Captive by the Mafia - Book cover

Captive by the Mafia

Rachel Van Dyken

Chapter One

The Pier killer is at it again, claiming its first victim in two years… —The Seattle Tribune.

Maya

The clock in the corner chimed noon. I waited in anticipation for the doors to open. His secretary had said he'd be out in five minutes.

It had been six, not that I was crazy OCD or anything, I was just a bit freaked out that I was about to meet the ~Nikolai Blazik~. He was considered a god in the medical community.

And he was considered royalty if you asked anyone else.

Graduated with honors from Harvard at the ripe old age of fifteen, went on to get a degree in Human Sciences and Technologies, which basically meant he was a certified genius.

His research on disease and its effects on the body gave him the freaking Nobel Prize at nineteen.

Which was naturally followed by a cover on Time Magazine, followed by Forbes, I think you get the picture. He was ridiculously smart and extremely hard to pin down for an interview.

The only reason he was even giving me the time of day was because my father had made a call, and my master's thesis was based on Mr. Blazik's newest research on STDs.

I exhaled and looked at the clock again.

Eight minutes.

He was three minutes late.

What if he wasn't going to do the interview? I needed to finish my thesis in order to graduate—and I had to graduate in order to pay off my student loans.

Regardless of how much money and power my father had, he was adamant that I make my own way.

Except in this particular situation.

I'd had to damn near sell him my own kidney in order for him to arrange the meeting. Leaving wasn't an option.

He'd told me no on several occasions and then finally, picked up the phone this morning and said to be at the Blazik offices downtown at noon.

I wasn't sure why he'd finally given in after all these years of basically ignoring me. My family was dysfunctional. I stopped trying to figure them out years ago.

My brother Pike had died a few weeks ago, leaving my mother heartbroken, and it was always rumored that my sister had been killed by another crime family when she was an infant, leaving just me.

I felt like the disappointment of the bunch, not that my father ever said a word about me being a disappointment.

His words were always brittle, cold, and indifferent, I would have killed for some sort of emotion from the guy, but I had nothing but empty smiles and arched eyebrows.

With another sigh I tucked my dark brown hair behind my ears and drummed my fingertips along my black skirt.

I'd put on my new Nordstrom business suit, hoping it would give me confidence, and when that failed to work—after I looked in the mirror and saw the petrified look on my face—I put on a red thong and crossed my fingers.

Underwear always did the trick. Like a secret nobody knew about… I could walk in the office confident that although I looked prim and proper on the outside—I was scandalous underneath.

The phone ringing caused me to almost fall out of my chair.

“Miss Petrov?”

I stood, my knees hitting the glass table in front of me. “Yes?”

Her smile was tight, almost as tight as the bun currently torturing her hair. “He’s waiting.”

He’s waiting? As if I was the one that was late and had been sitting here wasting ~his~ time?

“Thank you,” I managed to choke out, making my way toward the large black doors.

She opened both of them, making my entrance look a lot more grand than it really was.

Floor to ceiling windows lined every inch of wall except for the one behind me leading back into the lobby.

A large oak conference table was in the left corner and a desk that looked more like a spaceship about ready to take flight than an actual desk had been placed in the very middle of the room.

Two black leather couches rested against the right wall with a white fur rug topping off the masculine look.

The office screamed money.

And for some reason that made it seem cold.

The door clicked shut behind me.

I did a circle, my heels clicking against the marble tile. “Um, hello?”

“Um,” came a dark menacing voice from somewhere in the room I couldn’t locate. “Isn’t a word. Try again.”

“My name is—”

“I know who you are,” the voice snapped impatiently. “Now, try again.”

I tried to get my shaking under control, hoping it wouldn’t show through with my next few words. “Where would you like me to sit? For your interview?”

Static-filled silence followed for a few seconds before I heard a sharp, irritated exhale.

“Are there not enough options, Miss Petrov?”

I licked my lips and glanced quickly around the room trying to decide what would be best; finally, I settled on the couch, setting my purse on the floor and pulling out my notebook.

“Interesting.” The voice contained little humor, and I would bet my right eye he found my choice in seating anything but interesting. Whatever, not my problem.

I had expected him to be nicer, or at least, you know, present?

Did he get off by acting like the Great and Powerful Oz? I still didn’t know where the heck he was or why he was choosing not to show his face.

First, he’s late.

Then it’s somehow my fault.

And now he’s mocking me from afar.

Screw you, Oz. I clicked my pen and waited.

“I would have taken you for a conference table type of girl,” the smooth voice said, this time sounding closer. “Then again, the couches are more comfortable.”

I opened my mouth, but words didn’t come out.

Instead, a croak or a crackle or something that sounded a lot like a strangled gasp emerged when Mr. Blazik walked through what I’d thought was a wall but was actually a door leading into another part of the office.

Shirtless.

Well not shirtless, I mean he had a shirt on—high-end black silk—but it wasn't buttoned. He was in the process of doing that, covering taut abs and well-defined pecs.

And I was watching him.

Shamelessly.

I quickly averted my eyes and stared at the blank notebook in front of me as my cheeks sizzled with awareness.

His approach was silent. I couldn't hear him, but I felt him, felt his body heat. Still I didn't look up. I studied his nice Italian shoes, black, shiny, they looked new, expensive.

“Are you planning on interviewing my feet?” A dark chuckle emerged from him. “Or can we get on with it?”

Get on with… yes, the interview. I blinked, then slowly inched my gaze up his body.

Black trousers that were more fitted than should be decent hugged muscular legs, leading up to a broad partially exposed, bare chest, wide shoulders, large biceps, and strong jaw.

I paused at the jaw, almost afraid to finish what my eyes had started, fearful that he really was going to be as good looking in person as he seemed.

His jaw was sharp, defined, shadowed like he'd forgotten to shave or maybe just possessed a crap load of testosterone meaning he had to shave every day.

I took a steadying breath as I finally lifted my gaze to his startling amber eyes. Brown hair curled around the nape of his neck, like a caress. He was dangerous perfection.

He smiled.

And my stomach clenched like I was going to be sick.

I hadn't planned on him being this gorgeous in real life.

Because in real life men had gaps in their teeth and weird body odor, at least in my experience, there were always a few flaws, which made them human.

So, my only conclusion after taking in his perfect muscled six-foot frame was that Mr. Blazik was an alien… sent to torture the women of earth with his perfection.

I mean, what else would explain eyes so hypnotic that I wasn't just physically drawn to him, but emotionally? Or skin so smooth it looked like it had just been waxed?

Even the line of his damn jaw was perfect.

He was busy buttoning up his perfectly fitted red shirt, my eyes trained on his fingers. I hated to admit that I wondered what else he did with those hands.

With a gulp, I suppressed a shiver and tried to regain my focus.

“You're different than he described you.” Mr. Blazik tilted his head to the side. “More… mousy.” He made a disgusted face that made me want to kick him in the shin.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! The great flaw has been discovered! He suffered from jackass syndrome. Pity, with that face… I sighed and clicked my pen again.

“I think it's on.” He chuckled.

I contemplated stabbing him in the thigh, but offered a smile instead. “Do you always make a habit of dressing in front of grad students or is today my lucky day?”

He made a show of slowly licking his lips and sat, his knees touching mine. I quickly pulled away. “That depends.

“Do you often make a habit of disrespecting your elders before asking them for an interview?”

“You're thirty-two, hardly my elder.” I said in a sweet voice. Great, now I was arguing with him. So far, the interview? Not going so hot.

“Unfair.” He folded his hands together and leaned in. “You know my birthday and I don't know yours.”

“Yeah well, I'm not all over the Internet.” In fact, thanks to my father, my virtual thumbprint was nonexistent. I cleared my throat.

“So, I just have a few questions about your research regarding the prostitution rings here in Bellevue and your findings.”

His face betrayed nothing, but his eyes? His eyes seemed to darken even more. He clenched his teeth and leaned back, creating much needed space between our bodies. “Do you know why you're here?”

“To interview you.” I nodded slowly. “For my master's thesis. Is that your way of making sure I know my place? Or are you really just curious?”

“You are your father's daughter.” His lips curved into a delicious smile, “You resemble each other, not in looks, but definitely in attitude.” His gaze was unapologetic as he tilted his head and started raking his eyes from my feet up my legs until finally settling on my face.

I clenched my legs together tightly and forced a smile.

“If you don't mind, Mr. Blazik, I'd really like to get on with the interview, I know your time is precious.”

As was mine, I wanted to stress, but didn't, just barely restraining myself and clenching my teeth to keep from giving him a much-needed verbal lashing.

“I blocked out my entire day.”

Did he want applause? “Right, well, I assure you I can be fast.”

His dark laugh had me shivering and wanting to lean forward all at once. Men that good looking shouldn't be blessed with chuckles like that—a freaking sirens call that's what it was.

“Amazing… You truly don't know why you're here, do you?”

How many times did I need to repeat myself and why was I getting the sudden impression that the guy was on some seriously hard drugs?

I looked closer; didn't pinpoint pupils mean he was high or something?

“I assure you I'm not drunk, nor high, if that's what you're thinking.” He chuckled again and rubbed his hands together.

“Though the idea does have merit, all things considering.” A muscle clenched in his jaw.

Oh good, so he was a doctor who liked drugs and had more money than God. That should go over well for addiction problems.

I scooted back against the leather and clicked my pen for, oh, I don't know, the tenth time. “If you aren't going to answer my questions, I should probably go.”

“You won't be going anywhere,” he said in a quiet voice. “And for that I'm truly sorry.” His eyes met mine, and they seemed… apologetic.

“Pardon?” Was he threatening me? Warning bells went off in my head as adrenaline shot through my system.

“Your father…” He tilted his head. “He owes me a debt… of gratitude… I asked for something irreplaceable, something that's been owed to me for a very long time.”

My stomach sank as my heart started hammering against my chest.

“What exactly did my father give you?” I choked out, hating that I probably knew the answer because my father was ruthless. He was a businessman after all, and he never backed out of a deal.

It was business over family, and our business was darkness itself—horrible, something I blocked out because it made me feel better when I woke up in the morning and fell asleep at night.

“Well…” Mr. Blazik stood. “I thought that would be obvious.” He turned his back to me and walked over to his desk, then pressed a button causing blinds to creep down all the windows.

When he turned, the room was already starting to blanket in darkness, making it so that his teeth practically glowed. “He gave me you.”

The Night Previous

Downtown Seattle

Drip, drip, drip. The sound was a rhythmic cadence to the madness that threatened to destroy my existence. Drip, drip, drip. The blood was fuel, it was life. It was also death.

The woman's face was void of emotion, yet I knew she felt every single slice of the knife as I worked.

Finally, I removed the diseased organ and shook my head. “You've been very, very bad, haven't you?”

A lone tear ran down her cheek.

I tossed the organ away, disgusted with the type of woman she was, with the type of human being she represented.

Sick.

Diseased.

A complete waste of humanity.

“Now.” I reached for my scalpel. “I'll tell you exactly why you're going to die.”

More tears.

“For your sins.” I brought the blade to her throat. “For selling your very soul to the devil. I'm sending you to the pit of hell.”

I sliced.

A gurgle.

And she breathed no more.

I rocked back on my heels and exhaled as the world righted itself again. One less disease walking the streets.

One less.

Because of me.

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