CHAPTER 1
I don’t feel anything anymore. Joy, love, fear, and definitely not mercy.
It’s a product of the life I’ve chosen. As a thirty-eight-year-old mob boss, I’ve done things most men couldn’t imagine. Things they find “cool” in gangster TV shows and dramas.
Most men are wimps. Products of “civilized” society. No testosterone, no balls, and damn sure no ambition. They sit in their bedrooms donating their money to online girls who fake interest in them.
Me, I’ve built a kingdom on bones and blood—the corpses of men who thought they could get in my way. You want something in life, you’ve gotta take it. And I’ve taken.
But now sitting here in my penthouse overlooking Billionaire’s Row in New York City, I’m bored.
Countless half-naked women dance around me, swinging bottles of champagne, white powder under their noses, kicking up their expensive heels at my men, who cheer them on.
Just another cold, soulless display of my power. My wealth.
I made this happen. I built this. And I’m the reason I’m falling apart from the inside.
Anton, my number one, walks over to my chair, waits respectfully, then speaks.
“It’s Seth Rossi again. He can’t cover this week’s interest.”
Of course he can’t. Men like Seth disgust me.
They think they can gamble, blow their salary on women and drugs, and then come to men like me to bail them out. They pray to saints whose names they can’t remember and swear to the Lord that they’re good men.
But in this city, I’m the Lord, and forgiveness is not in my nature.
Anton clears his throat. “He came with…collateral.”
Collateral can mean anything. Watches, cars, titles to homes. But I can see by the look in Anton’s eyes that this is different.
“What kind?”
He pauses. “His daughter.”
I freeze, staring at my number one like he’s lost his mind.
“Did I hear you right?” I growl. “This sick bastard brought his daughter as collateral on his debt?”
Anton can see the anger rising in my eyes. Even a few of my men across the room hear the threat in my voice and glance over.
“I told him you wouldn’t be interested, but then I saw her, and…”
His voice trails off, and he averts his eyes. My blood’s starting to boil.
“And what!?” I snap, pounding my fist on the desk, sending my whiskey to the floor.
He takes a breath. Anton’s an ice-cold killer who’s served me loyally for years. The only man on Earth who can scare him is me.
But Anton knows why I’m angry. I’m a mean bastard, but I have one rule I made long ago:
No kids and no women.
“This son of a bitch,” I growl, shaking my head. I stand. “Bring him into my office.”
Anton nods as I thread through the drunken bodies to the large, dark double doors that lead into my private domain.
No one comes in here but me. Priceless paintings line the walls, a safe with more money in it than most men will make in a lifetime, and a stash of jewelry that would send a rapper’s eyes spinning.
I barely have time to take a seat before Anton enters.
Seth Rossi is behind him, cowering already. I open my mouth to curse him out, and that’s when she walks in.
And my whole world changes.
Her warm chestnut hair gleams under the lights, spilling down across her shoulders, one of which is bare from the wide neck of her top. A primal possessiveness instantly takes me over as I drink the rest of her in.
I may be a monster, but she is an absolute goddess.
My pants tighten as my eyes scour her body. The brutal curves of a girl who can’t be more than nineteen. Legs that go on for days, tits so big the fabric of her shirt stretches around them, and hips that send a primal urge rushing through me—an urge I thought I’d buried long ago.
She hasn’t uttered a word, and I already want to put a baby in her.
What in God’s name is happening to me?
Women don’t do this to me. As a matter of fact, they bore me. The ones outside are here for my men, not me.
But when I stare at this girl, hypnotized by her beauty, I realize that my whole life has changed.
I feel a spark in my heart—the heart I was sure was dead. This girl is my future. And like CPR, she’s brought me back to life.
“Boss, this is Isabella,” Anton says. “Isabella, this is Viktor Morelli, the boss—”
In a flash, I’m on my feet, grabbing Seth by the neck, ready to snap it. What kind of father could offer up his angelic daughter as collateral to a devil like me?
“You fucking serious?” I growl. “You got no money so you come to me with her?”
The doors are still open. My voice is loud. My men can hear me, and I’m drawing glances from the girls too.
I want to curse Seth out for being a slimeball, but I’ve got a reputation to protect. As the boss, you have to be ice cold, or you end up with a knife in the back.
Slowly, I let go of his throat, despite every urge in me wanting to crack his skull.
“I’m sorry, Viktor…” he whimpers, unable to look at me. I may make money off betting, but these gambling scumbags really chap my ass. “I don’t mean no disrespect, but I just don’t have it. I thought maybe—”
This is it. The crucial moment.
Everyone’s eyes are on me, and despite the fact that I want to tell this son of a bitch off, I can’t. There’s only one move I can make here.
“You want to give me your daughter? Is that it?”
I glance over at her, and her eyes nearly level me.
Being top dog means making sacrifices, and one of those sacrifices has been women. I’ve never had one in my life that I could trust—that I could start a family with.
I’ve gotta be careful who I let in. But as I stare at this angel in front of me, my heart is waking from its coma and screaming at me.
She’s the one…
Her tiny hands are trembling. So is the rest of her.
Of course she is. I run this town, and her despicable father is trying to sell her to me.
“Hey, angel,” I whisper, tilting her chin so her eyes meet mine. Gorgeous. “Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.”
Seth starts to speak, but I raise a finger, and he folds like paper.
Isabella’s features are too wholesome for this office—for the entire penthouse. She’s like a fairy out of a fantasy book, wide-eyed and innocent. I know my men are looking at her too, which already has me raging.
Get your goddamn eyes off her!
None of them deserve her. Shit, I don’t even deserve her.
But that won’t stop me. I’m going to have her. No matter what.
“How old are you?” I ask softly.
Her voice is like windchimes on the breeze. “Eight—eighteen, sir.”
Sir? The word sends blood rushing to my center.
Her dad must have told her to say that—to address me with respect. But knowing that doesn’t change the effect it has on me.
“You don’t have to call me sir, sweetheart,” I assure her. She nods, her hair falling across her beautiful face. Compared to this bombshell, the works of art on my wall are complete trash.
I can’t believe what’s happening. No woman should be able to have this effect on me. But I can’t take my eyes off her. She may be sexy, but it’s her innocence that sits on top like a cherry, making my mouth water—
Fuck. I bet she still has her cherry…sweet and ready for me to claim.
Like a shock, my mind floods with thoughts of boys her age hitting on her, trying to get her to come over, get in the backseat of their car, send them naked photos of her, and rage swells within me.
I open my mouth to whisper to her, but then I hear Anton clear his throat, and I’m slapped back to reality.
“Done deal, Seth,” I snarl, my eyes fixed on his daughter. “Your daughter as collateral. But don’t think your debt’s forgiven. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!” Seth blurts out, sounding way more excited than he should.
This man just sold his daughter to me, and he’s happy about it. What a pathetic piece of human garbage.
“Now get the fuck out of here.”
“Come on,” Anton snaps, shoving Seth out the door.
“Shut that behind you!” I shout. The latches snap closed, and a sense of relief hits me.
No more eyes on my goddess.
I’m a man with answers. I solve problems. And if it looks like there’s not a solution, I make one. That’s why I am where I am today. But for once, standing here in front of Isabella, I don’t know what the hell to do.
“Your father brought you to me,” I say. “You know why?”
She’s still trembling as she nods. “You gave him a loan. He can’t pay it back.”
The corners of my mouth tilt up. She’s afraid, but she’s smart, and she’s showing some spunk.
I step closer.
Her scent is heavenly, and her body is tiny compared to my massive six-foot-six frame. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this girl. The only place I want her to be from now on is right here next to me. By my side.
My body is burning for her. Adrenaline pumps through me. I’m burning and ready. I need to take her—right here, right now.
My lips part, and I lean in to kiss what’s mine.
Here she is. My angel.
But as I move in, Isabella moves back. It’s barely even noticeable, but my eyes are sharp, and I see it.
She’s scared, and she has every right to be. If she was any other woman, I wouldn’t care.
But she’s not any other woman.
She’s my prize, my treasure, my future. And I’m going to prove to her that she has nothing to be afraid of. I’d stand in front of a goddamn train if it meant protecting her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I whisper, backing off, gently letting a wisp of her hair play through my fingers. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
She hesitates, then looks up at me with those eyes that make me weak in the knees—that make me start picturing our future together—and I gasp for breath.
My heart is alive again, racing, pumping hot blood through my cold veins. I want to drag her into my bedroom and ravish her. Mark every single inch of her body so the world knows she belongs to me.
But not yet.
Not until she trusts me.
I may be a criminal—a cruel bastard with an iron fist—but if I’m going to have this princess, it’s going to be when she wants it too.
“Come on,” I tell her gently. “I’ll show you to your room.”
Growing up poor and starving is what made me into the man I am today, but as I watch Isabella turn and walk ahead of me, I realize I’ve never known what true hunger really is.
Not until now.
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Owned By the Mob Boss
I was sold by my father…
Handed over to the most feared mob boss in New York like I was nothing.
Viktor Morelli. Cold, ruthless, and not to be crossed.
He rules this city with fear. Men disappear because of him.
I’ve never even been kissed, and now I belong to the most dangerous man alive.
He could kill me.
He could break me.
He could do anything he wants to me—and the worst part? My body seems to love it. Knowing he owns me makes my heart race and my thighs ache.
Right now, I’m collateral on my father’s debt. But if Viktor wants more, I won’t be able to stop him. And I’m not sure I’d even want to…