, they live for drama. No doubt the women in this room will be discussing it at their next book club meeting or some shit.

Kozlov's eyes scanned the room and from where I stood, I could see his security fast approaching the situation.

Julius and Damian Darmos were also pushing their way through the crowd to get to the Flamingo.

Words were exchanged before the Greek woman pulled herself out of Kozlov's hold. She turned to glare at Kozlov - hopefully asking him why he was such a stupid son of a bitch.

Or why he lied about being married.

The blonde actress was glaring at the Greek Princess, stepping in closer with animosity in her eyes.

Then the third mistake was made.

The actress got too into her role as a

My eyes widened when she suddenly threw her glass of champagne in the Greek woman's face - a move that was absolutely not part of the plan.

For a split second I imagined silence had fallen around the room as Nicholas Darmos's daughter blinked the champagne out of her eyes.

Her entire body went dangerously still for a split second - the time ticking by painfully slowly.

Then she reached down to her leg where she apparently had a knife strapped to her thigh underneath her dress.

I don't think I've ever been more turned on.

That was the moment I realised Aidan and Gio had underestimated her by naming her the Flamingo.

She didn't know the actress wasn't actually Kozlov's wife - she didn't know it was fake. But, she still made an attempt to kill her in front of her mob boss 'husband', his security, and all these other guests.

She was bold as hell.

If Damian hadn't grabbed her arm just in time, the blade would have slit her throat. Instead, the actress was left with a red cut across the base of throat.

Damian was quick to pull her away from the commotion while Julius went all big brother on Kozlov.

Julius shoved Kozlov, the pair of them exchanging some heated words just as the security arrived to pull them apart.

Some were getting between Kozlov and Julius to stop them from fighting. Meanwhile, Kozlov's security were quick to seize the Russian actress that Giovanni had found. She immediately started shouting something and I would bet a million dollars that I knew exactly what she was saying.

And that was my cue to leave.

I knocked back the last of my whiskey before rushing through the crowd, making a bee line for the door.

My first thought was to find the twins to make sure they wouldn't get caught up in anything.

I rushed out the doors and down the busy hallway in the hotel. The number of people loitering in the hallway reduced as I headed further towards the lobby. That's when I heard an irate feminine voice.

Instead of finding the twins anywhere, I found Damian and the Flamingo.

I heard her ranting away in Greek as I headed down the hallway towards the hotel lobby. Her back was facing me as she dabbed a white handkerchief to her skin to mop up the champagne.

Up close her body was even more luscious and shapely.

Her hour glass figure and her plump ass had my mouth running dry. Her hair was in loose waves cascading down her back. Her dress exposed the olive toned skin of her arms and her back.

It was extremely rare that a woman could capture my attention long enough to stop me in my tracks or disrupt my thoughts. I couldn't even see her face, yet I knew she was fucking stunning.

I swallowed, forcing my eyes away from her emerald green dress. I kept my head down, hoping to make it past them quickly.

The last thing I needed was to face her after everything we'd just pulled. The actress Giovanni hired went a step too far by throwing the drink and now everything was minutes away from blowing up. I needed to get the twins and get out before we got caught.

Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky.

As soon as I was close enough to catch their attention, I heard my name being called.

"Costa." Damian's eyes landed on me and my steps faltered as I came to a stop near the two of them.

"Damian." I nodded, sparing a short glance towards the brunette who'd stopped shouting now.

The moment I saw her face, I did a double-take.

Unfortunately, it wasn't her perfect features or her flawless skin that caught my attention.

It was that fire burning in those beautiful brown eyes. It was the same rage that gave her the bravery to tell me my dead mother wouldn't be proud of me.

It was the rage that made me hate her guts.

Of all the women in New York, the one I had to bump into turned out to be Nicholas Darmos' daughter - the Princess of the Greek Mafia.

Finally 🤩