23. Nikolai
CHAPTER 23
Nikolai
I rritation pricked the back of my neck like hot needles, my father’s control chafing my pride. His latest attempt to govern my life set my teeth on edge. It was one thing for the head of the Bratva to command our organization. Interfering in my personal life was going too far.
“Did you have to force me to date Alexandra Fitzgerald?” I tried to keep the heat of my rage from my tone, but some of my resentment bled into the accusatory words. My father’s dark eyes flashed with warning, but I barreled on, fueled by my fury. “The girl is anxious around me, and she can barely string two words together.”
Objectively, Alexandra was beautiful, but she wasn’t at all my type. I had no patience for shy, quiet women.
My father’s head canted to the side, and his sharp gaze skewered my chest. I barely prevented my breath from faltering.
I was a man now, not the scared kid who’d been beaten into submission during my formative years. I hated the flutter of fear at the back of my mind, and I resolutely ignored it. I tipped my chin back, challenging Mikhail Ivanov: something few would dare to try.
What was he going to do, kill his only son?
“I won’t do it,” I asserted, hard and cold. “Find someone else to seduce Alexandra.”
Father leaned forward from his nonchalant position in his leather armchair, his disapproval bearing down on me like a weight on my chest. He set his cut crystal glass of vodka down on the table beside him, and his jaw firmed with his own irritation.
“She’s been nosing around in her father’s old Mafia case,” he said, his voice deceptively calm and silky smooth. “We might own Ron Fitzgerald, but we can’t have his daughter digging up anything she shouldn’t. It’s in her best interest to forget all about it. You will distract her. I know you’re capable of it; you’ve wasted enough time with whores to know how to keep the mayor’s daughter occupied.”
For a fleeting second, my fists flexed at my sides. Sex was my outlet from my father’s control. When I had a woman under my command, I felt powerful in my own right.
I wouldn’t allow him to take that from me and twist it for his own ends.
“You’re asking too much,” I hissed.
“I’m not asking ,” he barked, pushing to his feet and striding directly into my personal space.
I flinched, and a hot wave of self-loathing washed through me. Despite his anger, his lips twitched in a cruel smile, satisfied at my small show of fear. Even though I’d come into my full strength years ago, my old man could still bring me low like nothing else.
“You will do what’s necessary to protect our organization,” the Pakhan commanded.
I straightened my spine, defiant. “And if I don’t?”
His eyes narrowed, and he peered into my face, studying every challenging line of my expression. After several long, awful seconds, he nodded, as though he’d sifted through my soul and found a weakness I’d tried to bury.
“Then I’ll take care of Alexandra my way,” he said, his voice taking on that silky, dangerous tone once again. “It will be messier to deal with her father, but if you force my hand, I will handle the threat like I would any other.”
Before I could stop the reflexive reaction, a low growl slipped between my teeth. The thought of the shy girl screaming in pain turned my stomach.
“You wouldn’t,” I ground out, hoping to call his bluff. She was the mayor’s daughter. Even the head of the Bratva wouldn’t dare to harm her.
“I will do whatever it takes to protect this family,” he said with the weight of a dark promise. “Handle Alexandra, or I will.”
Gritting my teeth, I managed a stiff nod, hatred twisting my insides as my father chipped away at my control over my life, more invasive than ever. He knew that I wouldn’t bend under threat of pain, but I had a soft spot for innocent women.
I would seduce Alexandra Fitzgerald and make sure she fell in line. I didn’t have a choice, and neither did she. Soon, I’d have her under my control, and she wouldn’t so much as think about digging into the Mafia case. I couldn’t allow her to pose a threat to our organization, or Mikhail Ivanov would end her.
Thank you for reading FALLEN PRINCE! I hope you enjoyed this first installment in Max and Allie’s forbidden romance. Find out what happens next in STOLEN PRINCESS!
One-click Stolen Princess
“You are a monster, Max.”
Max Ferrara warned me that he was a monster, but I didn’t want to believe him. I’d wanted to heal the scarred mafia prince and surrender to the fiery chemistry we shared.
Until he crushed my heart, and then I finally understood. He’s loyal to his criminal family, no matter how much I wish he were a good man.
I dug too deeply into the Ferraras’ crimes, and now I have their attention. And the Bratva conspiracy Max warned me about? I’m starting to fear that it might be true.
On the awful night he betrayed me, I told Max that we were done. But he won’t leave me exposed and vulnerable to his Russian enemies. Or his own brutal family.
I can’t escape my dark protector’s strong arms, and I’m no longer certain if I want to…