A Contract with the Ruthless Mafia Billionaire

Lia's POV

"Sorry for the delay," I said, forcing a smile into my voice as I spoke to the customer even though my legs ached and my apron strings were digging into my waist.

"We're a little understaffed tonight," I continued. They just nodded, murmuring thanks as I turned away just as the bell above the door jingled. Another customer, I didn't even bother looking up to know who it was.

I just walked behind the counter, wiped my hands on a towel, and started getting ready for the next order. My feet were already sore, my back screaming to stop but the only thing that kept me going was the thought of the bills that needed paying... And Noah.

Always Noah.

He was my whole world.

The sound of my phone buzzing drifted me off my thoughts. It was a number I didn't recognize as it lit up the screen, with no caller ID. My brows pulled together as I hesitated to answer it, but what harm could a phone call do to me?

I answered it, and for a few seconds, all I heard was nothing. I pressed the phone tighter to my ear, thinking maybe it was a prank, but immediately a voice cut through.

"Your brother's made a mistake chica," the voice spoke, smooth and devoid of emotion. "If you want to see him alive, don't you dare call the police or tell anyone. Come to the address that would be sent to you."

And then, just like that the call cut. My screen went black before a message popped up, one line specifying the address I was supposed to be at. I stared at it, breath caught in my throat, the blood draining from my face.

What the hell did Noah just get himself into?

In the next second, my stool scraped against the floor, my legs carrying me before my head could even process anything as I grabbed my bag and ran out.. as if I knew where I was going.

********

The building was a towering structure of glass and metal, too beautiful to be hosting a nightmare. The security guards posted outside eyed me as I approached them.

"She's here." One of them muttered, pressing something to his ear and nodding. Inside, everything gleamed-marble floors, sleek chandeliers, the silence that pressed against my ears like a dead weight.

The man guiding me didn't utter a word, he didn't even look at me. Just kept walking with that same stiff, robotic precision, his suit perfectly pressed while his hands were behind his back like this was just another business deal.

"Heavens... help me," I murmured, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat, but it stuck there. I shouldn't have come here. God, I shouldn't have come alone. But I didn't have a choice.

After what felt like forever, we finally reached an elevator. No buttons or keycard, yet the doors opened on their own. This place...whatever it was... wasn't normal.

Then the door opened and that was when it dawned on me, not from the guards in black stationed at the ends of the hallway, or the opulent gold decor that screamed money. It was from what I saw on the wall right in front of me.

A crimson symbol. It looked circular, almost beautiful if you didn't know what it meant. But I did. Everyone in the city knew it... even if they pretended not to. A symbol that didn't show up on news channels or police reports because of how dangerous it was.

The Crimson Circle.

This wasn't just a gang.

This was the most brutal and dangerous criminal organization in New York, and my brother had just gotten himself involved with them.

The elevator door stopped with a chime and the doors immediately slid open. And that was when I finally came face to face with him, the leader of the Crimson Circle gang. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would be Kade Valen Wolfe.

He was one of the most powerful and ruthless billionaires in the city. But how....how the hell is it possible that he is the leader of the Crimson Circle? From the way he sat, he didn't just command the room-he owned it.

But it was his presence that nearly knocked the air out of my lungs. He leaned back in his chair like a king on a throne... casual, confident, and impossibly powerful. One leg crossed over the other, his arms resting with a calculated ease, like he had all the time in the world....and my life in the palm of his hands.

"Wher....where's my brother? I asked, trying not to let my voice shake, but God. Those eyes. A flush crept up my neck, not from shame or fear. It was a desire.

"Let's talk first." His lips curved slightly, not a smile but something darker. I stepped forward, trying not to show the fear creeping into every part of my bones. "I don't want to talk. I just want my brother."

He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded. "Your fucking brother stole from me. Two million dollars. And let's say......something he should have never gotten his hands on.

"I'll pay it back," I blurted. "Whatever it is, I'll find a way."

"You can't," he shot back. "You're nothing but a broke little girl who works in a cafe and owns a tiny little art studio that doesn't even sell any art. You're barely surviving."

I flinched, how did he know everything about me? But of course, he was fucking powerful so he was supposed to know. "You don't have anything I want.... Except one thing."

His eyes scanned me from head to toes, and suddenly, the air between us turned electric. "I want you." He said. My heart stopped.

"I want you," he continued, as if discussing the weather. "Your body. Your mind. Your obedience. I want everything to belong to me for a year."

I shook my head, trying to get over the shock of what he just said. "You can't be serious...."

"I am," he interrupted before I could finish my words, rising slowly from his chair. "One year. You belong to me, do what I say. You live where I say. You even breathe when I allow it."

"Do that for me little princess... and I'll make sure your brother walks out alive and untouched," he added, like an afterthought. "And I'll forget the debt he owes me."

I stepped back. "I... I can't do such a sick thing. He lifted his hand, picking up a remote as he pressed it onto the large screen on the far wall which flickered to life.

Noah.

Tied to a chair, his face full of blood. His head was hanging low. A man stood beside him, pointing a gun right at his head.

"Oh my God....Noah!!"

I let out a gasp, staggering backwards until I almost fell to the floor. He stepped closer, his body towering over me.

"You have sixty seconds to decide if your brother lives or dies, princess."

Lia's POV

"I'll do it," I whispered.

The words leaving my mouth before I could even think them through. My heart was pounding in my chest as I stepped forward, holding out my trembling hands like I was offering them to the devil himself.

Kade's eyes dropped to my hands, slowly rising to meet mine. A sly smirk tugged at his lips again, this time colder, confident, and calculating.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice a low murmur that somehow filled the entire room. "I'll do anything to save my brother," I breathed. "Just...please spare his life."

He gripped my arm, engulfing my fingers like steel. And it dawned on me in that moment that I had just sealed something far darker than a deal. I have sold myself to him, my body, mind, and soul.

Kade didn't let go. Instead, he pulled me closer even more, his eyes raking over me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. "Good girl," he whispered, brushing a thumb over the back of my hand before finally releasing me.

"You're mine now, little princess."

I stepped back, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat. "Pl....Please let me go to my brother." But he only laughed, the sound sending a chill down my spine.

"Not so fast."

He turned on his heel and walked towards a door. I stood frozen, uncertain about what was happening, until he looked back at me. "Well? Follow me."

I hesitated, every instinct in my body telling me not to dare do it, but I followed. We walked past a hallway, past two huge guards who didn't even blink as we passed. The door he led me to looked like any other, but the moment he opened it, I realized this wasn't just a room.

It was a damn cage. Small, clean, and empty except for a single bed, a full-length mirror at the edge of the bed. No windows. "Where's my brother?" I asked, and walked in as I turned to face him.

Kade didn't answer. Instead, he kicked the door shut behind him, and in an instant he was closing the distance between us. "Wh...what are you doing sir?" I staggered back until my legs hit the bedframe.

But he didn't utter a word. The next thing I felt was his hands on my waist as he grabbed me-rough, unforgiving. One moment I stood by the bed, breath caught in my throat.

The next thing I knew, I was against the wall, his body pressed into mine, closing every bit of space I had left to breathe. His mouth crashed onto mine...not a kiss but rather a warning, making sure that I knew I now belonged to him.

I stood still, a gasp caught somewhere between my throat and his lips. The taste of him flooded every part of my senses...dark, possessive, and with how much I hated to admit it. Addictive.

My hands flew to his chest, my trembling fingers pushing hard against the solid wall of muscle on his body. But it was like I was trying to move a stone. "Mr Kade...please..." I choked out, my voice breaking.

Yet he didn't stop.

"Has anyone ever fucked you so bad you didn't want them to stop?" Whispering into my ears as his hands slid to my thighs, pulling me tighter into him, his thigh pushing between mine, lifting slightly off the foot like I weighed nothing.

He unbuttoned my shirt with a sound that made my heart stop, the fabric falling open in shreds as the cold air licked across my exposed skin. I gasped for air again, the sound unintentional as the heat of his lips trailed lower..hovering by my jaw, down to the curve of my throat.

His breath was warm against mine, his teeth not biting, just threatening, making me shiver even as every nerve under my skin came alive in his hands.

"You don't get to plead, little princess," growling into my ear while his mouth devoured every part of my neck. "You signed yourself over to me. You're mine now."

I flinched, both from fear and something else I couldn't make of yet..something dangerous. His hand curled into my hair, drawing my head back it exposing my neck like prey. My knees tried to fight him off, but his arm was already there, owning me.

I hated how my body responded to him. How every part of me didn't want him to stop. And maybe... maybe he saw it. Because suddenly he pulled back, and just like that his body left mine in a rush of cold air.

I stumbled forward, my chest rising and falling in heavy gasps, my fingers clutching at the torn remains of my shirt as I stared at him, fear evident across my face.

"Relax,' little princess," he chuckled, licking his lower lip like he could still taste me. "I'm not fucking you tonight." His eyes dropped down to my body, lingering where the fabric clung desperately to what was left of my modesty.

There was nothing gentle about the way he looked at me...only hunger, he was just holding back with a terrifying kind of discipline. "I like to see fear in people," he murmured, stepping closer to me again but not touching this time.

Just letting me feel the weight of his presence. "But I like anticipation more." Of course, I couldn't say a word, my heart was still in my throat while my skin still burned from his touch...still tingling...still aching.

He stretched out his hands, and for a moment I staggered back in fear, thinking he would grab me again. But instead, his fingers only brushed a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear like a good lover would.

He stepped back, walked to the door, and pulled it open. "You'll stay here for tonight. Locked and watched." I blinked, still too shaken to say a word.

"Try to escape...and your brother dies." Pausing to speak in the doorway. Then the door shut behind him, the lock clicked and I was all alone.

I dropped to the bed, my heart still pounding in my chest from the memory of everything that just happened.

His touch, his scent, his mouth on my skin. "God, what had I just gotten myself into?" I murmured, wrapping my arms around myself to keep my body from shaking.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the way my body had reacted to his touch, the way my skin burned from where his hands had been. That fucking look of weakness in my face when he looked at me like I was something worth destroying.

Tears blurred my vision. And then I noticed it, but I stepped closer to the mirror slowly, my reflection looked....new. Was this what selling your soul to the devil looked like?

I turned away to climb on the bed, and that's when I saw it. A camera. A small, red light was blinking from the ceiling. I was being watched by him every second. Every single breath or movement I made.

And I knew

Kade Valen wasn't done with me.

Not even close.

But worst of all?

I couldn't stop remembering the way his mouth felt on mine...

And the shameful part of me that had wanted more.

Lia's POV

The knock at the door wasn't loud... it was quiet, deliberate. But it also may have been a thunderclap for drifting me off from my thoughts.

I hadn't slept all night, couldn't. The walls were too tight, and that camera with its blinking eye...it never stopped watching me. I hated it, but I hated him even more.

The door creaked open, and a tall, mean-faced man was standing right in front of me in an instant. "The boss wants to see you. Follow me." That was all he said, like I was just an object waiting to be summoned by its owner.

I didn't answer him, I just stood up, following him down the hallway without a word. Passing polished floors and guards who stared straight ahead like statues.

The doors opened with a heavy groan and there he was. Kade Valen. Shirtless, barefoot, and completely unbothered...like he didn't just destroy my life and now locked me in a cage.

"Morning, little princess," he hissed. Standing before the punching bag like it owed him something, each strike landed with brutal precision....raw, controlled power rippled through his arms and down his back.

He looked up at me, that smug wicked smirk from last night already in his eyes. "Rest well in your luxury suite?" He spoke, grabbing a towel and dragging it slowly down the side of his neck.

I said nothing, my lips pressed into a thin line, hands folded at my sides. He smiled, turning back to the punching bag and throwing another punch, his knuckles cracking against the leather like a gunshot.

"Oh right," he continued, "I forgot you're still in that sulking phase from last night," throwing another punch. "It's cute though. But you have no other option than to cheer up, little princess."

I stared right at him, every bone in my body screaming at me to slap him across the face. Fucking jerk. But then he turned again, this time walking towards me with a slow, predatory step.

"You look tense, Lia," he said, stopping just a breath away. I could smell his sweat, the faint trace of cologne, something dark and masculine about it. "You should try stretching. Maybe do some squats. I want you to look sexy for daddy."

"Or..." he leaned down, his breath brushing against my ear. "Or we can do some other type of workout. Like the one we almost did last night." My stomach twisted, anger rising in my chest. I wanted to punch him, to scream. But God help me...some stupid part of me wanted to feel his hands on me again.

The way his touch burned and left me craving for him. It disgusted me. I was disgusted with myself. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, the expression on his face nothing but pure mockery.

"You know, the way you're looking at me right now? He moved closer. "It's almost as if you like what you're seeing." My chest is rising and falling in heavy gasps, anger surging through me like a heavy storm.

"But don't worry. I get it. It's confusing when your body wants something else but your mouth keeps lying about it." That was it, I was done putting up with his fucking bullshit. Something in me broke and before I could even realize what the hell I was doing, I turned.

Grabbing a glass from the table behind me, and with every ounce of rage and humiliation I had swallowed since last night...I hurled it at him. It flew fast, but Kade moved faster.

The glass shattered against the wall behind him, and shreds of it scattered across the floor. The sound echoed like a gunshot. For one long second, neither of us moved.

But the next thing I knew, he was in front of me in the blink of an eye, slamming a hand against the wall beside my head and pinning me to it, his body towering over mine just inches away.

Nothing was gentle or calm about his eyes anymore...they were cold, burning like the edge of a flame held just under my skin. "Don't you ever mistake my mercy for weakness," he growled, nothing funny about the tone of his voice.

"You and your fucking brother are alive because I allow it. You breathe because I say so." A chill crept down my spine, sweat falling down my face. My lips parted slightly to say something, but he was too close...his scent, sweat, and power wrapped around me like smoke.

His muscled bare chest hovered around mine, the warmth of his skin threatening to melt whatever pretense I had been letting myself believe.

"You want to break things, little princess?" He whispered, his voice coiling around me like a noose. "Next time, I'll let you clean the blood off the floor yourself, and trust me. It will be your blood."

His eyes dropped down, lingering on my lips with a hunger so raw I could feel it just by staring at him. My knees weakened, I should have pushed him, or rather, spat in his face.

But I didn't move. Because something in me wanted him to close the little space between us so badly. To press me harder against the wall and finish what he started last night.

No.

I couldn't let myself even dare to feel anything for this monster. I clenched my fists behind me, my nails into my skin to ground myself from melting into him...to fight this sick, shameful pull his presence lit inside me.

He moved his head slightly, his eyes still locked on my lips, watching me like a predator teasing the line between torment and desire. My heart pounded too fast, and he noticed. Of course he had to notice.

"You're under my roof now, " he whispered, leaning closer, his lips almost meeting mine but just inches apart. And yet...I was shaking for reasons I didn't want to understand.

"It's either you be a good girl and obey me, little princess," he murmured. Or you will suffer for it. There are no options." Then he stepped back, acting as if nothing had happened.

I stood still, my pulse thundering in my ears, his words still burning on my skin. But before I could recover from it, the door opened with a sharp click.

A strange woman walking in like she owned every fucking thing in this building, even Kade himself. She was stunning, ridiculously so. Tall and curvy with flawless skin and dark eyes that sparkled like venom.

"Well," she drawled, her heels clicking across the floor like weapons, and the moment her eyes landed on me...it turned to poison. "Who the hell is this Kade?" She asked, turning to face Kade.

Ignoring me like I was nothing but a ghost. "Another one of your toys?"

Heaven help me....

What the hell did she just mean by his toy?