Page 22 of Owned By the Mob Boss
“Hookers, cocaine, top shelf everything. Bragging about how he’s got one over on Viktor Morelli and he’ll never be paying you back.”
The silence that follows has me clenching the sheets, my body trembling with anxiety. When Viktor finally speaks again, his voice sounds like death itself.
“He’s using Bella’s situation to make me look weak…”
“Rumors are spreading fast, boss. Torrino’s people are sniffing around our territories. Cops too. Detective Morrison was asking questions at Luciano’s last night to see if anyone would talk.”
I hear Viktor’s footsteps, the dangerous pacing of a predator deciding how to kill its prey. In any other circumstance, this would turn me on. But this time, it’s my father whose life is on the line.
“He’s trying to make it look like I’ve gone soft. He thinks he can embarrass me, threaten my reputation and walk away breathing.”
“Want me to get the boys together—?”
“No,” Viktor snaps. “This is personal. I’ll handle it myself.”
A chill runs down my spine.
My father—my worthless, selfish father who sold me off as collateral for his debts has just signed his own death warrant. And maybe mine too…
…because if Viktor kills him and becomes that monster again, the man I’ve fallen in love with will be gone.
I’m frozen in bed, unable to think or move. Then, the next thing I know, I’m standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but Viktor’s shirt, my legs barely holding me up.
Both men turn. Anton looks away instantly, but Viktor’s eyes lock on mine, and in them, I see the war—the monster and the man, fighting for control.
“Bella—”
“I heard everything.” My voice sounds small, broken. “Dad’s really…really doing this?”
“Go back to bed, angel. This doesn’t concern you.” He reaches out for me, but I pull away.
“Doesn’t concern me? He’smy father!”
“He’s a degenerate gambler who sold you off to pay for his debts,” he growls. “And he’s a dead man walking.”
Viktor’s eyes flash, and I finally see it—the vicious determination that made him who he is today. The lethal ferocity that brought an entire city to its knees.
“Viktor, please—”
“He’s destroying everything I built!” His roar causes me to step back. My heart is shaking. He runs his hands through his hair, his control fracturing. “Do you know what this means? If I look weak, people will come for me. They’ll come foryou!”
“So that means you just kill him?!” Tears begin to pool in my eyes. I don’t know why I care so much for a father who never showed me love and sold me off without a second thought. I guess it’s just built in.
“What would you suggest?” His laugh is bitter. “Just let him keep going? Turn me into the joke of the town so every two-bit criminal thinks they can cross me because I fell for some girl!?”
Some girl…
The words are like a slap across the face.
“That’s all I am?” I whisper as a tear falls down my cheek. “Some girl?”
His expression softens. It’s barely visible, but I see it. His eyes pull at my heartstrings.
“Of course not, Bella. You’re my queen. Myeverything. Which is why I have to handle this. To keep you safe.”
“He may be pathetic, selfish, and worthless, Viktor. And he sold me off like property, but he’s still my father. And he’s the only family I have left.”
He steps in and uses his thumb to wipe the tear from my face, such a contrast to the violent temper on display moments ago. “Don’t cry, baby. He doesn’t deserve your tears.”
