I walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Maddie and Lena finishing up with breakfast. As soon as Maddie saw me, she waved. “Good morning. Where’s Ayla?”
“She’s still sleeping. I’m going to take our breakfast upstairs,” I said, nodding toward the tray.
“Oh.” Maddie raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes glistening mischievously, but I just glared. She shrugged. “I’ll set a tray for you,” she mumbled, tilting her face down as she hid her smile. Leaning against the wall, I waited for her. “There you go,” she said, giving me the tray.
Taking it from her hand, I turned around to leave. “Thank you,” I said before leaving the kitchen and making my way upstairs.
Closing the door behind me, I walked further into the room to find the bed empty. I frowned and placed the tray on the coffee table, looking around the room for Ayla.
“Ayla?” I called out.
When I heard the bathroom door open, I quickly swiveled around and saw Ayla coming out with a towel in her hand. She was dressed in her maid outfit.
“Alessio,” she breathed at the sight of me. “I thought you left.”
“I went to get us breakfast,” I muttered, walking toward her.
“Oh,” she whispered, looking down almost shyly. I found it endearing that she was feeling shy even after last night.
Placing a finger under her chin, I tilted her head up. “Why do you always look away from me?”
She bit down on her lips nervously, and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. With her soft body plastered against mine, I felt myself harden as I remembered the night before.
Ayla shrugged at my question and placed her hands over my chest. She licked her plump lips, and before I could stop myself, my lips were on hers.
Her lips were soft like velvet, and I licked the seams, demanding entrance. She gave in to my demands, and our tongues moved together in a fiery dance. She met my kiss with the same intensity, pushing her body closer to mine.
Ayla consumed me. Mind, body, and soul. She was right; she was fire, and I was going to burn. We were both going to burn.
Gasping for breath, we broke the kiss. Her fingers tightened around my suit jacket, and she sighed.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, pulling away.
She nodded with a smile and placed a hand over her stomach. “Famished.”
Taking her hand in mine, I walked us toward the sofa. I sat down and grasped her hips, pulling her to my lap. Ayla laughed and snuggled into my embrace.
“Are you going to feed me?” she teased, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Do you want me to feed you?”
“No.” She laughed.
I had to smile. The free and happy expression on her face was something I wanted to savor and never forget. Her laughter did something to my heart.
Her happiness made me happy. She calmed me. In the same way that I brought her peace, she brought me peace too. I haven’t felt peace since my mother’s death. It was now a foreign emotion. But with Ayla, I could forget all the darkness inside of me.
Placing a kiss on her forehead, I leaned forward and picked up a piece of biscuit and held it to her lips.
Ayla looked at me strangely and hesitated for a second before taking a bite. I alternated between feeding her bites of eggs, toast, and some fruit. “Do you want juice?” I asked, brushing away the crumbs that rested on the corner of her lips.
“Hmm…”
I was about to grab the glass when Ayla stopped me with a hand on my arm. “You haven’t eaten anything yet,” she murmured.
I chuckled low under my breath. I didn’t even realize that. Ayla smiled and then leaned forward, taking a piece of toast in her hand and slowly pressing it to my lips.
Surprise filled me, and I opened my mouth, letting her feed me the piece. Encouraged by my response, this time she took her turn to feed me. It was something unusual, but it felt intimate. This moment shared between us was something special.
As she brought the glass of juice to my lips, I stopped her. “What are you doing, Ayla?”
“I’m feeding you,” she replied, cocking her head to the side.
“Why?”
“Because I want to.” Ayla brought her other hand up and placed it over my cheek, rubbing her thumb back and forth. “I don’t know how to repay you for this, Alessio. For everything you’ve done for me. I guess I just want to do the little things I can, to let you know how I feel.”
She lightly caressed over my jawline and then pressed her fingers to my lips. “Sometimes words aren’t enough,” she whispered.
Her words did crazy things to my heart.
Ayla moved the glass closer, and I parted my lips for her. Our gaze never left each other as I drank from the glass. When I was done, she took a sip and then placed the glass on the tray.
She never ceased to amaze me.
Ayla stared at me for a few seconds, her expression changing from happy to uncertain. I saw her swallow hard, and then she leaned forward, quickly placing a kiss on my lips before moving back.
I felt an eyebrow arch in question, and she ducked her head timidly. I lifted her chin up and dipped my head, moving down until our lips were mere inches apart. Ayla’s eyes flared in surprise, and she leaned forward again until our lips were joined together.
The first touch of our lips felt electrifying, almost like the first time I kissed her. Every time I kissed her was like the first. Our kiss was light and exquisitely gentle. She sighed almost dreamily into my lips as we broke off the kiss.
Ayla made a little contented sound and snuggled deeper into my chest. She placed a kiss on my shoulder and rested her head there.
A sense of comfort filled my heart as I wrapped my arms around her. I never thought I would need this. Holding someone, just being like this. Silent but still connected. This wasn’t what I was looking for, but Ayla came crashing into my life and gave me something I didn’t even know I needed.
My father was right.
An angel is someone who is sweet, kind, caring, calm, and mellow. The most beautiful woman on the planet. Someone who is amazing in every way. She is the girl who makes your heart beat faster when she walks into the room. The girl you will need wherever you go. The girl who makes you want to be better. Angel is someone who is your rock.
I gave up hope of finding my Angel a long time ago. After I lost my mother, the only person who was my everything, I believed that Angels didn’t exist. I thought it was all a lie.
But Ayla…she truly was an Angel.
***
Walking into my office, I saw my men already waiting for me. Seeing them reminded me of who I actually was. For the past few days, I had been so lost in Ayla, only focusing on her. But now it was time to be Alessio Ivanshov. It wasn’t easy, leading almost a double life…an experienced and well-known businessman by day and a crime lord by night. But this was second nature for me. I was bred to do so since my first breath.
“Give me a brief summary of everything,” I demanded as I took a seat behind my table.
Nikolay leaned away from the wall and started. “I’ve done rounds through the clubs. Fifteen in all. Alberto has been quiet around them, and there has not been much activity from his men. The women are safe. As safe as they can be in a place like that.”
I nodded and looked at Artur. “What happened to the other women?”
He shook his head, dejection clear on his face. “We didn’t get there in time. There were kids with them too.”
Pounding a fist on the table, I stood up as fierce anger assaulted me. “How the fuck didn’t you get there in time? You knew about this for a week.”
“Boss, he knew we were spying. His men took a different route to deliver the women and the kids to the buyer.”
“Fuck!” I swore, raking my fingers through my hair in frustration. “How many?”
“About twenty women,” he said, looking down in defeat.
Alberto was part of a human trafficking ring. Because of his alliance with the Mexican cartel, it was too strong to stop.
I had just failed twenty women. Twenty women and kids I could have saved.
“You’re no longer in control of this job,” I growled at Artur. His head snapped up, and he stared at me in shock.
“Nikolay is taking over,” I said through gritted teeth. “Next time, I don’t want a fucking mistake on this.”
“Boss,” Nikolay nodded, his face filled with conviction.
“Viktor,” I snapped toward him.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on Alberto, and Mark called back with details,” he started calmly and then paused.
“Alberto is weak on his own, but if he had the other’s alliance, then he is much stronger. He’s in deep with the Mexican cartel. He wants to expand his empire. He knows the only way to weaken you is by getting the others on his side, business-wise.”
Sitting down, I rubbed a hand over my face, my body vibrating with rage and a thirst for my enemies’ blood. Squeezing my hands in first, I closed my eyes. I thought about asking for support from the other Families.
Even though I was the Pakhan, the Boss—the Russian Mafia consisted of four families in all. They would come to my help if asked…but I had to deal with this shit on my own. For now.
When I heard the door, my eyes snapped open to see Phoenix coming in. “Boss,” he greeted with a nod.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Viktor asked, looking at Phoenix in astonishment. I was wondering the same thing.
The right side of Phoenix’s face was red, quickly turning purple and forming a bruise, and his nose was bleeding a little.
“Maddie punched me,” he stated calmly, his face expressionless.
Artur’s face turned stoic at the mention of Maddie’s name, and he turned to Phoenix, moving into his face. “What did you do to her?”
Phoenix stood up straighter, his shoulders bunching tensely. His eyes turned a shade darker as he replied, acting almost nonchalant. “Why don’t you ask her?”
Artur’s expression was almost murderous, but Nikolay quickly stepped in. “Phoenix, what is the meaning of this?”
Instead of answering, he turned to me and reported back. “There was a fight at one the clubs. Two were badly injured. The mess was cleaned up before the police came. Everything is clear.”
I nodded. “What about the underground rings?”
“The underground rings are running perfectly. We got two more fighters. They’re really good. The best, I would say,” Phoenix replied. “They fight for blood.” And that was exactly what the underground rings were about. Blood. Either death or win. We could make millions in one night. Easy fucking money.
Nodding, I closed my eyes and leaned back against my chair. I didn’t have to say anything else. They knew the meeting was finished. I heard my men shuffling around and the door opening.
“Viktor,” I called out without opening my eyes.
“Yeah?”
“Call Lyov and Isaak.”
Maybe I needed their help.
Viktor swore under his breath but didn’t say anything else. The door closed and then silence.
The silence was almost suffocating, and my skin prickled with tension. I clenched my hands in fists and then unclenched them again. Doing that for some time, I tried to control the monster inside of me.
Ayla’s face suddenly flashed behind my closed eyes. Just the thought of her calmed me, and I felt the rage slowly diminish.
Angel.