Page 1 of Darkest Game
Chapter One
Liam
She wasn’t the one I was supposed to take but when I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her.
Pure, sweet, innocent. Everything I’ve never had in my dark, fucked up life.
I was sent to make Mikhail and Nico pay for what they had done to me and my family – my mobster family.
But I could never have expectedher. Irina.
And now I’m in for a world of hurt.
Irina
My feet glide with ease over my bedroom floor as I dance in my ballet shoes. They’re like extensions of my feet. As someone who’s been practicing ballet for almost as long as I could walk, it’s like breathing to me. But I haven’t been able to perform on any stage in years.
Not since my uncle took over my household and locked me and my sisters away. I mean that literally. He’s locked us up inside our rooms and only lets us out to use the bathroom or eat or if a special guest has arrived. It’s been over two years since I’ve seen my oldest sister, Natalya, who managed to get out before uncle Denis could lock her away too.
She’s married to Mikhail Novikoff, high ranking Bratva member. I know she’s tried to save me and my other sisters but Denis keeps us too locked up for her to get to us.
My other sister, Sasha, who’s just two years older than me, was married off to Nico Bernardi, Italian mafia boss, by our uncle when Denis had a deal with him. But ever since Nico and Denis had a falling out a year ago, I haven’t seen Sasha at all in that time.
That just leaves me and my younger sister, Anastasia and our mom, Tatiana, who are still in the clutches of Denis.
Natalya is the one I miss the most. We’re both ballet dancers and that was something we always connected on. Sasha was always the black sheep of the family while Ana was always the baby, spoiled and rotten at times, though ever since she’s been locked away without her phone, she hasn’t been as bratty. She’s more subdued.
Denis has a tendency to hit her more than any of us. It’s what keeps all of us in line so we don’t try to fight back. Because I know my mom would fight back but if it were to put me and Ana in danger, she’ll never risk it. So she’s gotten used to forcing a smile on her face whenever Denis is in the room just to please him.
I spin faster and faster, trying to get myself to that point where I can get completely lost in the dance. So I can forget how terrible the past two years have been.
At nineteen, I know I’m eligible to be married off to whoever Denis wants to make an alliance with. Fortunately, he didn’t do it right away when I turned eighteen like I expected. He never told me why he didn’t. He just hasn’t.
Which means I’m stuck in a weird sort of limbo land. Grateful that I haven’t been married off to a terrible mafia man and yet worried every second of every day for the moment Denis tells me he’s marrying me off.
I finish the pirouette and land in a curtsey and almost lose my balance. It’s been years since I’ve practiced dance at my studio. My teacher, Miss Camille, always knew how to bring out the best in me. Now, I only have my uncle, who brings out the worst in me.
I’m more sad and angry than I’ve ever been before. Being locked up in your room for most of the day will do that to you. I was always the shyest out of my sisters and enjoyed my alone time when it was my choice. Now that it’s not, I’m realizing how important it is to have people in your life.
A loud bang, like a door slamming, comes from down the hallway and then I hear Denis muttering to himself. He’s always doing that nowadays.
I press my ear to the door and strain to listen.
“This can’t be happening!” he cries out. Another loud bang, like something hitting the wall. The suddenness of it makes me jerk back.
And then my door is being unlocked and there’s Denis, glaring at me. He looks like my father only not as tall and not as handsome and Denis knows that.
My father, Lev Petrov, was one of the greatest Bratva men in the entire city. And he was gone in the blink of an eye and Denis took over. He always claimed he never killed my dad but I know my mom had suspicions. She could never prove anything though.
“What are you doing?” Denis snaps at me, making me flinch back.
“I’m dancing?” It comes out as a question. Whenever I’m around Denis, I have a tendency to doubt myself.
“Stop doing that and meet me in the living room.” He walks away.
I take my pointe shoes off and tentatively look out the room. A guard stands at the end of the hallway. Even if me or Ana ever managed to escape, we’d have countless guards to contend with. Denis really does want us to be prisoners.
When I enter the living room, I find my mom already there. The beautiful Tatiana Petrov. With her long brown hair and blue eyes, she’s always drawn the attention of men. I think it’s why Denis wants her: every man wants her and yet no one can have her. The only one who ever did was my father.
