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Sample Chapter

My father wants me dead.

Anastasia Evanoff stood at the party, holding a glass of wine, not daring to drink it, trying not to look in the direction of her husband.

Everyone was giving her a wide berth, and this had been the same since they were married.

Nothing changed. She didn’t know why Bogdan brought her here. No one could stand her.

Prior to getting married, she’d been a Rinaldi.

Her father had been looking for a way to get rid of her for years.

Now, at the age of twenty-one, she was married and knew she would be lucky to survive to twenty-two.

She imagined the only reason she made it to her current age was the fact that it was her birthday on the day of the wedding ceremony.

She didn’t know what business her father had with Bogdan Evanoff that would result in her marrying him.

First, her father was part of the Italian mafia, and Bogdan was part of the Bratva.

Her late mother had told her to never get involved with her father’s business, and so far she’d been able to steer clear of everything.

Maybe it was because she and her mother for the longest time had lived apart from her father.

Anastasia didn’t know what had brought her parents together, but she had a rough idea what separated them— her .

Her mother, Evelyn, had a difficult pregnancy, and after she gave birth to Anastasia, she nearly died.

It resulted in Evelyn losing her ability to have children.

There would be no son and no heir for her father, Dante.

So, rather than continue to love his wife, he moved her out to the country, saw her sparingly, and from all accounts, replaced her with his favorite mistress.

For eighteen years Anastasia grew up without her father, but she had the love and devotion of her mother.

They wanted for nothing. All the while, she knew her father had another woman, and he also had children with that woman—several sons, and a couple of daughters.

After Evelyn passed away, Dante married his mistress, securing his heirs and his position within the family he worked for.

Anastasia was moved out of her country home, and most of her possessions were given to her sisters or sold.

She had a much smaller room at their townhome, and she was considered a vulture. Her so-called brothers couldn’t stand her, nor could her sisters. She didn’t conform or comply.

When her brothers attempted to attack her, she had never been more grateful to her mother for her insistence on the self-defense classes she’d been forced to attend. Fighting was not something she liked, however, she was good at it.

Gustov, the man her mother got to train her, would not allow her to leave his lessons without learning something.

Then, of course, he would attack her to make sure she had picked up whatever she needed from the lessons.

It had been three years since she saw Gustov.

She missed him. He attended her mother’s funeral.

Much to her father’s annoyance, her mother had been loved by most of the family, including the boss man himself, Piero.

None of her mother’s popularity had stopped her father. After a week, it was like she didn’t exist. So, when her brothers started to hurt her, she put them in their place, as she did her sisters.

She tried to steer clear of any conversation at parties, but these people had been friends with her mother, and some she recognized. They tried to bring her out of her shell, but it was all for nothing. Her father had other plans for her.

Just because she tried to be invisible at parties didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of the tumultuous relationship between the Italian mafia and the Bratva. Especially the Galkin Bratva. The very one her husband worked for.

She didn’t know the exact details, just the rumor that Bogdan was the boss’s right-hand man. Only, he was like the executioner within the Bratva. It was his job to hunt and kill. Bogdan Evanoff had a reputation that terrified her.

Their marriage was a business negotiation.

She didn’t know the specifics, but she had already lost her virginity to her husband on their wedding night.

A ceremony her father had insisted upon.

In the morning, the vultures had circled.

She had a horrible feeling her father wanted her dead on her wedding night.

Did he believe she hadn’t been a virgin? She would think so from his reaction.

As it happened, she loved her mother and spent as much time with her as possible.

She knew, in some weird way, Evelyn had loved Dante.

There were times she caught her mother crying, and there was no way of ignoring it.

Her mother was so sad at losing the love of Dante Rinaldi.

She had poured all that love into her daughter.

Anastasia became the woman she was today because of her mother.

Glancing around the room at the very formal party, she saw the men dressed in suits, although most of them looked way too big to fit into a suit.

The Bratva were all trained. She knew there were men within the family that could fight and kill. Like her father, Bogdan had soldiers, and rarely got his hands dirty. There were others that hunted.

Glancing at her husband, she had a feeling they didn’t need all the soldiers stationed at every one of his homes. He took her everywhere with him. She had a feeling it was because he didn’t trust her. Either way, she had never been so ... observed in all her life.

Growing up with her mother, and during the last three years, she’d been able to do her own thing, within reason.

Now, she was at the mercy of her husband.

They were moved all the time. From a townhome, to a luxury apartment, to a hotel, and then to a country home.

Bogdan had a lot of businesses. She’d been to many different restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, events, parties.

They’d been married three months, and apart from their wedding night, he hadn’t touched her. They shared a bed but rarely spoke to one another.

Bogdan gave her single-word instructions.

“Come.”

“Go.”

“Leave.”

“Stay.”

She said nothing.

“Dinner.”

“Breakfast.”

“Move.”

She didn’t know if he was even able to form a sentence. Actually, she saw he was able to form many sentences, just not toward her. She was on her own. And so, with her single glass of wine, which she wouldn’t drink, as she hated all forms of alcohol, she would simply stand there.

Some people would talk in what she assumed was Russian. She wasn’t fluent in any language. Her mother had tried to teach her Italian and even Spanish, French, but it was not something she had a knack for. So, after many frustrated lessons, her mother decided to stop.

Anastasia was thankful her mother tried. Right now, she had a sudden interest in learning Russian. She had to find a bookstore, locate the language book, and attempt to teach herself.

She had nothing, no money, and if she even tried to run, she had a feeling she would be killed. This was no way to live, but there was nothing she could do.

At that moment, she couldn’t help but look at her husband.

To many, he was nothing more than a savage beast, a monster, someone who was going to kill her.

But Anastasia, though she would never admit it, found him .

.. attractive. He was older than her, thirty-nine, she believed him to be.

Short, blond hair, which she rarely saw him touch.

Unlike her father and brothers, he rarely ran his fingers through his hair.

She suddenly realized it must be a nervous act or something.

Bogdan was never nervous. He was always in control, just as he was now.

She held onto her glass tightly, as he’d chosen that exact moment to look at her. Now she felt the nerves rising. He scared and exhilarated her. She didn’t know if he was going to kill her, or if he was biding his time.

Anastasia knew nothing. Her father would often call her thick and stupid. They were hurtful words, and she knew they were not true. She knew a great many things.

She had grown up away from all this bullshit. Her mother had given her a fantastic life, and she missed her mother.

Pulling her gaze away from her husband, she stepped away, suddenly needing some air.

****

B ogdan watched his wife disappear outside, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt she just needed a break.

His wife was the most loyal person at the party.

She was never going to betray him. She never spoke to anyone, and he had a thorough check of her background.

Her name may be Rinaldi, but she was nothing like her father or her brothers, or those manipulating bitches.

He knew all about Dante’s failed first marriage. How he had dismissed his wife because she’d been incapable of having children. From what he knew and saw, Anastasia’s mother had been one of the most beautiful women in the family. She’d given birth to a very beautiful daughter.

Bogdan finished up his conversation and left. He hated parties. He’d never been the kind of man for small talk, but he wanted to see how his wife handled this new life of hers. Making his way out to the gardens, he kept to the shadows, a place he was used to.

Anastasia was standing alone, staring up at the sky, which was clear, and all of the stars were out.

Her long, black hair had a nice curl to it, and tonight she had left it down.

The length was long, thick, and luscious.

He remembered how it looked spread out across his pillows as he thrust deep inside her pussy.

He wondered if Anastasia knew what her father had said.

“If my daughter is not a virgin, you have my permission to kill her instantly. Take your pleasure, and end her life.”