Hitman for Hire: The Petrov Mafia, #1

By Heather West

This is book 1 of the Petrov Mafia series! Books 2 and 3 are available everywhere now!

He'll pay the cost for taking what's mine.

Once a hitman, always a hitman.

I've risen to power, but never forgotten my roots.

So when my enemy steals the mother of my child, I load my gun and get ready to kill.

Nobody steals from me and lives to tell the tale.

ANDREI

I've done unspeakable things.

Killed men; stolen women; torn families to pieces.

But there are worse men than me in this world.

One, in particular.

And I'm going to make sure he suffers and dies.

But on a mission like this, there's always a chance I don't make it out alive.

So I need an insurance policy.

A way to protect my legacy.

What I need is a baby.

But the mother of my child can't just be any random woman.

The dirty club girls that the Petrov family mafia owns won't work for this purpose.

What I need is someone pure and untainted.

Someone who has not yet been exposed to the darkness that surrounds my soul.

I find the one I want and make her an offer she could never refuse.

But Kelly's first plunge into the shadows of the underworld might be her last.

Our night together is a cacophony of moans and hoarse screams.

Hot, sweaty flesh pressed together.

The warmth of my body, muscled and tattooed, owning her pale, petite frame.

But in the morning, my enemy strikes.

Once upon a time, I had nothing to lose.

I've finally found something worth fighting for.

And now that I've lost her, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to get her back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sopris Page Press
• Release date: Sep 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393440277

Book preview

Hitman for Hire: A Mob Romance (The Petrov Mafia Book 1)

By Heather West

He’ll pay the cost for taking what’s mine.

ONCE A HITMAN, ALWAYS a hitman.

I’ve risen to power, but never forgotten my roots.

So when my enemy steals the mother of my child, I load my gun and get ready to kill.

Nobody steals from me and lives to tell the tale.

ANDREI

I’ve done unspeakable things.

Killed men; stolen women; torn families to pieces.

But there are worse men than me in this world.

One, in particular.

And I’m going to make sure he suffers and dies.

But on a mission like this, there’s always a chance I don’t make it out alive.

So I need an insurance policy.

A way to protect my legacy.

What I need is a baby.

But the mother of my child can’t just be any random woman.

The dirty club girls that the Petrov family mafia owns won’t work for this purpose.

What I need is someone pure and untainted.

Someone who has not yet been exposed to the darkness that surrounds my soul.

I find the one I want and make her an offer she could never refuse.

But Kelly’s first plunge into the shadows of the underworld might be her last.

Our night together is a cacophony of moans and hoarse screams.

Hot, sweaty flesh pressed together.

The warmth of my body, muscled and tattooed, owning her pale, petite frame.

But in the morning, my enemy strikes.

Once upon a time, I had nothing to lose.

I’ve finally found something worth fighting for.

And now that I’ve lost her, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get her back.

Chapter 1

Kelly

I SLAMMED MY FOOT ON the gas, my tiny car leaped forward, and I merged onto the highway. I only had five minutes to make it to work on time, and I had at least an eight-minute drive there. Crap. I was never late until my mom’s diagnosis, and I hated being late. It was unprofessional, and I held myself to a higher standard...at least I tried to.

Luckily, traffic wasn’t too bad, and I didn’t see a cop anywhere, so I just kept my foot down on the gas, the needle climbing and climbing, driving fast but not recklessly. I merged at the last second onto the exit ramp. The driver behind me honked, and I waved at him. Yeah, yeah, I muttered. Running late. So sue me.

Okay, so maybe driving a little recklessly.

Somehow, I parked right at eight on the nose. I grabbed my purse and dashed inside. Not late after all. Amazing.

I normally wasn’t like this — so behind the ball. I was the kind of girl who did everything right, did everything by the books. I never had a speeding ticket, never broke the law. Keeping order was the only way I could try to make sense of the chaos of the rest of the world. So many things were going wrong lately and I just couldn’t handle it all. At least when I was here, in the office, I felt like I had a little bit of control, like I could make a difference, like I could affect the outcome.

So unlike how things were back home with Mom and her damned diagnosis.

Maybe I needed to cut loose some. Should call my best friend and go out for drinks.

With what money?

I wondered if we still had some from that bottle of rum. I needed to try to release some of my stress. Yeah, I played by the rules, but I was still alive. I still had fun. It had just been a little while since I last had any. And I knew how to party, how to have fun. Work hard, play harder. That had always been my mantra. That was until my mom got sick, though. That changed everything. She had stage three breast cancer.

Head down, I started toward my cubicle, mentally preparing myself for the day, when a throat cleared behind me. Kelly.

Shoulders slumping, I grimaced. Matt Warner. My boss. The last person I wanted to talk to today. He was always a miserable thing.

After screwing my lips into a semblance of a smile, I turned around to face him. Hi, Matt. What can I do for you?

Can we talk? He didn’t wait for an answer, just stalked off toward his large office, leaving me no choice but to follow him.

Uh-oh. The bagel I’d shoved into my mouth as I had raced to the car from my house wasn’t sitting well in my stomach. I swallowed hard and suppressed a cough. It was my imagination, I knew, but I felt like a piece of bagel was caught in my throat. Or maybe that was just a ball of worry. I was so stressed lately.

I’d only been in Matt’s office one other time — when he had interviewed me five years ago. His father had been sick, so Matt stepped in, even though he hadn’t been the big boss yet.

An office job wasn’t that great of a position, but I was good at what I did. I worked hard and never complained. And, boy, were there complainers employed here. A bunch of women worked here, and so there was a ton of cattiness, too. I never bothered with any of that. Just did my work and left. Didn’t have a lot of friends here, but I wasn’t here for fun and games. That was after hours with my best friend, Stacy. We’d go shopping or out to eat or go to the bar. Of course, with my mom needing my help taking care of her, I hadn’t had much time for fun with Stacy either. Just work and Mom, rinse and repeat.

Matt entered his office first. He walked around his huge desk but didn’t sit down. I moved to stand in front of one of the two chairs in front of his desk but didn’t sit down either. I still felt uneasy, and I wasn’t going to be the one to break the awkward silence.

He cleared his throat, bent down, and fiddled with some of the papers on his desk. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, and that stress level of mine skyrocketed. It’s not always easy to do what is best for a company.

I couldn’t breathe. This couldn’t be happening. I was a damned good employee! He had no grounds for this! He knew about my mom, about the bills. My mom couldn’t work anymore, her health was too poor, which meant she had had no choice but to quit and, of course, that meant she no longer had health insurance. All of her bills for her appointments and for treatment, and she had a ton of bills and many more to come yet, were out of pocket, and the bills were steep and never ending.

I hate that it’s come down to this, Matt said, still not looking at me, but downsizing is a part of the business, and unfortunately—

I couldn’t listen to another word. I’m the fastest typist out of everyone. I work hard. I don’t slack off or make excuses or take a cigarette break every two minutes. So I was throwing Molly under the bus. It pissed off everyone how often she would take them and for how long, too. And so what if I was rambling? I was pissed and had every right to be. I am the longest tenured—

You’ve been late to work a lot recently, he pointed out. He glanced up, but he was staring over my head instead of at me.

I am not, I said hotly, putting my hands on my hips. Cutting in majorly close, yes. Actually late, nope. Not even once. Somehow.

He raised his bushy eyebrows. I never realized it before, but they definitely look like hairy worms. You’ve been taking a lot of time off. Matt held up a piece of paper that I assumed had a list of my time off. I didn’t bother to look at it. I knew how much time I had taken. Just about all of my sick days and all but two of my vacation days.

I winced. That I couldn’t deny. My vacation time—

Has all been used up.

What? I was sure I still had two days yet! It was possible I made a miscalculation, and I hadn’t figured out what I would do once my paid time ran out. Matt didn’t care to give people time off without pay.

Your sick days, too, he continued. He laid the paper on his desk and tapped at certain spots. I didn’t care