Ivan (An Out of the Cage Novel Book 2) Read online

  “How can you be okay with this?” Ivan asks. “I wanted to save you from the mafia, not make you their queen! I hate the crime organizations and everything they stand for!”

  “Then change it,” I tell him. “Take over and lock them all up. Support orphanages and food pantries instead of drug smuggling and gambling. Be someone people can look up to rather than fear.”

  “I don’t think it works like that,” he argues. “The goons want to get paid, and the only way to do that is by the shady cash operations.”

  “I don’t know much about my dad’s work, but he was starting to invest in legitimate money makers like the licensed fights, right? “

  “Yeah.”

  “So, what’s wrong with running that?” I ask.

  “Nothing, I guess.”

  “And the strip club? While I don’t approve of the dancers sleeping with guys, those places can be run in a legitimate way too, right?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Ivan agrees. “But it’ll take someone to watch it like a hawk. Bouncers to actually enforce the rules.”

  “Right, and if they don’t, you break their knees,” I joke.

  “Ha-ha,” he replies sarcastically.

  “Did I mention that it’s pretty hot thinking about you being in charge? You would be the guy everyone respects, and I would get to be the woman on your arm,” I tell him as I climb over to straddle his lap.

  “Maylin, he can’t make you marry me,” Ivan says against my lips when I kiss him. “I won’t be a tyrant like Jimmy.”

  “Well, you did take my virginity,” I remind him with a slip of my tongue into his mouth while my hands work on his pants zipper. “The least you could do is make an honest woman out of me.”

  After sucking in all the oxygen in the van when I fist his hardening length, Ivan says, “No. You’re too young.”

  Okay, so he still needs a little more convincing. Ivan has to agree to this plan of my father’s or I’ll lose him forever too. Then all hell will break loose with the two mafia organizations. I can’t let either of those things happen.

  “Who’s gonna take care of me if my father is locked up for the rest of his life?” I ask with a pout as I stroke my hand up and down his cock.

  Ivan groans and then his hands are between us, undoing my pants.

  “Nuh-uh,” I tell him when I grab his hands to stop him. “I think I want to wait before I let a man touch me that way again. You know, save what little innocence I have left for my husband?”

  “No, this is not what you really want, Maylin,” Ivan argues. “You’re just giving in to what your father wants you to do.”

  “You don’t want to marry me?” I ask.

  “What? Of course, I do. But in a few years, when we’ve been together for a while and you’re absolutely sure…”

  “Ivan?” I ask as I kiss him and give his bottom lip a tug between my teeth. “Do you want you and your friends to end up in prison, or do you want to fast-forward a little and be with me now?”

  “Be with you,” he says as he grabs my ass to pull me flush against him so that there’s not an inch of space between our chests. Then he pulls my face down to his. “Let me be with you now,” he says as he kisses me deeply.

  Running my fingers through both sides of his hair, I kiss him back as our bodies grind against each other urgently, wanting more. Yet I refuse to give in. I know I may be young and not know Ivan very well, but I do know my father. If he gave Ivan an ultimatum, it’s one he doesn’t take lightly. He sacrificed himself. And if all he wants in return is for me and Ivan to be together and for Ivan to take over his empire, then so be it. I refuse to let Ivan end up in prison with my father, leaving me all alone. Ivan deserves happiness after the awful things he’s suffered in his life.

  When his hand slips up under my shirt to feel up my breasts, I know I don’t have much time before I cave.

  “Let’s…let’s go to the magistrate’s office. Right now, and make it official,” I suggest.

  “We can’t,” Ivan replies, his rejection stinging as I jerk away. “It’s Sunday. They’re not open.”

  “Oh,” I mutter in understanding.

  Grabbing my chin to lift my eyes to his, he sighs heavily and then asks, “Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow,” I agree with a smile.

  “We can invite Knox and Cain, even Gabby.”

  “That would be awesome,” I tell him, more excited about a quick, courthouse exchange of vows than the extravagant wedding at the hotel.

  Running his thumb over my bottom lip, he asks, “Are you really gonna make me wait until after the ceremony to make love to you again?”

  “Yes,” I agree, just to ensure that he doesn’t change his mind before my father’s deadline.

  “Fine. I can wait one day,” he agrees.

  “And then I promise we’ll figure out the rest, together,” I assure him as I press my forehead against his.

  “Together,” Ivan agrees with a small smile. “Just promise me that you’ll think all this through tonight to make sure it’s what you really want.”

  “Deal,” I agree, even though I already know I won’t be changing my mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ivan

  “Dude, time to wake up!” Knox’s voice pierces through my happy dream, just like every other morning when I sleep through my alarm and it’s past time for us to hit the gym.

  Hold on a second…

  My eyes fly open and disappointment fills me as I sit up and take in the familiar surroundings of my bedroom. I’m alone, like usual, despite the vivid dream I was having of Maylin and me in the van. She was working on convincing me…

  “Shit,” I mutter. “Did any of it really happen?” I look up at the doorway and ask Knox.

  Brow furrowed, he says, “Did what happen?”

  I scramble out of bed in my boxers to frantically question him. “Everything! Meeting Maylin at the club, finding out Jimmy Russo murdered my mother, and that he was my father. Killing him! Okay, some of that I really hope was a nightmare, but the rest…did it happen? If it did, then where the fuck is she?”

  “Calm down, bro. You’re rambling and shit, which I have to say is freaking me the hell out,” Knox replies while leaning a shoulder casually against the door frame.

  “What did we do yesterday? Answer me!” I exclaim when I go over grab the front of his shirt in both fists.

  “I don’t know what all you did yesterday,” he says calmly. “But today you’re supposed to be getting married. Should we call off the wedding due to temporary insanity?”

  “Oh, thank fuck,” I gasp in relief as I let him go. “So it was real. Liam’s making me marry Maylin. I could kiss him for that, but I’d like to punch him for making me the head honcho of two mobs.”

  “Yep. Maylin left a few hours ago to go home and get ready, and we have about three hours to find you a tux,” Knox says with a supportive squeeze of his hand to my shoulder. “I know this whole leader thing won’t be easy, but you’ve got this. This is your chance to stop the violence and drugs, make the community safer while at the same time living the life of luxury. I still think that’s a fair deal when the alternative is life in prison.”

  “Easy for you to say, it’s not all resting on your shoulders,” I tell him as I swipe my palm over my face. “I’m gonna need your help, you know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I do. Anything you need, as long as it won’t bring heat from the cops on my ass. I’ve got to try and get on Jade’s good side for once.”

  “Still no word from her?” I look over at him and ask, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his eyes.

  “Nope. I stayed at the house all fucking night waiting for her. After you say your vows and shit I’m gonna drive over and camp out on her porch until she comes home.”

  “Good luck,” I tell him, knowing he’ll need it.

  “Thanks, and you too, Mr. Rivers. Or should I call you sir now?” Knox teases.

  “Actually, Liam’s insisting
I roll out my birth name to bolster legitimacy or whatever.”

  “So you’re gonna go by Anthony now?”

  “I’m still Ivan,” I assure him. “That’s the name my mother gave me. But I don’t have a choice in what Liam wants. He has us all by the balls, for better or worse.”

  “Yeah, but he’s in prison. Find a way to treat his men better than he does and he won’t have anything to back up his threat.”

  “Except turning us in to the police,” I remind him.

  “Well, there is that,” Knox admits on a groan. “On the other hand, you should do what the man says and stay on his good side. But I’m pretty sure that keeping his daughter happy will go a long way with him.”

  “That won’t ever be a problem,” I say, intending to treat Maylin like a queen. I don’t deserve her but that doesn’t mean I’ll turn down this chance to make her mine.

  Sure, all the rest is scary, but for her it’s worth it to man up and do what needs to be done.

  …

  Maylin

  “You look absolutely gorgeous,” Gabby tells me as she zips up the back of my wedding dress while I stand in front of the floor length mirror in my bedroom.

  “Thank you,” I tell her with a smile so big my face hurts.

  “I still can’t believe you’re getting married! And to Ivan! Or that you both kept this from me!”

  “Sorry,” I tell her with a wince. “There was just so much going on and I didn’t think we would actually end up together.”

  “And you’re sure about doing this now? I know it’s what your father wants but surely you could put it off for a few weeks…”

  “Yeah, it’s crazy and we don’t know each other well. But I feel good about this decision. I thought I would have doubts, at least one after about a million with the last wedding I had to get ready for, and yet the only thing I worry about is that Ivan doesn’t really want to go through with this. That he doesn’t think he can say no to my father, because, well, he can’t.”

  “If I had to guess,” Gabby starts. “I would bet Ivan is thinking the same thing, concerned that you’re being coerced into this, but still wanting it anyway.”

  “Hopefully you’re right,” I reply on a sigh.

  “Just wait until he sees you. He’ll fall all over himself to marry you.”

  “We better get going,” I say, rather than continue dwelling on those concerns that aren’t doing anyone any good.

  “Right, okay. There’s a car waiting out front so we’re all set,” Gabby says as she flutters around the room, grabbing my flowers and hers since she’s my maid of honor.

  “Camera?” I ask, since it’s important to have pictures for my father who can’t be there. I always assumed he would walk me down the aisle on my wedding day, not that he would be locked up for a murder he didn’t commit, but my groom did.

  “In my purse,” she says as she tosses her bag over her shoulder.

  At least there won’t be an actual aisle I have to walk down alone because we’re getting married in the courthouse’s courtyard garden. My father wanted the wedding to be public, so you can’t get more public than smack dab in the middle of the city.

  When the driver pulls up out front of the courthouse just a few short minutes later, there’s already a crowd gathering in the grass.

  “Who are all these people?” Gabby asks as she helps me out of the back seat so that I won’t mess up my dress. Once I’m clear she hands me my bouquet of white roses.

  “Um, I’m not sure,” I reply as we walk closer and everyone turns to look at us. “I think some are my father’s men.”

  “I’m guessing the Italians were invited too?” Gabby whispers.

  “Yep. Another reason why a public place was so important.”

  “And they know your father confessed to killing Jimmy?” she asks.

  “Probably so,” I answer. “Let’s hope they don’t hold that against me.”

  God, I really hope my father knows what he’s doing and doesn’t get us all killed in a rivalry shootout today.

  When we approach the group of a hundred or so nicely dressed men with a few women sprinkled around, they all go silent and then separate to make room for us to walk through the center.

  A moment later, we enter the gazebo where Ivan, Cain and Knox are waiting in matching black tuxes for us, along with a graying man I assume will officiate.

  Ivan’s eyes widen as he takes me in, then he steps forward, looking amazing in his suit.

  “Hey,” he says when he’s in front of me, a grin stretching his face.

  “Hey,” I repeat as I smile back at him, noticing in his eyes and with the squaring of his shoulders that his confidence seems much higher than it was last night.

  Taking my hand in his, Ivan says, “You look gorgeous.”

  “Thanks, so do you.”

  “You ready to do this?” he asks.

  “Only if you are,” I answer.

  “I would be a fool not to,” he says as he leads me over to the officiant. “There’s some…business we apparently have to resolve first.”

  “Business?” I question.

  “We’re ready,” he tells the older man holding the Bible, who begins speaking loud enough for everyone to hear him.

  “Friends, we’re gathered here today to witness the union of Anthony Russo and Maylin O’Donnell. Before they can be wed, the groom must prove his devotion to another...” With a nod of his head, a man steps forward from the crowd and pulls out a huge knife from a sheath.

  “What the –” I start to say when Ivan squeezes my hand.

  “Anthony Russo, do you hereby swear in front of these witnesses to join the Italian brotherhood, to serve until your last breath, and to die by the gun or knife to protect your own?”

  “I do,” Ivan says as he offers his left hand between us to the man who quickly pierces his fingertip with the knife and then wraps a white handkerchief around it before I spot even a drop of crimson.

  “You are now bound by blood oath to the brotherhood. And if you are worthy to lead, your sacrifice will not be singed by the trials of fire.”

  Before I can even try to figure out what the heck that means, the man pulls out a lighter and sets the cloth around Ivan’s finger on fire. It burns quickly before the wind blows it out, not even coming close to Ivan’s skin.

  Some members of the crowd claps in celebration before the crazy man with a knife and lighter backs away.

  The next gentleman to step forward with short, strawberry blond hair and a long beard I instantly recognize as one of my father’s men.

  “Anthony Russo, also known as Ivan, do you solemnly swear to uphold the bylaws of the Irish syndicate above all others, upon pain of death, from this moment until your death?”

  “I do,” Ivan agrees somewhat stiffly.

  Thankfully the Irish don’t require blood. Instead, my father’s man pulls out a vial of clear liquid and removes the cork. Dabbing some of the fluid on his fingertip, he then uses it to draw a cross on Ivan’s forehead.

  “May God watch over and protect you as you fight the good fight. Amen.”

  A chorus of Amens echo around us as the man returns to the group of observers.

  “Now,” the officiant starts. “Do you Anthony Russo, take Maylin O’Donnell to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward?”

  Holding my gaze, Ivan says, “I do.” This time the two words are spoken with ease and a hint of relief.

  “And do you Maylin O’Donnell, take Anthony Russo to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward?”

  “I do,” I agree with a smile that matches Ivan.

  “Then place these rings on each other’s finger as a symbol of your unwavering devotion,” the officiant says as he offers each of us a white gold band.

  “You first,” Ivan says as he takes my left hand and slides the ring into place. I repeat the move on his much larger finger.

  “By the power invested in
me by the state of North Carolina, and with the approval of your father…” he pauses as a few people in the crowd chuckle. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  “Gladly,” Ivan says before he cups my face in each of his hands and covers my lips with his own.

  The cheers around us are deafening.

  When he pulls back, I kiss his cheek sweetly and tell him, “We’ll figure out the rest together,” just as we promised each other last night.

  “I know we will,” he replies as he wraps his arms around me. “Even if it takes forever.”

  Epilogue

  KNOX

  I’ve been sitting on Jade’s porch for two, long, miserable days, ever since I left Ivan’s wedding. I have no clue where she is or when I’ll see her again since her phone number has been disconnected.

  I get that Jade is pissed at me. What I did, nearly getting caught for being an accomplice in a murder was stupid and goes against her entire being since her job is to catch criminals. She takes that job seriously, so being involved with someone like me is a huge risk.

  Apparently too big of a risk for her to take.

  I just wish she would let me explain or try to convince her to give me another chance to show her that I can be a good man. Although, I can’t say that I would even believe that shit myself. Still, I have to figure out a way to prove to Jade that I deserve to be a father to our baby. I’ll never give up on trying to be a part of my child’s life. I refuse to let him or her think for one second that I didn’t love them, because I already do. This baby is more than my flesh and blood. They’re my heart and soul, the only other person in this world who is my actual family.

  Now that Ivan has taken over not one, but two mafias, I get the feeling that I’m going to have to choose between Ivan, the only family that I’ve ever had, and Jade and the baby, the family I’ve always wanted.

  There’s no way I can abandon Ivan to run things on his own without getting hurt or killed, but helping him will only push Jade farther away.