The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2 by Lylah James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

At my feet, Holly moved closer. She was poised, and each small movement was done elegantly. She was trained, all right. A fucking slave was what I saw kneeling at my feet. She was a pet, not a wife, not on equal grounds.

Not like Alessio and Ayla were. They were King and Queen. A perfect union. A beautiful marriage.

If I married under Valentin’s terms, I would never have that. My wife would just be a fucking puppet with taut strings, emotionless, a soul filled with void, a body to seduce me, and a womb to bear my heir.

Nothing but a vessel to use.

Valentin looked mighty proud of himself. He knew, whatever game he and I had going on, he had won.

Or so he thought.

Viktor Ivanshov never lost…and he sure as hell didn’t take commands from an old dog.

Holly’s hand went to the belt of my slacks and then my zipper. I looked down at the girl at my feet. Her blonde hair kept most of her face hidden from me. She was still silent, hadn’t lifted her head up yet. Fuck, she couldn’t even look into my eyes. Holly couldn’t be more than nineteen years old. She was beautiful, truly. Exquisite. She would make any bastard happy.

I knew she would serve me well; she was trained perfectly for it. But I didn’t want an obedient slave.

I wanted someone to fight me, push the lines, drive me fucking crazy because they would do the exact opposite of what was expected. I was a caged animal, and I wanted my lioness to try and tame me.

Holly wasn’t that girl.

Your myshka is, the devil whispered in my ears again. He always made inappropriate appearances at the wrong fucking time. I glowered at the empty space over the girl’s head. She is mellow now, but you can see the fire in her. You know she is your rightful Queen.

Holly’s palm went over my crotch. I stilled before my hand struck out and my fingers latched around her wrist, stopping her movement. My grip was tight, and I saw her tiny flinch. Her throat moved as she swallowed nervously. There was a small tick in her cheeks, and I knew she was probably grinding her teeth. Her jaw was locked tight. She was afraid. I could feel the fear coming off her.

“Look at me.” My tone was icy. Her tiny, curvy body trembled.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Valentin sitting back into his chair with a smirk on his face. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the show. What a piece of shit.

Yegor made a tiny sound at the back of his throat. He knew what I was about to do. He always could tell my next step.

When Holly didn’t look up, instead keeping her eyes on the floor, my temper got the best of me. “Look. At. Me,” I hissed each word. My body thrummed with fury. I tried to calm myself for Holly’s sake.

She lifted her head up slightly and stared at me with empty green eyes. Her lashes were coated with mascara. There was some heavy eyeliner that made the green orbs pop out more. Her plump lips were painted a cherry red. Her face was flawless. She was, in another word—perfection. Just like Valentin had said.

Yet she had absolutely no effect on my dick.

My thoughts traveled back to Valerie.

Mine.

A surge of possessiveness thrummed through my veins at the thought of her. My protective instincts were all riled up. Valerie was mine. Holly wasn’t.

Holly still had her eyes on me. She hadn’t looked away yet, only because I hadn’t commanded her to. In the depths of her soul, she must had been wailing, begging to be free.

Like Ayla. Like Valerie. Like all those slaves who had their innocence, life, and dignity stolen from them.

“Holly,” Valentin grumbled from his seat. “Serve your future husband. Make him like you. Maybe he’ll keep you then.”

“Let me serve you, please.” Her voice took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected her to talk, let alone say those words. Fuck me.

The devil on my shoulders laughed. My mind and heart were at war. I had a game to play yet…this one…I couldn’t. I had done all the wrong in my life, had barely done a right thing.

I was a killer, a sadist, and I loved to see fear in my victims. But for the first fucking time, I was thinking of how not right this moment felt.

She struggled against my hold and tried to reach for my dick again. She looked almost desperate to please me. “No,” I snarled.

Holly’s eyes widened, and she stared at me in silence. The room fell silent too. Valentin sat forward in his chair. His eyes narrowed on me. The satisfied look was gone, replaced with suspicion. “Konstantin…” he started.

I raised a hand and cut him off. A small chuckle rose from my chest, and I scoffed. My laid-back attitude made Valentin even more confused. I could tell with the way his brows were curled and his lips thinned in a straight line.

Returning my attention back to the girl at my feet, I regarded her carefully. My hand came up to her face, and I saw it took everything in her not to flinch away. I gripped her chin, and her lips parted with a small breath.

My head came down next to her ear, and I let my lips touch the skin softly. “You are a beautiful woman. But I hope you can forgive me for what I am about to do.”

Placing a quick kiss below her ear—a kiss of apology, I straightened up again. Her eyes were wide. She looked stricken for a moment, but my firm hold on her chin kept her in place.

When I finally let her go, Holly stayed still. She waited. I waited too, for the right moment.

I kept my eyes on Holly. She didn’t look away. She felt it. She knew…

All the air in the office felt like it had been sucked out. My blood roared, the devil laughed louder, and after I had reached the count of five in my head, I reached for my gun.

No one moved fast enough.

I heard Valentin shout, someone else ran toward me, but I was faster.

Pointing the gun at Holly’s head, I pressed the trigger.

A clean and precise shot, penetrating right in the middle of her forehead and coming out of the back of her skull. There was blood, but I didn’t notice the mess.

I kept my eyes on Holly. I had seen the look of horror on her face, and then I saw the calmness that took over her. I didn’t miss the tiniest smile on her lips when my bullet went through her head.

I am sorry. But I hope you can find happiness now.

I’d rather give her an easy death than have her slowly die every single time she would be used.

I had spilled blood before. Many times. Some of my kills had been worse, bloodier. Killing was just as easy as breathing to me. But for the first time since I made my first kill, my lungs constricted and I felt…sad.

Shaking the feeling away, I chose to focus on the scene in front of me. Her lifeless corpse dropped to the floor, and I placed my gun back into the holster. I roused to my feet and finally gave Valentin a look. Oh, he was angry. Furious. His face hardened and he banged his fist on the desk.

“What have you done?” he bellowed.

Yegor moved closer to me, showing his silent support. I knew he was looking for any threat, to take them out before they could touch me. Side by side. Brother and brother.

“What did you think I’d do? Let her suck my dick in front all of you?” I questioned calmly. Calmness had a way of festering fear into a victim. Calm was the sound before an explosion. A threat was more dangerous when it came with a calm warning. And calm was exactly what I felt.

Valentin glowered at me, and his face turned a bright red. “You killed her!”

I gestured toward the lifeless body. “I can clearly see that. She’s bleeding all over your clean carpet.”

Walking forward, I leaned against Valentin’s desk and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. He flashed me a dark look.

“You see, Valentin…Holly was of no use to me. You said she would be my wife, yet she was your slave and took your commands. The bitch wouldn’t even look at me when I told her to,” I told him. It was just a matter of basic facts.

Valentin rubbed a palm over his face and made an irritated sound at the back of his throat. He started pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists. “If you didn’t want the whore, you could have asked for another. Holly could have been used for something else. She cost me money, and now it is all fucking gone!”

I scoffed and then walked over Holly’s body. Blood poured from the bullet wound, soaking the carpet. She was a beautiful mess. It sickened me, treating her as if she were trash. But I had a façade to keep up.

“You gave her to me. A gift, you said. Remember? All decisions pertaining her life now belonged to me. It was a simple business deal,” I said slowly as I approached him. Valentin turned to face me. His breathing was hard from all the pacing and anger he had sputtered out.

“I didn’t like her, didn’t like how she was taking commands from you. She was probably not untouched, as you claimed. Yes, she could have made me a fine wife, but she was meaningless. I told you…I liked to break my women. This one was already broken. So I did myself a favor by killing her. I don’t have time for useless toys.” I paused, letting my words sink in. “I have better things to do.”

Valentin perked up at this. He straightened, and the anger slowly melted away. His brows crashed together as he considered my words. “She was trash in my eyes. I took it out. Simple. You should be proud of me, old man. I am focusing on the bigger picture, our goal,” I tried to assure him.

Lies. All lies. I deceived him with every word, and I created the perfect illusion with every action. I was the game master.

But there was an underlying truth too.

I was focusing on my goal. My goal to bring down Valentin Solonik—my goal to protect my family.

Valentin was silent for a moment before he spoke, looking surprised, but his words were filled with a dangerous pride. “You really are a heartless bastard. You just killed her in cold blood.” He nodded behind me, at Holly’s body.

I killed her to save her. I killed her to protect her from monsters like you and me.

I shrugged nonchalantly, as if Holly wasn’t even worth a second thought to me. Valentin came closer and slapped me on the back. “My gift has just gone down the drain, but you never fail to amaze me. Now, tell me…what is your next move?” he sneered.

I looked at him and then smiled. Valentin laughed. It was dark, evil, and wicked.

Time to play. Checkmate.

The incident a few moments ago was all forgiven and forgotten. Holly’s body was now just an empty shell to be discarded. All forgotten.

My heart clenched, but I breathed through the sting of pain, a sting of regret and guilt. The Devil tsked in my ears, but I ignored him.

There were times when Viktor Ivanshov had to retreat back. This was one of those moments.

For now, I was Konstantin Solonik. Valentin’s heir, the future Boss, and the next motherfucking King.