"If I were to kick the bucket, would you make a pilgrimage to my grave?" I quipped, motioning to the open graveyard around us. His lips curled into a wicked smirk, revealing flawless, pearly whites-a sinister expression that, by all accounts, should have prompted me to bolt in the opposite direction. Yet, it didn't. "If you ever found yourself six feet under, Beverley," he said, pausing to let his eyes roam over me, "trust me, I'd be right there in the damn plot next to yours." Bev My life had been charted out before I drew my first breath. I was thrust into the seedy realm of organized crime and illicit trade. After enduring torment and being left for dead, I finally secured my escape. I ran. Freedom was mine. And then my brother messed it all up, dragging me back into this warped version of hell. And then there was Shady, the devil in the most tempting guise. Shady I held the throne in the Boka Civente, the epitome of violence and corruption. In my world, there was no concept of losing. Down in the underground, the rules remained the same. Always had, and when your life was at stake, debts were settled accordingly. Her brother owed me, and if that debt went unpaid, someone would meet their end. And she, she was simply a means to an end. Right?
Beverley
Everyone kept a hidden truth. Some secrets were simple, but others were dark and complicated. In all honesty, my entire existence fell into each category precisely. My destiny was predetermined before I could even blink, and the prospect of a normal childhood was never on the table for me. I wasn't exactly a wanted presence, and I certainly didn't choose to exist. Yet, in my mother's eyes and as the spouse of a made man, she was obliged to fulfil her expected role and provide her husband with offspring. And, for once in her life, she didn't disappoint.
She bestowed my father with three kids. However, we weren't truly children, were we? We were his little puppets, manipulated at his whim and discarded when he deemed us no longer useful. I wasn't a child. My upbringing was far from normal, and I was considered obsolete by the time I reached thirteen.
My last name, while only being a goddamn surname, weighed more than anyone could possibly imagine. Being a Rizutto was a curse more than it had ever been a blessing, and the day that I was forced to understand what that really meant was also the day that I saw the world for what it really was. Harsh, cold, and cruel And just about everyone was out to get me.
There was no good in this world, and the people who thought they were good were just lying to themselves.
I realised that my father's betrayal of the Boka Civente turned the ones closest to him into targets, and I was seen as a traitor by default. I wasn't safe here in Chicago, and if it weren't for the promise I intended to keep to my sister, I would've hightailed my ass out of here a long time ago. My childhood was built around the ways of the mafia, and it was all I knew until it wasn't.
I'd asked myself many times what I was without the protection of my family, without my papa, without any morals or honour, and then, just as quick as the question came, it left my mind. I knew exactly what it meant. It meant that I was free.
My freedom was the most important thing to me-it always has been. I didn't like being told what to do or how to do it. The life I was born into wasn't one I wanted, and I knew that this was my time to redeem myself. If there was any redemption left for me,
My nose twitched in disgust, and it had little to do with the stench of blood and body odour in the air and more to do with the scene in front of me. One would think that after working here for so long, my revulsion for this place would be long gone. The same thing happened each and every night, and yet I still found myself in the same position.
I watched the man across the room as he licked blood off the bottom of his lip and smirked at me. His arm was draped over a girl as he slowly took a sip of something cold from a glass, his eyes gleaming with pride. They told me words that he couldn't exactly say from where he was.
I sucked some spilled-over booze off my middle finger, smirking around my digit as his grin fell, replaced by a harsh glare. His bloody knuckles tightened around the glass he was holding, and I laughed to myself.
He was just another man who thought he could do whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted without there being any consequences. Like it was his right.
In his eyes, women were objects and men were emperors.
Well, I couldn't wait to paint that vision of his black.
It took every ounce of self-control I had inside me not to go over there and shove one of my coworkers stiletto's down his throat.
I braced my hands on the bar and watched as blood trickled out of his nose, spilling onto the brown wooden table he was sitting at. The booth was small and crowded with men and two of my coworkers as they congratulated him on his win.
I turned my head and looked at the caged ring on the other side of the bar, grimacing in disgust as I took in all the blood. It was everywhere, and I swallowed thickly at the reminder that I would have to help clean it up tonight. Underground fights were held here almost every night, and my boss, William, got a heavy profit from his little side business.
It was most likely the reason why this job came so easily to me. William was an ex-con turned 'business' owner looking for someone to work the bar at his pub. I didn't see any problem with that, especially when he refrained from asking me anything about my background.
He worked for some bad people-bad people who put their money into these fights and expected a good outcome. Which was why when the prick sitting across the room cornered me on my break and groped my ass through my pants, he still got to fight tonight and walked away with a good sum of money.
The fucker had claimed that 'If I didn't want attention, I shouldn't wear jeans that hug my ass.". He also made it a point to demand that I be fired for punching him in the mouth, when really he should be thanking God that I didn't skin him raw.
William ended up offering him more money than he was initially supposed to get tonight, double the bets, just so that he wouldn't walk out on the fight and William wouldn't have to lose his bartender.
In his eyes, it was a win-win situation.
It was bullshit.
If it weren't for the fact that I was elbow deep in debt and had a shitload of bills to pay, I would've quit working at this dump a long time ago. I've been here a while, and I knew the downs that came with it. I'd done my research on this place before I stepped foot in here for the first time, and I was aware that a place like this wasn't exactly friendly for most girls.
You had to have a backbone and a high level of tolerance to put up with the shit that went on here.
I knew how to handle myself, but that didn't mean I was willing to take anybody's sh*t. I'd been silenced and tormented all my life, and I refused to let it happen again. Not if I had any say so.
Silence was the most horrifying scream of them all.
It was petrifying to have your voice stolen from you.
"Did you watch the fight?" I was torn out of my thoughts by a velvety, deep voice to the right of me. Looking up from the glass I was drying, I twisted my head and glanced at the man sitting at the end of the bar. He was wearing a dark hoodie over his head, preventing me from seeing much of his face, but I got half his profile: an angular jaw and sunken cheekbones with hair so dark that it almost appeared blue.
His hands were intertwined on top of the bar, and he cocked his head to the side, grinning from ear to ear. I took a look at the tattoos on his hands and then looked up at his face again. This guy obviously had no good intentions; I could practically smell it from a mile away.
"I didn't watch." I replied honestly, lifting my shoulder in a careless shrug. It was the truth; I didn't find that foolishness amusing.
"No?" He raised his eyebrow. "Well, you didn't miss anything." He paused. "Not enough blood. Those fuckers moved around each other like two scared pussies, and the other one taped out before anything good happened."
I held back my laugh. "I thought so."
He licked his teeth, nodding. After a few seconds of him staring at me like a weirdo, I slowly tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. "Is there something you wanted? Like, um, I don't know, a drink?" I asked pointedly, rapping my knuckles against the bar. I may have been coming off as a bitch, but I wasn't here to make friends.
Pretty Boy pouted, as if I'd hurt him, and put a hand over his heart. "Rude. Well, Bev, there is something you can do for me."
Warning: This book is really dark, filled with imaginations of darkness you can can think of. If you're below the age of 18. I advise you that you read with discretion. He stared at me with cold, dark eyes. Pushing me against the wall with his hand around my throat, he growled, "Do you know the ways I could fuck the answer out of you? The things I could do to you, can you imagine it? I'll ask you again, what did you see in my black bag?" His dark eyes were scary but the thought of fucking the truth out of me was entertaining, I replied confused and scared "No-, Nothing" Maximo, a scary-looking bulky guy and the leader of the most feared Mafia on earth fell victim to a prank which I do occasionally, especially to scary-looking people. It's like a test to know how much power I have as a woman but this time it went south as the man I decided to prank one rainy Friday night became a bone stuck in my throat for the rest of my days, I could not get him out. My lovely sharp bone. Aurora, a lovely girl, gentle on the outside but wild on the inside, plays men like cards but she can't to this man, Max Lucado. He was everything she wanted in a man
Juliet Avery's life took a drastic turn when she went from one confined existence to another. Forced into marriage with her father's business partner, Jamie Santos, she found herself bound to a man known for his immense wealth and striking good looks. However, beneath his charming exterior lurked a dark and sinister nature - Jamie was a ruthless Colombian Mafia Boss with a cruel streak and an unhealthy obsession with Juliet. Jamie's devotion to Juliet knew no bounds; he was willing to commit any atrocity, from mass killings to setting the world ablaze, at her mere request. But Juliet had no desire for this kind of life. His lavish lifestyle and the luxurious cage he provided were not what she had envisioned for her future. All Juliet yearned for was freedom, not to be shackled to a man consumed by insatiable desires. She found herself trapped in a gilded prison, longing for escape from the clutches of a beast whose affections she could never reciprocate.
"Bria's destiny is closely connected to the Alpha, and the red mark on her hand is clear proof of their special bond. Her tough journey began when the human government took her away when she was young. They trained her to be a weapon against the wolves. She knows her job well, and she's eager to go undercover as a failed kidnapping attempt to learn the wolves' secrets and hurt the Alpha. But, she didn't expect to meet an Alpha who would change everything she thought she knew. This Alpha tells her a different story from what she was taught, and introduces her to a community that goes against everything she believed."
Warning- This rated R, sexually explicit and gun and knife violence, reader's discretion is advised It all started when he was 19 and she was 17, teenagers in love who bared their souls without judgement from one another. Innocently, they thrived purely on love, but unknown to them, their families had other plans. Rather than letting them naturally thrive in true love, Danni had already arranged for Ghost at her tee that when she's older and a woman enough, she will become Ghost's wife. Giuseppe Giordano, popularly known as Ghost, was an heir had he had the time and has become ruthless and violent in approaching things that he doesn't trust, and Daniella Lopez is the innocent, beautiful woman who was betrayed by the Mafia boss. The Lopez and Giordano families had an agreement since their kids were young that they were going to give each other's children to one another once they came of age to strengthen the bond between both families. By the time she was of age, Ghost was invited to come and get his bride, despite the aggravations of her brothers, but it was to no avail. The union was rocky at first, as Ghost, who's been trained throughout his life to be cold-hearted and viscious, was to be married to the innocent and easy-going Daniella. Daniella didn't find Ghost any good for her, as he was never gentle with her and always treated women like commodities, but as time unravelled, she started to see him and see the Angel that was hiding behind the devil. This was the inception of a forever love story as Ghost, despite his shady and dark ways, became Daniella's knight in shining armour as she gradually shaped him to see the world and women differently.
"The King of Grita once found himself in a life-threatening situation, saved by a mysterious woman whose identity remained concealed, save for her enchanting deep green eyes. However, as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished overnight, leaving the King in a state of restlessness. On that fateful night, he owed his very life to her, and those captivating green eyes had stolen his heart. Years later, circumstances compelled the King to enter into a marriage arrangement with the daughter of a prominent general. To his astonishment, this young woman had the same bewitching green eyes that had haunted his memory since that life-altering night. The mysteries began to pile up. Two different women with the same mesmerising eyes—questions filled the King's mind. Who was that enigmatic woman who disappeared from his life years ago? Could it be possible that these two women were one and the same, and if so, why did they possess different appearances? As the King grappled with these unanswered questions, he embarked on a quest to unravel the secrets hidden behind those deep green eyes. Would he finally unveil the truth and solve the mystery that had haunted him for so long?"
"I'm Dimitri Kouris." This was the beginning of my demise. We were like a match made in heaven, I fell for his looks, he was everything i wanted in a man, from the moment he said hi, he stole my heart. I could go a second without thinking about Dimitri Kouris. The true definition of Handsomeness, strength and mystery . But contrary to the very many fairytales I've read and love at first sight tales I've heard, this was quite different. Started sweet, ended tragic, oh well!! thought it would but it continued and turned sweet again. A true tale of bittersweet. We were two heartbroken individuals happening to stumble into each others lives and our meeting completely changed our individual courses. Read to follow Cally and Dimitri's journey through these ups and downs as they fall in love but can't seem to escape their past lives. Calliope Bullock, the florist. Dimitri Kouris, the artist.
"It was just one night stand, and now I'm pregnant with triplets? Gosh!" Josephine Jade never thought that she would have to run away from her own family while pregnant. She was alone, without money, without connections, with three fetuses in her stomach. How can she survive? However, Josephine couldn't give up now, until she managed to reclaim her arbitrarily seized property and get back at everyone who tried to get rid of her. A sick child, a past crush that comes back, a mysterious eccentric man, and a family that hates her, will weave together the journey of Josephine Jade's new life. "You have no right to separate me from my children, you bastard! I will survive and you will submit to me. Just watch!"
Three years ago, the Moore family opposed Charles Moore's choice to marry his beloved woman and selected Scarlett Riley as his bride. Charles didn't love her. In fact, he hated her. Not long after they got married, Scarlett received an offer from her dream university and jumped on it. Three years later, Charles's beloved woman fell terribly ill. In order to fulfill her last wish, he called Scarlett back and presented her with a divorce agreement. Scarlett was deeply hurt by Charles's abrupt decision, but she chose to let him go and agreed to sign the divorce papers. However, Charles seemed to delay the process deliberately, leaving Scarlett confused and frustrated. Now, Scarlett was trapped between the consequences of Charles's indecision. Would she be able to break free from him? Would Charles eventually come to his senses and face his true feelings?
The Billionaire Betrayed Wife follows Rachael Morgan, an orphan whose search for love leads her into the ruthless world of the Blackwood family. Betrayed by her husband and tormented by her adoptive sister, Rachael's life spirals into chaos when she's cast out and left to survive on the streets, pregnant and alone. Just when all hope seems lost, a mysterious savior from her past rescues her, giving her the chance to heal and rebuild. Years later, she returns stronger, armed with a fierce desire for revenge. With her son by her side, Rachael will stop at nothing to destroy those who shattered her trust-even if it means risking everything to reclaim her life and her power.
"The entire wealthy circle in Seattle knew how much Stella Carlson loved Aaron Malone. People watched the childhood sweethearts grow from inexperience to maturity, finally getting married in a grand wedding ceremony. On the day of the wedding, despite the alliance between the Carlson and Malone families, the groom ran away. Stella knew that Aaron had rushed to L.A. to take care of his ex-girlfriend, who had attempted suicide. Unwilling to become the laughingstock of all Seattle, she gritted her teeth and dialed the number of her adversary, her tone almost commanding, "Ethan, come and marry me now. This is your only chance for revenge." On the other end, Ethan Powers raised an eyebrow as he gripped his phone, staring at the floor littered with cigarette butts. "Did the groom run away?" he asked. "My darling."
Five years ago, he upped and left his wife without informing her. He had always felt unworthy. As a result, he decided to go and become a better man. It took him five whole years of daily hard work. When he was satisfied, he returned as a powerful and honorable man. He intended to start a family with his wife. But he got back to meet the greatest shocker of his life. He actually had a daughter!
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."