Unprotected with the Mob Boss: A Dark Mafia Romance (Alekseiev Bratva) by Fox, Nicole (ebook reader online .txt) 📕

But it would end up costing him everything and it would break his heart to know that he was one of the reasons I decided to go into this deal. It would cost everybody an irrevocable amount of pain and Lev would, more likely than not, eventually walk free with an effusive apology from the city government.

And then he’d probably come for me.

My mother puts her hand on my arm. “Go ahead, Ally. What is it?”

“I’ve been in a relationship,” I say, letting the lie simmer on my tongue. “For the last six months.”

My father looks over at my mother, observing to see if she knew about this. My mother tilts her head.

“That’s … that’s good, Ally,” she says. “Why would you hide that from us?”

“It’s a bit complicated.” I twist my clutch harder. “But … he’s here.”

I turn. Lev is already approaching us. I keep my eyes on his face to avoid looking at my parents. He looks so impossibly good.

“Mom, Dad, this is Lev,” I say. As I turn to glance back at them, Lev’s arm slides around my waist and I see my father’s face. I watch it change from faint recognition to confusion to disbelief, then straight to livid with ‘do not pass go; do not collect two hundred dollars’-type speed. Blood rushes so quickly to his face that I have no idea how he manages to remain upright.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington.” Lev holds his hand out. My mother shakes it, but my father purposefully turns away from him and toward me.

“I need to talk to you privately, Ally,” he says. I reach for Lev’s hand that’s around my waist without thinking. When my father’s eyes follow my movement, my hand retreats back to my clutch.

“Don’t you want to all talk together?” I ask.

“It’s fine,” Lev says, his arm disappearing from my waist. As much as I hate to admit it, I miss it. “Your mother and I can get a drink and get to know each other.”

“Or you can step back,” my father says.

“Peter,” my mother chastises. “Don’t be a jerk. This is your daughter’s boyfriend. Let’s not make a scene. How did the two of you meet, Ally?”

The look that my father gives Lev could turn lions into kittens, but Lev looks back at him without any indication that he’s noticed my father’s anger.

“As strange as it sounds, we met at the gas station,” Lev says. He smiles at me as if remembering the moment. I imagine the real memory is playing in his head—my body leaning over Jeffrey Douglas’ as I perform CPR, trying to tell him that a corpse isn’t dead. “She came up to me, acting like she knew me from a long time ago. After about a minute, I realized she thought I was one of her old classmates.”

I nod, touching my temples like it can erase the image of Jeffrey Douglas choking.

“It was super embarrassing,” I tell my parents. “I kept apologizing, but he was very cool about it. He bought me the soda that I had been planning to get.”

Lev’s hand settles on my back again. His thumb strokes against my spine. It’s enough to center my thoughts, banishing the memories of that night to shadowy parts of my mind.

“And you happened to be in a gas station?” my father asks Lev.

“Why wouldn’t he be in a gas station?” my mother asks. My father runs his fingers down his tie.

“Mr. Alekseiev is rich,” he says. “Rich enough that he doesn’t need to get his own gas.”

“He’s rich?” My mother appraises Lev again.

“I’m well off, but I still get my own gas. Chalk it up to a quirk of personality,” Lev says. “When we met, I was getting gas and, at the time, I was still smoking and needed a lighter, so I went inside. Simple as that. I quit now, though.” He winks at my mother, dripping with charm.

“You know that Ally wants to be a prosecutor, correct?” my father cuts in the moment Lev stops talking. He takes a step closer to Lev.

My mother takes an unsteady step back. She tries to catch my eye, but I’m too aware of how easily violence could break out between these two, so I keep my eyes on both of them. “District attorney in fact, one day.”

“Yes,” Lev says. “I’m looking forward to it. I know that Ally is passionate enough about justice and doing right by the victims’ families that she’ll put in all of her time and effort to convict them. She will be an amazing DA one day. I’m certain the city will be safer with her in that position.”

“Well, that’s so nice of you,” my mother says. My father shakes his head. A caterer stops beside us.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he says. “Would any of you like to try the cheddar, apple, and arugula flatbread?”

“Sure,” I say a bit too quickly. I take two pieces. Impulsively, I give one of them to Lev. As I take a bite out of mine, I see my father watching my hand pass off the flatbread to Lev. It might as well have been a kiss.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, though I’m not completely certain why. Lev briefly squeezes my hip. It could be a reassurance or a reminder to keep the con up.

My whole world becomes two men’s reactions—my father’s frustration and Lev’s arm around me.

“Ally, we need to talk privately for a moment,” my father says firmly. As he opens his mouth to speak again, the sound of a microphone being tapped fills the ballroom. We all turn to see an older man in the center of the dance floor.

“Everyone, thank you so much for coming,” the man on the mic announces. “I’m certain you’re all starving and we’ll have plenty of time to honor our wonderful law enforcement officers after we’ve eaten, so we’re going to start the dinner now. You’ll notice that every table