Gavriil (Stepanov Mafia)

The idea of having her around was exciting; however, I couldn’t ignore the twinge of guilt in the back of my mind. Something about the situation felt different than any other woman I’d ever had sex with. When she was massaging me the night before with tears in her eyes, nothing about it was a turn on. I didn’t find any joy in her misery. Instead, I just found misery of my own.

There was something about Sam that made me care. God, I was even calling her by a nickname now. Whatever was happening between us felt like a slippery slope. If I let it get too out of hand, there could be a point of no return. I couldn’t let that happen. And I wouldn’t. I’d keep things professional. Samantha had offered herself up as payment for her brother’s debts. If I accepted the offer, then I would get my fill of her and send her packing. Simple as that. No strings, no complications, and certainly no attachment.

That should be easy. I’d done it plenty of times before with plenty of women just as beautiful as Sam. Or, almost as beautiful anyway. My life had always been full of luxury and sex, violence and crime. It was the life I’d been born into. The life I knew best.

Perhaps that was part of the reason I felt differently about Sam. She hadn’t been born into this world. Her life had been difficult, nothing but struggle and striving. She hadn’t even chosen my world for herself. The only reason she had found herself in my company was because her brother made the mistake of crossing me. And because unlike everyone else in his life, I wasn’t going to allow him to weasel out of the consequences with excuses and half-truths.

“What are you planning to do?” Yuri asked quietly, his voice so low that the other men couldn’t hear our conversation. “Do you still have his sister back at your house?”

A large part of me still wanted to kill Devin Conway. $25,000 wasn’t a small amount I could just forget. It was serious. If word got out that he’d stolen that much from me and I’d let him live, people would begin to doubt my leadership abilities. It had only been a year since my dad had died. Or, more accurately, since I’d killed him and taken over the family.

And I was still riding the high of being the man who killed his own father to be the boss. It bolstered my reputation and earned me respect in every criminal circle in the city. However, I couldn’t rest on that one event forever. I had to make a name for myself as a leader, and I did not want to be known as the boss who let himself be taken advantage of.

I clapped Yuri on the shoulder and stepped around him to address the entire group. “I want Devin Conway beaten within an inch of his life. I want him to feel pain every time he even thinks of the name Gavril Stepanov. I want him to remain alive, however.”

“You aren’t going to kill him?” Ivan asked.

I shook my head. “No, I have an alternative form of payment in mind.”

They stood around waiting for an explanation that would never come. I gestured for them to get going, and one by one they filed out of the warehouse, leaving me alone.

Now, I had to figure out how to tell Samantha that I’d accepted her offer, but I wanted it to be good news for her. The start of new opportunities. I needed to show Samantha that if she did what I asked and remained obedient, this situation could work out in her favor. I just had to figure out how to do that.

Chapter Eight

Gavril

I stopped at a jewelry store on my way home and picked up a diamond necklace. The man behind the counter nearly passed out when I pointed to the most expensive item in the store and told him to wrap it up.

“You must have a very special lady in your life,” he said as he handed me the velvet box.

I nodded. “Very special, indeed.”

The box was shoved into my back pocket as I walked up the stairs and dismissed the guard standing outside of my bedroom. When I opened the door, Samantha was standing next to the bed, half-dressed in jeans and a bra.

“I thought I told you to be naked and ready,” I said.

She lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure when you would be home.”

“That isn’t an excuse.”

The idea of Samantha walking around my house naked all the time was certainly appealing. Plus, it would mean I wouldn’t need to buy her any new clothes. Though, compared to the price of the necklace in my back pocket, the cost of clothes would be negligible.