Sold to the Mob Boss: A Mafia Romance (Lavrin Bratva) by Nicole Fox

Author:Nicole Fox [Fox, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nicole Fox
Published: 2019-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Nikita

I sigh and my shoulders slouch as I stare off into the distance. This place ... it’s so beautiful and serene. Just like I remembered. My eyes wander along the small hills to the valleys, following the dry creek beds my father and I used to camp next to. How many times did I stand on this very ledge with him? My father used to breathe in the fresh air, puffing out his chest as we gazed at the jagged peaks of the mountains. And something always stirred deep inside of me, a satisfied feeling I couldn’t place or name.

Tonight, it’s different. I exhale slowly, my breath clouding from the frigid temperature. I feel hollow, worn out, like a dishrag used too many times. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel this way. I can’t remember the last time I felt anything at all, really.

Until Annie.

I’m aware of her in a way I’ve never felt with anyone else. Not just in tune with her feelings, with every sharp intake of breath or every awkward purse of her lips—though I feel those things as if they were happening to me. But I’m aware of her as I’m aware of myself. Her pain is my pain. Her exhaustion is my exhaustion. Her fear runs in me like it was my own, though it has been years since I was truly afraid of anything. I can’t explain it and I don’t like it, this sudden expansion of awareness that has taken me over.

I look over my shoulder to make sure she’s okay. Sure enough, she’s hoisting herself over a fallen tree and heading in my direction, grimacing with each step. What I wouldn’t give to take her pain away.

“Nikita, wait up. It’s dark and I don’t know the area as well as you do. I don’t want to get lost,” Annie says from behind.

“Take your time. Just trying to figure out what direction to head in.” I face forward and scan our surroundings. There was a place my father and I would camp out at when we came up this way: our secret hiding place, tucked away from the well-trodden main path, safe from all but those who already know where it is. I’m hoping it will keep Annie and me safe for the night.

“There should be a clearing to our left. It’s hidden from the trail.”

“Lead the way,” Annie says as she climbs the rest of the way to meet me.

I stop and study her for a moment as she approaches. Her hair is long and ragged, strewn with sticks and leaves from the hike up. I’ve chosen the less-traveled route wherever I think she’ll be able to handle it. Anything to hide our tracks from would-be pursuers. There is a weary slant to her shoulders and sweat is beaded on her upper lip despite the chill in the air. For a wild moment, I imagine kissing it away. Then the thought passes like a fever dream, and I remember once again where we are and what we are running from.

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