My Dangerous Affection

Prologue

Valentino

For as long as I could remember I had this demon inside of me. I had the urge to hunt, to kill, so it only made sense that as soon as I was of age, I joined the family business. Living in your father's shadow is never easy, but when he's the godfather of the Scillian mafia it's even harder. All my life I had to do things by the book, kill who he wants me to kill, act right. "We have a reputation to withhold." Was something he had always said. I never once thought that I would betray my own family, my own father. But as he got older and his mind slowly left him, the stricter he got. He was sending us on missions we never needed to be on, killing people who didn't need to be killed. So, when I got the hit on him, I wasn't shocked, not one bit.

"Val, how's my favorite son?" My father asked me as I approached his desk. He was sitting in his "throne" is what he called it. Remember all the times I was little, and he would always say "one day this throne will be yours." I never thought that it would be mine this way. I know I might seem heartless being okay with killing my father like this, but it's been a long time coming. All the years of abuse both mentally and physically, the years of pain and suffering.

"We both know that's a lie father." I sat down in the chair across from his desk and leaned back staring at him. He pushed the now all gray hair from his forehead while looking up from his notebook to me. I noticed the notebook he was reading. It was the hit list notebook. Every person he wants dead he wrote in there for us hitmen to kill. Our names are also written down with how many kills we had under our belt. He leaned back in his "throne" the sound of the chair making a little squeak. When his eyes met mine, his wrinkled face dropped. He knew just by staring at my attire why I was there. My all-black clothes, my black leather gloves, and the knife in my hand was exactly how I dressed before every hit. Most hit men like guns. It is quick and easy; you can kill from afar. Something about getting up close and personal with my hits had me in a chokehold. I loved to watch as life drain from my victim. Feel the warm wetness of their blood soak my clothes. It was such a feeling of pure bliss.

"Should I add another kill to your number son?" My father stood up from his throne and walked to the table by the window where a bottle of liquor sat. He grabbed two shot glasses, poured two shots, before coming back to the desk. He slid me a shot glass before sitting back down in his throne.

"I don't think this one should be in the books father." I took my shot before standing up. He watched my every move as I walked around the table to be directly in front of him. He took his shot, his eyes never leaving mine, before taking a deep breath.

"I am so sorry for the monster you became." Were his last words before my knife slid across the skin of his neck. Within a couple seconds his blood was everywhere. My hands, feet, legs, were all soaked with his blood. I grabbed his body by the shirt before throwing his lifeless body to the ground. I took a seat in my throne. I'm going to need a new chair once I officially take over, but this was my throne.

"I am the monster you trained me to be father."

Laila

For as long as I could remember I had wanted nothing more than to leave this life. To run away and become someone new. To for once not be the daughter of the man who oversees the Camorra. It was always so hard to get friends who wanted to be my friend because of me and not because of who my family was. Boys were too scared to talk to me except the weird ones who wanted to join the mafia. Everywhere I went I had bodyguards; someone was always watching me. My dad never dared let me go out alone. "I need eyes on my princess at all times" is what he had said all the time. Even now that I am 19, I still don't get out of his sight. Theirs random men on my college campus, blended in watching me from afar. My family built the Camorra out of nothing. They went from being nobodies to running half of Italy. Everybody feared us. Being feared by everybody as a child can be somewhat traumatic. Teachers feared to treat me like a normal student, cops treated me like I was a criminal, although most of them is on my dad's payroll, so they never really did anything to me. My father never had a son. Only me. As an only child the pressure was always put on me to take over. As a girl I can't fully take over as godfather, but who I marry will be the next godfather. I was always told I needed to pick someone who had Camorra background, someone whose father worked with mine. I never wanted that. My mother had killed herself when I turned 12. She wanted out of the life just as much as I did. She loved my father and I but the death, drugs, the crime. It all becomes so much after a while.

"How was school my princess?" My father asked as he gave me a kiss on the head when he entered my room. I was sitting at my desk writing a paper for my English class when he walked in. My father was a great father. He always made sure I stayed in school, had good grades, I had everything a girl could want. His only flaw was wanting me to stay in a life I didn't want.

"Would've been great if I didn't have someone following me around every second of the day." I snapped back. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful. At least I had a father who cared about my health. Who cared if I was safe or not. I know so many children don't get that.

"Princess. We talked about this. If I have people coming after me then someone will follow you." My father sighed before standing up walking to my door. He hated how unhappy I am in this life. But as he always says, once mafia, always mafia.

"One day, you'll be happy my love." With that said he walked out of room. I hated being mean to him. He had given me nothing but a good life. Yes I seen more than most kids. I have gone through more than what most kids should go through. It is not his fault though. If anyone was to blame it would be someone long down the family life. The one who decided to start the camorra.

I was going to leave this life one day. I was going to become someone new somewhere else. Live a nice, normal, healthy life. I won't have to be around all the murder and the drugs. I can be someone completely new.