CHAPTER ONE
–LUELLA –
This is crazy.I shouldn’t be here.A huff of frustration leaves my body.My gaze is locked on the building in front of me, and for a moment I try to picture myself living in this huge mansion.An icy chill runs up my spine, and bile starts to rise.I quickly snap the image inside my head to smithereens in an effort to shove down the nausea.
Shit.If I have this reaction now, what will happen when I move into this mansion a few months from now?If I was born into a different family, under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be an issue.
Ugh.It doesn’t matter because some things are inevitable, which means in a few months I’m getting married to Gideon Wilton.A marriage arranged by our fathers due to family alliances within the mafia.
My father is a kingpin and rules the underground in this territory.There are only a few families who rule other regions.Gideon’s father, Dudley, works for Bosco Elio, another kingpin.Dudley is the current underboss, though not for long since Gideon will take over in a few months.Right after Gideon is married to be precise.It’s one of the conditions Dudley demanded from Gideon, which is where I come in...his future wife because Gideon needs an heir.
I grit my teeth, hating the whole arrangement, even if I was born into the mafia world and have gone through it all before.Yes, I’ve been promised to a man since I was sixteen, and the arranged marriage took place right after I became of age.Which means I was barely eighteen when I killed my husband the day after we were married.
My husband wasn’t the first life I took, though.But that kill did feel like I killed my own future, or at least the one I imagined for myself.Not that I liked the guy...I might have ended up killing him out of frustration in the long run anyway.The guy was a creep who made my skin crawl.
I had no choice in the matter.Not then, not now.My duty as a mafia princess is to follow my father’s orders.Something I’ve always done without question or hesitation.Yet, it’s not something I’m doing at this very moment.Another sigh rips from me.I really shouldn’t be here.
There’s a restless part in me that made me follow Gideon and check out the man I’m promised to.The arrangement was made by our fathers, and the papers were signed in an earlier meeting by them to seal the deal.The second meeting was today, a little over an hour ago, where I met Gideon for the first time face-to-face.
Slick.I have no other way to describe Gideon, and it’s not just the way the man wears his hair...combed back all slick and greasy.He has a thin build, is short, has wide what-the-fuck-eyes, a trimmed goatee, and to be honest?The fucker gives me the creeps, just like my first husband did.That alone says a lot with me being an assassin.
I snort.I’m pretty sure if Gideon found out I’m one of my father’s assassins, he’d never agree to marry me.Maybe he would and use me as his own personal bodyguard slash hitman.Another sigh rips from me.Should I go inside and do a little snooping to soothe my gut instinct?Or leave and go in blind when I marry the fucker in a few months?Decisions, decisions.
Car headlights catch my attention and I watch as a toxic green Bentley Continental GT glides through the open gates and parks in front of the mansion.My eyes widen when I see who gets out and enters the home.
Gideon.
Impossible.Why?Because I followed the fucker home right after he left the damn mansion where I live with my father.The whole time I’ve been sitting here and know for a fact Gideon didn’t leave.Dudley only has one son, no other kids, or guards of the same age.So, who the fuck is this man who looks exactly like Gideon?
Decision made; I’m going inside to check if there really are two of them or if I dropped the ball in keeping a target in my sight for the first damn time in my life.
I flip the switch of the device on my hip which will distort the surveillance cameras.This way I’ll be able to slip inside unseen, once I bypass the alarm system.Breaking and entering is the easiest part of the job I’ve been doing for years.My father might be a diamond dealer by day, but he will always be a notorious kingpin by night.
He didn’t raise me to be a woman like all the others in the mafia world.Maybe it was because it was just the two of us, or the fact he didn’t have a son, who knows?I’m glad I didn’t play with dolls but was taught to use different weapons and learn a wide spectrum of special skills instead.
At the age of fourteen he allowed me to work with him, torturing and eventually also killing the enemy.Once I turned sixteen, I earned my first solo job since my reputation was better than any of his men.Except for Brando, my father’s second-in-command.
I know my father had no other choice but to arrange a marriage for me the first time, because in his world it’s tradition.After the first marriage I was considered damaged goods by mafia standards, with me not being a virgin anymore.The second arranged marriage came out of nowhere, at least for me it did.I still have no clue why my father made the deal with Dudley Wilton.
Pushing everything to the back of my head, I pull down the black mask and become one with the night.The time I spent staking out this place comes in handy when I slip onto the premises and head straight to the window on the side of the mansion.Right next to it is a door, and I easily pick the lock so I can enter the dark hallway.
Gideon’s voice flows from my right and I watch him go downstairs.Without making a sound I follow him down and watch as he disappears down another hallway.I have a gun strapped to my side, but even with a silencer it will make more noise than my other weapons.My hand is on my leg for easy access to my knife for close combat, along with my ninja stars for throwing in case I run into someone.
Hopefully, not Gideon because it would be bad to kill my potential second husband, right?My father would be pissed, that’s for sure.Besides, I’m only here to soothe the bad feeling in my gut Gideon gives me just by looking at the fucker.
I hear muffled voices coming from a room at the end of the hallway.The door is open and when I glance inside, I know my choice to come here was the right one.
A man is hanging from the ceiling by the shackles around his wrists.He’s completely naked, covered in blood and lacerations.The man has a ball gag in his mouth to muffle his screams while another man is fucking him in the ass.Wait.Not just another man...Gideon is fucking...fuck.
My fiancé is having sex with a man?I blink a few times when another man steps into my view. I must be seeing double as this man is a perfect carbon copy of Gideon.The second Gideon unbuckles his belt, lowers the zipper of his slacks, takes out his cock and starts to stroke himself.
I’m completely stunned.It doesn’t happen often.I’ve lost count of how many men I’ve killed, tortured, and have done some pretty nasty shit too, not caring one fucking bit.Though, this moment right here?I’m flabbergasted to say the least.
The second Gideon is still stroking his cock when he pulls a long knife and slices the man’s stomach wide open while Gideon number one is still fucking the victim from behind.The cut through the belly is deep enough to pour blood and make the man’s guts spill out.The twisted fuck holds his cock under it and roars out his release while the other Gideon curses and appears to be filling up the dead man’s ass.
Both Gideons look at one another and smile while I can taste the bile rising in my throat.Another wave of nausea hits me.Why my body is reacting this way is beyond me.I normally have a steady stomach when I kill and torture others myself.Though, this situation my life is caught up in?No fucking way am I going to marry number one, or number two.
One of them turns and points at something when he says, “The highest bid always gets their fantasy played out.Until next time.”
