Surrogate for the Billionaire Mafia

MAEVE The last octave of my song rattled the chandeliers in the ceiling of the club, earning whistles and yells of approval from my audience. The audience was mostly made up of all types of moral deficit, violent, and mentally unstable rich men. Most of whom were doing sketchy and criminal business in the cover of the shadows. The only women among them were either held against their will, or sex workers slithering between tables to earn their next paycheck. Of course, there was the occasional lady with dark makeup and fur coats who ran her own dealings and was as vicious as any of the men, but that was a rare sight in this shady world the club catered to. Here, we ladies were considered nothing but eye candy. As a lawyer, my thoughts on that are obvious, but as long as they're getting my bills paid, I couldn't care less. The music ended, and cheers followed. I stood straight, with a derisive curl of my lips, soaking in their praise. In 7-inch heels, on the raised platfo

MAEVE “Watch it, you damn bitch!” “Oh, put a damn sock in it, granny!” I spat back at the middle-aged man honking his car at me after I cut past him in my hurry. Sure, I had taken a risk, but the old fart had no idea what was at stake here. Not that I expected him to. He was probably experiencing a midlife crisis. Moments later, I swerved into a particularly tight parking space in the garage, throwing all caution to the wind. It was close to noon at this point, despite me practically jumping into the shower and throwing some clothes on at breakneck speed. Taking one precious second to check my reflection in the rearview mirror, I adjusted my wavy sandy-brown hair styled into a french bob. I had no time to conceal the shadows under my bright green eyes, so I looked exactly like my situation. A mess. I ran out of the car and towards the elevator, only to find out that it was out of service. “Shit.” I turned towards the stairs instead. “Ivanov!” My supervisor boo

MAEVE I tried not to let his piercing blue eyes or overall dangerous aura get to me. No man should have this effect, married or not. But he was the devil himself given flesh, a temptation I knew better than to dare submit to. Maybe I should just return to Marina and be done with this charade. But then one of those wickedly arched brows quirked upwards in silent question, and I found myself awaiting whatever would come out of his mouth next. “Megan,” he stated flatly, not offering his full name or identity. Too late, I knew exactly who he was. “Megan..." I repeated, letting the word drag slowly from between my red lips as I deliberately adopted a coy stance. "And I'm supposed to tell you where I'm… feeling parched?” He laughed; a low, deep, rich sound that stroked something inappropriately raw within me. He looked like he might say something, but his bodyguard chose that moment to lean in and urgently murmur something in his ear. Megan's brow twitched slightly before

MAEVE I sat in the back of the cab, fingers stroking the edge of Maruska's card. Marina had called for me but didn't bother explaining why. Typical. My fingers pressed harder, and I hissed when the edge cut my flesh, but no blood came. I glanced at the driver, then my eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. Just then, my heart lurched as I caught sight of the motorbike tailing us. Twisting around, I cursed under my breath at the helmeted rider. "Step on it!" I snapped at the cabbie. He scowled. "You want cops on our asses?" It was Zhenya. I know. That obsessive prick had found me again. "Son of a bitch!" How long had this lunatic been following me? I shoved Maruska's card back into my bag and grabbed for my phone. But then the cab jerked to a violent stop, my phone clattering underneath the seat, Zhenya's bike had skidded in front of us, blocking our path. He took off his helmet, tossing it onto the seat. The cabbie got out, opening his mouth to protest, but Zhenya sla

MAEVE "I...uh..." I stammered, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. I definitely didn't have a good excuse for snooping around this very obvious red den of debauchery. Maruska slowly entered the room, his eyes narrowing as he took in the blindfold and belt I had been reaching for so foolishly. A smirk played across his lips. "Couldn't resist taking a peek, could you?" He purred. "I have to admit, I'm a little surprised at your… boldness." I opened and closed my mouth uselessly, at a total loss for words. My throat felt dry as a desert as Maruska prowled closer, looking very much like a predator cornering his prey. “I’m… sorry..." I stepped back reflexively. He smiled. “That hardly shows remorse. At least face the consequences..." I swallowed. A mafia—powerful just as dangerous and I might have gotten on his wrong side, and now, now he would probably kill me just like they do to all who snoop where they weren't meant to… My heart was in bad shape just from watching