Dark Mafia Kings by Penelope Wylde
Chapter Four
She made quick work to put some distance between her and the forbidden mafia men. From across the room, she dared one last look over her shoulder before shaking her thoughts clear.
She needed to keep her focus and her distance.
She was going to hell and not for the reasons one would consider.
Not for blackmailing a friend into helping her change her name to slip away to the last place on earth anyone would think to look. Not because she left her brothers to deal with the broken company their father left behind with his murder. And definitely not for the lies she fed them about the killer she hunted amongst the world’s most dangerous criminals as well as the world’s elite.
All frequented these walls with one goal in mind and it had nothing to do with asking for forgiveness.
No, Rhia had a one-way ticket to the devil’s fiery domain because she was weak and lusted for men she feared and fantasized about all in the same breath.
Rhia slid her empty tray across the polished bar and waited as the bartender made his way to her order. Peering over her shoulder, she caught a rakish smile teasing Matteo’s lips at something one of his partners said before slipping from the table and disappearing into one of the many shadowed exits. The others followed, leaving Sevastyan.
Thick black hair and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache drew the eyes of many, women and men alike, yet the stone-cold depth of his eyes and the formidable posture he took forced a wide berth around him.
The thought of tossing aside her alias, marching up to the man, and demanding answers crossed her mind on several occasions. Every second she toiled away with no progress felt like a vise tightening around her neck.
Life had blessed—and cursed—her with three brothers. Of which none of them would be sitting idly by for much longer and her luck was bound to run out sooner or later.
Five minutes later she flashed a quick smile of appreciation to the bartender and turned with her full tray.
Fellow hostesses maneuvered through the dim lighting, their trays filled with exotic drinks as the orgy wound down. With each step, their baby-soft leather skirts revealed hints of ass cheek and a leather thong, just like her own.
Several plush settees held entwined bodies for onlookers to marvel over, with curved booths along the outer portion of the room for the members who preferred privacy.
To the left, a single spotlight bathed a man with long raven hair as his lover kneeled in front of him. As she lavished a Viking of a man with her tongue, another fisted his cock from behind and glided the length through her juices before easing inside her.
The moans were instant. Her eyes widened at witnessing such an intimate moment. From the blissful expression on the man’s face and the loving way he gazed at his partners, they’d found their perfect match in each other.
And her heart twisted ever so slightly at what it must feel like to be that much in love. To trust another human being so openly.
Rhia’s phone buzzed and the sudden jolt severed the spell. A small nook stood off to the side and out of view from everyone. Safely hidden, she pulled out the device. A familiar name flashed across the screen. She cursed under her breath.
With a flick of her thumb over the smooth glass, she hit DECLINE. She didn’t know what pissed her off more. That her brothers thought she couldn’t take care of herself, or that they sent the youngest brother to try to sweet-talk her into telling them where she was.
“Hey, Seraphina.”
Rhia turned at the sound of her alias the second she stepped out of the shadows to the high-pitched and cheery voice of her friend.
“Maya.” Rhia leaned in and kissed her friend on each cheek. Wispy raven hair curled around her chin to frame a heart-shaped face. Every girl she knew envied the electric blue eyes that lured more than one man into the other woman’s web of sin on any given night. So she’d been told. Honestly, Maya had a big imagination and a bigger sense of humor on the worst of days.
I slapped her on the ass and gave her a hip bump. “Glad you made it back tonight, suga’,” Rhia cooed playfully. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to check on you. Long shifts this week killed me.” She nodded toward the expansive room. “Is it me or have the number of members doubled?” She shook her head. “Good money though, right?”
Maya nodded.
Overhead, spotlights dimmed twice, a signal the main scene performed for the clientele was about to begin. “It’s going to be a big night. One orgy down I don’t know how many more to go. Glad for all hands on deck.” Rhia threw her friend a playful wink.
“Yeah, glad to be back, and don’t worry about coming to visit. I was down with the flu.”
Rhia’s eyes darted to the exposed shoulders and bare arms, noticing hints of fading bruises on her deep olive skin.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m kind of glad you were out.”
Maya blinked, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing. “Oh?”
Rhia slid down the bar and leaned in closer. “Yeah. Two of Haven’s clientele went missing. A detective came by, spent several hours questioning the hostesses and security. But the bulk of her time was spent questioning the owners than the hired help. I’m scared we could be next. Do we really know who we work for?” She couldn’t tell Maya the real reason fear crept over her or that she suspected the kings of murder. Adding a couple of missing girls to their list of crimes did seem far-fetched to her. So she kept with her lies and waited to see if her friend had any insight.
For a moment, Rhia swore she saw trepidation steal over Maya’s expression. But she swiftly recovered, schooling her face into neutral. Maya lifted a shoulder as she filled her tray with an assortment of cocktails for delivery. “People go missing all the time, Seraphina. Doesn’t mean anything. If they’d found proof the police would be making arrests.”
Yeah right. The four kings didn’t get to their height by leaving clues around or she would have been in and out of her in one day. Two tops.
“Those girls could have hooked up with some sexy DOM or another and he has them tied up somewhere having the time of their lives.”
Rhia supposed that could be true, but her heart ached for those girl’s families all the same.
Maya waved a hand in the air, dismissing her worry. “Look, don’t give it too much thought. From the messages you blew my phone up with, you thought something bad happened to me and here I am. Stop assuming. Shit happens, sweetie. You can’t be responsible for everyone.”
“You’re right.” Rhia let the topic drop and propped a hip against the bar while they waited for fresh drinks for Maya’s tray.
“Oh, what’s this?” Maya reached between them and snapped up the matchbook she thought was firmly tucked between her breasts and dangled it from her fingers. She peeled back the flap and no surprise her eyes went wide.
“I’d say I’m surprised, but seeing our boss’s neck tatts and a number under it explains all the looks he’s been giving you. And don’t get me started on the other three. They practically eye fuck you every night. Are you finally getting some?” A wide, teasing smile curved her friend’s velvety red lips.
Rhia groaned and retrieved the matchbook from her friend and slid it into a small pocket on her barely-there skirt. Maya could assume all she wanted.
“Nosy much.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Maya seemed to shrug it off but her next words baited her hook, line, and sinker.
“Meghan and Samuel are doing their show tonight. But a third is joining. One of the owners.”
Rhia whirled on her friend. “You’re shitting me!” No fucking way. She couldn’t believe it.
Maya’s perfectly tweezed brow popped up. “Is that a hint of jealousy I see?”
“No!”
“I’m not gonna lie, I’d be all over that if I had the chance. Meghan and Samuel always lure in the heavy rollers, but with him? Fuck me.” Maya did a hip shimmy that threatened the confining walls of the leather bodice holding her plump breasts at bay. “Between you and me, I’d work here free if that blue-eyed man was on stage every night. I bet he knows how to make a woman reach the pinnacle of an orgasm in a ridiculously filthy way.”
Roman. Her heart twitched. She’d dreamed of seeing that man’s god-like body fully unclothed.
Maya situated the girls with another shimmy, a wicked smile lighting her face.
Rhia let out a low laugh. “I think that’s the point.” She arched a brow at Maya.
“Yeah, but not the working staff. I’ve never experienced an orgasm by proxy, but I’m going on record to say I bet he can pull it from me halfway across the room.”
Rhia smothered a laugh.
“Laugh all you want, babe. I have got to get some of that and soon. Only a matter of time before I’m calling him Master or hell, letting all four of them have a little fun. Mark my words. Years of sexual knowledge is tucked away between those four. Imagine what all four of those beautiful men can do to a woman. They own this place so you know it’s how they play.” Maya shuddered playfully and batted her false lashes in exaggeration. “Unless you’re claiming them first that is.”
What the holy hell had gotten into her friend? Rhia clamped her mouth shut. “Have at it,'' she managed, sounding half convincing. “If they are the sex gods you think they are, half the men in here probably want him up there every night, too. Get their women worked up and they reap the benefits.”
“Probably the idea. Think he needs a partner? Maybe Indigo could hook me up with a one-on-one interview?” her friend only half teased from the way her cheeks blushed.
Indigo worked for the kings as their assistant and she liked a capable man as much as Maya.
The bartender, Carlos, picked that moment to speak up behind them. “I’m hurt. I thought I was your main squeeze, mí amor?” He gave a playful wink.
Maya slipped her hand over his and squeezed, stating her thoughts like they were common knowledge. “Carlos, baby, I love all men and they love me right back.”
Carlos didn’t seem bothered by her blunt honesty and smiled. The beautiful olive-skinned beauty with endless legs left the club with a new beau on her arm almost every night, or at least it seemed that way. A fish-out-of-water London girl complete with a don’t-give-a-fuck attitude traveling for a year to ‘find what she wanted to do with her life’ spent more time pleasuring whatever fancied her at the moment than soul-searching, from what Rhia could surmise. Then again, maybe that was part of the whole process. What did she know?
Rhia shook her head. “Your downfall will be a DOM with a saucy accent and a penchant for little endearing pet names like cupcake,” Rhia mimicked the cute endearment with a flutter of lashes. “See you on the flip?”
“Baby, I’d fall gracefully, of course. Hey, maybe we can get Indigo and meet back at your place for evening cocktails sometime?”
The first step in getting information was mingling and getting people comfortable with you, which led to a couple of all-nighters and a bottle of tequila a time or two with her ‘new best friends’. She hated to think of herself as using Maya or Indigo, but it was what it was and she could only hope, when it was all over, they would understand. She didn’t hold out much hope though.
“Sounds good. I’m sure I’ll run into her tonight at some point. She likes to sneak down for a quick drink with her boyfriend while Volkov is on the floor with guests.”
“Speaking of, I wasn’t joking. I’ve watched him watch you lately. What’s up with that? You’re such a bad girl. Come on. You can tell me. Are you doing the boss? Bosses? Oh, wait. That reminds me.” Maya slid a single piece of folded paper tucked between her breasts and held it out to Rhia before she had a chance to deny anything. The woman flitted from thought to thought faster than Rhia could keep up.
“What’s this?” Rhia arched her brow and slowly slid the paper from Maya’s fingers, opening it. “Last time you handed me a piece of paper it had a Russian’s cellphone number on it with a time and address to the side and he was fucking Bratva!” Not how she saw her first week at the place going.
“Mmm.” Maya tapped her lips with her long fingernail, her smile as wicked as the glint in her eyes. “I remember. You would have loved popping your cherry with a man like him. Too bad they killed him the next week.”
“Uhh…yeah. Too bad.” Rhia side-eyed her friend. “It didn’t look too good that I had his number and his address on me when the police went around questioning the staff about his time here.”
Maya giggled and waved a hand at her worries as though they were nothing. “Okay, okay. This isn’t anything like that.” Maya tapped the piece of paper. “It’s just the number of an elite client with unique pleasures. Darker tastes. Ones Indigo likes. She asked me to hook her up.”
Elite as in filthy rich, powerful, and in a position to make any desire come true as twisted or fucked up as it might be. She knew the lingo.
“I would text her but I lost my phone yesterday. Since you’ll see Indigo before I do it’s easier if you pass it along. Tell her the gentleman wants to meet.” Maya pointed at the paper. “That’s his private number.” A wicked glint flashed in her friend’s eyes. “Who knows, maybe we can kink you up a bit and pop that submissive cherry of yours and get you in bed with someone that can break you in. Maybe he’s into threesomes.”
Rhia shook her head in a negative motion. “Nope. We’re so not having that conversation again, Maya. Words like dark tastes make me shiver and not in a sexy way.” Rhia turned on her heel but caught Maya sticking out her lower lip in a big pout.
“You’re no fun, you know that, right?”
She wasn’t here for fun. Chicago was home for only a short time until she found out what she needed. No man with cuffs, floggers, or whatever the hell they used needed. Besides, after she did what she had to do, she doubted anyone would want anything to do with her.
Since day one Indigo had taken a liking to Rhia and showed her the ropes with Maya’s help. The three had become fast friends, as Rhia designed it. Being the youngest of four and the only girl, she was a quick study on how to get what she wanted. Her father liked to point out none of them had a chance when she set her mind to wanting something.
A pang of guilt shot through her. Her brothers would do anything for her—all she had to do was ask. But she also knew none of them would agree to her walking into the lion’s den dressed like a leather-clad lamb.
