Page 7 of Bound to the Mafia King

She knew who I was.

She came to a halt where we stood and kept her eyes trained on her brother. She leaned forward and they kissed cheeks. “Hello, brother.”

“Ana, I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it.” Danill gave his sister’s shoulder a tight squeeze. “Let me introduce you to Andres Valdez, the head of the New York Outfit.”

Andres and Ana shook hands in greeting. They exchanged a few words, but my mind was too busy locking in on her to really pay attention to anything else.

She was smaller than I had imagined her to be. Her eyes lit up against the lights that beamed down from the chandeliers. They had this beautiful mixture of green and blue in them that made her gaze look like an island seashore. They were unique in their beauty much like her.

“… and this is his brother, and second, Valerio Valdez. Valerio, this is my sister Anastasia.”

Anastasia. What a beautiful name. It suited her.

Anastasia turned her head slowly toward me, that same fake smile plastered onto her face. I knew it was fake because it didn’t quite reach her eyes. And if I had not been sure about who she was, the heart pendant that dangled from her necklace only confirmed it for me.

Anastasia held her hand out to me and smiled. “Anastasia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

So, this was the game we were going to play. Interesting.

On your lead, cielo.

I took her smaller hand into mine and gripped it firmly. “Valerio. And the pleasure is all mine.”

Chapter Four

Anastasia

This could not be happening. It had been two years since the day that had changed everything in my life. I never thought I would see that man ever again, but here he stood in front of me, shaking my hand with a look of pensiveness in his eyes.

His eyes were the most magnificent shade of blue I had ever seen in my entire life. I had stared into many blue eyes before, but never quite like his. The man was stunning in the way that a diamond dazzled when it got hit by the light just right.

Our eyes connected, and the world seemed to fall away. The last time I had seen him his head had blood dripping down the side of it and his eyes were barely holding onto life.

When I noticed that I had been grasping his hand a little longer than normal I quickly released my hold. His intense gaze held onto mine, never once allowing me a single moment of reprieve. I tore my gaze from him and looked to my brother. Thankfully, Danill was already engaged in conversation with Andres. The last thing I needed was to have my brother questioning things.

I had promised him that I would do what I needed to for our family. I had promised that I would make sure that the deal with that man would go through. I had to keep my word.

Because the last time you broke it, that inner voice of mine haunted me.

“We hope to have the wedding before the new year. Of course, there are many preparations that need to be done. I have to fly to Russia to clear a few things.”

“You said she is to marry.” That velvet voice reached into the deepest chambers of my heart and pulled at the strings that kept that fragile thing in my chest hanging. “So, she is betrothed?”

I didn’t dare look his way. I kept my eyes trained on the wall behind Andres. I could not meet this man’s gaze for fear of having him looking too deeply. He stripped me bare without taking a single item of clothing off my body. It was unnerving, and I had never encountered a man quite like him.

Danill turned to Valerio. I could tell from the slit twinge in his jaw that he was not overly fond of the man. He knew nothing of him aside from the things that had been said through the streets of New York.

His reputation preceded him, especially in the last few years.

“Yes. She will be marrying Sergei Volkov.” The hardiness in his tone did not go unnoticed.

It was like watching two bulls sizing each other up before they charged for one another. Valerio easily towered over my brother. As far as reach went, the Valdez family was like the Rothschilds of the Mafia world. Their power and influence ran deep, and anyone who dared to oppose them never lived long enough to tell the tale.

“Sergei? Was he not found to be trafficking children?”

My stomach churned.

My brother pursed his lips into a thin line. “Those were allegations.”

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