The Carrero Contract - Selling Your Soul (Mafia Romance)

This is just a replay of my life, a dozen times over. It’s not lost on me that this is no sort of existence but I have no choice. I get myself into these situations and sometimes running is the only way out.

I waste time looking for a bag and start to get extremely anxious as the clock keeps ticking. I pull out a small gym holdall I assume is his from the wardrobe and push what I can inside. Pulling on a jacket I go to the window to try and get it open. It takes effort, even though this is a modern and well-maintained apartment, I am not familiar with the locks or how to open the damn things. I manage to slide it enough to get my hand and arm outside, eyeing up the metal fire escape through the glass and push the bag out by squishing it through forcefully so it lands with a gentle thud on the staircase outside. Luckily this building is only five or so floors high and I am not about to escape from a massively high penthouse.

The fire escape is a proper metal staircase from what I can see and the bottom floor has a pull-down ladder. It’s do-able. I manage to pull the window further but it stops dead about a foot over and I cannot get it to budge no matter how hard I push. There is a slim chance of me getting through that gap, but I am determined to try it anyway angling myself to get through sideways. I manage to slide my head and shoulders through but my ample bust is a bit of an effort and a half. Squeezing and wriggling until I get through and then shimmy to my waist, grazing my chest uncomfortably and start lifting my feet in a bid to find leverage as I dangle head first out of the open window.

My legs thrash about until I find something solid with one foot and push hard against it to give my body much needed traction, except the solid mass wraps around my ankle and yanks me back as I let out an almighty yelp in complete shock. Turning and struggling as I am pulled up hard inwards and my breasts wedge me tight in the gap in reverse of my first manoeuvre. The enraged glaring Italian on the other side of the glass is enough to make me lose all fight and I fall stiffly still when he reaches out with his free hand and unclips the window slider at the top. I fall inwards with an inelegant crash and whelp as my body collides with the floor. It’s not wholly painful, but it’s enough to knock the wind out of my sails and I can only stare helplessly in wide-eyed horror as nerves and fear come crashing down on top of me at his feet, trembling instantly because I made an already raging psycho worse.

‘’I swear to fucking God, I should beat you black and blue for trying this shit again,’’ Alexi growls at me, still holding my foot in mid-air as I thrash around on the floor trying to kick myself free from the iron grip, still determined to run as he bruises my ankle with the sheer force of his hold on me. He must have been closer than I realised and got here in record time. This is the worst possible outcome for me right now.

I just pushed him from maybe a seven on his bad mood scale to an eleven easily and he appears nuclear. He lets me go suddenly and my leg falls at an alarming speed, banging my heel on the floor with another thud and a sharp pain up my ankle. It’s then I realise Mico is standing in the doorway looking completely pissed off too, except I have no clue at which one of us, as he is glaring at Alexi’s head like he might actually jump him if he touches me again.

‘‘Go ahead, I don’t fucking care,’’ I yell straight back at him defiantly and I catch Mico wincing out of the corner of my eye. His eyes flashing from Alexi to me and I know he is silently trying to tell me to pipe down and stop aggravating his cousin. He knows as well as I do that this is not how you handle him, and I am only making this worse.

My fury and bravado waivers slightly until that pale grey glare hits my eyes and Alexi snarls in that sinister way that makes my body recoil.

I told you before that you should never push me.’’ He reminds me and the last ounce of every part of my bravery dies, the devil standing in front of me smug at his ability to inflict fear. Memories of that room and being tied to that cross, memories of being tied, beaten and abused mercilessly over and over in my past. My face runs cold as the warmth of

to glare at his cousin instead. A silent war of two glaring formidable bodied men in full aggressive mode and

with a similar kind of horror. I've lost count of how many times I would curl up and try to hide from cruel hands and monsters. I have no clue what Alexi will do to me anymore. I have lost all trust

Alexi sounds furious for once, not cool and low calm that sends chills down my spine, nope. This time its unconcealed rage and venom and I think this may

run from the Hamptons, this was the look I saw on his face when he snapped the neck of someone who touched what

heard me. Leave her alone Lex, enough is enough of this BS.’’ The silent looks and that determined strong tone, steel and

Alexi snaps at him.

me and Alexi seems to grow in size, warning him to back off as he crowds his prey

She brings this on herself … every fucking time.’’

and I won’t stand here and watch it this time.’’ The air becomes suffocatingly thick, and weirdly Alexi is first to break and look back at me with a touch of hesitation. He seems to be losing the

with some weird unspoken message that Mico seems to understand. Alexi is back to

floor, heart in my mouth and weakly afraid, scared to move or bring his anger back to

what? FINE! I’m done with you and this shit, you don’t want to go to Chicago? Then don’t. You don’t come back to the club either, EVER! Let your hero here decide where to put you and stay the hell away from me. He clearly wants to be responsible for you from here on in, so he can have you. I swear London you come within fifty feet of my club or me after today, I will not hold back, and Mico won’t have the chance to intervene. I will put you in a world of pain

shadow of a doubt that he means every word and it breaks my soul in two, no matter how afraid and how submissive I am sat here, he can still destroy my soul. Alexi glares at me one more time as though imprinting my face to a