Fallen Royal

Book 4: Mafia Royals

by Rachel Van Dyken

Genres: New Adult Romance; Romantic Suspense; Romantic Suspense; New Adult romance; mental illness; mafia romance; Italian Mafia

Synopsis

I grew up knowing it would happen one day. Believing that I would fall into my father's footsteps and become a monster of my own making. So I fought it. I lived. I loved. I teased. And then one day . . . I destroyed. And realized I loved the pain. Obsessed over the feeling. So I cut again and again and again.



She saw my rage, my madness, and tried to stop me from destroying myself, and I hated her for it, pushing her away past the point of no return.



Izzy Abandonato was supposed to be mine. But there are some things people can never come back from. I hurt her, she hurt me, and now I'm living a lie. Telling the ones I love that I'm on one side when for years I've been forced to play both. I'm no angel. I've fallen. And I may single-handedly bring down the Cosa Nostra—by default.



I, Maksim Sinacore, will have my vengeance. I will win her back. Even if it means I have to kill everyone in my path.



The pain masks the betrayal. I never realized that one day—I'd be the very rat that I hated. That I was sent to kill. But once you're deep in a lie—you'll do anything to hide the truth.



She fell for the bad one. She fell for the sinner. So why does that make me smile?



Contains mature themes.

Release date: October 5, 2021

Publisher: Van Dyken Enterprises INC

Print pages: 264

Sample

Author Note

 

This is the fourth Mafia Royals Romance standalone; I know you probably already know that since you picked up this book, but hey, let’s just repeat it again! ;) If you recognize some of the names in this book, it’s because back in 2010, I wrote a series called Eagle Elite, and the parents in this series are the OG’s of Eagle Elite. That series got extremely long (as you can imagine), so I decided we needed fresh blood back at Eagle Elite University, and that started with Ruthless Princess and continues the saga with Scandalous Prince and Destructive King and now drumroll Fallen Royal.

If you are an EE fan, then this is the part where you may nerd out and want a family tree; I have that on the very next page, NEVER FEAR! If you’re new, just scroll on by, it won’t matter to you, haha, and you’ll be like yeah, I don’t care. And you don’t NEED to know any backstory, because again, this is a new series (do you like how I keep repeating that), oh by the way, it’s a new series.

So if you’ve made it this far, this is the part where I tell you what I always tell you, and that’s that this book is very different from the others in a way that’s unique to Maksim and his journey.

This book will make you laugh because Maksim has such an amazing personality. You might shed a few tears in between—going, what the heck am I reading? I’m not gonna lie a few times, I was like, what the heck am I writing?

This book stretched me probably more than any other book I’ve written since Elude. I’m so proud of the finished product and can’t wait for you to read it!

 

Up Until Now Review…

Junior and Serena almost died for their love, total enemies to lovers romance where bad things happen, but in the end, they survive. As all of the second-generation young adults are at Eagle Elite, they soon realize that someone wants to kill them—and they’re out for blood, sending anything from bombs to warnings like white stuffed horses. Valerian and Violet are also together, and he’s now taken over as the boss of another family. Ash’s book focuses on his emotions after being threatened with his fiancé all over again, which brings us to Maksim and Izzy, our fun-loving science and math nerds, as Maksim tries to pull the pieces back together—he just might have to get his hands covered in blood to do it.

Who’s Who in the Cosa Nostra

 

Nixon and Trace Abandonato. Nixon is the boss of the Abandonato Family; he's a bit psycho, has a lip ring, and in his mid-forties, looks like a freaking badass. Think if Jason Momoa and Channing Tatum had a baby. SURPRISE, Nixon! Trace is the love of his life. Nixon’s daughter, Serena, is his pride and joy; she's the heir to his throne and in love with Junior Nicolasi. His adopted son Dom is ten years older than Serena. At thirty and married to Tanit, he's ready to step in if he needs to, but he really doesn't want to, not that he's thinking about a family of his own. Nixon’s youngest, Bella, was a most welcome surprise.

Phoenix and Bee Nicolasi (formerly De Lange) have one son, Junior, and he's everything. The same age as Serena, he has only ever had one thing on his mind. Her. And now he has her. Pursuing her was like signing his own death sentence. The one rule that the bosses gave all the cousins, all the kids, no dating each other, it complicates things. They all took a blood oath. But he risked it all, for just one taste—and is still here to tell about it (Ruthless Princess).

Which brings us to Chase and Luciana Abandonato; their love story is one for the ages. He had Violet first, gorgeous, Violet Emiliana Abandonato, now married to her own boss Valerian Petrov (Scandalous Prince). And then he had twins, God help him. Asher (Marco) and Izzy. All are attending Eagle Elite University. Violet is more into books than people. And the twins… well, they are polar opposites. While Izzy is quiet and reserved, taking after her uncle Sergio in the tech support part of the mafia, Asher was an assassin at age twelve. He takes care of everyone even though he's younger than Serena and Junior. Falling in love with Annie has made his protective streak even stronger. And don’t forget the baby of the family, Ariel, who everyone dotes on.

Tex and Mo Campisi. He's the godfather of this joint, gorgeous, he's a gentle giant unless he's pissed, and his wife, Mo, is just as violent as he is. They have two sons, Breaker and King. Breaker, their adoptive son, is really Valerian Petrov. He just took over as the boss of the Petrov (Russian) Family, releasing Andrei Petrov Sinacore from that role. He’s now married to Violet Abandonato, the love of his life (Scandalous Prince). On the other hand, King is vying for top whore at Eagle Elite University, going as far as to seduce his own older… tutor (that he doesn’t need).

Sergio and Valentina are also Abandonatos. While Val is quiet and reserved, Sergio is the resident doctor of the Families. He's also really into tech and loves spying on people. They have two gorgeous daughters. Kartini has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. He just hopes he survives her first year of college without shooting one of her boyfriends like her newest obsession Tank De Lange. With Lydia, he knows she can take care of herself. She already beat up the class bully, making Sergio quite proud.

Dante and El don't have things easier; they're one of the younger mafia families, he's the head of the Alfero Family. And he has two twin girls at age eleven who are making him pull his hair out. Raven and Tempest are adorable, but they're feisty like their mom. He lets them have more screen time than he should, but they say he's their favorite in the world, sooooo… he lets it pass.

Andrei and Alice have been through a lot. Their name single-handedly brought the Russian Mafia into the Italian fold then successfully handed over the Russian throne to the true rightful heir, Valerian. Andrei is both Petrov and Sinacore, meaning that the oldest Italian mafia family is now part of the Cosa Nostra. Forever and will stay that way if he has anything to say about it. Their son's name is Maksim, and weirdly enough, he's a total flirt; he takes nothing seriously but can flip a switch in a minute if someone he loves is threatened. Anya is his little sister, and he would do anything for her; she seems fragile but studies Krav Maga, so nobody messes with her.

These are the Families of the Cosa Nostra.

Welcome to the Family.

Blood in. No out.

Mafia Royals

Mafia Royals Romances

Royal Bully

Prologue

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” —Edgar Allan Poe

Maksim

 

I fell in love with her when it was right. We were throwing mud, she got some in my eyes, and I was convinced that I was going to go blind at eleven. So I chased her.

She threw more mud and said, literally—"you’ll survive.”

Also at eleven, I milked my first goat with her.

She loved it.

So did I. Because I was with her because our parents were trying to give us normal in a world where normal wasn’t a word that could ever be used.

My goat at the time decided to strike and kicked me, leaving me running around screaming like a little bitch.

“They’re the devil!” I yelled.

She helped me.

We laughed.

And I knew.

I just knew.

Any girl who could survive a scandal like goat gate was a winner.

But I also knew the rules our parents—the bosses—had given us.

No dating within the Families.

It could potentially cause too much turmoil.

It could cause death.

War.

And I tried.

I really did.

I tried to stay away from her. Knew my love for her could hurt her, hurt us. I could hurt us.

So, I became what she needed, even what I needed to stay sane.

And then, one day, it all changed. One day I was given a shit choice. I didn’t tell a soul.

I just got on a plane.

I did the job just as her father ordered me to.

And that’s where my story with Izzy Abandonato ends and begins.

With my lie.

Her truth.

Our pain intertwined.

I killed for them.

I nearly died for them.

And it wasn’t until that first drop of blood fell that they all realized how good I was at it.

And despite my earlier qualms… it felt good…

Right.

Incredible.

My job wasn’t to save lives.

It was to end them.

I just never realized I’d be damned in the process.

You want to know my story?

Hers?

Ours?

Then start at the beginning when everything went to shit.

And I killed my own love story with their bullet.

***

 

Six months previous…

 

“I don’t think I can do what he’s asking me.” I start to count down from ten and take a deep breath.

Nine. Nikolai, otherwise known as The Doctor to both the Russian and Italian mafia Families, is pacing in front of me.

I use his pacing as a way to even my breathing. I count his steps; I feel better when I count.

Eight. Nikolai holds his Makarov pistol in his right hand. Blood is caked on his fingers.

Maybe in another life I would have counted the splatters.

But not now.

Now things are different.

I’m different.

I didn’t make this choice.

She did.

I want to hold her close and tell her I’m sorry. I want to marry her and have a family with her. I want to finish college and get drunk off my ass with the only girl who’s ever held my heart.

The only girl I’ve ever wanted.

Seven. I keep counting. It’s the number of people I’ve been told—not asked—to kill in order to follow in my father’s footsteps.

If I want to take over the Sinacore Family one day, I have to leave behind everything that makes me who I am, Maksim Sinacore, son of both Russian and Italian blood.

Six. Nikolai begins pacing again; a fire crackles in the distance.

Five. I hold still.

“Are you sure about this?” Nikolai sets down his gun and opens a black case. A small vial filled with clear liquid is picked up along with a syringe. “It isn’t exactly FDA approved.”

“I have no choice.” I feel tears at the loss of what should have been and what no longer can be.

I’m outside my body almost.

I’m afraid.

And fear, in the mafia, makes you hesitate, it makes you a target—I can’t be afraid anymore, but I’m not like my cousins—they tried to make me into a killer, but I’m the guy that hesitates when it comes to punching.

I’m the cousin that prefers libraries to torture chambers.

The guy that saves a spider—always thinking twice about killing and death.

Sometimes I wonder if I was born into the wrong family.

But then I see her, and I’m reminded of all the reasons I have to do whatever it takes to stay by her side—even if it means taking a drug that’s not approved by the FDA. Besides, it’s Nikolai Blazik; he won a fucking Nobel prize at nineteen, along with a dozen kills under his belt.

He’s the only one I can tell.

The only one I can go to.

The only one who can fix the heir to the Sinacore throne.

I have to make him proud.

And I have to earn Izzy Abandonato at all costs.

Four. He fills the syringe.

I close my eyes. “If this goes badly, tell Izzy—”

“None of that shit,” Nikolai says in that calm, emotionless voice of his. “You’ll blend fine.”

Three. Three taps against the syringe.

Two. Two squirts of liquid as he pushes.

One.

One needle.

One life about to be changed.

One monster—being made.

“Do it,” I whisper, closing my eyes.

“It’s not the only way.” He hesitates.

“Do it.” I grit my teeth.

The needle pinches my arm, cold flows down to my fingertips. My body starts to shake uncontrollably as Nikolai stands in front of me and snaps his fingers, then whispers, “Let’s begin.”

Chapter One

“It was thus rather the exacting nature of my aspirations than any particular degradation in my faults, that made me what I was, and, with even a deeper trench than in the majority of men, severed in me those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man’s dual nature.” —Robert Louis Stevenson

Maksim

Present…

 

I clench my hands over and over again.

The blood is gone, just like the body.

Izzy is sleeping next to me; I doubt she would hear a gunshot even if it was right next to her head, jolting her into chaos. She looks calm.

At peace.

The opposite of the war I have inside my soul, the monster is closer now, clawing, waiting to break free.

He warned me.

I should have listened.

But I knew how I had to do this; I knew that there was only one way—which is why I went to Nikolai in the first place.

He’s the only one who knows what happened that night and the ramifications of my choice since then.

He’s the only one who can monitor what I’ve done. He takes notes over every symptom, every emotion, and when the beast breaks free, I find myself resenting the calculating interest he has as he scribbles down notes then forces me to do the same.

Nobody knows I’m sick, and I intend to keep it that way—to keep my secrets from my cousins, the bosses, and the girl I love until death takes me, which, if Nikolai’s suspicions are to be believed, might just be sooner rather than later.

I always imagined that I would die young, not just because I was in line to become the next Sinacore boss, one of the most powerful families in the Cosa Nostra.

But because I don’t have the stomach for it.

I’m more lover than fighter.

I like fucking science. I mean, let me build a bomb before I pull a gun, and I’m giddy as hell—complete nerd, or as Izzy calls me, hot nerd with too much charisma. Whatever.

The bed moves as I sneak out of her room. A low creak on the floor makes its presence known. I wince, looking over my shoulder at Izzy one last time before opening the bedroom door and making my way down the hall.

I somehow feel like a werewolf ready to howl at the full moon. My body itches, it always itches now, and no matter how relaxed I am in my sleep, I always wake up clenching my fists, with tears running down my cheeks and absolutely no recollection of anything—until I read my journal.

I thought it would be easier this way.

Separating the violence.

My need to kill from my need to save and protect.

Now I know better.

Now I know the truth.

I have become the very thing I have always feared, and I have nobody to blame but myself.

I think about telling my best friend King—but he would probably shoot me in the face if he knew the truth on top of the fact that I was still sneaking into Izzy’s room.

Damn it, he’s the reason their dad cut down the tree I used to climb, so now I have to execute every break-in with stealth and, well, science. I have a way of sneaking past everyone and everything.

Letting out a sigh, I make my way silently down the hall and into the kitchen. Naturally, because the odds have been against me ever since that day, Chase, Izzy’s dad, scary as fuck US Senator and all-around assassin, is sitting at the table, sipping his whiskey and staring at the wall like it holds state secrets.

I curse under my breath and stop walking. By my calculations, I won’t make it past the table without him pulling a gun on me. Even if I duck, scramble, or pull my own gun, I simply won’t make it, so there’s no need to make a mess of their kitchen.

“Heard you the minute her door opened.” Chase takes another sip. “Haven’t fixed that creak for a reason.” He points to the chair across from him. “Sit.”

“Fuck.” I wipe down my face, exhausted from the medicine and long nights that have me waking up covered in blood.

“Heard that too.” Chase looks up, his neck tattoos gleaming in the small kitchen light. His lips pull back into a broad white tooth smile that looks more concerned than predatory.

Strange.

I narrow my eyes.

Either way, I’m screwed, so I pull the chair out and sit, leaning forward, resting my arms on my knees.

I know I look exhausted.

“I cut down the tree.” He starts with that? Really?

I freeze and lick my lips as my heart starts to pound, always a bad thing since any time my blood pressure rises, the medicine goes, in Nikolai’s words, haywire. “I’m aware.”

“And yet…” His blue eyes flash. “Here you are.”

“Had homework.” I try, then lean back. “Plus, I’m the science guy; she’s the math girl.”

He barks out a laugh. “It’s fucking adorable that you’d still try to use that excuse when you smell like…” He leans in. “…her, you smell like her.”

“Her room, her smell.” I shrug with a smile. “You’re more than welcome to go searching for condoms, though, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

I might get murdered tonight by the look he’s giving me.

“Watch the attitude, Maksim. Even though it doesn’t seem like it, this is how I treat people I actually like.”

Well shit.

“I haven’t touched her since…” I swallow and look down at my hands. They’re trembling, and I swear I can still see blood there even though they’re clean. “Not for lack of trying, though, on her part, just so you’re aware she’s a little tigress with—”

He kicks his chair back, reaches across the table, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me toward him over the smooth surface until I’m inches from his face looking into his eyes, waiting for my inevitable punishment for having a big mouth and zero censor most days.

“You’re a bold little shit.”

I grin, because hey, I’m going to die anyway, right? “Part of my charm. Hey, you gonna drink that whiskey or—”

“Shut up.”

I smile again. “If you aren’t going to share, can I go?”

“No.” His nostrils flare, and then his body seems to relax, which frankly terrifies me more than the anger. “Actually… I have another job for you.”

Here we fucking go…

“You got your passport on you?”

“Yeah.”

He still wasn’t letting me go.

His eyes were crazed.

He shoves me away. I quickly move to my feet and wait for his instructions. Funny how this was how it started six months ago, with me sneaking out of Izzy’s room and him saying I had to prove my loyalty.

He single-handedly drove me toward insanity without realizing it.

“Brazil.” He doesn’t look up. “I’ll text you the address. Prove to me you have what it takes to exist in my daughter’s universe, and I won’t kill you for going against the rules—again.”

I feel the shakes then.

They spread up my hands and into my shoulders, forcing me to clench my teeth and close my eyes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

I exhale.

“Is it getting worse?” he asks, finally meeting my gaze.

“It can’t get much worse than death, Chase.” My voice sounds different now, with a raspier quality that reminds me I need to grab more medicine from my house before I leave for Brazil.

“What does Nikolai say?” he presses.

I shrug. “He’s a great doctor, but that doesn’t mean he can find a way to cheat death.”

If only.

“How long?” Chase asks the one question I’ve been avoiding.

I shrug again.

He stands and holds out his hand. “For what it’s worth, I appreciate what you’ve done for the Family—for Ash.” His voice cracks. “I could have never asked him…”

I shake his hand quickly and offer a sad smile. “I’d do anything for my family—and I needed to get used to killing before my dad tosses that heavy crown onto my head.”

Chase looks through me. “And if you’re no longer able to take over?”

It pains me to say this out loud.

It pains me to think about leaving everyone and everything I love.

But this is business.

I’m only twenty-one, and I’m talking about my successor. Fuck, I need a drink.

“Then, I guess you better let me marry your daughter,” I say, watching his eyes go wide with shock. “So, when it’s time to pass the crown, I can make her a giant-ass tiara.”

“You wouldn’t.”

I stare him down. “Every kingdom needs a leader. And every fallen royal… deserves to leave behind a Queen.”

He’s quiet. “I’ve underestimated you.”

“Perhaps.” I nod. “But that’s another part of my charm.” I grin as warmth courses through me. I start to see double and feel myself slipping as I whisper, “It’s why I’m the most lethal assassin you will ever have. It’s always the quiet ones. Now…” I’m almost gone, completely out of it. “Let me play.”

I barely remember leaving his house.

I stumble against the driver’s side of my black BMW M3 and claw at the door.

Once I’m in, I open the console and grab the vial and a clean syringe. I watch my reflection in the rearview mirror; my eyes are nearly black, swallowing up the blue whole.

A sting erupts in my arm, and the cold spreads down my veins.

I hate being cold.

Always cold.

Teeth chattering, I wait for the heat to leave and toss the medicine onto the seat.

Brazil it is.

 

***

Days later, I sit in my room and stare at my hands.

I crumple to the floor, exhausted, disgusted, shaking.

A knock sounds on my door.

I barely hear it.

King barges in. “Bro, been calling you for three days. Where’d you go?”

I shake my head.

I can’t stop shaking it.

“Maks?”

I swallow the heat in my throat.

It hurts.

It hurts like I’ve swallowed someone’s soul, and I’m holding it hostage in my throat.

“Maks?” He tries again.

I jerk away from him, not trusting myself, not trusting the pleasure, the pain, the sickness that makes me well.

“I met the devil last night,” I whisper instead. He doesn’t know that it was my own reflection.

“What did he tell you?” His voice trembles as if playing the same game when he isn’t even on the roster.

I rock back and forth and finally whisper, “He said welcome home.”

Chapter Two

“Someday, Utterson, after I am dead, you may perhaps come to learn the right and wrong of this. I cannot tell you.” —Robert Louise Stevenson

Izzy

 

I’ve been in love with Maksim ever since he walked up to me when we were ten and offered to build me an ant farm.

It was a defining moment in my young life.

I’d always loved insects, and yes, at one point I was guilty of doing the whole let's grab a magnifying glass and see how long it takes to set the little guys on fire thing, only to be told by my judgmental killer dad that it was wrong and considered torture.

I vaguely remember that he’d been wiping blood from his hands at the time and was sporting a black eye and cracked tooth.

Mafia.

The double standard was unreal with the bosses, my dad included. Careful, Izzy, don’t kill the grasshopper. Oh look, Uncle Sergio has another tally mark tattoo on his body; what does that make this? His fiftieth kill?

This discussion happened over freaking Thanksgiving the following year when I asked my twin Ash to pass me the rolls.

The best and worst part was that it’s completely normal to have those types of conversations at the table. I’d like to think it’s what’s kept the five families strong throughout the years, the complete inability to censor any and every conversation, even in front of the kids.

They never shielded us from what they did, and they never justified why people had to die, just that it was in order for us to live; that was the agreement.

Most of my cousins and I wouldn’t trade our way of life for the world—until recently when it started going to hell.

First, with my cousin Serena and my friend, Junior, the heir to the Nicolasi throne. Yeah, that was bad, so bad.

They nearly died for their love and all because, you guessed it, double standards.

The dads all made a pact with the kids—mainly the heirs—a blood pact that none of the heirs would date, and that unfortunately extended to me as well. In this life you never knew and now that Vi was with Valerian, it falls to me and Ash, since we were twins. If anything happened to him, well, I’d like to think that pesky double standard wouldn’t exist, and I would take over as underboss or at least the leader of my Family even though Uncle Nixon was the boss.

The next to fall were Violet and Valerian—long, complicated story.

That story was cheerfully followed by Ash and Annie, another complicated story that nearly ended in bloodshed, not to be outdone by Kartini and Tank just a few months ago.

Mostly everyone had someone.

Except for me and King, the Capo’s heir, and last remaining guy, and the younger kids who were just now starting high school,

I refused to count Maksim for obvious reasons that gave me a headache when I started tallying them. It always made my chest ache, and I hated being so upset over something I had no control over.

I sighed and checked my phone again.

He was late.

He was never late until a few months ago when he started sleepwalking like a psychopath and saying things that made absolutely no sense—to the point that he wasn’t the same Maksim anymore.

I mean, I always knew that when his father asked him to step up, things would get a bit crazy. He’s a Sinacore-Petrov, after all, the perfect mixture of Italian loyalty and Russian aggression.

But this felt different—scary even.

And every time I asked him if he was okay, he’d laugh it off like he did everything and change the subject.

I was resorting to looking through his room and phone—it only happened once, but I suddenly felt like the crazy jealous girlfriend even though we weren’t dating.

No, he shut that down this last year.

He’d hurt me.

He’d made me cry.

He’d made me scream.

He’d made me feel like I wasn’t special anymore.

I expected someone that gorgeous wouldn’t just sleep with me and marry me at the age of eighteen. I just didn’t expect the manwhore to start fucking anything with two legs then come scrambling back with fake apologies and smiles as if what he did was suddenly okay now that he’d experienced the world outside of his very first relationship with yours truly.

I was almost relieved when my dad went and chopped down the tree Maksim had used to climb into my window.

Now he snuck through the front door.

I swallowed, trying to get past the knot in my throat as I checked my phone again, waiting for his text or call. He’d promised a few nights ago to meet me for our Environmental Science project, and I felt dumb just standing near the door to the Science Building on the Eagle Elite Campus by myself.

I was by myself a lot lately.

Now that everyone was dating, I’d just kind of faded into the background. They still checked in on me, and I still spent time with Kartini and Serena, especially when Violet was visiting from Seattle, but it was different too.

Everything was different.

Leaves were drifting down from the trees on campus, giving it a picture-perfect autumn look that had me at least smiling a little bit.

I checked my phone again. I was giving that little shit, aka Maksim, exactly two more minutes before bailing and grabbing a coffee or muffin, maybe even two cookies with the muffin.

I did a little turn, scanning for an approaching figure and finding none, then told myself crying would fix nothing and that I was going to murder Maksim if he was late and smelling like perfume.

He’d done that exactly once. I’d held a knife to his dick with tears in my eyes, and let’s just say I’m the least violent of the second generation of the Cosa Nostra. I mean, other than the insect incident, I was interested in math, science, tech, and how things worked.

It was what had solidified Maksim and me after the insects; our love for science fairs and aversion to blood.

Something he’d grown out of as of late.

I shuddered, remembering the bloody shirt I’d found in his hamper when looking for the old Eagle Elite sweatshirt I liked to steal from him.

He said he’d been fighting in the ring with Ash, but I knew the truth—Ash wasn’t fighting as much anymore, busy having as much sex as humanly possible and making sure everyone knew about it.

I made a face.

“Wow, that was pretty.” Maksim appeared as if by magic, holding his cell phone up. “Do it one more time. Swear I won’t text it to everyone in the family.” His smile was both seductive and sweet. “Come on, one more time, I think you have something in your teeth—PS, is that a zit on your chin?”

How the hell had I ever put up with him in the first place?

I glared. “You’re late.”

He sauntered toward me wearing his Eagle Elite uniform—black pants that hugged his thick thighs, a black jacket with the eagle emblem over the right chest, and his white button-down shirt opened, revealing a bit of tattoo on his chest that claimed his Family birthright.

Petrov Sinacore.

The coat of arms.

It was larger than the other guys’, even my brother’s—because his heritage was both Italian royalty—no joke—mixed with Russian terror, also known as the bloodiest mafia line of them all.

“Button your shirt.” I looked away, remembering the way my hands used to rake down his back while he sucked and licked, tugged at my clothes, or that one time last year when he’d just lifted my skirt and shoved me into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re blushing.”

I sighed. “Let’s just get this over with. I have things to do.”

“Who is he?” His expression went from teasing to murder. “Who are you doing?”

“God, Maks, do you really have a death wish? I brought my knife today!” I stomped my foot. “I just need to get this done. The world, shocking I know, doesn’t actually revolve around you because you’re pretty!”

“Aw, she called me pretty.” He grinned. “I’m touched. I actually wore a different shirt than normal, glad you noticed.”

I said nothing, even though my brain went, We always notice, Maksim. Just like I saw the dark circles under his eyes and the way his full lips were trying to smile when it looked like he wanted to frown.

I changed the subject and sat on the bench by the tree, dropping my bag on the ground. “I already wrote my part of the paper. You only have to do the last three pages with the conclusion.”

He followed and sat. “And what was our conclusion?” One of his hands moved to my bare thigh and stayed there, warm against my skin.

And I forgot how to breathe.

He leaned in. “Come on, Izzy, you normally have all the answers.” His hand inched higher. “So, what’s our conclusion?”

“That…” I mentally shook myself. “You—”

“Maksim!” Jenna shouted so loud my ears started to ring. “There you are. You ready?”

“Ready?” I repeated, shoving his hand away from my thigh.

Maksim stiffened briefly, then turned and flashed her a smile and a wink. “One minute, Jenna.”

She pouted then got on her phone. “You guys and your weird homework hard-ons. I need to film a TikTok anyway for my followers.”

I literally had to restrain myself from launching across the bench and slapping her across her flawless face.

So what? She had two million followers on TikTok.

I didn’t even have it, but I did have a cousin who could make anything look like an accident.

“Stop…” Maksim said under his breath. “You’re not putting a hit on her, Izzy.”

“What? Hm?” I said innocently.

“I know that smile; been on the receiving end of it a lot lately.” Maksim actually looked sad. “She’s just a girl.”

I jerked back.

His eyes widened. “You know that’s not—”

 

“You’re just a girl, Iz,” Maksim spat. “An afraid, little girl. I need something more, don’t you get it? You’re too good, too innocent, you’re just…” He cursed. “A girl. A girl I can’t have anymore. All right?”

“Is there someone else?” I asked through the tears.

We’d literally just had sex in my bedroom when he started putting his clothes on and telling me it was over, and then the bomb dropped.

“I fucked someone else.” He said it so quietly I almost didn’t hear him.

I didn’t realize I had reached for the gun in my nightstand until he held his hands up, his eyes trained on mine. “Put the gun down, Iz.”

“No.” I gritted my teeth. “I hate you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I hate you!”

Maksim’s posture stiffened. “Good.”