Vicious Lover

Vicious Lover A Dark Russian Mafia Romance Reznek Bratva – Book 2 by Celeste Riley Copyright © 2023 by Celestine Publishing Ltd. Contact: [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. PROLOGUE Arina (18 years old, after the kidnapping) CHAPTER 1 Konstantin CHAPTER 2 Arina (21 years old, today) CHAPTER 3 Konstantin CHAPTER 4 ARINA CHAPTER 5 Konstantin CHAPTER 6 Arina CHAPTER 7 Konstantin CHAPTER 8 Arina CHAPTER 9 Konstantin CHAPTER 10 Arina CHAPTER 11 Konstantin CHAPTER 12 Arina CHAPTER 13 Konstantin CHAPTER 14 Arina CHAPTER 15 Konstantin CHAPTER 16 Arina CHAPTER 17 Konstantin CHAPTER 18 Arina CHAPTER 19 Konstantin CHAPTER 20 Arina CHAPTER 21 Konstantin Chapter 22 Arina CHAPTER 23 Konstantin CHAPTER 24 Arina CHAPTER 25 Konstantin CHAPTER 26 Arina CHAPTER 27 Konstantin CHAPTER 28 Arina CHAPTER 29 Konstantin CHAPTER 30 Arina CONNECT WITH ME! ABOUT THE AUTHOR PROLOGUE Arina (18 years old, after the kidnapping) We have been here almost a week now. My mother and Leonid seem very content playing house-house and her concern over me has dwindled. There’s nothing here for me, no school, no friends. I never really had real family, so all of these people in and out the way they are, is not how I am used to living. Not even at boarding school were there this many people around me all the time. There’s some big dinner planned for tonight and I am not in the mood for it. If I hadn’t heard whispers that Konstantin would be there, I’d just hide in my room and sulk. We are taking a tour of the school tomorrow so I can finish my final year here, close to my mother. At least there are better prospects for after that here — the Russian Ballet schools are all renowned, and I hope to be dancing-fit enough to audition for the summer intake. They’ll all be on the Reznek yachts for the summer, and I am not going to be trapped on a floating house with them and no place to run. I am a dancer, not a swimmer. I wouldn’t be able to get away even if I wanted to. “Arina,” the house manager calls from outside my room, “they’re calling you to dinner.” I sigh, and drag myself off the bed, not in the mood for the company or the food. “I’m coming.” I groan and slip on a pair of shoes. I will show up, but not dress up. I can hear the voices, and the loud laughter of the Reznek men. They’re all cousins but act like brothers, all of them thick as thieves. Leonid, Aleksei, and Konstantin are laughing at Valentin when I get to the bottom of the stairs. Ignoring the testosterone overload, I walk straight past them to find my mother and Sophie. The ladies have all congregated in the dining room while the men smoke cigars and pickle their insides with vodka in the den. There’s been a lot of whispers and movement around the house as they are all getting ready for some big ‘job’. I guess it is better not to know what that is. “Arina.” The ladies greet me with too much excitement, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. They’re all so fake, and so overly nice it makes me sick. “Are you excited to see the school tomorrow?” Sophie asks me, and I shrug. “Not really,” I say, “I liked my school. I had friends, and a boyfriend — I had a life before I was kidnapped and held hostage.” My mother gives me the side-eye and I shut my mouth. I’m still bitter about it all. I never got to know my father very well, but he left me with a lot of reasons to hate him in the end. The idle gossip and small talk continue as if I’m not there. I am a child to them, seen and not heard. No one cares I am unhappy here, they haven’t even asked me. There’s no choice for me. My mother made a deal with Leonid, and I just have to live with it — and them— unfortunately. “I cannot wait for summer,” Sophie says, “this cold is for the damn birds. I think even they’re dead. I just want sunshine, and the gorgeous blue seas. Val says we will leave first, he’s eager to get out of here too.” I want to get out. All the way out, not just trapped on a boat in the Med. Maybe I can run away when we get to port, that would be easier than this. “I think we’re all counting the days until summer.” I sigh, and pour myself a drink, no one in this place cares if I drink. I think it’s a Russian thing. The kids here are born drinking vodka in their formula, just to stay warm. It’s bizarre. In Denmark I would have been in a world of trouble for even being caught with a drink. The house is noisy, and Sophie’s kid is barreling around like a small tornado, causing destruction in his wake. He’s an annoying little shit, and she lets him get away with it — only Valentin checks him. I guess I’d be afraid and listen if Val spoke to me too. He’s an intimidating man, both in size and demeanor. The Reznek cousins all come into the dining room making a ruckus and take their seats. “Move,” Konstantin says to me, “that’s my seat.” I shift one place to the left, not sure what difference it makes but he’s half drunk and in a shitty mood, so I don’t bother with a fight. Normally I’d push his buttons for a while but tonight he isn’t to be toyed with. I can see it in the