The Mafia and His Obsession: Part 1 (Tainted Hearts 4)

Maybe I heard him whisper sorry. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, but there was no mistaking the anguish in his voice.

I wanted to open my eyes, to give them a final look. A final goodbye. But my weakness won over.

“The only reason why I can regret this is because Ayla will be hurt. She is going to cry, and I won’t be able to do anything,” Alessio said. His voice sounded nearer but still so far away.

I was drifting. Falling deeper and deeper into the dark abyss.

Suddenly everything went completely silent. All movement around me slowed down to an excruciating pace. I could feel my pulse pounding through me as visions flashed behind my closed eyes.

The images swirled before me right until the end, leaving that last scene of her imprinted upon my mind without the oxygen to sustain it.

Her smile. Her laughter. The look of love as she gazed up at him. Never me. Always him.

I bled out, losing consciousness faster…falling faster…until I hit hard ground.

I was jostled, and pain racked through me. It felt like my unbeating heart just started again, pumping blood through my body.

I died. I knew I died…then the voices…

What’s happening?

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words found their way out. The burning sensation in my chest never ended. It hurt more and more every second.

“He’s flat lining!”

The noises grew louder over the pounding of my heart.

“Don’t let him die!”

New voices. They didn’t belong to Alessio or any of our men.

“Fuck! I need him alive, damn it!”

No. I was dead.

“He needs to live,” the voice hissed.

“You need to live. Do you hear me, son?” It sounded nearer now.

Is he talking to me?

My body was moved, pushed, pulled, and I bore down on the agony.

Leave me alone, I wanted to scream. I was with her…at least in my death moment, she loved me.

But now some stupid bastards were taking me away. I could see her fading, turning away from me.

I reached for her, but it was too late. She was gone, fading into the darkness. She left me alone again.

“This is what happens when you choose the wrong side.”

Huh?

“Fucking Ivanshov. They would pay for this. All of them.”

No.

“I told you to join us, but you didn’t listen. Now bear the pain of being betrayed by your brother. Over whom? Some fucked up Italian blyad.”

Don’t fucking call her a whore.

Anger swirled inside of me before realization finally dawned.

They were speaking Russian.

Ah, fuck my life.

“Don’t worry. You will get your revenge. They all betrayed you. You will live and get your revenge.”

His words penetrated through my mind, and I held them close, wrapping myself around the words.

They all betrayed you.

Other words were mumbled, but I ignored them.

You will live and get your revenge.

In my head, I smiled. Oh, yes I will.

I was going to live…fuck death. It was not my time yet.

“Get him to the estate. When he wakes up, we will put our plans into action. The time has come for my heir to join me.”

The smile turned into a smirk. It was time.

Blood would be spilled, and only the strong would live. There can only be one conqueror. Everyone else was going to be ten feet under the cold, hard ground.

Deceit. Betrayal. Lies. Traitors. Hate. Revenge. Fraud.

We lived with them every day. We breathed them. We played them. And we welcomed them.

The game has begun.

Chapter 1

Konstantin

One year later

“Are you fucking serious? We have been planning this for a year and now you want to change the plans?” He bellowed so loud that the walls shook. Probably. Because my ears were now definitely ringing.

“It’s the only way and you know it,” I returned calmly.

His fist slammed on the table, and I internally rolled my eyes. Here we go again. One of his tantrums that made me want to wring his neck and drop him in a ditch somewhere.

“Or is it that you don’t trust me?” I raised an eyebrow in question.

A small change in his expression. The tiniest flinch. A little furrow in his eyebrows. But I caught it all.

Bullseye.

Crossing my arms, I leaned back against the couch, getting comfortable. “I just hit the eye, didn’t I?”

“No,” he growled low.

I was itching to take out my knife and cut his tongue out for lying to me. But I had mastered the art of controlling myself over the years.

Right now, he was the Boss, and I was the underdog.

Not for long, though, the devil on my shoulder whispered. He liked challenging me, laughing in my ears, reminding me of the games that were being played.

But oh, how he tested my limits every single time. Him and the fuck face sitting behind that table.

“You are scared this little plan of yours will fail. You are scared I will betray you and go back to them,” I hissed, just to make him angrier.