Page 5 of The Mafia and His Obsession Part 2 (Tainted Hearts 5)

“You were blinded by the world you lived in.”

Her shackles rattled behind me as she walked closer. “But you can see the truth now. What are you going to do?”

I turned to face her, my jaw clenching and grinding together, aching with the need to unleash my fury. “I will end it. And I am going to take you out of here.”

Irina’s eyes widened and she took a step back, shaking her head. “You can’t. You will only get killed. We will all get killed. And Valerie will be hurt.”

I froze, my stomach churning at her words. “What did you say?” I asked through clenched teeth.

Irina shook her head over and over again. Her words were laced with desperation and panic when she spoke. “Valerie. My friend. Valentin’s wife. We are his favorites. If Valentin is giving me all this attention right now, that means Valerie is being left alone. I know that. It’s either me or her. I can take her pain away if Valentin continues to focus on me.”

My mind reeled and I remembered Valerie’s words.

Irina and Valerie.

Sisters, not by blood—but by choice.

They took each other’s pain, so the other could be safe.

Yet they were both trapped in a never-ending cycle of nightmare.

There were selfish people in this fucked-up world. But there were also selfless souls who were wandering aimlessly, chasing the unknown.

Irina and Valerie fell into the latter circle.

Walking closer, I palmed her cheeks. My thumb swiped under her eyes gently, chasing away the tears that had spilled over. “I’m going to get you out of here. Both of you,” I vowed.

More tears slid down her cheeks. “You can’t.”

I growled low in my throat. Nothing was impossible for me. Not for an Ivanshov. “I will. Trust me. I will end this. You will no longer wear shackles. You will be free, Irina. That’s my vow.”

I stepped back and let her go. “I will come back for you. Wait for me.”

She let out a loud sob and fell down on her knees. Her hand covered her mouth, smothering her cries.

Our eyes locked, and Irina shakily nodded at me, silently putting her fate in my hands. I gave her a final glance before walking away.

My steps faltered at the door. Turning around, I looked down at the broken girl weeping on the floor.

“There is someone waiting for you. Desperately wants to meet you. And I know she will be very happy to see you again.”

I didn’t wait for her answer. I closed the door behind me and walked away. The game has changed.

In the Bratva, you walked in and there was no out. The only way out—was your dead corpse.

Our lives had been built on years and years of revenge. Kill after kill.

Blood for blood. Bodies after bodies. A death trail.

I made a promise, and I didn’t intend to break it.

Chapter 2

Viktor

Valerie stirred in my arms, forcing me to loosen my hold on her waist. She nudged her head up and stared at me through sleepy eyes. My myshka gave me a smile and she stole my breath away, right from my fucking lungs.

Valerie was a soul catcher. Once she had her grip, her fingers digging into the depths of you, there was no escaping. She trapped me in a reverie, and just like that, I was drowning in her. Her smiles had a way of making my heart stop and then beat with a frantic rhythm. It’d dance the same way Valerie would, intense…free…like a poem telling the beautiful tale of a mad, delicate love.

“Hi.”

The sound of her voice was throaty, and she brought me back to the present. Her speech patterns were almost as natural as everyone else. The way Valerie spoke her words, you wouldn’t be able to tell she was deaf if one didn’t pay close attention.

But I did. I always caught the way she couldn’t tell how loud or soft she was speaking. A few times, her speech turned out a bit slurred if she spoke too fast. I also noticed that now she would always place her hand over her throat while speaking. Valerie said it helped when she vocalized. She felt the vibration through the palm of her hand, so it helped her control how loud or soft she was speaking.

“Hi,” I replied, watching her blink up at me with those hazel eyes I had learned to adore so much. They followed me even in my dreams, taunting me, holding me captive, and begging me to steal my myshka away.

“How long have you been here?” she questioned lightly.

“About an hour. You were sleeping when I came in and I didn’t have it in me to wake you up.” I brushed away the stray strands of hair from her forehead. When I tucked them behind her ears, Valerie smiled again and then snuggled closer into my arms.