 by Michelle Heard.jpg)
Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 78264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I wanted to be a painter. But that's just a dream because a mafia princess doesn't get to choose her future.
Still, I never let it get me down. I always try to make the best of everything.
Until I'm forced to go for brutal training, and I meet Nikolai Vetrov.
Forbidden and way too attractive, the man turns out to be my worst nightmare incarnated.
He's cold and ruthless, and I'm pretty sure there's no heart to be found in his chest, unlike mine that won't stop beating overtime at the mere sight of him.
Just because I flirted with him, he's dead set on making my life as miserable as possible.
And as if the hell I've been thrown into isn't enough, the worst thing possible happens to me. It strips me of my light and drops me into a darkness so suffocating there's no way for me to escape
There's a lot I can endure and overcome, but the trauma and Nikolai Vetrov are two things I can't handle. One of them is bound to be the end of me.
Unless a miracle happens, and let's face it, I'm well past the point of believing in miracles.
STANDALONE: A Mafia/Bratva Romance, standalone, full-length novel.
WARNING: 18+ only. Please read responsibly. THIS NOVEL CONTAINS TRIGGERING CONTENT.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Songlist
Click here - Spotify
Quiet – MILCK
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken – P!nk
Slip Away – UNSECRET, Ruelle
Vendetta – UNSECRET, Krigarè
Be A Hero – Euphoria, Bolshiee
Rescue – Lauren Daigle
Easy On Me – Adele
Without You – Ursine Vulpine, Annaca
Leaves from the Vine – AtinPiano (The Wedding Song)
Family Tree
Nikolai Vetrov - 39
↓
Family Business: Bratva / Blood Diamond Smugglers
Father: Damien Vetrov
Mother: Winter Hemsley
Deceased Wife – Anja Levin
Brother-In-Law – Maxim Levin
Godfather: Carson Koslov
Uncle: Demitri Vetrov
Cousin: Viktor Vetrov
Abigail Sartori - 21
↓
Family Business: Mafia
Father: Emilio Sartori
Mother: Greta Sartori
Best friend: Aurora D’Angelo
“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. Not only can trauma be healed, but with appropriate guidance and support, it can be transformative.”
–— Peter A. Levine
Chapter 1
Nikolai
Nikolai Vetrov; 39. Abigail Sartori; 21.
My eyes land on two women coming out of a suite, and knowing who every single person at St. Monarch’s is, I immediately recognize them.
Abigail Sartori and Aurora D’Angelo. The two socialites who are starting their training tomorrow.
Unlike most of the attendees, the two women’s smiles are carefree, as if they’re just here to enjoy the resort and not to attend grueling training sessions.
From tomorrow I have to train the two in combat, and I get a feeling they’ve never thrown a punch in their lives.
I let out a sigh because the last thing I have time for are two spoiled mafia princesses who think the world revolves around them, which is the vibe I’m getting.
When I pass them in the hallway, Abigail chuckles seductively, “If all the guards look like that, my ovaries are going to explode.”
She thinks I’m a guard because I’m dressed in the same combat uniform as St. Monarch’s guards instead of my usual tailored suit.
Little does she know I control the blood diamond market, and I’m the firstborn of the best fighter St. Monarch’s has ever seen. And to make matters worse for the little mafia princess, my cousin is the head of the bratva and her family’s enemy.
Suppressing a chuckle, I shake my head.
Wait until you find out who I am, little girl.
Just then, I hear Abigail playfully call out her suite number, “Room one O’ three.”
I don’t have the patience for this shit.
I’m only helping with the training until my godfather, Uncle Carson, can find a suitable replacement for the combat instructor position, seeing as the previous one died of a heart attack.
I now understand why Mr. Yeoh died. Training people who can’t fight to save their lives call for a fuck-ton of patience which is the last thing I have.
With me, you either sink or swim. I don’t have time to coddle the spoiled royals of our world.
Stepping into my suite, I grab my phone and check the missed calls and messages as I leave the room again. There are a couple of work-related messages and emails, but I skip them and open a text from my brother-in-law and best friend, Maxim.
Maxim: What the fuck? I don’t babysit pampered brats. Get someone else for the job.
Heading back toward the studio where I give combat lessons, I chuckle as I type out my reply.
Nikolai: Just this once. You’re the only one who can keep her alive. Call it a favor. It will open a door for me to get into France.
Tucking the device into the pocket of my black cargo pants, I head down the staircase while I think about the protection detail Camille DuBois' father requested.
Maurice DuBois is straddling a thin line between the criminal underworld and running for Prime Minister. It’s essential to keep his daughter alive because with him in my pocket France will be mine.
Maxim is the only person I trust to keep Camille alive. He’s the best hitman, and he’ll be able to protect her from anyone who might come after her.
He’s also my oldest friend, who became my brother-in-law when I did him a favor by marrying his terminally ill sister. I might not have loved Anja, but I cared for her as a friend. She loved me, though, and it was the only wish she had – to become my wife.
It was no sacrifice on my part to make her dream come true during her last weeks. I did everything in my power to make her believe I loved her. I treated her like a queen, but Anja deserved so much more than her short life gave her.
Only Maxim and I know the truth, though. The rest of the world believes she was the love of my life.
Making Anja happy was one of the few good things I’ve done in my life, and it solidified an unbreakable bond between Maxim and me.
Christ, has it already been fifteen years since she passed away? Time flies.
If it weren’t for Anja, I never would’ve been married. I’m too fucking busy taking over the family business from my parents. My sister, Inna, married young and has two children who can carry on our family’s legacy, so it’s not something I’m worried about.