Frank: Mafia Romance: Dark Syndicate

By Rose Knight

Frank Brandt is the descendant and only heir of a whole lineage. Arrogant, stubborn, ruthless, and cocky as hell, yet lethally charming and quick witted at the same time. He is a feared and powerful man, living up to his dark legacy. He runs the whole city without breaking a sweat. No one can do what he does.

 

A man like him doesn't need just any girl, he craves a queen, a flame burning so intensely that it matches his own inferno. The kind of girl that can put up with his twisted games, and play them just as well.

 

He never thought an auction would change his life. Little did he know his world would give a complete turn when he meets... Grace.

 

This book is part of the Dark Syndicate series but can be read as a Standalone, all books can be read in any order.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rose Knight
• Release date: Mar 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224712724

Book preview

THE AUCTION

My wrists are burning . My ankles hurt. The cold embraces me and makes my body shake.

My eyes are covered with a black blindfold that doesn't let me see anything at all. I cannot scream, nor ask for help or beg for my life, I can’t pronounce a word because of a filthy rag that covers my mouth, but even if it wasn’t there, I would probably be too weak to do it anyways.

How did I end up in this condition?

How did I end up captive in this cold and filthy place? Who is doing this to me?

And more importantly... what did they bring me here for?

I hear the door creak, the wooden door that makes a terrifying and annoying squeaking, it makes me tremble as I have no idea of who can be behind it. I stay in complete silence to listen for what follows, but nothing happens... the only thing I can hear is an anonymous breathing.

I don't move I wait for their next step; they approach slowly until they reach where I am.

- It is time... - says one of them.

- At last... - answers the other and gets me on my feet.

I don't move, I don't struggle or nothing similar. These guys are huge fucking monsters who could hurt me with the slightest effort; I know there is no chance for me to escape from them...

I feel the ropes on my wrists being loosened, followed by those on my legs, I don't deny it I'm pretty scared of what they're going to do to me. It is time... What did they exactly mean by that?

They finally undo the knot in the blindfold that covers my eyes. I open them slowly, there is almost no light but that does not prevent me from seeing. My gaze goes through every part of the room.

The dirty walls, the reddish color is losing its tone while black takes up almost half of the room and the huge cracks are visible.

This place is going to fall apart sooner or later.

I open my eyes wide open, and I see the guy in front of me. He's wearing a suit, but this time I can see his face. He has several scars on his face, these make the guy more scary than usual.

- If you scream or try to run away I assure you that you will not get out of here alive, so do your part if you won't want us to do it the hard way.

I don't respond, I remain silent even when the filthy rag has been removed from my mouth.

The other guy holds me by the neck and demands that I fully wake up. So I do, I start walking slowly and feel how so much time being tied up and lying down has weakened my legs to the point where it's even hard to walk.

We leave the room and that's when I start to feel afraid. Questions about what they will do to me start to pop into my head.

Is this the end of me?

Are they going to kill me...?

I can only think of someone, that little sixteen-year-old girl who must be waiting for me with nothing but worry, my little sister Kate.

My parents... They must be looking for me in the sky, sea and land.

I miss them.

I miss them a lot.

I can't afford to cry; I must be brave and not let them see my weakness, and apart from them noticing, it would cause me a great disappointment of myself.

I breathe forcibly as I suppress the tears at all costs.

The corridors are red in color, very elegant, long and narrow, with an endless number of rooms apart from mine. I keep walking until one of them stops me in front of a room.

- Have her come in and keep her still - I'll get Candy- reports the one with the scars.

The other one nods and then pushes me suddenly into a room.

The door is closed with both of us inside. I stand completely still and look at the place.

My surprise is so great when I see the infinite number of women's clothes that there are here, among all things: heels and makeup everywhere, but what surprises me the most is the mask and the handcuffs that are on the hairdresser's table. On the opposite side I can see another door which I suppose must be some bathroom.

A hand passes over my waist and draws me back. I let out a little scream of fear but immediately my lips are covered by the big hands of that guy.

- Shut up... if you scream, I swear I'll kill you myself, nothing you can say will be to your benefit. We don't like women to speak in here...

I try to fight it but it's no use, the guy is taller and bigger than me and, naturally, his strength exceeds mine.

I begin to feel disgust and despair when he brings his nose up to my hair and begins to sniff it. He starts touching my body and starts sliding one of his hands up my tighs.

I close my eyes tightly waiting for the next thing but an unexpected lucky strike comes, just at that moment the door opens abruptly.

In the frame of it, there is the guy with the scars and behind him there is a mysterious girl, her hair is completely red, velvet red I’d say, she seems to be a little bit older than me. When the man sees the scene, he puts on a face of rage and without waiting any longer he takes me away from the bastard who had second intentions with me.

I let out a sigh of relief and look closely at the girl.

She grabs him roughly by the neck of his T-shirt, and coming closer to him she screams at him with hatred.

- Was zum Teufel machst du da?!

(What the fuck do you think you're doing?)

I curse in my mind for not understanding what they are saying; they speak in some kind of language that is not of my knowledge.

- Nichts (Nothing) - the other replies seriously.

- Sie wissen, wie viel Ihr Leben uns kostet? (Do you know how much her life will cost us?) - she angrily warns him by tightening her grip.

- Nicht(No) – he  answers.

- Las mich nicht in deinen Arsch treten, Verschwinde jetzt von hier( Don't make me kick your ass, now get out of here ) – She pushes him towards the door with force.

He holds on to one of the chairs to avoid falling and when he manages to get stable he stands up and goes out at full speed.

- Candy- the man speaks.

- Yes sir... - the girl answers submissively.

- I entrust her to you, you know what you have to do...

- Yes my lord...

The guy walks out of the room more than angry, leaving me and the other young lady alone in the room.

She examines me from head to toe and then approaches me and looks closely at my face.

- You are very pretty... - she whispers.

- What am I doing here, I ask.

She does not answer, instead she leads me to the door that would take me somewhere unknown... and that terrifies me.

- Come in and take a shower, make sure you get very clean, understood? You should get as clean and pretty as possible...

- What am I doing here? - I ask again with hope.

She doesn't answer me, I understand, I would do the same in her place. I wouldn't risk my life for someone I don't know.

I enter the room without a word of warning and in a matter of seconds the door is closed behind me.

I quickly look for some opening in the room, some window or something similar but it is useless, there is nothing. The room has all its walls painted in a white color and the tile is the same shade. It’s like a surreal prison.

I sit on the floor, put my head above my knees, and cry silently.

The woman knocks hard on the door making me jump; my legs act almost instantly while my hands help me get the dirty clothes off my body.

I wash my hair as good as possible, my arms and legs as well. I enjoy the warm water even if it's only for a few minutes. The door knocks again but this time the knocks bang more desperately.

- You must leave with me,  now. - says the voice of that young woman.

I don’t answer. I get out of the shower and take one of the towels from the drawers and tangle it around my body and then get out.

The young woman is waiting for me standing with her arms crossed. She's not upset, that relieves me.

She comes to me and without waiting any longer she starts drying my hair, my arms and my legs to leave completely dry.

She gives me a bra and panties, I ignore everything that’s happening and put them on. She extends a red dress to me. I get confused when I see the design. The dress is beautiful, it looks expensive, but it is quite short, not surprisingly, if I wear it, it will show too much skin.

- Put it on. It’s an order.

I take it slowly and then put it on. I tell her when I'm ready; she approaches and positions herself behind my back. She adjusts the corset to form my waist and then focuses on making my breasts look more provocative.

What is this?

What am I doing here?

Finishing with my attire, I get a pair of heels of the same color, they are stunning, but incredibly high, that makes me doubt if I will really be able to walk with them.

- Put them on. – she repeats.

I do what she tells me, I put them on without any complaints. Her hand takes my arm and brings me closer to the hairdresser. She sits me on the small bench and positions herself behind my back again.

She starts making waves with my hair and puts some perfume on me. After finishing that part she sits down in front of me.

She puts makeup on my face, she does it very carefully. Finishing, she continues with the shadows on my eyelids, while she does it, she hums a song that makes me even more nervous than I already am.

- Listen to me very well – she says energetically - in a matter of minutes you will go out there in front of several men, then you will see what follows. When you are on the platform you must follow three fundamental rules, if you do not follow them consider yourself dead by the end of the night.

Is it night already? God. I lost complete track of time. All I can do now is sit there, and listen, and obey every rule if I want to get out of here alive.

- The first rule is not to talk, don't say anything at all, keep your mouth shut all the time. The second rule is that once you have an owner, you must not say anything about your origin, nothing about who your parents are, where you live or anything like that, and last but not least, and hear me well, don't try to run away in there or you will be shot between the eyebrows...

My body trembles with despair.

What did you just say?!

- O-owner...? - I ask in disbelief.

She tries to talk to me, but she runs out of words when the door is opened wide.

- Is she ready yet? - asks the guy with the scars.

- Perfectly ready. - says the girl with pride.

The guy rushes up to me and with one hand grabs my cheek. He examines my face carefully and seconds later makes a satisfied face.

- Perfect, you are very beautiful and I have no doubt that you will make us good money today - he laughs stupidly and then turns to the other girl

- Candy...

- Yes my lord? - she asks submissively.

- Put on the mask and handcuffs on her – he orders.

I open my eyes wide open

- Of course, my lord," answers this woman.

The young woman takes the handcuffs and without further ado asks me to hold out my hands, so I do not intend to resist, it is the dumbest thing I could do. She adjusts the handcuffs on my wrists and the man makes sure they are securely fastened. When he finishes, the girl takes the mask and positions herself behind me to cover my face with it.

- Ready. – She informs.

- Perfect. - The man responds firmly.

He approaches me and gives me the signal to walk to the door. I do what he asks me to do and move forward without grunting.

The door to the room opens and as I leave I open my mouth in amazement.

Both the screams of girls and the angry cries of men are present in the place. My eyes cannot believe what they are seeing.

All along the narrow corridor several girls walk in the same state as me. Wearing masks and handcuffs. They scream and force themselves to fight it, making tantrums like little girls crying for candy. The men drag them away when they see that they do not walk, they scream and cry with desperation, others are carried like sacks on their shoulders when they see that their resistance is persistent.

Blondes, redheads and chestnuts. White, brunette, caribbean, african. Thin and curvy. Green, blue, brown eyes and even hazel. Tall, short and medium.

My God, what is this?!

There's a pretty tall guy walking close to us. He is carrying a brunette. The girl kicks and hits him repeatedly. The man with the scars laughs loudly and then talks.

- What's going on? - he says with a laugh - he better control that stubborn mule before I do.

All men laugh at that comment.

- That's what I'm trying to do! She won't stop moving! - says the other, irritated.

- Don't even think about hitting her, you know what happens if they see them with bruises...

I walk slowly as I watch that guy dropping the poor girl down hard, its like he just threw her to the floor, and then forced her to walk even if she was visibly in pain.

- Luckily, you didn't need to end up like that... - says the man escorting me.

I stop in my tracks and give him a glare. I lower my head in fear.

- Keep walking. -  he orders.

So I do, I walk faster. I don't give a damn if the huge heels hurt the soles of my feet.

The guy makes me walk into a huge room. Inside, I can see all sorts of girls, all sitting, crying, some are infuriated and trying to escape, and others... they sob like crazy because they can't believe what's happening to them, and they look too tired to even do something.

- Sit there. - the man commands me.

I go to the row of seats and just drop my weight on one of the chairs.

I look at the place, the sparkling lights are the only ones that illuminate us. The room is a sea of sobs, but there is only one that does not cry and that is exactly the same brunette that resisted a while ago.

I gather my strength and with a light sigh I get up the courage to speak to her.

- Hey... -

She looks at me in confusion and when I think she is going to ignore me she does the opposite, she shows me a warm smile.

- Hello... - she answers me.

- I'm Grace but if you like call me Gracie, everyone calls me that... - she smiles at me.

- Nice to meet you Gracie, my name is Sasha...

I just smile at her.

An older man passed us by. White gray hair adorns his head. He wears a tuxedo that looks very expensive.

His face is tired, holding a small microphone tightly while he listens to other men's explanations. They give him a sheet of paper, he reads it carefully and then looks at all of us. He nods his head until another man tells him it is time.

- What is this Gracie...? - says the brunette almost crying.

I take her hand and caress her.

- Don't cry. Don't show them weakness. I don't know what the hell is going on; I don't know what we and all these young women are doing here. I don't know what they're going to do to us but whatever you do, when they take you away, please don’t scream or resist, they will hurt you if you do, especially, you shouldn't run, don't even try it because otherwise they'll kill you.

- They'll kill us all anyway! - shouts the redhead on our side.

I look at her in confusion.

- Don’t listen to her. She is in shock, she is from a very small town and must be more than scared, we all are... - whispers Sasha in low voice so only I can hear.

She seats with sorrow.

- You will see, I will escape! – complains the same girl - God please have mercy on me! Mom, Dad! I have to get out of here! Please God! I have to escape this place!

- Stop being so loud, they are gonna shoot you! - says Sasha.

- Hey. Be quiet you stupid bitch! - shouts an angry guard and pulls out his gun.

They all cry even harder. Sasha looks at me with fear, that's when I take her hand again and smile at her, giving her confidence and at the same time, comfort...

Then we wait carefully for what is going to happen. Several provocatively dressed girls come out with trays carrying several glasses of booze.

I look carefully at what happens, they disappear behind a big curtain, that means we are behind a stage.

That's when all the noise stops, until we hear loud footsteps walking on the platform.

- Good evening to all those present. Today we have brought you a variety of girls, beautiful girls, from every part of the world as you are about to see in a few seconds. Ladies of all ages, each from different countries showing the beauty of each region, for all kind of tastes. We have the most beautiful women. Remember that after each sale you can pick up your purchase by depositing the corresponding amount before you leave the place, the amount is of course, to be paid in cash. Having said that, I wish all of you a exultant evening and without further ado, let the auction begin!

All of them let out cries of fear but it stops almost instantly when all these armed men shut them up.

One by one they come out. One by one they are auctioned. One by one they are bought. One by one they are taken by their new owner. One by one they go...

There were very few of us left including me, Sasha and the redhead who never stopped praying and crying. The poor thing has suffered so much her mind is starting to fracture, she is still in shock, she cannot believe what is happening to her.

I don't deny it; I want to cry just by looking at her. This is so disheartening.

It is her turn; she is shouting and stubbornly struggling as she is brought on stage.

- French, nineteen years old, ginger, tall, thin and... a virgin - says the microphone holder.

You can hear the girl's screams and sobs. And suddenly, we hear men yelling.

- Shit, she is getting away, get her!

I open my eyes in amazement, but the real drama begins when a shot is fired. Everything goes completely silent.

I breathe with difficulty imagining what they have done to the poor girl.

Seconds later several guys enter from the stage bringing the poor girl's body with them.

Those who are left, including me, screamed in terror at the sight of the poor girl covered in blood. One of the guys in the room comes up to us and grabs Sasha's arm.

- No Gracie! Gracie please! - cries the brunette. I hurry to stand up and take her hand.

- Easy, easy. Whatever you do, don't resist, don't run, Sasha, don't run!

- That's enough! - one of the sturdy guys covers my mouth tightly and sits me down again abruptly.

I close my mouth and keep silent to hear what is going to happen to her.

- Russian, twenty years old, brown hair, emerald colored eyes, thin, tall and a virgin - this one concludes.

Then the auction starts, everyone offers money, amount after amount until she gets sold.

Everyone applauds the winner and in a matter of seconds the brunette comes out shaking with fear. Behind her, a tall, muscular, dark haired guy comes out, he is wearing a formal suit, and when he sees his purchase shaking, he takes off his jacket