Havok: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance - Riley Rollins Page 0,3

eyes bulging, silently pleading for me to let go of him.

He's like a repentant little child, begging for forgiveness after he's been naughty. Except he's not a child, he's a grown-ass man who can dish it out but not take it.

Fucking pathetic.

Instead of releasing him, I squeeze his neck even harder, watching his face turn from red to purple. Weakness brings out my killer instinct. I just can't help myself.

One of his three buddies steps toward me, but he stops short when I raise my left palm in warning. "Back off, cockhead," I growl. Fear flashes through his eyes. He's nothing without the leader of his group.

Before the situation escalates further, two more bouncers and the burly club manager, Igor, rush toward us and encircle the men. I loosen my grip around the man's neck, finally letting him stand as he gasps for air.

I hate letting him go, because mercy isn't in my fucking playbook. Any other time or place, he'd be dead.

I lean in close to him. "Get out," I whisper. "You come back, you die."

He turns away without speaking as he rubs his neck, trying to salvage his dignity. His posse follows him, making rude gestures at the bouncers accompanying them. But they leave without further drama, like the obedient little boys they are.

Igor hangs back by me. He's big, wide, and thick, almost a cube of a man, with curly mop-like hair that he gels to fucking hell. Like me, Igor works for the Bratva. But managing this place is his main gig, not a side job like it is for me. Truth is, this club brings in a hefty income for us.

He gives me a cold smile. The fucker has always rubbed me the wrong way. Always harassing the girls, using his authority to push them around because he's so fucking unattractive. He may be on my side, but he's a fucking creep through and through.

"Top job, Vlady," he says, clapping me on the shoulder, before walking away. His hand feels cold, even through my jacket. I see him pinch a dancer's ass on his way backstage and my jaw clenches. Scumbag.

On stage, the song ends and Violet and Mackenzie step off. I smooth the wrinkles on my jacket, weaving my way back toward my usual position in the club.

Then, I see her stepping onto the stage.

Penny Taylor.

The only dancer I can't take my eyes off, even all these years later.

I still remember the first day I saw her dance. She captivated me with her beauty, with her shimmering auburn hair, with that tight, perky body make for fucking. And a face even sweeter than baklava.

She made me feel things I didn't know it was possible for a monster like me to feel. Things I haven't felt since Irina.

Only, a thousand times stronger.

I thought my fascination with her would pass, that she would no longer give me a hard-on under my suit trousers after the twentieth or thirtieth time seeing her on stage.

But she still does. She does what no other woman can do. My animal brain wants to jump her sweet bones so bad, take her into the back room, shove her panties to the side of her tight cunt and have my way with her.

I know the way she looks at me. She'd fucking take my cock, all nine inches of it. But I'll never do it. I can't afford to let her get close.

Because here in the shadows, I can at least protect her from those who would do her harm.

I just can't let her get any closer. Because if I do, I don't think I'd be able to protect her from myself.

3

Penny

From backstage, I hear Violet and Mackenzie's last song end. That's my cue—I'm up next. The boss here, Igor, doesn't tolerate more than two minute intervals with an empty stage. Empty stages mean empty wallets, he says. And the first lesson the girls learn here is not to make Igor mad.

Around me in the dressing room, four or five other girls lean into the mirrors, batting their eyelashes and dabbing at their faces as they apply makeup. The room smells crusty and stale, the dusty wood flooring covered in colorful splashes of dried nail polish that's sunk in far too deep to ever come out. The room is stagnant, like our lives.

I dig around in my purse and withdraw a small orange pill bottle. I try to be discreet as I open it. No one here blinks twice at drug use,