Emerald Malice - A Mafia Romance

I crashed a wedding. Got caught by the best man. Now, I'm pregnant with his baby... It's Katya's fault. (As per usual.) My BFF despises her ex and wants to hate-watch him marry the woman he left her for. Problem is, she didn't fill me in on that plan... Until we arrive at the ceremony. As soon as I find out, I run. Hop on the elevator and smash the Doors Close button like the Energizer Bunny on a sugar rush. But right before they shut... A hand comes shooting through. And attached to that hand, unfortunately for me, is the most stunning human specimen I've ever seen. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Dangerous. Also... the best man. He takes one look at me and knows I don't belong. "Who let you in here, little bird?" he growls. I gulp. Tremble. Open my mouth to lie... And then the elevator stops.

Chapters

Chapter 4

I hang up to find my phone blowing up with texts from Viktor.

VIKTOR: What the fuck? Where are you? Ceremony's about to start!

VIKTOR: Bro-you're the fucking best man. Not to mention the goddamn pakhan. You need to be here.

VIKTOR: I can't believe you're not here after YOU forced me to marry the bitch.

Sometimes, I forget what an asshole my little brother can be. Luckily, I can always rely on him to remind me.

I ignore all his messages and turn my focus back on the quivering woman in the elevator with me. Good timing, too, because apparently, the two-minute call with Shura is all it took to completely unravel her.

She's back to being a sweaty, clammy mess, scraping at the wall padding like a cat going through withdrawals.

Real or fake? I still haven't fully made up my mind. This could be real. It could also be an attempt to distract me from the fact that she's obviously not supposed to be at this wedding at all.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Those green eyes of hers go wide and trembly. Then, without any warning, she collapses in a dead faint.

"Oh, fucking hell."

I drop to one knee beside her. I tap her face, but she doesn't so much as stir.

Her chest is heaving, though. Stuttering, almost, like the stitching in the dress where it binds across her chest is handcuffing her lungs.

It's pure survival instinct that moves me next.

Not lust. Definitely not lust.

No, I tell myself as I gather two fistfuls of the fabric. This is solely to help her breathe.

Then I rip her dress apart like tissue paper.

Her exposed skin is pale and cold to the touch. When I hover a palm over her mouth to feel her breathing, it's too still.

Only one way to go from here.

But it's not lust. It's definitely not lust.

I lower my face to the girl's. Her lips part as I get close, like she knows what's coming and she wants it.

Closer.

Her scent is sweet and my dick has never been harder.

And then, just like that, I'm ripped back in time.

Because I've been here before. In exactly this situation, kneeling beside a cold, shivering woman and preparing to give her my breath.

I know how that ended. I feel the grief of it in the pit of my stomach every single day of my fucking life.

This kiss is to heal; that one was nothing more than a belated goodbye.

My lips seal to the girl's. I exhale to fill her lungs. Turn and feel her heartbeat. Exhale again. Check her pulse. I do it all one more time, and just when I'm wondering if I ought to be preparing last rites instead-why won't this fucking elevator move, goddammit?!-she makes a noise.

"Mmmm..."

It's a moan. There's no other word for it. It's a moan. Low and dreamy and undeniable.

And, like magic, it brings her back to life.

The emerald lastochka's eyes fly open and she shoves herself upright, just barely missing cracking her skull against mine. She scrambles backward to a hunched seat in the corner. "Oh my God." She slaps a hand over her mouth like she can shove the moan back in there. "W-what the hell...?"

Before I can explain, the elevator shudders into motion. Like it has a mind of its own, it takes us back to where we came from.

Ping. "Fifth floor."

The doors open onto the ballroom. I can see my brother standing amidst a throng of his useless, half-drunk friends. One of them spots me and claps Viktor on the back.

I feel a blur of motion at my side. In the second it takes me to signal to him that I'm coming, the little lastochka has darted out of the elevator, ducked between two security guards, and careened out of sight.

I let her go-for now.

My mind was made up as soon as I tasted her, so her quick getaway is just the nail in her coffin.

I've never met a mystery I couldn't solve.

And she's a mystery I'm determined to get to the bottom of.

NATALIA

"Watch where you're going!"

I stumble backwards, wilting on the spot at the murderous glance I'm getting from the six-foot-tall woman I just ran right into. She pulls her white fur stole tighter around her body and skewers me with a disdainful glare.

I follow her gaze to the ruined neckline of my dress. Is my boob hanging out? Well, would ya look at that? It sure is. Nice going, Nat. Way to be an upstanding member of polite society.

"S-sorry," I mutter awkwardly as I shove the girls back in place.

The haughty woman rolls her eyes and walks away, talking loudly enough for me to hear. "Honestly, if I'd known they'd be inviting the riff-raff, I'd have stayed home. I expect more from the Kuznetsovs."

Katya would have tackled the snobby bitch to the floor and strangled her with her own chinchilla. But all I can muster in my current state of flustered undress is a pathetic sniffle in her direction before I run off in search of a place to hide.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. My thoughts are as much of a mess as my dress is.

Is security following me?

Is he following me?

Where the fuck is Katya?!

As though I've pulled her from thin air by the strength of my thoughts, a door opens to the side. Katya's slim arm darts out, grabs me, and hauls me in after her like Satan himself dragging me down into hell.

Where the hell have you been?" she breathes in my face. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

This is so typical of Katya. Usually, I just laugh it off.

But nothing about today is "usual." Today, I've been forced into crashing a wedding, chased by security guards, trapped in an elevator. And the cherry on top of the shit sundae? I completely and totally humiliated myself in front of the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on.

That moan will be echoing in my nightmares for the rest of eternity.

"Me?" I explode. "Me?!"

Katya takes a startled step back. Only then does she seem to notice that my clothes aren't sitting right. "Your, uh... your dress is a little torn up there, babe."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." I grab the neckline and try to pull it into place. For a moment, it obeys-but as soon as I let go, it withers right back like a dying flower.

"Okay, calm down. Let me try." She toys with it for a second, then magically produces some safety pins from a box on the shelves at our elbows and works some witchcraft that fixes it right up.

"There! Good as new." She wiggles her eyebrows at me. "You wanna tell me why you're running around half-dressed with sex hair and smudged lipstick?"

"Is my lipstick smudged?" I pivot on the spot in search of a mirror, but of course, the utility closet is fresh out of those. Just as well-I can't bear looking at myself right now.

"Only a little."

I whimper and cover my face with my hands for a three-second pity party. It's all we have time for. "We have to get the hell out of here. Now!"

Katya has the audacity to look puzzled. "But the ceremony's about to start!"

I feel insane. Am I? Or is she?

"For fuck's sake, Kat-you seriously wanna watch your ex-boyfriend get married to the woman he cheated on you with?"

"Yes! Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Call me a masochist, but I wanna see it and I can't do it alone."

"Since when?"

"Since I decided everything's more fun in twos," she explains dismissively. Like that just about settles things, she opens the door a crack. "Look at all those rich assholes... Is that Leo?"

"As in DiCaprio?"

"What other Leo matters?" she sighs as if I'm a lost cause. "Wouldn't it be just a terrible tragedy if he and I met and we fell in love and got married in a ceremony twice as expensive as this one?"

I roll my eyes. She's joking-mostly. "Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you're almost twenty-eight now. You've aged out of Leo's dating pool."

"Have you seen my ass?" Katya counters, sticking it out for my benefit.

What I'd prefer to see instead of my insane best friend's posterior is some hope that we can get out of here unscathed.

Continue to next part

Three days after my fiancé publicly dumped me for my stepsister, the Supreme Don issued a command that silenced the entire estate. I wasn't being cast aside. I was being sold to Damien Russo. The "Broken Don." A crippled, scarred monster rumored to have murdered his last two wives. My adoptive mother, Elena, didn't cry for me. She smirked. To her, I was finally being disposed of. She was so confident I was walking to my death that she decided to loot my corpse before I even left. She forged documents to steal my entire inheritance—my biological mother’s trust fund—to pay for my stepsister’s lavish wedding to my ex. "She won't need money where she's going," my stepsister laughed, wearing a dress bought with my stolen funds. They thought they were sending a lamb to the slaughter. They thought I was too weak, too stupid, and too afraid of the monster to fight back. But they made a fatal mistake. With my aunt’s help, I didn't just find the proof of their embezzlement; I found a weapon. I’m not running from the monster. I’m going to marry him. And when I hand him the evidence that the Herrera family stole from his bride, he won't be my executioner. He will be my vengeance.

Action Mafia Romance

8.7

GLACIER TRUCE

8.7

Meet Two different Families. They are the two most dangerous Mafias in the whole of Italy, across Sicily and to this day, no other clan stands a chance against them. First Family. Name: Cactus Clan Name: Nightshade Clan Godmother, Serena, the head of the clan. A woman who is feared even by powerful men. She's a definition of craziness. She's well know for being a crazy witch that nobody wants to mess with. Erica, 25 years old, the first daughter, another witch who took after their mother without any single difference in character. She is very obedient to the core as she follows whatever their mother says without bothering to think about it. She's a badass fighter and can't go a day without spilling blood. Venetta, 23 years old. Second daughter and the craziest girl you might ever encounter. You can never understand her mood. It fluctuates... one minute she's smiling, the next second she's something else...and the reason is she's a drug addict. She sniffs like her life depends on it. Jazzlyn, 21 years old. She has no single similarity to her other siblings. Not like she was hated but she wasn't loved like the others. She was not allowed to go to any mission because she wasn't trained and was regarded as weakling. Her offense was that she had a weak heart. She had never gotten things right. She has badly wanted to train, wanted to go to mission but it was basically her fault and nobody's that she wasn't good. She keeps on trying and still can't. She can't even handle a gun. She was always left out during missions. One crazy thing she enjoys doing is cutting herself. She loves making herself bleed. * Second Family. Name: Truce. Clan Name: Hades fruit Clan Godfather, Padrino. The only one who's not scared of Serena. Instead he's also feared by everyone and every other clan in Italy, except Serena's though. Renzo, First Son, 25 years old. A playboy, bully and a dangerous killer. Padrino trust him more than anyone in the world cos he does not believe in love. Ace, second son, 24 years old. He's a playboy also and a drug addict. He went schooling in the states and ended up making a transfer back to Italy. He's a nice person and at the same time cold. And then we have, Glacier. 24 years old. He is merely a tool. Crazy, right? The son of Padrino, a tool? He's the most hated one in the family and clan. Even though he's one of them. He was never trained, not even how to defend himself but surprisingly, he had his first kill at the age of ten. He gets beaten up even when Renzo and Ace makes the mistakes. He gets beaten like a thief and he was used to the countless and ugly bruises all over his body. He doesn't talk, always alone, a weirdo. Amidst all this, Glacier is a strikingly handsome young man. He is the very definition of what it means to be devoid of mercy. He has no heart....he has been taught never to smile, laugh or frown. His expression is always unreadable. No one can decrypt his thoughts. After his first kill at the age of ten which was a shock to Padrino, he started leading every mission and decides who will accompany him. Everyone knows better to avoid his wrath, except for Renzo, who never backs down, though he is no match for Glacier. * Everything is all about competition to both families. Both families are sworn enemies for reasons unknown and they succeeded in passing the hatred on and on to their children. In a single word, they are bloody enemies and there's even a rule guiding that. A Nightshade must not be seen getting intimate with an Hades fruit and vice versa. They shouldn't be seen talking or chitchatting. They should keep hating on each other. Now let's talk about the school they all attend... Acme University. The school popular slogan which was common among the students is if you can't beat the rich, melt away. Acme University is an institution where the sons and daughters of the wealthy and powerful Mafia families ruled the halls. This elite school was notorious for its lax academic standards And rampant bullying, where family connections and social hierarchy dictated the pecking order there. At the top of the food chain were the *Capi*, the heirs to the most powerful Mafia families[Hades fruit Clan and Nightshade Clan] Below the Capi were the *Sottocapi*, the children of mid-level Mafia families, who aspired to climb the ranks and gain favor with the Capi. The *Bourgeoisie*, the offspring of wealthy business families, often caught between loyalty to their families and the allure of Mafia power. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the *Plebeians* Let's stop here.... A war begins. But what happens when this war transforms into something unexpected, something forbidden? What dark secrets will be revealed? Curious to find out where the dark forbidden romance comes from. You can't miss this book for anything.

Mafia Modern Romance

9.1

Pampered By The Assassin Family

9.1

I drowned in freezing pool water, the mocking laughter of the elite Savage family echoing in my ears. When I opened my eyes, I was an eight-year-old orphan again, right on the day those monsters came to adopt me. Terrified of repeating my hellish past, I ran down the hallway and desperately grabbed the shirt of a random, dumpy IT guy, begging him to take me instead. I thought I had chosen a weak, boring suburban dad to hide behind. But I was completely wrong. My new mom greeted me with a ceramic tactical knife hidden in her apron. My clumsy dad sliced dinner ribs with the terrifying precision of a seasoned hitman. My ten-year-old brother was a dead-eyed sociopath who immediately calculated my bone density. They were a family of lethal underworld monsters, yet they frantically pretended to be a normal, pathetic household just for me.

Action Mafia Modern

8.8

She Was Unwanted, Now She's Queen

8.8

For three years, I swallowed a bitter pill daily, suppressing my royal white wolf bloodline for a normal life as the Alpha's Luna. That morning, my husband Santino coldly announced a crucial announcement, then entered our grand hall with another woman, declaring, "Alessia, she will be living here from now on." She was pregnant, he announced, carrying our late Beta's child-yet her neck was unmarked. My scoff met his furious Alpha dominance, threatening my title, forcing my bow as he settled her into the suite next to ours. Her sickening scent soon permeated my private study. Later, I found him intimately grooming her in the kitchen-a sacred act for mates-while he snarled mental insults, branding my jealousy pathetic. Watching his hands violate our vows, a slow, cruel smirk pulled at my lips. My three-year marriage was officially over. I had already paused my royal trust fund's capital, then severed our mind link with a chilling declaration: "Don't touch me with the hands that just touched her."

Mafia Romance Werewolf

8.7

Sleeping with My Best Friend's Alpha Father

8.7

I wasn't supposed to be here. Girls like me don't belong to Alpha parties. I came as a favor. As a waitress. As the poor best friend nobody notices. Until he noticed me. Fresh from the shower. Bare chest. Water sliding down hard muscle. Eyes like a predator that already chose its prey. My best friend's father. The Alpha King. He helps me with my dress when the zipper gets stuck. His fingers brush my skin. My breath stutters. The air changes. He looks at me like he knows me. Like he owns me. Then the party turns ugly. Hands grabbing. Drinks forced to my lips. Laughter is too loud. And just when everything almost breaks He comes for me. Carries me out like I'm something precious. Something is his. That night shouldn't have happened. But the moon was high. My body burned. And when he whispered "mine" against my ear, I forgot every rule I ever lived by. I woke up in his bed. In his scent. In his world. I'm about to lie to my best friend... say I'm already home... When I hear her voice outside his bedroom door. "Dad? Breakfast's ready." Dad. Oh God. The Alpha King isn't just my mistake. He's hers. And now he says I'm his mate.

Mafia Modern Werewolf

8.0

Sold To The Mafia Queen

8.0

Desperate to settle a massive debt, a man finds himself sold into the service of a cold and formidable Mafia Queen. Thrust into a world of organized crime and lethal secrets, he must navigate his dangerous new reality as her personal property. What begins as a transaction of survival soon evolves into an intense and complicated bond. Surrounded by enemies and betrayal, the two must decide if their growing connection is a liability or their only salvation.

Mafia Modern Romance

Emerald Malice - A Mafia Romance

Chapter 4

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