Renzo,

I entered the office room following the older Russian man, and my mind was screaming at me to leave because what I was about to hear wouldn't be good.

Thanks to that kid, my night has been going from bad to worse to a full-on mess, and all because she chose to play stripper today.

I had a meeting with Franco, and it was starting to get annoying, then she showed up all naked and waiting to be raped or something.

And even though she was wearing something hiding her face, I would never forget those eyes. Those eyes that shook me to the core when I first saw them.

She was eighteen back then, when I had a meeting with her father as he helped me with something that saved my business. She just rushed into the office without knocking or even asking for permission. She rushed inside with a big smile on her face, he hair was flowing behind her, and her dress was sticking to her body in all the right places.

I think for a moment I forgot how to breathe, and I just watched her, feeling like she was a siren that got out of the water to seduce me. The girl didn't spare me a look; she didn't care that someone was with her father or that he might get angry. She just grinned at him and hugged the older man, giggling.

I watched the scene as they talked in Russian about something with ease; they both were lost in their own world, and I felt embarrassed to be here to watch this intimate moment.

But then Akim looked at me and smiled warmly and patted his daughter's back, asking her to say hi, and she did, our eyes met. Hers are full of pride and daring, while mine are full of questions and wonder. I was lost for words; no woman, not to mention a girl, has had this effect on me, ever. After the introduction was done, she said something in a faint voice, making her father chuckle loudly. My wonderment hit higher levels because this scary Russian mafia boss was laughing lovingly with this little girl.

If anyone saw this scene, they wouldn't believe it, even though they saw it with their own eyes. Hell, even I still don't believe it.

But then her bodyguard rushed inside, he apologized, gave me a dirty look, and then he dragged the girl outside while she spat hateful words at him. It didn't feel right, but after watching Akim's reaction, I didn't mention it. It seems like a normal thing around here.

"I apologize again for all of this. I know that my malen'kaya printsessa has caused trouble for you, but again I'm grateful that you were there to help her." Oh, Little princess.

The man said, bringing me back to reality, and I accepted the glass of vodka he was offering me, thanking him with a nod of my head.

"It is nothing, sir, our families go way back, and I'm glad that I could repay even half of the things you have done for me," I said politely, sipping my drink and thinking about going back home and calling one of the girls to blow some of the steam.

All that happened today was overstimulating. I still feel that I have a lot of energy that needs to be released, or else I won't be able to sleep.

"As you said, we go way back. Honestly, I have always thought of you as a son of mine. So, what are your thoughts about what happened tonight and why?"

I sat, taking a moment to think about the entire ordeal, and again I didn't get an answer. It was so sudden and unplanned. "I still don't know, but all I know is that it was me, the target, not Franco. Franco has always played it safe; he never took any risks, and he just stayed away from trouble. Whoever killed him today did it to frame me. Why? I have no idea." I said thoughtfully, and the man hummed, nodding his head. I think he had already gathered that before I spoke the words.

"What I want to know is if your daughter was part of it or if it was just bad luck?!" I focused on the man who was pacing the room, and my question made him stop and look at me with dark eyes. Eyes that aren't like his daughter's.

"From what I heard, it was her friend's suggestion. She was the one who dared her to do that and the one who also chose that room for her. But they were friends for years. I know her family, and we are on good terms." The older man said, and I narrowed my eyes, loyalty can be changed and bought. People's priorities change all the time, but I said nothing. I will deal with this on my own. I must know.

"Ok then, I asked Doctor Luka to check on your daughter during the day. I left his contacts with her bodyguard. He is one of my men; you can trust him and call him anytime. And about what had happened in the club, I took care of it, my men deleted all the photos and video from the CCTV cameras, all fingerprints, blood stains anything related to your daughter was wiped away, no one inside or outside that place will say or know anything about her visit tonight."

I said before heading to the door, and the man stopped me by holding my shoulder tightly, giving it a few pats before nodding his head, and I left.

I know he has a lot to say and a lot to talk about, but he couldn't voice it out. In our line of work, we don't show weakness, but we carry favors and repay them when the time comes, which I'm sure he will do.

"Where now?" Dino asked me when we left the villa and entered the car, and he started the engine, but I'm sure he knew our destination because he took us back to the strip club.

"Rocco and Dario are already there." He said, and I closed my eyes, thinking again, why did I stay?

Why did I want to make sure that she was back home when I felt things were off, or was it because the moment I saw Franco eating her up with his eyes, I wanted to strangle the fucker and burn the damn club?

"We are here, sir."

Renzo,

I sipped my bourbon while I eyed the woman who was swaying in front of me, trying to appease me, but honestly, I was getting disgusted.

But I guess she thought my disgusted looks were approval or something because she began to take her clothes off.

She took the flimsy top, then she basically crawled to where I was sitting, then she licked her lips when she reached my parted legs and settled between them.

"You are so handsome, and you give off this stay the fuck away from me aura, but I like it. You are my type."

The woman said as her hands stretched to touch my thighs, then she reached between them and began to squeeze my still flaccid cock.

I snarled, then held both of her hands in one of mine, then the other held her chin tightly, making her look at me.

"You are pretty, meaty, and know what you are doing. People might like all of this, but I don't like your attitude. Besides, I'm not into vanilla shit, femmina. Any whore walking the street can give me that with less money. Tell me, what makes you special?"

I said, smirking now when I saw her eyes glow with understanding, and my smirk grew wider when she changed her sitting position and became more submissive.

"Is this what you are looking for, sir? Trust me, I can give you whatever you want, just order me, and I'm here to serve all your needs."

The woman said in a sweet voice, and I relaxed a little, dropped my hands, and nodded for her to sit properly.

"Tell me about this place, especially the owners and their daughter, and if I am satisfied with what you just said, I might reward you handsomely."

The woman frowned at me, but after taking a look around, watching Dino carefully, then me, she nodded her head and put her top back, covering her breasts, understanding that I'm not here for a quick fuck.

"You are not a cop. I think you are here because of the mess that happened early tonight. I have been working here for a couple of months. So I'm still considered new, the owners have been good to me, the daughter is sweet to all girls, and they love her to death because she brings gifts from time to time, but she never interferes with work. Her father is the one who assigns us to the private rooms and tells us about our customers' tastes, and so far, nothing has happened during my two months. If one of the customers gets handy or rough, they deal with him instantly."

She finished nodding to the cameras in the corner, and I hummed softly because she is the second girl who said the same words tonight, and I'm starting to think these OWNERS aren't as good as they seem because it's impossible that they are this good and righteous.

I dismissed the girl even though she was disappointed, but neither she nor the first one stirred a single feeling in me; my cock had been limp, not even a twitch.

Unlike when I was holding the sweaty, stinky half-passed-away woman in my arms. She was dirty, and blood was all over her face and body, but still, she made my cock fill up in seconds and ache.

I shook my head to make that image and feeling disappear when Rocco knocked on the room's door and entered with someone screaming and fighting his grip on them.

Ahhhh, finally, the best friend is here.

Rocco threw her in front of me and left silently while the girl shrieked, but then she stood up quickly.

"Who the hell are you, and how dare you treat me like that? Do you know who I am and who my father is? He will fucking kill you all."

She shouted at Dino and me, but shut up the moment Dario entered and threw her beloved father half-conscious beside her on the floor.

She gasped, then kneeled beside her bloody father, and then she looked up at me in horror. Her eyes widened when she had a good look at my face, and I knew she recognized me.

"It is you, the one who .....was in the room with ......the... dead guy."

She stuttered, and I nodded my head, standing up and crouching in front of her, making her crawl back in fear.

"Good, then there is no need for introductions. Tell me, Sonya, did you plan all of what happened tonight? Are you the one who lured Misha to get inside that room to get killed? Fucking answer me, what do you know about that fucking hit?"

I growled at the shivering girl, and tears streamed down her face as she began to shake her head at every question I threw at her.

So I snarled as my hand circled her neck, pulling her up, then pushing her against the wall, squeezing her dainty little neck.

She struggled to breathe, and her face turned blue from the lack of oxygen, but I didn't loosen my grip. She needs to suffer for almost killing Misha.

"I.....kn....ow....nothin....g. she....i..s .....my best....friend. I wo...uld...nev...."

She began to say, but I didn't let go or loosen my hand; I didn't trust a word she was saying, and people can still lie, even facing death. It is in their DNA.

"Let her fucking go, you are killing her."

Someone snarled from behind me, and I tsked but let the girl go as I turned around to face the angry man who was ready to pounce on me.

I waved my men away when they were about to fight him. I can take him down, but I won't do it, though. I know how to crush that fucker's ego without laying a finger on him.

"What are you doing here, Artem? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of your ward, or did Akim throw you out after your big failure tonight?"

I said, heading back to the couch to sit, then sipping my drink, watching the man ball his fists and grit his teeth in anger. I know he wants to say a lot and do a lot, but he can't. And yes, I hit him in the gut without raising one finger.

"I'm here because my lyubovnitsa(Mistress) sent me. She knew that you would do this to her friend."He said, and I threw my head back, cackling because that girl was smart even though she didn't look like it. She might look spoiled and carefree, but she understands how men think, which is dangerous.

"You know that miss of yours can fight. Before things went to shit, she took down three men in mere seconds, and she would have been out of here if it weren't for those new people swarming in. Now I'm curious to know how good she is in other....aspects."

I said teasingly, and yes, I hit another soft spot because Artem rushed to me and pulled my collar, making me stand up.

"Don't you fucking dare talk about her in such a way? And if you thought about touching a hair on her head, I will fucking kill you, ublyudok" "motherfucker"

The man snarled in a heavily Russian accent, and I chuckled. I was right. That look in his eyes when he saw her in my arms was jealousy and fear.

He saw me do what he never could, which was the jealousy, and the fear was of me taking her away from him.

"If you love her that much, why didn't you protect her? Why did you let her face death? WHY WERE YOU AWAY WHILE SHE FUCKING SUFFERED?"

I roared at him, and his hand dropped. Then he took a couple of steps back, leaving without saying anything.

I screamed when Artem tried to stop me from going outside and blocked my way. I have been cooped up in my room for a couple of weeks now, and I'm about to go crazy.

"I'm not allowed to go to college, I'm not allowed to go outside to see my friends, and I'm not even allowed to have them visit me?! What the fuck is happening here? Where is Papa? I want to talk to him."

I shouted at the top of my lungs because it was suffocating. I can't endure it anymore. I must go outside and see new people. These old faces were driving me crazy. Another hour of this and I will fucking kill someone.

"Ty tot, kto sdelal eto s soboy. Eto tvoy sobstvennyy vybor, Misha. Teper' zhivi s posledstviyami."

("You are the one who did this to yourself. It is your own choice, Misha. Now live with the consequences.")

Artem said, hissing, and for a second, I stood there staring at him without saying a word. Then I screamed and screamed, throwing anything in my way and crashing it.

After what felt like hours, I stopped panting, sweating, and a little dizzy, gasping for breath. I don't know what took over me, but this made my anger rise to higher levels.

"I guess I came at the right time."

Someone said from the door, and I glared at him, but the doctor grinned and walked inside,  not even blinking when he saw how messy my room was.

"I remember telling you that you need to rest for at least one month, your ribs need some more time to heal, Miss Yakov."

Doctor Luka said in a chastising voice, and I just followed him to my miraculously tidy bed and sat holding my head in both of my hands.

"I'm losing my mind, doc. I don't think I can endure it anymore, being locked up in my room doing nothing, meeting no one."

I said pathetically, making him give me one of his pitying looks, and I looked away because it made me feel like a little brat.

"I know, but it is for your safety, Misha. You know that they are doing this for your own safety, even Renzo. He is trying to find the people who almost killed you back then. He looks worse than you, actually."

The doctor said, tsking as he took my blood pressure and gave me looks of disapproval, but I didn't care cause I frowned at Artem for answers, but he just looked away.

"Yeah, I can see why you are confused, he looks like a cold motherfucker who only cares about himself, but trust me, he isn't. he is..... a good man or at least looks lik......"

something blew up, shaking the entire villa, shutting me up. Then we heard the sound of gunshots and screams.

I tried to stand up to check what was going on, but the doctor pushed me back on the bed, and his friendly face turned scary. Then he went to where Artem was watching outside my window.

"This isn't just a little game like last time, Artem. I can count over fifty men out there, and we don't know how many are inside the villa."

"My father isn't here. This is pointless, everyone knows that he is back in Russia doing some business."

I said in genuine puzzlement because no one was worth killing here, some guards, a few maids, Artem, and me. Then it hit me when the two men glared at me.

They come for me.

"Our priority is to save Misha. We need to get her outside of here, then think about motives and reasons." Artem said, making the doctor nod, and I kept silent because this is their task.

"No place is safe at the moment. We still don't know who is a friend and who is a foe. I can trust no one." Artem mumbled to himself, but the doctor touched his shoulder and put a finger on his lips as he tiptoed to my door, opening it slowly.

"Renzo Valentino is your only friend at the moment, his place is a small fortress that no one can enter it and no one dares to try. Our mission is getting out of here and going there safely."

My bodyguard opened his mouth to say something, but he closed his mouth again, maybe because he knew the doctor was right.

I mean, I hate that man's guts, but the doctor was right last time he saved me and brought me home in one piece, and from my papa's reaction, I think they are on good terms, so this is acceptable.

Luka helped me wear the bulletproof vest when I was getting my gun. And Artem nodded his head, then he headed to my walk-in closet, making us follow him. My mouth dropped when I saw him push a hidden button, and one of the walls opened for him.

We followed him silently, feeling our way because it was dark, but then light shone, and the doctor grinned behind his lighter.

"This will lead us to the back garden, it is close to the garage, we can take a car and leave."

My bodyguard said as we walked for a minute, then we stopped, and a blinding light surrounded us, and made us blink for a second, but we were outside.

He went out first to check the place, and when he found no one, he signaled us to get outside to go to the garage.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the familiar doors, but then I felt something hot splash on my face. For a moment, I stood confused as I touched my face and looked at my fingers and found them red.

My breath hitched when my mind registered the color and smell of blood, and I looked in front of me and found Artem holding his stomach as he was aiming his gun at someone behind one of the bushes.

"Artem!"

I screamed his name and tried to run where he was, but Luka stopped me, so I pushed him away, and because of that, I got shot twice. It's weirdly enough, I have no idea where the bullet hit me. I didn't feel the pain as I ran or when I dropped to my knees to hold Artem in my arms.

"Tell me that it's a minor thing and you will be ok."

I said pathetically, as I checked his body and found out that he was shot multiple times and was bleeding heavily.

"Oh no... I swear I will never do this again. I will not go to dangerous places to play. I will listen to you and never shout at you with any words...."

He gave me a bloody smile, then touched my cheek, caressing it softly, then he looked at the doctor who was covering us, "Take her and I've got your back, we don't have much time, they must have heard the gunshots."My bodyguard and the person who was the closest thing to an older brother to me said.

I wailed as Luka dragged me to the garage and then threw me in a car. He left Artem at that place.

I slapped the car window as hard as I could, leaving many bloody palm prints on it. My ears seemed to be useless because all the sounds were screaming together, it's too loud that it gives me a splitting headache. I couldn't hear clearly whether it was the sound of me hitting the glass or the bullets hitting the car body, accompanied by my crying. If there is any God in the world - although I didn't pay attention at all when I was studying something about God, I don't know what gods there are, any God is fine if you are here, just listen to my prayer - I'd give anything in exchange for my happy, simple life, which I know will never return.

I saw Artem struggling to stand up.

But something pinched me, and suddenly all the fight in me drained, and I just saw black.