The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2 by Lylah James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

 

Relief had a way of making a man like me do unspeakable things.

It had been a burden to carry, the thought of breaking this beautiful family. For weeks, my shoulders had been carrying heavy weights at the thought of causing them pain, of being the reason for their tears.

Maila was our little bundle of happiness. She was wild, beautiful, and free-spirited. A gem in our eyes. She was innocence in our world of bloodbath. Ayla’s second pregnancy brought us all a sense of peace. I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but we were happy.

It was the only way to describe it.

We were the big bad wolves of the story, the same ones who would eat your heart like their favorite dinner. Make a wrong move and we would rip you apart. Sweet and simple.

But believe it or not, a tiny human had the ability to bring us to our knees.

I pushed back a laugh. Three years ago, if you’d told me a baby would make me an emotional fucker, I’d castrate you and feed your dick to our dogs.

Now? Well, I was just an emotional fucker hugging Ayla’s knees in sheer relief. Who took my man card away? Sweet mother of all fuckery.

When I fell to my knees, it was in relief. My legs had been too weak to keep me upright, and the only thing that made sense to me was sinking to my knees in front of Ayla. In that moment, everything felt right.

When I apologized, it was guilt speaking.

I choked back my emotions before lifting my head up from Ayla’s lap. She was looking down at me, her expression surprised at first. And then she smiled a beautiful smile.

“What are you doing?” she asked, and her voice was almost music to my ears. There was no hatred or hidden anger. It was soft, just like her.

“I thought…” I started but couldn’t finish my sentence. My gaze drifted down to her stomach. She took my hands in hers and placed them on her belly.

We both waited, and then I let out a laugh. I figured laughing would stop me from crying and embarrassing myself any more.

“Doesn’t it hurt? That was a hard kick,” I said, looking at her round stomach.

Ayla’s attention was on her belly. She was still smiling, and my chest expanded with something, a feeling akin to warmth. “He gets stronger every day.”

“He’ll be here soon?” I questioned. Her stomach appeared bigger than when she was pregnant with Maila.

She nodded at the same time the baby kicked my palm again. I grinned like a damn fool.

“I guess the plan worked, huh?” Ayla said, her eyes now on me. The smile was gone, but her eyes shone with tenderness.

 

“Ayla?” I asked as she picked up the call. I tried to make my voice calm, I tried to appear at ease, even though I felt anything but. My hand clenched around the phone, and then I took a deep breath. My lungs squeezed with each inhale and exhale. This was so fucking hard.

“Yes? Viktor, is that you?” She sounded a little out of breath, and it made me wonder if she was running around again after Maila. I almost grinned. Alessio was probably blowing several blood vessels.

Shaking the thought out of my mind, I chose to focus on the important part. “I need your help.”

“Is something wrong?” she questioned, now worried. I could imagine her chewing on her lips nervously.

“No. Not yet. But something will be wrong soon.” My cryptic words made her even more nervous. Deciding to give her a break, I started to tell her about my plans. Word by word, I slowly explained.

She was silent throughout, her breathing calm and quiet. I hated that I couldn’t see her face. It prevented me from studying her expression and seeing what she was thinking. And it made this shit so much harder. This was something I wanted to discuss face to face, not over the phone and oceans apart.

When I was done, she stayed silent for a few more seconds. Now, it was my turn to grow nervous. If she refused…if she said no…then it would ruin my whole plan, my whole game.

I couldn’t put Ayla or Alessio at risk; I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt them.

But Valentin was a cruel bastard and difficult to please.

And to play this game right, to win his favor…I had to be ruthless.

Heartless enough to hurt the ones I vowed to protect.

Alessio liked to say I was a sick bastard, sick enough to eat someone’s heart out of my hand if I could. This should have been easy.

Wrong. It was the most fucking difficult thing I had ever done in my life.

I was asking Ayla to put not only her life in danger, but also her unborn baby.

Yeah, if she could, she was probably thinking of how to stab me in my sleep right now.

“Does Alessio know?” Out of all the things she could have said, she asked me that.

I swallowed past the lump that had now formed in my throat and then let out a small fake chuckle. Ayla sighed over the phone. “Viktor…”

“If he knew, would I be calling you?” Of course not, because I would have been a dead man for merely suggesting my plans.

“He will be angry when he finds out. I don’t know if I should…I mean, this…” Ayla started to stammer, and I could imagine the wheels turning in her little head right now.

She was scared. And I hated that I was the one who put the fear in her. It was the last thing I had ever wanted to do, but here I was, playing the Devil in their happily ever after.

“This could go really wrong…in so many ways, Viktor. I can’t risk my baby.”

Closing my eyes, I leaned back against the headboard of my bed. I tried to shoot down the frustration building inside of me. Time was running out. I was treading on a thin line with Valentin.

He wanted blood.

And I had promised him death. I had promised him the Ivanshovs’ cruel ending.

I knew there was a possibility Ayla would disagree. Being the stupid fucker I was, I hadn’t thought of ways to convince her. I thought maybe…just maybe, she would see this was the only option.

The devil on my shoulder snickered in response. You were wrong, he laughed in my ears.

“Alessio is here. I have to go,” Ayla said quickly over the phone. I heard someone in the background, probably Alessio. She must have pulled the phone away from her ear because I could hear her voice in the background too. It sounded muffled and little far away.

There was more movement, and then she was back on the line. Agitation started to take over my body, and I bounced my legs up and down. I was holding my phone too tight. The screen could probably crack under the pressure.

“Viktor,” she started. By the tone of her voice, I knew what she was going to say. I exhaled, letting out a slow breath. It was a mix of disappointment, with a sense of failure. “I am sorry. I really can’t do this. Not without Alessio knowing, and not when it could put my baby’s life at risk. I trust you, and I know you will find another way to make this work. I am…sorry.”

Before I could answer, she hung up.

I threw the phone on the bed with a frustrated growl.

When Alessio sent me here, he trusted me to protect our family. My loyalty had been tested over and over again. I had lived in this fucking hellhole for them, to protect them. I had maimed and killed others for them. I made a deal, played with the devil, for my family. I became a master at this game for them. Always for them.

And now…I was lost.

So fucking lost because I didn’t know how to protect them without having to hurt them first.

 

“You refused to go along with the plan,” I started, staring up at Ayla from my position on my knees. The baby kicked again, active little thing he was. I pulled my hand away and stood up again, waiting for Ayla’s response.

She rubbed her rounded belly once and then stood up too. I watched as she turned on the lights, illuminating the room once again and chasing the darkness away. Ayla poured a glass of water and handed it to me. “Drink. You are out of breath. I think you just went through a nightmare.”

At her teasing smile, I scoffed and chugged down the water, emptying the glass. My throat had been parched, but now I could swallow without any problem. The nervous lump was gone, the knots in my stomach had loosened, and I could finally breathe.

Ayla was safe. Alessio was safe. The baby was alive, safe and sound.

I went to put my empty glass down. It had barely touched the table when Ayla started. “I thought it was dangerous, Viktor. I couldn’t possibly put my baby’s life at risk like you asked me to. But then after Alessio left for Russia to attend the party Valentin threw in your favor, I spoke with Nikolay. He was the only one who knew about this, and we thought maybe we could make it work. He was against it at first. Alessio would have castrated him and you and locked me this room if he knew what we were going to do.”

I nodded, already knowing this part. Alessio Ivanshov was not a man to be tested when it came to the safety of his wife. His Queen was above all, even his own life.

“And then Nikolay heard that Abram was coming to the estate to discuss some things. We knew he wasn’t exactly loyal to us and worked for Solonik. He was going to report back any activity happening here in the estate back to Valentin. It was the perfect opportunity.”

Ah, so the little Queen had been plotting. She moved a chess piece on her own, taking control and playing the game like a Master.

When Ayla saw the look on my face, which must have been priceless, she shrugged, but I saw a hint of victorious smile. She knew she had won, and she was damn cheeky about it.

Ayla had a hand over her belly when she settled down on the sofa chair again before she continued with her tale. “Because both you and Alessio weren’t home, it would have been Nikolay’s job to step forward and deal with any business. And as Alessio’s wife, it was my job to greet Alessio’s associates if he wasn’t present.”

That was true. If Alessio wasn’t there, then Ayla would sit at the table and overlook any business dealings, with either me or Nikolay at her side. A regal Queen, she really was.

“It was simple,” Ayla said. “I would be coming down the stairs while Phoenix distracted Abram. I’d trip and fall. Nikolay would be there to catch me the last minute and lay me on the floor, as if I had landed there after my fall. I would be crying out in pain, Abram would turn around and see me on the floor. It was chaos. The only thing Abram understood was that I fell down the stairs. I was rushed to my room then, and the doctor was called. Maddie and I were the only ones in my room with the doctor. I filled Ivy in, and she had to speak a simple lie as she walked out of my room. The baby didn’t make it.”

A simple plan, but it was harder to execute. How the fuck they accomplished this so easily was beyond me. I could only stay silent and listen to Ayla speak. My heart thundered at the words, the baby didn’t make it.

Fuck, even now when I knew the truth, those words still had a way of making my heart ache.

Ayla beamed at me. “When Maddie walked out, she announced that I didn’t want to see anyone and that I wanted to stay in my room. I never knew Maddie was such a good actress, but she cried real tears, and it all seemed convincing to Abram. The estate was in a despairing atmosphere. Everyone was mourning. Only very few people knew the truth. Maddie. Nikolay. Lena. Ivy and Phoenix.”

Holy shit. And here I thought I was the perfect game master.

“But how…” I asked. “How did you keep this up? I mean…”

“It was easy,” Ayla assured me, although I saw the apprehension in my gaze. There was sadness there, a desperation, a hidden need to fly free. “I never left my room since the incident. Everyone was told I was mourning, a shell of a person as I suffered the loss of my unborn baby. The trauma was too much for me to bear. Abram believed it. The real evidence—my baby bump—stayed hidden behind closed doors. Nobody is allowed in my room except those who know the truth.”

“You hate it, don’t you?” I questioned.

Ayla shrugged again and then looked down at her lap. “I hate being trapped in here. Alessio, Maddie, and Lena make it somewhat bearable, but I really want some fresh air. I can’t risk going out of the room in case someone sees. We know our estate is filled with loyal people, but gossip spreads. We can’t…risk it,” she said in a low voice.

I took a tentative step forward. Taking her hands in mine, I gave them a soft squeeze. “I am sorry,” I said once again.

This was Ayla’s worse nightmare. Being trapped in here, in a room, not seeing the sun from the outside or feeling the breeze on her skin. She liked to walk around, wander outside, sit in the garden and play with Maila.

She liked to be…free.

And I trapped her instead.

I felt like the biggest fucking asshole.

But Ayla being the angel she really was, lifted her head up to whisper, “There was no other option, Viktor. I don’t blame you.”

“Yeah. But I want to put another hole in his ass.”

Everything halted, and the air in the room changed, becoming more chilled.

I closed my eyes when the other voice joined us. Well, fuck me.

Alessio Ivanshov was here.

And my poor fucking ass was on the line. Once again.