Outside The Rules: Breaking the Bratva's Rules, #1

By Clara Elisibeth

Nea has spent her entire life trying to escape her past. But when her abusive ex-boyfriend tracks her down, she knows she needs to make a change. Enter Seth, a dangerous and mysterious man with ties to the mafia. Nea knows she should stay away, but she can't resist his dark allure. As their forbidden romance heats up, Nea finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly power struggle between Seth and his enemies. With danger lurking around every corner, Nea must decide if she's willing to risk everything for love. But as the stakes get higher and the danger becomes more real, Nea realizes that she may have made the biggest mistake of her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C Elisibeth
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223279976

Book preview

Chapter One

My nail got caught on the coarse, old towel behind the bar as I wiped my hands against it. I’d never been any good at pouring pints, and apparently, I was getting worse. John, one of the regulars, sat in front of the bar, nursing his glass of whiskey. He was one of the few constants at the Old Oak Bar. No matter how bad things got out there, John would always be sat there, sipping on his whiskey, waiting for the world to pass him by.

Twelve dollars, I said, a wide, semi-fake smile across my face. It was the middle of the day. Too early for folks to be coming in after work, and too late for lunch. The dull hours between one and five in the afternoon were peaceful, usually, and although I often enjoyed the loudness of the bar at night, the early shifts were often my favorite. No drama, no chaos, no fights, no smashed glasses. Strangers didn’t often come into the bar and those that did often didn’t fit the culture of the place. We all knew that we needed to welcome newcomers, but it was hard, sometimes. Especially with the regulars like John - they didn’t always fancy being nice to strangers.

Nea, John mumbled. There’s been a lotta new people comin’ in today. I nodded and rested my hands against my hips, leaning back against the shelves behind me. Good to see the place getting new customers.

He smiled, stroking his fingers across his greyed mustache. Maybe they’d come back if you didn’t scare ‘em all away, John. He laughed quietly, his eyes dropped to his whiskey and he shook his head. "I’m only teasing. You only scare... mmm... half of them away," I giggled with my hand swaying in the air.

I turned on my heels and leaned down to pick up my glass of cola from the shelf. As I raised myself back up, the bell above the door rang. As I looked over, I saw Jenna arriving with her jacket over her shoulder and her black vest tied just below her ribcage.

And what time d’ya call this?

Jenna shrugged and smiled. I got caught up in traffic. It’s busy out there! Heard there was some traffic up in town, but it’s backed up aaaaaaall the way over here. She placed her jacket on the top of the bar and sat down next to John. He glanced over and gave her a small grin before going back to his whiskey. Anyways, I’m not even that late. As Jenna began tying her long auburn hair up, I checked my watch.

Almost time for me to go. Got a hot date with my cat and Netflix this evening.

She leaned herself against the sticky bar and huffed. Well, talking about your weird dates with your cat, I met someone today.

Jenna, as much as I adored her, often liked to play Cupid. She felt she had a knack for bringing people together, and that she could match-make with the best of ‘em. Jenna, however, had no regard for other people’s tastes - almost every ‘match’ she made turned out to be a bust. Once, she set me up with a greasy young guy from the city with a pill addiction. Not my idea of fun.

Her lips curled into a grin and she shook her head furiously. No! I can see the look on your face now, she argued, wagging a finger in my direction. This one is a good one. Something to get you over that, eugh, that nasty piece of work. It’s been months since you guys broke up and you do need something to take your mind off’a him! I see you skulking around, trying to act like you aren’t texting him every once in a while. Tut-tut.

My fingers met the top of my nose bridge and I closed my eyes. Jenna... not now, please. I hated to admit that Jenna was right. I had left Kyle months ago. Something that I should’ve done a long while before I actually did.

Well, fine, sure, but I told this guy he should come by the bar... ideally before you get off. I didn’t see a ring. John looked over with his brows raised and his lips slightly parted. John, sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Don’cha worry. She slapped her hand across the back of his shoulder and he smiled. Everyone in that place knew about John’s past with the ladies. Local legend said that back in the day, he was a proper looker. A thick head of hair, dazzling bright blue eyes, a smooth talker... not that he didn’t still try it on with every young pretty thing that walked through the doors, though.

The bar had been quiet all day - not all that unusual as the Fall rolled around. Not too far from the nearest city, we got a lot of traffic from people who were flying in, and on their way to their destination. We were a cheap, easy stop for people who were too bored of the vast stretches of road to get to their hotels or their cabins. In the Fall, that traffic stopped - not completely, but it was a noticeable decline in sales. I never saw an issue with it, but I knew that there’d been whispers of the owner wanting to sell up every year. And every year, I prayed he wouldn’t. That bar was pretty much my second home, I spent more time there than I did in my actual home.

Where’d you even meet this strange new lover boy, Jenna?

She flicked the loose strands of her hair behind her back and smiled. Coffee shop. Guy had a load of luggage with him. Told him to come check the place out.

Jenna moved behind the bar and grabbed a clean glass from underneath the counter, and the bell above the door rang. I glanced over. She nudged me with her elbow and my eyes followed him as he moved across the room, and placed his suitcase, and briefcase, down. Six-foot tall, slight tan, medium-length jet black hair slicked back to reveal almost buzzed sides and a crisp black suit, offset by a red pocket square. Well, fuck.

I am just so glad you turned up, she said, leaning across the counter. Seth, right? Seth, this is Nea, she works here with me. Jenna tilted her head to look back at me and beckoned me to go over with her eyes. I wasn’t sure who this guy was - Seth, I was assuming - but I felt like he didn’t fit in here. Why he agreed to come to see a run-down, family-run bar in the middle of nowhere? Absolutely beyond me. But he was magnetic.

I moved towards them with an awkward smile. Hey, I said. Hey? What an opener.

Nice to meet you, he said, glancing around the bar. Nice place. His voice was low and gravelly, and as his eyes met mine I noticed a tiny, almost missable scar along his jawline, hidden behind his early evening stubble. God damn, he was nice to look at. Even though the lighting in the bar was dim, I knew that he was just my type. Perfection.

Yeah, I laughed uneasily, shifting my weight to my left hip as I placed my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. It’s nice in here. So where you headed?

He leaned forwards and looked across the drinks that we had on the shelves behind the bar. I’m here on vacation. A somewhat... extended break. Can I get a whiskey? He looked at me, then back at Jenna, but his gaze quickly met mine again. Jenna brushed a finger across my arm as she moved behind me, grabbing a bottle from the top shelf, and pouring it into a glass. As she slid it across the bar to him, he pulled out a black leather wallet and passed her a crisp twenty.

It’s more for business around here. But I can see why you’d wanna take a little vacation here. Nice spots.

Seth nodded, and then Jenna said her goodbyes as she headed into the back with her bag.

I come here quite often, but this is the first time that I’ve been in this bar. Never knew it existed. Don’t tend to run through this part of town very often at all.

I nodded and leaned over the bar, gently positioning myself opposite him. I don’t blame you. There are nicer places. I played with a strand of my hair and watched as he took a sip of his drink, staring at me. As he sipped at his drink, I could smell his cologne. It was intoxicating - the type of expensive, woody scent that you rarely got a sniff of around here. Certainly not on someone like my ex.

An expensive-looking watch peeked out from underneath his sleeve, and I noticed the faintest bit of black ink. I thought nothing of it as he watched me, his eyes slowly moving across my face.

WE’D RETIRED TO A BOOTH in a quiet corner of the bar. It wasn’t often that I spent my off hours at my place of work - but there was something about Seth that kept me there. He’d had two drinks in the hour and a half that we’d spent talking, and in that time, I felt like I’d learned almost nothing about him. He’d learned almost nothing about me, too.

We’d mainly been talking about the area and my cat. He’d told me he liked cats but was more of a dog person. Understandable - as a kid, I’d had plenty of dogs. My mother was a dog lover, someone who would never be without one. But as I grew up and learned more about myself, I’d discovered that I preferred the independent, loyal nature of cats.

He leaned towards me a little, and I was hit by the smell of his cologne again. It’s been nice chatting with you. I feel awful. I’ve kept you here all this time, you were meant to be going home.

I shrugged my shoulders and laughed, thumbing at the label on my bottle of beer. It’s fine. It’s nice to have some company sometimes. I don’t know all too many people around here, and honestly, there aren’t that many people that I’d even like to talk to around here.

He leaned back and exhaled. I know the feeling. People can be... tricky. Sometimes, they’re just downright not your type of person. That’s alright, he said, finishing off his drink of whiskey. I think you have the right idea, having a cat. Cats are good to have around. I tried to place his accent again but found myself lacking the words to describe it. Most of his words sounded non-descript, with no place I could easily assign them to, but other words hung on guttural Eastern vowels - Russian? I couldn’t place where he was from, but that would need to be a question for another day.

I know, I replied. I shuffled uneasily in the chair and inhaled deeply. So, hey, if you’re staying in the area for a while, can I get your number? Ohhhhh, fuck. I wasn’t used to making the first move. I didn’t even know if he’d take kindly to that question. He looked around the room and then smirked.

I thought you’d never ask.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and placed it down on the table, and slid it toward him. As I unlocked it, he typed in his number along with his name. He’d hesitated when typing it in, and I grew concerned that I’d made a mistake. Was I a creep? Did I come on too strong? He’d dodged any questions that I’d asked about his personal life, but he seemed open to talking to me. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have spent the past hour and a half with me - right? As I began second-guessing myself, he gripped the top of my thigh.

But I do need to go. It’s been a long day.

As he touched me, small tingles went through my flesh. It’d been a while since anyone had touched me, let alone someone so... so like him. I pushed my legs together and smiled. Part of me ached to learn more about him. He was secretive, and I was unsure if I liked that. But I was a stranger to him. He didn’t know me and I wasn’t entitled to know anything about him or his life. All I knew was that he was on here on a break - he’d not specified how long for, or even what his job was. But he exuded an air of luxury, of wealth, that I’d not been around often. Not here.

After Seth had left the bar, Jenna came over to me with a smile. She knew she’d finally found someone I liked. She leaned across the table and picked up the empty whiskey glass.

So, you two hit it right off.

I shook my head and bit my lip. I wouldn’t say that. We know next to nothing about each other. I think he was just being polite.

Well, I saw you give him your phone... that means you have his number, right? You’re gon’ call him, right?

With a giggle, I nodded. I was going to call him. But I wasn’t sure when, or how, to go about it. I didn’t want to seem overbearing... oh, God, why was I so bad at dating?

You’ve gotta call him. Maybe not tonight. Tomorrow. Call him tomorrow night. I bet you guys will absolutely hit it off proper. He’s cute.

I disagreed with the assessment of ‘cute’. I didn’t find him cute. I found him broody, moody, and hot. Cute wasn’t a word I’d use to describe Seth.

I’ll call him! What about-

If you’re about to ask ‘what about Kyle’, then stop right there. He’s a nobody. Nothing to do with you. And you’d do better to block him.

Slinking back into the plush seat, I looked around the room. I don’t even have his number saved. And I sure as hell don’t remember his number.

She smiled at me and rolled her eyes. If you say so, darlin’. I just don’t know if I believe you.

His number, much like all photos of us, had been deleted from my phone. I didn’t want to be around him. For all his charms, and all the nice moments that we spent together, I didn’t need him in my life anymore. But he was fucking persistent. Maybe screwing the hot new guy in town would be something that would take my mind off of him. Off the whole situation.

Since we’d broken up, I’d spent a lot of time moody over it. Kyle was rough, violent, vicious, and controlling... but we’d shared so many intimate moments. And for every rough patch, he’d made it up to me. Usually. The last time was too far, even for me. I didn’t need that sort of negativity in my