Seductive Salvation (Book One of The Mafia Heiress Series)

Chapter One

Valeria

Mommy was crying again when daddy got home. I heard them yelling at each other about the baby. Mommy told me that she and daddy are gonna have a baby and that I was gonna be a big sister. I didn't wanna be a big sister. I didn't want a noisy, stinky baby stealing mommy from me. "Valeria, come here!" Daddy was yelling for me. Daddy was always yelling and it hurt my head lots. I walked down the stairs and daddy was waiting at the bottom with one of his blue bottles. Mommy said that his blue bottles were what made him yell and get mad. Daddy grabbed my arm and it hurt a whole lot. Mommy told me that I needed to be a big girl when daddy was mad and to not cry but daddy was hurting my arm so bad that I cried. Daddy dragged me over to mommy and threw me on the floor at her feet. I scrambled into mommy's lap and she held me tight. "Close your eyes baby, just close your eyes," mommy whispered. I covered my eyes and closed them tightly.

I woke up sweating and shaking. Damn, these nightmares were starting to get the best of me. I turned over and looked at the alarm clock sitting on my nightstand. Four-thirty in the morning. I had two hours before I had to be at training. I got out of bed and flipped on the light switch, squinting at the bright light that filled my bedroom. I went to my closet and pulled out my yoga mat and decided to try to get some relaxation in before a hectic day started. I picked up my phone and turned my yoga radio on and plugged in the aux cable to my alarm clock, pressing the on button. The music filled the room as I started my stretches.

After about thirty minutes of yoga, I decided to take a hot shower. I grabbed a couple of towels and wash cloth from the linen closet and turned the shower on steaming hot. I brushed my teeth while I waited for the water to get hot. I made a mental note to go grocery shopping today after work. I had hardly any food in the condo after getting back from Russia three days ago. I really hadn't had the chance to go but today I was supposed to get out of work early so I needed to take advantage of the spare time.

I stripped off my shorts, t-shirt, underwear, and sports bra; stepping into the hot water. The water felt refreshing hitting my skin. I got lost in my thoughts after washing my body and my hair. The water was starting to go cold, how long had I been standing here? I stepped out, grabbing the towels from the towel rack and wrapping one around my hair and one around my body. I walked over to my phone and turned my Pandora radio to my 'getting ready' playlist. I took a glance at the time and saw that it was now five-thirty, holy crap! I quickly went into my closet and pulled a clean pair of panties and a clean sports bra from my dresser. I put them on quickly and grabbed my gym bag from the closet floor. I threw it on my bed and tossed in a pair of red heels, my black corset top, a pair of red spandex shorts, a pair of black spandex shorts, and a black thong.

I had to drive to work directly after training and I couldn't be late again. Marty would kill me if I was late one more time this week. I took a pair of yoga pants, running shorts, and a tank top from my dresser. I threw the yoga pants into my gym bag, slipping on the running shorts and tank top. I picked up my gym shoes from the floor next to the foot of my bed. I quickly towel dried my hair and french braided it tightly. I put my gym shoes on and tied them, tucking the loose strings into the shoes. I zipped up my gym bag and put it on cross-body style. I went into my office and grabbed my files for Ivan, picking up my zip-up hoodie from the back of my chair and slipping it on before going downstairs to the kitchen to grab some fruit and a water bottle.

My phone started to ring and I didn't bother to look at the caller I.D. as I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder, "Hello?" I grabbed some of the strawberries I had cleaned and bagged up last night and tossed them in my Michael Kors tote bag along with the files.

"What happened last night? I started to worry when you didn't call me back!" It was my overprotective best friend, Alexei.

"I was finishing my files, ordered Chinese food, and then spent a couple of hours painting. I got caught up in trying to finish everything and then trying to unwind. You sound like I was dying or something." I chuckled at his worry.