Perfect Villain : A Dark Stalker Mafia Romance Read online

  CONTENTS

  Blurb

  Preface

  1. Christian

  2. Siân

  3. Christian

  4. Siân

  5. Christian

  6. Siân

  7. Christian

  8. Siân

  9. Christian

  10. Siân

  11. Christian

  12. Siân

  13. Christian

  14. Siân

  15. Christian

  16. Siân

  17. Christian

  18. Siân

  19. Christian

  20. Siân

  21. Christian

  22. Siân

  23. Christian

  24. Siân

  25. Christian

  26. Siân

  About J.L. Beck

  About S. Rena

  BLURB

  The second our eyes connected, I felt the shift in the air. The crackle of fire ignited between us.

  He was dark, dangerous, and secretive.

  He came into my life like a storm, ripping apart everything I believed in, everything I thought I knew.

  With his mischievous smirk, stunning looks, and alluring behavior, I should’ve run as far away from him as I could.

  But I was stupid. I trapped myself in his web and thought I was safe with him. Safe in his arms, safe from a past that refused to let go.

  It turns out, Christian Russo was the past I was running from, and my first mistake was ever thinking I could escape him.

  ___

  Playlist

  PREFACE

  Everyone has an addiction.

  Siân Giuliani is mine.

  1

  CHRISTIAN

  Darkness is a constant that’ll never die.

  Many are afraid of it and the things that lurk within.

  But then again, many aren’t me.

  I thrive on living in the shadows, the corruption, even the immortality of it all. I enjoy only two things more than the blackness: the fear I evoke in others and Siân Giuliani.

  She’s the product of my obsession, and her fear feeds my soul the most. It’s a drug, an addiction I’ll never shake. So, you’ll understand why I watch her.

  There she is, walking away from the campus with a friend in tow. She looks nothing like she did before, nothing like the first time I watched her. Her skin is still as smooth as silk and blemish-free, but she’s a shade darker now, her olive complexion a gift from the Florida sun.

  Her hair is different, longer, and dyed back to her natural brown. I like her with darker hair. It suits her better than the blond she previously wore.

  From where I sit, parked in a Ferrari that’s as black as my soul, I can see the shade of red that paints her lips, and I like that too. My dick twitches at the thought of her wrapping that pretty mouth around my shaft. It’s a never-ending fantasy, really, one that’s long past due to become a reality.

  Usually, all I do is watch, but tonight, that changes.

  Tonight, I’ll make good on the promise I made to her all those years ago and let her know I’m back.

  She belongs to me, was promised to me as a boy, and meant to be my wife the moment she came of age. The first time I saw her face, we were kids. She was ten, and I was fourteen. The sweet, innocent girl who had no idea about the life she was fated to live.

  The Russos and the Giulianis are two of Italy’s most ruthless families. We were born to hate each other, cursed by an age-old rivalry carried out by our fathers—a feud set to be squashed by the promise of an alliance. To put an end to the war between our families and strengthen their territories, Giuliani gifted me his only daughter with the promise of an heir. Together, we were supposed to reign over Italy, bringing the lifelong dispute to an end with our bond.

  I knew then we were different. Unlike me, she was pure and oblivious to the world around her. I was raised to be my father’s son, exposed to blood, carnage, and murder early on. By my fifteenth birthday, I’d already taken a life, and by the age of seventeen, I discovered my need to observe.

  Before we had a chance to meet, at least the way we were supposed to, she was ripped away from me. Marco reneged on our deal, denying me what was mine. My father is a greedy man, and he doesn’t take well to broken contracts. I learned another valuable lesson that night. Every alliance comes with secrets. And the skeletons buried beneath the pact our families made proved to be the worst of them all.

  Marco never saw it coming, never smelled the deceit that brewed right under his nose. The saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Well, what does one do when the friend is the enemy? Or when the woman you love sentences you to death and sells your daughter to the highest bidder?

  He gave his last breath to save his precious daughter. For years, I searched until I found her—five years ago on her twentieth birthday. Far away from Italy in a small town in the northeast region of the United States is where I discovered her, protected and tucked away in one of the least likely of places.

  For months, I surveyed her, and right when we were getting to know each other, my father called me home, dragging me away from her with his orders. Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. After all, I’d spent time and many resources trying to find her. But if my father knew where I was and what I was doing, or that Siân Giuliani was indeed alive, shit would have turned south...quick.

  I couldn’t have that. My father couldn’t know she was still alive because I led him to believe she perished in that fire with her family. I also get a thrill out of defying him every chance I get. She’s mine, and I’ll claim her on my own terms.

  Yes, I could have taken her five years ago, and that was the initial plan, but where is the fun in ending the chase so soon? I like to hunt, to watch—and knowing I can turn her world upside down in the blink of an eye makes the wait all that more delicious. But she also mesmerized me, and the more I followed her, the more I learned about her. I quickly realized that to have her the way I wanted, I’d need to win her trust.

  So even though I wanted to take her that very first time, I didn’t. I returned to Italy as my father requested, but not before making a vow to her I intend to keep. She’ll forever be my topolina, and we will meet again.

  When I think back on it, my blood boils, but I push it away. It doesn’t matter anymore because I’m here. That’s the benefit of having connections all over the world. After I returned to Italy, I lost track of her for a while, but money goes a long way in getting what you want.

  And for Siân, I’d pay any fucking price

  When my guy found her, I smiled for the first time in my life. She’d moved and changed her name. Back then, she went by another moniker, something plain that blended in with the rest of the females in her town. But today, she’s taken back her namesake, Siân, only now, she’s chosen Danforth as her surname.

  Siân and her friend draw closer, giving me a better view of her face. She’s as fucking gorgeous as she was all that time ago. Not that I expected anything different. She’s always been beautiful. I’m not the only one to notice it. My hands form into fists when a group of guys turns to watch her ass. Unlike her friend, who seems to enjoy the attention, Siân wraps her arms around herself and directs her focus into her phone.

  A grin forms on my lips. “That’s my girl,” I mutter to myself.

  It’s clear to me from the slouch of her shoulders and the somber expression that she’d rather be anywhere but here. The two couldn’t be any more different. Siân is more reserved and quiet. When I knew her last, she stayed to herself. Never in a million years would she be caught dead in a place like this.


  But I guess when you start over and try to erase the life you’ve run from, you change everything about yourself. Except people like us, people born into a world of chaos, we eventually learn that it’ll follow us everywhere. It’s ingrained in our DNA, and the sooner one accepts that fate is inevitable, one will unlock their potential.

  She disappears into the bar after her friend, and the doors muffle out the loud music when they close. There’s a large window in the front, but soon, a line wraps around the building, blocking my view. I’ve gone too long without seeing her, and I’ll be damned if I go a minute longer.

  I exit the car, letting the door slam shut after securing my gun in my waistband under my shirt. I pull on my leather jacket as an extra precaution. The need to use my weapon will probably never arise tonight, but I don’t go anywhere without it.

  Crossing the street, I walk to the front of the line, ignoring all the pissed-off rants from those waiting to enter the bar. The bouncer doesn’t hesitate to accept the hundred-dollar bill I hold out and moves aside to let me in. Immediately, I’m met with the stench of cigarettes and alcohol. It’s loud on the other side of the threshold, the music drowning out the voices of everyone around me. A thick cloud of smoke sticks to the ceiling that’s caked with tar from years of tobacco buildup. Cheap, backless stools line a single bar on the left side of the room just off the entryway. Old picture frames adorn the dark-colored walls along with beer posters and other dated marketing material.

  It’s a full house. The bar is jam-packed with swaying bodies as people dance, converse, and indulge in their drinks of choice. It’s not a place I would have ever imagined Siân in. She’s not the partying type, and in the past, she’s stayed to herself.

  I scan the room in search of her, finding her a moment later at the bar. She’s ineffectively trying to wave over the bartender, her frustration growing with each passing second.

  I trail my gaze down her frame, letting it linger on the curve of her ass. Life has definitely treated her well. Siân turns, and I catch a glimpse of her face. Just like back in the car, my dick stirs at the sight of her. Green eyes point in my direction, but it’s more as if she’s looking through me. Then she pouts and puts her attention back on the bar.

  My spine tingles in anticipation, and my feet move toward her all on their own. And just like that, destiny has spoken, and for the very first time, my topolina will know my name, and by the end of this, she’ll be screaming it.

  2

  SIN

  The smell of smoke, sweat, and liquor permeates the air, filling my nostrils and swirling deep in my lungs with each breath I take. Kyla stands beside me in the packed bar. It’s the last place I’d prefer to be tonight, but Kyla insisted.

  “When did Josh and Taj say they were coming again?” she yells into my ear, making my eardrum rattle. The music thunders all around us, making it impossible for me to hear myself think, let alone hear what someone else says.

  I pull my phone from my jean pocket with a grunt. The denim clings to me like a second skin. I’d rather be at home in my comfy sweatpants reading a book and drinking a glass of wine, but… instead, I’m here. The screen of my phone lights up, and I check the time.

  Late. He’s fucking late. I wish I could say this isn’t a recurring thing, but it’s feeling that way.

  “They’re late. Ten minutes to be exact,” I yell into her ear and shove my phone back into my pocket.

  Kyla nods and wraps her pink-painted lips around the bottle of beer she ordered a couple of minutes ago. I’m drinking water because alcohol inhibits you, and I’m the least risky person I know for more than one reason.

  “If Josh wasn’t so hot, I’d ghost him and pick someone else out of the crowd. There are plenty of worthy candidates in this bar tonight.”

  That’s Kyla. Fun, carefree, and always looking for her next hookup. The opposite of me in every single way.

  “Easy for you to say. Josh isn’t your boyfriend.” I try not to sound as dissatisfied as I feel, but if I’m being honest, things haven’t been looking good for a while now.

  We’ve been having problems, and I don’t think either of us wants to admit it, but we’re growing apart. It started out merely as a physical thing. I never intended to let my feelings become involved, but I started to care for Taj. I gave him my virginity even when I knew I shouldn’t. He was my professor, and I was working under him as his teacher’s assistant.

  Morally, we were crossing a line, but morals didn’t mean shit to me. Life is too short to worry about what someone else thinks is right or wrong. I earned the grade I got, regardless of whether I sucked his dick.

  That isn’t my primary problem. No, my problem lies in the eerie feeling that follows me wherever I go. Ever since I came to America, I’ve been on the run, fleeing from an imaginary shadow I can never escape or see. All I know is, if I let that shadow catch me, everyone I love or care about will be killed.

  It happened once, and I will not let it happen again.

  Which was why I never let anything turn serious. Relationships are a no-go because eventually, people end up hurt because of me. Either that or I have to disappear into the darkness without a word said.

  I would never want that to happen to me, so I choose not to do that to others. Taj isn’t like all the others, though, which led me to my current predicament.

  Leaning into Kyla’s side, I say, “You know I can’t break things off with Taj if you’re trying to hook up with his best friend. It will make things messy.”

  “You’re thinking too much about this. If you want to end things with him, tell him that. What’s he going to say?”

  “It’s not what he’s going to say. It’s what happens after we’ve ended things and you’re still hooking up with Josh that’s the problem.”

  Kyla takes a long pull from her beer bottle. Her gray eyes meet mine, and my irritation toward her mounts. Maybe I’m jealous of how carefree she can be? Or maybe it’s the fact that she isn’t running for her life, watching over her shoulder for a sadistic stalker to find her.

  The urge to tell her I’m leaving right this second sits on the edge of my tongue, but something stops me.

  No, not something…

  “We both know I don’t stay with a guy long enough for it to become serious. We’ll have sex a couple of times, and then, like two grown adults, we’ll move on.”

  I shake my head. “You’ve completely disregarded the fact that—”

  She interrupts me, pressing her finger to my lips.

  “Excuse you,” I grumble, ready to bat her hand away.

  It’s then that I notice she appears to have gone into a trance. Her gaze is wide, and there’s this lustful shine to her eyes. It’s a look I’ve never seen before. She reminds me of a bunny in a trap, waiting for her predator to pounce.

  “Sweet mother-of-fucking-pearl. If the actual devil was a human, this man would look just like him.”

  I barely hear the words she’s speaking from the loud thump of music.

  Curious to see just who she’s talking about, I turn on my ballet flats and look toward the entrance. It seems the entire room is looking in the same direction and at the same man as we are.

  As soon as my gaze lands on him, I feel the intense urge to look away. The air in my lungs becomes heavy, and it feels like I’m breathing air through a straw. Who is this man, and why does he have such a strange effect on me?

  A shiver ripples down my spine, and even as I feel the rush to look away, I can’t. I physically can’t stop myself from staring at this man. I swallow around the lump forming in my throat and try not to show interest. That’s hard to do, though, when the man looks like he walked off the cover of a damn magazine.

  Even in the dim lighting of the bar, I can see his piercing blue eyes. They home in on me, wrapping like a meaty fist around my throat. My eyes move over his unruly blond hair and down his body. His skin is the color of roasted almonds. His jeans are tight and tailored to his perfectly sculpted body.

/>   His white T-shirt fits like a glove over his broad shoulders, and I can make out the lines of his muscles beneath the fabric. My mouth waters, and I lick my lips involuntarily. He’s paired his entire ensemble with a leather jacket and a pair of black boots.

  “He’s not the devil. He’s the villain in every single fairy tale ever told,” I say more to myself than Kyla, who I find still at my back when I turn around to face her.

  A smile breaks across her face. “Well, that villain is headed your way, baby. It’s your time to shine.”

  I roll my eyes, trying to hide the turbulent waves of excitement sloshing around inside my belly. I’m still dating Taj, and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome is the last thing I need in my life.

  A second later, the air around me shifts. The tiny hairs at the back of my neck stand on end, and I force myself to breathe. Oh, God. I don’t even know this man, so why does he have this strange effect on me? Better yet, why haven’t I run into the women’s bathroom to get away? This isn’t me. I don’t take risks. I don’t talk to strange men I’ve only seen across the room.

  I’m seconds away from running away, the panic finally reaching my brain when I feel the heat of his body brush against mine.

  “Ladies.” The mysterious man’s deep voice reaches inside me and swirls around like smoke. My mouth has suddenly become dry, my tongue a useless organ.

  “Hello, my name is Kyla, and this is Siân,” Kyla, of course, introduces both of us with a dazzling smile.