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

My gaze went to his lips again. “I will make you smile, Valerie.”

My vision blurred with unshed tears, and I sniffled quietly. “I’ll be the reason for your smiles, silent myshka. Promise.”

Through a tearful gaze, I wrote on the notepad.

Promise?

“Promise,” he swore.

Just like in my dream. Except this wasn’t a dream. It was reality—our reality. Our truth.

Viktor. You make me smile. Always. You make me happy. With you, I feel safe. I feel protected. And treasured…and loved. I feel different when I am with you. Like I am invincible. You make it easy to live in this dark world. I don’t hurt when I am with you.

Viktor read the words slowly, as if he were memorizing them in his mind. He touched the paper, and then our gaze met again.

For the first time, I saw all his unsaid emotions. I saw the real Viktor.

Not the killer. Not the Prince Charming I liked to dream of. Not the façade he built around himself, the shield he always had up.

I saw the man behind the angry looks. The man with a hidden gentle soul.

Viktor was dangerous. Our lives entwined together in a dangerous path. A wild beginning. We knew what it meant to be together, yet we continued to sneak through the darkness to find each other.

The heart did what it wanted. Words could be silenced. But the heart could not.

Chapter 28

Viktor

I faced the window, trying to keep the anger at bay. It became harder every time I was in Valentin’s presence. If the fury living inside of me wasn’t for Valerie, then it was for my family.

Alessio.

Ayla.

Princess.

The people I vowed to protect with my dying breath.

Valerie wasn’t part of the plan—I wasn’t meant to see her—to meet her, to touch her, to kiss her. Nothing was meant to be, but it still happened.

Fate is a cruel thing. It likes to fuck us all up with a huge fucking cucumber in the ass.

And now the game has changed.

Shaking my head, I let out a deep sigh. Valentin was still talking—about the new business deal with Carlos. And I was still back to square one.

Every time I asked a question, Valentin changed the topic. Every time I had a lead—it was a dead end. They covered up their tracks perfectly.

I should have known. If Alessio was powerful, then Carlos was just as powerful.

Two Kings against each other. Fighting one battle.

With Valentin not on our side, we were fucked sideways until I could crack him and his dealings.

I turned away from the darkness and faced Valentin. He was looking down at a paper on his table, but at my question, he snapped his head up.

“Abram told me Carlos trades aphrodisiac drugs with us. What exactly are they for?”

Valentin swallowed but remained quiet. Stalking forward, I gripped him by the neck, pulling his face close before snarling. “I am done with your bullshit. You want me to fight for you—you want to win this fucking war, but you forget that to win this war, you need me. You also seem to forget that this war is mine.”

He glared at me before his sputtering started. I blocked his airway passage, and Valentin fought for each useless breath. It was tempting—so fucking tempting to end his life right here and now.

Valerie’s face flashed in front of my eyes. Her tears. Her pain. Her silent cries—silently begging me—silently beckoning me to be her dark warrior.

I squeezed his throat tighter, bloodlust coursing through my veins. His face turned red, but he didn’t lose the motherfucking glare.

Just keep playing, Viktor. A game never stops until there’s a winner.

At the end of it, only one person will be standing and left breathing. And there are only two choices. Me or Solonik.

I heard Alessio’s voice in my head, and my fingers loosened around Valentin’s neck. I let him go—because a game still had to be played.

He coughed, sputtered, and finally started breathing again. It took him some time, but he swore and cursed at me.

I shrugged it off. “I have given you the reins for too long. Now what the fuck is going on? I am a Solonik—and I have every fucking right to know what my family and what my business is dealing with.”

Valentin struggled for another moment before he turned his furious face to mine. “I thought you weren’t ready for this yet, but it appears I have underestimated you, Konstantin.”

And then he smiled. “You are my heir, after all. I was waiting for you to snap and demand answers.”

His smile turned sadistic, and I had a bad fucking feeling about it. Actually, about his whole ugly old face.

Valentin got off his chair and walked toward me. He clasped me on the back and then laughed. “Aphrodisiac drug, you ask?”

His laughter died down but not the evil glint in his eyes. “We use them for a lot of things. But the best use…” He paused and then smirked. “Women. They work best on those whores. It makes their pussy so fucking wet. Best fucking sight, let me tell you.”