Page 2 of Bleed with Me

“For worse,” I almost yelled, slamming my palms on his desk helplessly. “Now he’s an adult with unlimited power who would torture me to death!”

“You’re overreacting, Nina.” Dad’s phone interrupted his next sentence, and he sighed heavily as he looked at it. “I have to answer it. We’re settled on this, right?” He raised a challenging brow, holding my glare.

I knew I couldn’t win, but that didn’t stop me from trying. My life wasn’t for sale. Surely not to a sadistic monster like Sonny Carlile, who found pleasure in my torment. He was sick.

Years ago, Sonny caught me on my way home from piano practice. My bodyguard dropped me off in the driveway and took the car to the repair shop. None of us expected danger on my dad’s private property. But it waited in the shadows. Sonny ambushed me behind the garden house, clamped a hand over my mouth, and dragged me inside. I fought him, but he was three years older and much stronger.

Mocking and insulting me wasn’t enough this time. And when I refused to cry, the beating started. He shoved me against the wall, punched me, and when I collapsed, he kicked and spat on me. Then he laughed at my miserable state and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Lucas found me by accident while hiding from his drunk father and called my dad. I never told anyone Sonny was responsible because I knew he’d find an even crueler way to get back at me. I avoided him whenever I could, and when his parents sent him to university, I prayed I’d never see him again.

He came back nine months ago but kept his distance. Every now and then, he’d remind me I was a bastard, but otherwise, he ignored me, and I couldn’t have been happier. Until a week ago, when my dad announced they had struck a deal sealed with a marriage certificate. I nearly suffered a heart attack. Since then, I’d been trying to come up with a plan to escape Sonny’s claws, but nothing was good enough. My dad—no, my entire family—needed the fucker to protect us from Zyon.

“No one can protect you from Zyon if he decides to kill you,” Lucas, my best friend, interrupted my thoughts, and I looked into his gentle green eyes. His curly blond hair framed a face that had always been my definition of safety.

“There must be someone,” I whispered, glancing at the papers spread on my bed. For the past two hours, we had been trying to find a single man from a powerful mafia family who could help me flee the marriage with Sonny and provide my family with safety against Mr. Zhumagulov and his insane brothers. But Lucas was right. No one was equal to them. Not even close.

“Well.” Lucas frowned at the paper in his hand, his eyes rushing over the sentences. “What about invading the house?”

I blinked in confusion, yanking the page from his grasp. He chuckled and threw himself among my stylish, cozy cushions, watching me while I read the information.

“Seriously?” I whined, tossing it at him, shaking my head in annoyance. “It’s not funny!”

“I’m not joking, Nina.” He shrugged, supporting himself on one elbow and hugging my one-eyed stuffed giraffe with his other arm. “Attack is the best defense.”

Again, he was right. Honestly, he was right most of our lives, but this was the craziest idea ever.

“Why can’t we marry each other and send all of them to hell?” I asked, lying beside him and stealing my toy from his embrace. He laughed at my question, moving his golden locks from his eyes.

“Because I’m gay and you’re a dominant psychopath,” he answered, poking my nose tenderly. “It wouldn’t work.”

“What if I tell my dad that I’m gay?” I mused, pursing my lips when his deep chuckle reached my ears. “It can work.”

“I don’t think so.” He grinned, picking the paper and pressing it against my chest. “This, however, might work. But I have no idea how to do it.”

A wrinkle formed between my brows when I watched him enter the bathroom.

Fuck, why couldn’t he be straight? We would be such a lovely couple.

Ignoring the dread that washed over me at the thought of marrying Sonny, I lifted the paper. A picture of the gorgeous Dorian Zhumagulov stared back at me, his hazel eyes burning holes into my soul.

The triplets were a work of art—dark, handsome, rich, and downright crazy. It would be a miracle if one of them even noticed me. Still, I had bigger problems than being invisible.

First, the brothers had agreed to only one marriage arrangement—with the Santangelo family. And even after months, they still hadn’t announced a wedding date.

Second, how was I supposed to make Dorian acknowledge me? Women threw themselves at his feet. If I did the same, he’d just push me away. It would take thorough planning if I wanted to pull this off.

And third, my sexual preferences were a story of their own. I doubted Dorian Zhumagulov would comply with my demands. But I most probably had no choice except to find out.

-2-

Nina

The expansive floor-to-ceiling windows in my father’s Manhattan office provided a magnificent view of Central Park, but my eyes were set on the stunning glass tower in the distance. The Starlight building was the work of the best architect in the United States and gloriously combined a modern design with classy elegance.

During the day, it looked like it danced, depending on the angle of the sun’s rays falling on the glass. At night, it shone like the brightest star. Tourists called it the heart of Manhattan because its energy illuminated the streets and gave them life.

For me, though, it was a lighthouse of hope. On Friday, four never-ending days from now, Dorian Zhumagulov planned to throw an afterparty in the Starlight casino after the grand opening of his new hospital. Hopefully Lucas could find a way to get us inside.