Page 34 of Ruthless Mafia Boss 3: Vino and Claire

I crawled, shattered and numb, into the bed and pulled the sheet tightly around my broken form. As tears streamed relentlessly down my face, I fixed my gaze on the barren wall, each silent sob a testament to the life I no longer recognized, until eventually, exhaustion claimed me in the depths of a tortured sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, I got dressed and mentally pulled myself together. There was no time for emotions, no space for weakness. I stepped into the living room. Masha and Ivan were asleep on the sofa, lying naked at opposite ends.

Hold it together, Claire. There’s no time for tears.

“Hey, Ivan.” I gently brushed his hair aside and kissed him.

“I have a class. Call me later.”

His eyes slowly opened, and he gave a faint smile. “Okay.”

I stood up, still holding that smile.

“I love you, Claire.”

My skin crawled. I wanted to slam my fist into his face.

“I love you, too, Ivan,” I replied. The words felt like poison on my tongue.

Egor didn’t stop me as I left. Once in the parking lot, the urge to sprint to my car was overwhelming, but I restrained myself, desperate not to draw suspicion.

I glanced up at the gray sky, hoping for a break in the clouds, for a glimpse of the sun. For anything that would tell me I wasn’t trapped in this nightmare.

How would I escape Ivan? I had to formulate a plan.

A man I didn’t recognize walked toward me with purpose.

My heart pounded. Oh, shit. Who the hell was he? Was he one of Ivan’s new bodyguards?

“Claire, come with me,” he said. His tone was firm, absolute. “Polina wants to see you.”

I stiffened. “No. Tell her I just found out about her. I don’t want anything to do with Ivan. She can have him.”

A sudden blow to the back of my head plunged me into darkness.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself bound to a chair in the center of a well-lit warehouse. My wrists and ankles burning from the tight ropes.

“Claire, how nice of you to join me,” she growled with a thick Russian accent.

Her fist crashed against my face repeatedly.

She stepped back, her chest heaving in a tight black t-shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and fury burned in her icy blue eyes.

Pain throbbed through my swelling right eye.

“What the hell is wrong with you people?” I spat blood onto the cold, hard concrete.

“I don’t want Ivan,” I snarled.

“You’re a lying bitch.” She unleashed her fury, her fists raining down on me.

Some time later, two men dragged Masha into the building, completely naked.

Damn, she hadn’t put clothes on since I saw her this morning. Did they snatch her out of Ivan’s condo?

“You two enjoyed yourselves with my fiancé last night,” Polina taunted.

I watched in horror as the bodyguards strung Masha up in the center of the warehouse like a piece of meat.

---