Page 41 of Bound to the Mafia King

Who would have thought that the big Mafia underboss would sweep me off my feet the way that he did?

Chapter Sixteen

Anastasia

Ifingered the bracelet that I had not taken off since last week. Valerio had gifted it to me after our little date.

It had been perfect. He had taken me to the local fair, and we had ridden rides and talked for hours. Then, we had gotten back home and had some mind-blowing sex that left my body sore but my heart content.

I had been living in a little blissful bubble for the past week, and I didn’t want to leave it. Life felt better with him in it.

I was being foolish, I knew this. This little thing that we had going on was extremely dangerous and could have dire consequences for everyone. My brother had promised me to a man under the guise that I was a virgin. Not only that, but I was messing with a man who Sergei hated and had made it known did not want anywhere near me.

But my selfishness prohibited me from caring. For once in my life, I was going to do what I wanted to do. I didn’t care for the consequences. At least for now.

I caught my gaze on my vanity mirror and smiled. I could see the life and joy in my eyes. I could not remember the last time I had felt so free and at ease in my life.

Valerio Valdez was arguably one of the most dangerous men on the East Coast. He had caused chaos and wreaked havoc on people, and yet his presence was the only one that could bring peace to my heart.

I reached for my make-up, needing to get ready. I had been up for an hour, and Valerio wanted to take me to the park for a walk. He had been doing these little dates with me almost daily. They would be the most simple and mundane things, but those were my favorites.

I would spend time with him and pick his brain as I tried to figure him out. I loved peeling back the layers day after day, getting to the core of who he was.

My phone buzzed, and when I looked at the caller ID, I smiled.

“Hello?” I put the phone on speaker so I could do my make-up at the same time. “For a second I thought you had disappeared into the northern tundra.”

“Very funny, Ana.” My brother’s voice filled my closet. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be asleep? It should be well after one in the morning there.”

“Sleep is for people without a legacy to rebuild.” He sounded tired and burdened. “How have the Valdez family been keeping you?”

“They’ve been keeping me well.”Particularly the younger Valdez man. But that was not something that my brother needed to know.

“Good,” he sighed. ‘Listen, I didn’t just call for a check-up. I actually have some information for you.”

Of course, he did.

“Savina told me that she told you about moving up the wedding to be in the next two months.”

And just like that, the good wave I had been riding quickly disappeared.

“Yeah, she told me.”

“I’ve decided to move it up again. You will marry Sergei within the month.”

I paused all the varied emotions that came with this topic of discussion flooded into me.

“You’re being unfair to me, Danny. I don’t want to marry him.”

“You don’t have a choice in the matter. This is for our family.”

The frustration I had been holding back for weeks bubbled up and it just spilled over. “We didn’t need to be in this life, Danny. I refuse to suffer for the choice you made to keep us in this world. I never wanted to be a part of the Mafia world. It took both our parents, and when they died, we finally had an out. But you wanted to keep us here. I will not sacrifice my freedom for your greed.”

At the end of the day, that was what all this was about. It was not that he enjoyed stealing, convincing, and backstabbing people. My brother had a much softer heart than that. Some men relished in the darkness while it corrupted them. But I knew my brother. I knew him better than he knew himself, at times. He wasn’t like that.

“I won’t marry Sergei.”

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