Indebted to the Mafia King

*Tatiana*

I lie against Angelo's chest, staring blankly at the wall, his thumb circling gentle caresses on my back. The sun is setting outside, and I have lost track of how long we've been here. For all I care, we could just stay here forever. I wouldn't mind.

I wonder where the other guys are or if they know what we're doing in here, but I don't bother to ask Angelo about it. Not that I'm embarrassed about what we did, but we're supposed to be enemies, kidnapper and kidnapped. This isn't how things were supposed to evolve between us.

I bet they hate me for not giving them what they want, for wasting their time, and for fucking Angelo-something they're all probably aware of by now.

But what can I do? It's not like I forced him to sleep with me. I didn't even try that hard to seduce him.

"What are you thinking about?” he whispers against my head, placing a soft kiss on my temple.

"Not much," I reply with a shrug.noveldrama

"I doubt that," he says, continuing his featherlight strokes on my skin.

His touch is so relaxing that I'm almost asleep, my eyes blinking lazily. I don't answer.

"Is everything okay?" he insists, his voice bordering on concerned.

I nod against his chest. "Yeah. I was just wondering if your colleagues hate me," I admit.

"Why would you think that?" I can't see his face, but I can imagine his frown.

"Well, you were supposed to be getting answers out of me, not fucking me senseless."

"Who says I can't do both?" he jokes, and I raise my chin to look at him. He smirks down at me. "They don't hate you. It's not the first or last time that one of us has gotten involved with an asset."

I crease my brows at him. "Is that what I am?" I narrow one eye at him, wondering if he can tell I'm teasing.

He studies my face to make sure he hasn't upset me. Then he shrugs slightly. "Yes? But not only that, at least not to me. Once they realize you're not an enemy or a threat, they'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

His words have me a little less worried. I normally wouldn't care what people think of me, but being trapped in this house twenty-four/seven, and not having seen one single man other than Angelo until now, I can't ignore the idea that they are avoiding

me.

"I guess I need to tell you the truth so they can believe me. So you can believe me," I add, resting my head back on his chest.

His muscles stiffen under me, but he doesn't say a word.

I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath. There's no way I can keep postponing telling my story. I don't need to trust any of them. It's not like I have anything left to lose. My life is already at stake here, so I'd better get this over with. "What do you want to know?" I ask, unsure of where to start.

"Who you are..." he whispers. "No matter how hard we searched, there's nothing about you anywhere."

I bet.. "I was supposed to be dead. My adoptive parents hid me away. I don't know how Oleg found out I'm alive." I take another deep breath, gathering the courage to pour my heart out to him. "My father, Petr, was the head of the Romina Empire decades ago, and Oleg's older brother. He had a mistress, Natya, and she had just given birth to me when Oleg found out about the affair."

Tears burn my eyes, but I ignore them. I shouldn't feel so emotional while telling this story since I don't even remember any of this, but the mere thought of all the injustice my parents suffered, everything that was robbed from me when I was just a baby, still haunts me to this day.

As if sensing my despair, Angelo kisses the top of my head, encouraging me to continue.

"Lev was the capo my father trusted the most, and when he sensed that Oleg was planning something, he asked Lev and his wife, Ilya, to take me away from there. He made them promise that they'd protect me and raise me outside of the life, away from all the terror belonging to a mafia family would bring me."

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I appreciate the fact that Angelo is listening so intently to me. I'm even more grateful that I can't see his face. I couldn't bear seeing the pity in his eyes.

"My life was pretty normal growing up in Russia, but Lev insisted on teaching me how to fight and protect myself just in case. It wasn't enough to escape Oleg when I got here, though. Or to escape your men either." I chuckle darkly. When put into perspective, I realize how weak I actually am.

He says nothing but holds me a little closer.

"After years away from here, Oleg suddenly ordered my parents to return to the US. I freaked out. I couldn't let them come here by themselves. I'd die not knowing if they were okay, not knowing what Oleg was doing to them. After losing both my birth parents, I couldn't lose them too."

"What happened?" Angelo whispers.

I close my eyes, reliving the worst memory I have imprinted in my brain. I can still hear the echo of the gunshots in that living room, see the blood pooling under their bodies, their heads hanging to the side, lifeless.

"His men got to us at the airport. We didn't have a chance to escape. I still don't know how they knew who I was or even that I was with them. We planned everything carefully, but it was all in vain in the end. My adoptive parents were murdered in-in front of my eyes," I explain. Tears fall freely down my cheeks now, but I don't care. It's the first time I've cried since they were killed, and I realize I'm still mourning them. I don't think I'll ever stop. "They died because of me. To protect me. And even so, Oleg got what he wanted."

"I'm so sorry," he murmurs into my hair.

I shake my head, taking a deep breath and pressing on."Oleg was going to kill me, too.

But then he decided I'd be better off as his son's wife. He is so fucking repulsive that

he wanted to marry me to my cousin just so he could keep his legacy within the family."

"You were being forced to marry Yakov then? That's what it was?" he asks in disbelief. "Fuck, I knew that bastard was a monster, but that idea never crossed my mind. I should have known."

I lean on my elbow to look him in the eyes. "You knew something was off. You have a good heart, Angelo, I can tell. That's why you didn't kill me right away or torture me," I point out softly.

His dark eyes are soft, scanning my face, but something lingers deep within them, an emotion I know all too well. Sadness. Losss. He must be able to identify with me, though he's not telling me what happened.

He lifts a finger to wipe away the tears on my cheek with a gentle touch. "I didn't think I could hate Oleg any more than I already do for what he did to me and my family, but you just proved me wrong," he grumbles, his jaw clenched.

I don't want to pry, but since we're having this intimate conversation and putting all the cards on the table, I feel like it's only fair to ask. He can keep his secrets to himself if he wants. I would never force a painful memory out of someone if they're not willing to share. I told him. Not because he forced me to, but because I needed to share this with someone-and he deserves to know the truth.

I've been rotting away on the inside, carrying all this weight by myself. Weirdly, I feel lighter somehow, now that I've told him, although I doubt I'll ever be at peace with myself. "What happened?" I whisper.

"The Saints had a run-in with the Rominas," Angelo begins, a shadow passing over his face. His voice is deeper, colder. Lethalt. "I had no family, just my little brother, who was just a kid at the time. Somehow, Oleg got to our safe house where he was staying before we got there."

He takes a deep breath, and I notice a slight tremble in his arm. and I reach for his hand, squeezing it in a reassuring gesture.

"It was all such a macabre... mess," he carries on. "Corpses littered the ground everywhere, but I didn't even bother to look to see who they wre. Lots of them were my friends, but I could only focus on finding my brother. I located Oleg in the alley.... He had Luca." His voice cracks slightly. Angelo takes a deep breath and I wait until he can continue. "Oleg had him in his clutches. He forced him to kneel and put a bullet to his head before I had the chance to stop him."

My skin crawls with the mere thought of a kid being murdered in cold blood like that. I watch that fucking coward kill my parents, but a kid... that's even more fucked up. I can't even put into words how fucked up that is, let alone imagine having to watch it happen.

Looking at how distraught and broken Angelo is, my heart quivers in my chest, his pain mingling with mine. The hatred I see burning in his eyes all makes sense now. When I look at him, I see my own raw emotions mirrored right back at me

Angelo had his family taken from him by the same fucker that took mine. Now, more than ever, I want to be able to help them take down Oleg and his whole goddamn empire.

"I don't even know what to say," I murmur, my voice raspy from crying. "It's not fair that he gets to walk around without a fucking care in the world after all the cruelty and suffering he's caused."

"He will pay for all he's done," Angelo states firmly, gritting his teeth. "Even if it's the last thing I do in this life. I'll make sure he pays for taking Luca away from me and for putting you through this hell. I promise you." He leans forward, placing a gentle kiss on my lips and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I take comfort in his touch, his words a balm to my shattered heart. It feels so good not

to be alone anymore. He has no idea how much it means to me to have someone else with the same goal as me.

Angelo won't leave me to do this by myself, and if I have to die to help him keep his promise, I'll gladly do it.

As long as I bring Oleg and everything he stole from me down with me when I go.