Page 1 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

Chapter One

Liam

S he wasn’t the one I was supposed to take but when I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her.

Pure, sweet, innocent. Everything I’ve never had in my dark, fucked up life.

I was sent to make Mikhail and Nico pay for what they had done to me and my family – my mobster family.

But I could never have expected her . Irina.

And now I’m in for a world of hurt.

Irina

My feet glide with ease over my bedroom floor as I dance in my ballet shoes. They’re like extensions of my feet. As someone who’s been practicing ballet for almost as long as I could walk, it’s like breathing to me. But I haven’t been able to perform on any stage in years.

Not since my uncle took over my household and locked me and my sisters away.

I mean that literally. He’s locked us up inside our rooms and only lets us out to use the bathroom or eat or if a special guest has arrived.

It’s been over two years since I’ve seen my oldest sister, Natalya, who managed to get out before uncle Denis could lock her away too.

She’s married to Mikhail Novikoff, high ranking Bratva member. I know she’s tried to save me and my other sisters but Denis keeps us too locked up for her to get to us.

My other sister, Sasha, who’s just two years older than me, was married off to Nico Bernardi, Italian mafia boss, by our uncle when Denis had a deal with him. But ever since Nico and Denis had a falling out a year ago, I haven’t seen Sasha at all in that time.

That just leaves me and my younger sister, Anastasia and our mom, Tatiana, who are still in the clutches of Denis.

Natalya is the one I miss the most. We’re both ballet dancers and that was something we always connected on.

Sasha was always the black sheep of the family while Ana was always the baby, spoiled and rotten at times, though ever since she’s been locked away without her phone, she hasn’t been as bratty. She’s more subdued.

Denis has a tendency to hit her more than any of us.

It’s what keeps all of us in line so we don’t try to fight back.

Because I know my mom would fight back but if it were to put me and Ana in danger, she’ll never risk it.

So she’s gotten used to forcing a smile on her face whenever Denis is in the room just to please him.

I spin faster and faster, trying to get myself to that point where I can get completely lost in the dance. So I can forget how terrible the past two years have been.

At nineteen, I know I’m eligible to be married off to whoever Denis wants to make an alliance with. Fortunately, he didn’t do it right away when I turned eighteen like I expected. He never told me why he didn’t. He just hasn’t.

Which means I’m stuck in a weird sort of limbo land. Grateful that I haven’t been married off to a terrible mafia man and yet worried every second of every day for the moment Denis tells me he’s marrying me off.

I finish the pirouette and land in a curtsey and almost lose my balance. It’s been years since I’ve practiced dance at my studio. My teacher, Miss Camille, always knew how to bring out the best in me. Now, I only have my uncle, who brings out the worst in me.

I’m more sad and angry than I’ve ever been before. Being locked up in your room for most of the day will do that to you. I was always the shyest out of my sisters and enjoyed my alone time when it was my choice. Now that it’s not, I’m realizing how important it is to have people in your life.

A loud bang, like a door slamming, comes from down the hallway and then I hear Denis muttering to himself. He’s always doing that nowadays.

I press my ear to the door and strain to listen.

“This can’t be happening!” he cries out. Another loud bang, like something hitting the wall. The suddenness of it makes me jerk back.

And then my door is being unlocked and there’s Denis, glaring at me. He looks like my father only not as tall and not as handsome and Denis knows that.

My father, Lev Petrov, was one of the greatest Bratva men in the entire city. And he was gone in the blink of an eye and Denis took over. He always claimed he never killed my dad but I know my mom had suspicions. She could never prove anything though.

“What are you doing?” Denis snaps at me, making me flinch back.

“I’m dancing?” It comes out as a question. Whenever I’m around Denis, I have a tendency to doubt myself.

“Stop doing that and meet me in the living room.” He walks away.

I take my pointe shoes off and tentatively look out the room. A guard stands at the end of the hallway. Even if me or Ana ever managed to escape, we’d have countless guards to contend with. Denis really does want us to be prisoners.

When I enter the living room, I find my mom already there. The beautiful Tatiana Petrov. With her long brown hair and blue eyes, she’s always drawn the attention of men. I think it’s why Denis wants her: every man wants her and yet no one can have her. The only one who ever did was my father.

I look similar to her with my own dark hair and blue eyes but I have some of my father’s features too. It’s the only parts of him I have left.

“Irina,” Mom says in a relieved tone. Probably relieved to see that Denis didn’t beat me after letting me out. Every time me and Ana come to dinner, I notice my mom searching for signs of abuse Denis left behind.

I run into her arms and she wraps me in a fierce hug. “What’s happening? It’s not dinner time. Denis never lets us out this time of the day.”

“I’m not sure. Denis doesn’t tell me anything.”

Denis returns with Ana in tow. She’s grown into a beautiful young woman over these past few years.

At seventeen, she’s only a year away from the threat of marriage.

I don’t know enough about Natalya’s or Sasha’s marriages to know if they’re happy.

I have to hope that they are because if they’re miserable, then there’s no hope for me and Ana.

“What’s going on?” Mom demands, placing her hands on her hips. Ana rushes to her side, knowing that our mom is the only one in the room who will keep us safe.

“I have to leave,” Denis spits out. Clearly, he’s not happy about this.

“Leave? To go where?”

“I have to get out of the country. I’ll be leaving you three.”

My breath hitches. Is Denis really saying what I think he’s saying? That we could finally be free of him? No. I don’t want to get my hopes up.

“You’re going to have to give me more,” Mom says.

Denis shoots her an exasperated look. “Mikhail and Nico are growing stronger by the day with their alliance. I never thought it would last but they’ve proven me wrong. They’re going to kill me. I have to leave for my own protection.”

“And what about us? Where’s our protection?”

“I thought you’d be glad, Tatiana. You won’t have to see me for a long time.”

“What happens to us?” Mom is relentless. She always has been. “After you leave? Are we still kept locked up or…”

“Do whatever the fuck you want,” he growls. “I need to save myself. You three are not worth it.”

I want to smile but Mom still looks worried. She knows something I don’t.

“So, you’re just going to leave?” she demands. “Leave us unprotected from any mafia men who will try to come for us?”

“You don’t want my protection, Tatiana. You’ve never wanted it. You should be on your knees thanking me for protecting you all these years.”

“You protected us?” She scoffs. “When you beat my daughters? That was called protecting us?”

He waves a dismissive hand. “I have to go. I can’t die. I’m going into hiding and I’m not going to tell you where. I don’t want you to tell anyone. My guards will keep an eye on you until I’m out of the city. And then you’re on your own.”

The threat is clear.

The three of us watch as Denis scuttles about the house, grabbing suitcases with him, until he’s ready to go. With one last glare in our direction, he walks out of the house. Two of his guards remain behind to watch us. Their guns are visible.

Mom pulls me and Ana onto the couch with her.

“Mom?” Ana asks. “Isn’t this good news? Why do you look so scared?”

“Because now we have no one to protect us. Yes, Denis did a horrible job. We needed protecting from him. And while I will fight hard for all my daughters, as a woman in this world, I can only do so much. We need a powerful man behind us. But we don’t have anyone.”

“Mikhail and Nico,” I offer. “They’re both powerful. Won’t they protect us?”

She gives me a sad smile. “I’m sure they will try.

But their main duty is to your sisters, which I’m happy for.

But it means that you and Ana are still at risk.

The only way to keep you truly safe is to marry you to a strong mafia man but I’ve lost all my contacts over the years Denis has kept me locked up.

And I don’t want to just marry you off the second Denis is truly gone.

I want you girls to feel free and happy for once. ”

“I have to believe Mikhail and Nico can protect us.”

“You don’t know Mikhail and Nico. I was never happy when Natalya and Sasha married them. I don’t even know how they’ve been treating them over the years. I don’t know anything.”

I take her hand. “Mom, I know you’re afraid. So am I. But we have to contact Mikhail and Nico and tell them. We have to trust that they’ll keep us safe. Because otherwise…”

Otherwise, we have no one. And that does put me and Ana at risk.

We’re easy pickings for any mafia man to steal us.

In the mafia world, women are property. We’re not real human beings but trophies for our husbands to parade around.

At least, that’s what I assume. I’m not married so I don’t fully know how any of it works.

“You’re right,” Mom says, letting out a sigh. “Once Denis is gone, we’ll get word to Mikhail and Nico and hope they can protect us. But once others find out Denis is no longer controlling us, the vultures will swoop in.”

I can only shiver at her words. They’re an omen of bad things to come.