Chapter Five

Four Years Ago

I’m still trembling with nerves as I get ready for work. Why the hell couldn’t I stop thinking of Milos Levin? Of how he called himself a villain when I knew he wasn’t. The Sabatinis wouldn’t work with him if he were. He’d gone against his father to stop trafficking. It didn’t matter the reason why. Men in the mafia were raised to be obedient to only their leader and their father. For him to challenge his father was huge.

Stop it, it didn’t matter what he did or why. I’m sure he’s already forgotten me. I need to do the same. There’s a slick black Mercedes sedan in my driveway, the SUV from this morning behind it. The passenger who went into the meeting with Milos’s brother is waiting.

“This is your car. Milos does not want you walking. You stay warm and safe.” He offers me the keys.

I know the house is empty—my little sister is hunting for the newest serial of her favorite manga, and my mother is at work with Carlo—but I still glance at my house, sure I’m being set up. This has to be a joke. All I can do is back away from him while shaking my head. “No, I don’t want it. Tell him to take it back.”

I try to go around him. No way in hell am I taking a car from Milos Levin. It would come with so many strings I’ll never get loose.

He steps in front of me. “The car is yours. You will not walk. Your safety is important to Milos.”

“Go away and leave me the hell alone,” I yell and try to get around him.

Again he’s in front of me. “Do not anger Milos. You will regret it.”

The words stop me. In the world of mafia those words were a promise that always came true. “Are you threatening me?”

His eyes go wide, shaking his head. “No, if you don’t take the car then we are to take you to work. You do not walk.”

Relief fills me—he was used to using threatening people. From how wide his eyes get, it’s clear he was also given the order not to hurt or scare me—no doubt Milos would see that as his privilege alone. What a weirdo.

Sighing, I nod. Step close, my hand out as if I’m going to take the keys. Instead, I kick into his instep hard. Then I turn and run. I only manage to get thirty feet before the big SUV is in front of me. Annoyed, I kick the door and try to go around it.

The guy I kicked is out of the car. He lifts me and stuffs me in the back seat. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He slams the door, immediately I hear the locks click.

“If you will not take the car, then we are to drive you to work. It is too cold for you to walk.” I don’t speak Russian, but I’m pretty sure he says a swear word as he pulls out his phone.

A flood of Russian comes out of him. Oh yeah, he’s talking to Milos.

“Tell him I’m not taking the fucking car! He can take it and shove it up his ass!”

The guy looks back at me. He says something. Then chuckles as he looks away.

I’m guessing if I were smart I’d be afraid of why he was laughing. Too bad for him and Milos I’m not. There are so many things I could do to get back at him, but I don’t dare, not willing to deal with the end result. So all I do is seethe in frustration as the SUV drives to the clinic. I jump out the moment the door is unlocked and flip them off as I go inside.

Darla sighs when she sees me. “Your man is gorgeous. How and where did you get him?”

I shake my head. “He’s not mine. How is the kitten?”

“Oh you mean Koshka? That’s what Milos said to call the kitten. He paid a fat wad of cash to cover expenses and for the charity fund. Beautiful and kind. Swoon. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” she teases.

Faking a smile, “You can have him.”

It annoys me I can’t tell her what he really is—mafia, Bratva. To do that would mean I’d have to tell her how I know. Which isn’t an option. I’m grateful I don’t have Carlo’s name. No one knows who my father is, and my hope is no one ever will.

The whole time I’m at work I’m waiting for Milos to make an appearance. I’m relieved when the day ends and he doesn’t. I really am. Carrying around the adorable black kitten with yellow eyes that glow up at me, I refuse to think of how those eyes remind me of Milos.

I’m the last to leave the clinic. It doesn’t bother me, usually. I just hate how it’s dark out already. All I have to do is throw out the trash, then I can lock up and leave. I step outside, the kitten in the pouch I’ve been carrying her around in all night.

The huge SUV is waiting, the door opens to Milos.

“Go away,” I hiss at him as I toss the first trash bag. Immediately the guy who threw me in the SUV earlier is at my side and tosses the other two bags into the dumpster.

“Are you the last and only one in the building?” Milos is daring me to tell him differently.

“I thought I was never going to see you again,” I mutter.

“If you had taken the car from Peter and not kicked him, you never would have.” The words are so cold, I don’t doubt him for a moment.

I ignore him, lock the door. And turn to— I’m up in Milos’s arms again, being carried to the SUV. He carries me across his chest as easily as I would a kitten. It doesn’t matter I’m struggling against him. His grip tightens in warning. Shock at how much I like being in his arms makes me fight even harder against him—against what he does to me. It doesn’t help in the slightest. I’m in the back of the SUV, again.

“Answer me. Do they leave you alone to close all by yourself?”

“Go away, you fucking psycho.” None of it should matter to him. I need him to go away and never come back.

An exhale of air that might be considered a laugh comes out of him. “If you don’t answer I’ll burn the place down tonight. You can’t work there if it’s a shell.”

I don’t doubt him for a second. Holy freaking crap. “You are psychotic.”

“If I am psychotic, don’t you think it’s best not to anger me? Seat belt, Celia.” My words don’t phase him in the slightest. His eyes don’t even flicker. Definite psycho.

“Fuck you.” The words are barely out of my mouth before he’s pressing me back and putting the seat belt on me. Koshka is meowing up a storm. This close, I inhale Milos’s scent deep into my lungs: citrus, woodsy with a hint of moss green, and underlying those already appealing notes is something that is pure Milos—something heady, captivating, so enticing I want to lick his skin to taste it on my tongue.

His large hand grasps my chin, and it happens again, electricity surging through my entire body. It’s so strong—almost violent—causing me to shudder. A thumb runs over my lips. Holy fuck, the touch kicks over a hive of bees I had no idea were inside my tummy, spilling hot honey through my veins. “Such beautiful lips should not say such dirty things. Behave, kotyonok. I can turn you from hissing and spitting into purring—you aren’t ready for it…yet.”

It isn’t just his words that are a promise, it’s his touch and the way those yellow eyes flare hot with intent. I have no control of my body and want to die from embarrassment at the wet heat flooding my core. My body has never done that before, not even while reading my sister’s smuttiest manga.

His body goes tense against mine. Koshka’s little head pops out of the carrier and she hisses at Milos. He pushes away with what has to be a curse word in Russian.

“Let me out.” I hate the way the words tremble. I’m shocked I found the air to get them out at all.

Milos turns his attention back to me. “Were you the only person left in the building?”

I sigh. “Yes. It’s fine. This is a safe neighborhood. I’m only two miles from home. If you burn it down I swear I will never forgive you. My nonna might have taught me how not to take shit from anyone, but I learned how to be a bitch at the feet of Carlo and his psychopathic men—you think I’m bad now, you have no idea how bad I can be.”

I’m more than willing to let loose everything I’ve learned on this man who I need to go far, far away from me. The longer I’m with him, the less I recognize myself. “Besides, my fat ass needs the exercise anyway.”

His jaw goes tight. Violence fills the air until I can barely breathe. “Do not call yourself that. If anyone else were to call you fat I would make them bleed. You do it again and I will ensure you regret it.”

What? I am not turned on by the menace in him…damn it, I am.

“Either you take the car or my men take you to and from work every day. The decision is yours.” His tone is clear: pick one, or he will.

“How the hell am I going to explain a car like that to my family? If Carlo finds out you bought me a car, you will be completely fucked. He’ll pin you into a marriage with me so fast it will make your head spin, and he’ll take every dime he can get while he’s at it.” I warn him.

An odd exhalation comes out of him, almost like a laugh but not quite. What the hell would he think is funny about that? Probably that anyone would force him into a marriage, especially with me. “The car is a donation from someone thanking you for caring for the kitten. And it is. You will care for the kitten day and night for the next few weeks—something I have no inclination or time for. I don’t believe you are not clever enough to keep my name out of it. It is unacceptable for you to be out walking the streets alone. I don’t care if you think the streets are safe. A beautiful woman like you alone, is a tasty treat no one who saw you would be able to deny.”

I roll my eyes. In that time he’s pulled out a phone from his inner pocket and is dropping it in my lap. “What’s this?”

“Your new phone. The one you have is not safe. It is too old and undependable.” He says it like it’s not a big deal and he gives away phones to everyone he meets.

Holy crap, this is a thousand dollar phone. I shake my head. No fucking way. But I’m not allowed to get my mouth open.

He holds up my old phone. How the hell did he get it out of my pocket? In a few deft moves, he’s pulled out the sim card, then opens his window and tosses my phone out of the moving vehicle. He offers me the sim card. “You will take the phone and the car.”

When I don’t take it, too stunned to move, he drops it into Koshka’s pouch with a gentle caress of his fingers over the tiny kitten.

The SUV stops in front of my house. “I really hate your guts.”

His chuckle is rich and smoky and I swear it’s somehow a threat. “You wish, kotyonok.”

Sliding out of the SUV, I slam the door and practically run my ass into the house.

My sister is waiting in my room. “Hey, what’s up with the car in the driveway? Did Carlo finally buy Mommy a new car?”

I shake my head. Lying is my only choice if I don’t want to keep tangling with Milos Levin. And I don’t want to. I really don’t.

“I’ve got a kitten,” I warn her. She sighs and backs away to stand in the doorway. “The kitty’s new mommy gave it to me. She’s a weird lady. Too busy and stressed to feed and watch it until it’s ready to go home with her. So she’s giving me the car to get around in. She found out I’m walking to and from work. The kitten isn’t allowed to get cold.”

Carina shakes her head. “That is some rich white people shit. Won’t take care of the cat but spends thousands for someone else to do it.”

I laugh. “I guess.”

“Why was it here though? I thought you were supposed to drive it to work?” Her forehead crinkles.

I sigh at the sight—she’s too young for it to do that. Lying to protect her is the easiest thing I’ll do every day of my life. “I tried to argue with her I didn’t need it, but she got mad. Threatened to pull the donation she gave for charity. I’ll take it I guess. Until it’s time to give her the kitten.”

“Huh, okay.” She yawns. “So what did Carlo say about the money?”

I shake my head.

She sighs. “I’m sorry. This is bullshit. What are you going to do?”

Shrugging, “It’s community college and vet tech, I guess.”

Another sigh. “I wish to hell I could help you.”

“It’s fine. I knew it wouldn’t happen.” I paste a smile on my face, doing my best to pretend I wouldn’t cry myself to sleep over the loss of my dream.