THE KILLER THAT CLAIMED (A dark, mafia romance)
I was sold and married off to a monster.
And on my wedding night... he tried to rape me.
But before he could, gunfire tore through the walls, blood spilled and screams filled the air.
And just like that... my husband was dead.
I thought it was over.
I was wrong. Because the men who killed him didn't save me.
They took and dragged me into a world darker than anything I had ever known and straight into the hands of a man far more dangerous.
Now I belong to him.....Bane Valak.
And in his world, there are only two choices, Obey... or Die.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 12
The sun was beginning to go to sleep, casting long, skeletal shadows across the stone paths of the Valak estate.
I walked faster than usual, my breath hitching in my chest.
Regina said that I was free to roam and roam about, I did.
I turned away from the main gardens, seeking a bit of true silence.
Anywhere that was furtherest from the main house was a welcome idea.
I followed a narrow, gravel path that sloped downward, hidden behind a thicket of towering cypress trees.
That was when I saw something that intrigued me.
A low, concrete building sat huddled in the shadows. It looked nothing like the rest of the estate.
It was nothing but gray walls, a heavy steel door, and a single, high window barred with iron.
"What is this place?" I whispered to myself.
I took a step closer, my curiosity momentarily overriding my fear. It looked like a bunker.
I wonder what they kept in here.
"You're a long way from the palace, little princess." I jumped, a small gasp escaping my lips as I spun around.
A guard was leaning against a tree just a few feet away.
He wasn't one of the silent, professional ones that usually flanked Bane.
This man was younger with a cruel, lazy smirk playing on his lips while he tossed a small pocketknife into the air and caught it.
"I... I was just walking," I said, my voice trembling. I started to back away. "I didn't know this area was off-limits."
"Everything is off-limits if I say it is," he said, pushing off the tree.
He started to circle me, his boots crunching loudly on the gravel.
"The Boss has everyone on edge because of you. We're pulling double shifts, missing sleep... all to watch over a girl who doesn't even look that pretty"
"I'm sorry," I managed to say, my eyes fixed on the knife in his hand. "I'll go back now."
"Not so fast." He stepped into my path, blocking the trail back to the main house. "I've been hearing stories about you. The girl who was worth a massacre. Raul's little widow."
He reached out, his fingers rough as they caught a lock of my hair.
I flinched, my heart hammering against my ribs. I felt trapped. This felt like that night with Raul all over again.
"Don't touch me," I whispered.
"Or what?" he chuckled, his eyes dark and mocking. "You going to tell Bane? He's a busy man, Princess. I think you're a bit of a brat. All this luxury, and you still look like you're at a funeral."
He leaned in closer, his hand dropping from my hair to my shoulder, his grip tightening until it hurt.
"Maybe you need someone to remind you. You aren't family. You're a spoil of war and spoils are meant to be shared"
"Let go of me!" I cried out, shoving at his chest with all my strength.
He didn't budge. Instead, he laughed, the sound harsh and ugly.
"Feisty. I like that. Raul probably didn't know how to handle you, but I'm a better........"
I didn't wait for him to finish. I drove my foot into his crutch as hard as I could and he fell to the ground in pain.
"You little bitch!!!"
I took off running, my lungs burning as I scrambled back up the gravel path.
I could hear him cursing behind me, his heavy footsteps echoing for a few seconds before they stopped.
I ran until my legs felt like lead, until the wild greenery gave way to the manicured lawns once more.
I was sobbing by the time I reached the stone fountain near the conservatory.
My dress was snagged, my hair was a mess, and my shoulder throbbed where he had gripped me.
"Amaya? My God, what happened?"
I looked up through a blur of tears.
Regina was standing near the fountain, a glass of wine in her hand.
Her bright, cheerful expression vanished instantly, replaced by something sharp and lethal.
"Amaya!" She rushed to me, grabbing my shaking hands. "Talk to me. Who did this?"
"The... the guard," I choked out, my chest heaving. "By the gray building... the one in the trees. He... he grabbed me. He... had a knife, Regina. He wouldn't let me go."
Regina's eyes turned to cold fire. The "preppy", giant woman I had gotten used to was gone.
In her place stood a Valak.
A woman who lived in a world of blood and knew exactly how to navigate it.
"He touched you?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.
"He... he grabbed my shoulder. He wouldn't let me pass. He was saying such horrible things"
I buried my face in my hands, my body racking with fresh sobs.
"I just wanted to walk. I didn't do anything wrong."
Regina pulled me into a firm embrace.
"Shh," she murmured, stroking my hair, but her gaze was fixed on the path I had just run up.
"You didn't do anything wrong, honey. You're safe now."
"Is he going to come after me? He knows where I sleep". I whispered into her shoulder.
"No," Regina said.
"He isn't going to do anything ever again." "As much as I hate to say this," Regina said quietly.
"You belong to my brother. And anyone who forgets that is a liability we don't tolerate."
"Regina, please... don't tell Bane," I begged. "He'll... he'll kill him. I don't want more blood on my hands."
Regina looked at me for a long moment.
"Amaya, you're so sweet"
"Please," I repeated.
Regina sighed and tucked a stray hair behind my ear.
"Fine. I won't tell Bane. Not yet, anyway."
"You promise?"
"I promise I will make sure it's taken care of," she said.
She looped her arm through mine, turning me back toward the main house.
"Now, let's get you inside. You need a bath and a drink"
I walked beside her, my heart finally slowing down, but I couldn't shake the look in her eyes.
It was the same look Bane had.
She was definitely pissed off.
This was far from over.
You may also like
7.8
Isabella Hart thought her Valentine's Day plan was perfect: propose to her boyfriend, celebrate in the Maldives, and finally start the life she'd dreamed of.
Instead, she walked into his office and found him kissing his assistant who was also her friend.
Heartbreak turned to fury and before she could stop herself, she shoved the engagement ring meant for him onto the finger of a stranger with cold gray eyes.
The stranger looked at her, amused, and said, "I do."
Moments later, her ex called that stranger Boss.
Luciano Moretti, the stranger, was no ordinary man. He was the quiet, ruthless king of New York's underworld, the man people whispered about but never dared to name aloud.
What began as a viral mistake became a dangerous entanglement of power, lies, and a love too forbidden to survive the truth.
7.5
On the morning of our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, I found a cream-colored document tucked inside my husband's suit pocket.
It was a twenty-million-dollar asset transfer for his former receptionist, Carmen. But what made my blood run cold was the contingent beneficiary: Leo, my newborn son who the hospital claimed was kidnapped twenty-three years ago.
When I confronted Devonte, he didn't even try to explain. He handed me a fake Cartier watch, canceled all my credit cards, and publicly called me delusional.
The next day, he moved Carmen into our mansion and emptied all our joint accounts into offshore trusts.
"If you don't sign these papers and walk away, I will have you committed," he threatened, his mother nodding in agreement.
They had orchestrated the kidnapping of my baby, hiding him with the mistress while I spent half my life sedated and screaming in grief. Now, to keep his secret, Devonte was going to lock me in a psychiatric ward and bury me in debt.
I didn't understand how the man I loved could be such a monster. Why did he steal my child? What else was hidden in that confidential adoption file?
Pushed to the absolute brink, I refused to be his victim.
When his goons came to my temporary apartment to drag me away, I turned to the rugged union electrician who had just fixed my lights.
"If you need a husband to keep you out of a psych ward, I'll marry you," he said, offering himself as my legal shield.
I took his hand. It was time to tear my husband's perfect life apart.
7.1
"Don't tease me again or else you really want it. There are no safe words in my bed."
He is rumored to know a thousand ways to disarm and pleasure a woman, and I am Olivia, the nymphomaniac.
In a quest for revenge against my childhood bullies, I got locked into an unhappy marriage, with an untamed brother-in-law. Colt Fletcher, the morally-grey, rebel biker is ever excited by danger and prefers life on the edge. And from the moment he laid eyes on me, I became his forbidden want.
I should know better, to steer clear of deadly desires like these but when fate forces us to live under the same roof, share the same boardroom, and every accidental touch burns, my resolve begins to collapse.
But scandals don't stay buried, and my husband is the devil. The price of this betrayal is death. I must choose between my husband who owns my name, and his brother who owns my body.
7.1
For ten years, I disguised myself as my dead twin brother, fighting bloody mob wars to build the Falcone family's bootlegging empire.
When the war ended, I thought I could finally take off the men's suits and be Anya again.
Instead, my parents stole my victories to secure my father's power, demanding I disappear forever.
When I tried to expose the truth, my family dragged me into a soundproof basement.
My younger brother forced a metal funnel past my teeth and poured corrosive chemicals down my throat, dissolving my vocal cords into a blistered ruin.
They chained me to a freezing pier, whipped me bloody, and let the men I used to lead spit on me as a jealous traitor.
Then, under the guise of a family reconciliation dinner, my mother drugged my wine.
While I lay paralyzed but fully conscious on my bed, my brother took heavy iron pliers and crushed all ten of my fingers, bone by bone.
They wanted to ensure I could never hold a gun or write the truth again.
I had slaughtered for them, bled for them, and craved only their love.
In return, they pulverized my body and painted me as a hysterical madwoman just to keep the crown I had won for them.
The foolish girl who wanted a family died in that agonizing pain, leaving behind only a ghost.
Dragging my mangled, bandaged body into the rival Romano family's charity gala, I collapsed at the feet of their ruthless matriarch.
"I invoke the sacred code," I rasped through my chemically burned throat. "I demand a Vendetta."
7.9
"You are wet, Red. I can smell your juices already." He said. I wanted to deny it but I knew he was right. The sides of my thigh were already clammy. How could he tell from afar?
"No, I need to sleep. I told you I have a presentation tomorrow, right? I'm tired, I want to rest a bit." I replied.
"You'll do that when I get a release. I'll make sure to be fast about it," he replied. I stood rooted on the same spot without moving. I knew he was just being civil with me. It was only a matter of time before he dragged me to his side.
"Unless maybe you want me to call the others?" He asked but I could tell he was threatening me. Calling the others would end in me not getting any rest at all.
"No, please," I replied walking obediently to his side.
*****
Three men, one naive woman.
Ziyana never knew her life would turn in the most dramatic way. She enjoyed the life of a princess until life happened.
From being hated by her blood to suddenly being sold to a spoilt Mafia Lord. She thought she could navigate through it but there were two more brothers!
Ruthless. Domineering. Voracious.
The Niccolo Brothers' lives were full of danger and envy but these men never wanted her out of their sight.
Would Ziyana be able to cope in the midst or run for her life before she get used to them?
8.1
Trigger Warning: This book is extremely dark, containing themes of obsession, strong sexual content, abuse, and psychological manipulation. Read at your own risk.
"I'll delete the pictures depending on how obedient you are. You have to do everything I say. If I want you to become a dog, you get on your knees and bark. Do we have a deal?"
Pierce leans down to Malakai's height, his lips brushing the shell of his ear, close enough to taste his fear.
"You don't want her to know what a dirty little creep you are, do you?"
Malakai Kreston is the preacher's perfect son. Quiet. Obedient. The kind of boy no one looks at twice.
But Malakai has a filthy secret. And he'll do anything-anything-to keep it buried.
Enter Pierce Masterson.
Wealthy. Attractive. Pierce doesn't just want Malakai's secret. He wants Malakai. All of him. His fear. His obedience. His body. His mind.
Pierce wants to own it, and lock it away where no one else can ever touch it.
Kai has always been the hunter-watching from the shadows, obsessing in silence, taking what doesn't belong to him.
Now someone is hunting him.
And Pierce doesn't play fair. He plays dirty.
How far can you run when the devil already knows every dark corner of your soul?
In a game of predator and prey, the lines blur. The roles reverse. And the most dangerous thing isn't the boy who holds the blackmail-
It's the moment Malakai stops wanting to be free.