Surviving A Mafia Love Story: Between Worlds, #3

By Paro Dae

Passion and possession are not love.

 

People often confuse obsession with attraction, and that's the reason Zhuri has landed in yet another story to rewrite it. This time though her troubles have doubled. Raj is not just a possessive man, but a possessive kingpin who has already killed someone in front of her. Being the only eyewitness of the homicide, he drags her to his mansion. She has to stay with him till he destroys all the evidence of his crimes, and that includes Zhuri's testimony.

 

Having no interest in fighting a mafia, she complies to his demands. But the more she agrees, the more he holds on to her. He doesn't seem to have any plans of letting her go. Even criminals have hearts and desires, and this time his heart desires her. She can only avoid his carnal urges for so long. Her only way out of this purgatory is to escape. The problem is she doesn't know where she is, and Raj is a ruthless creature who won't hesitate to shoot her if she tries to leave him. Stuck with a murderer, she has to find her way out before one of them suffers a formidable fate.

 

*This book can be read as a standalone novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paro Dae
• Release date: Apr 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224349784

Book preview

Chapter 1

SWEAT TRICKLES DOWN the angle of Zhuri's jaw as the man places his finger on the trigger. She knows she can't die. This is a book after all, and she's the lead character. No one can kill her in her own story.

A gun fires. Zhuri's heart skips a beat as she stares down at her figure-hugging white dress. There's no blood on it, but she is sure she heard a blast. Lifting her narrow chin, she looks at the man falling to the side. A crimson fluid oozes out of his skull, painting the road red.

Her breaths hastens. With wide eyes, she keeps staring at the corpse. This is a dangerous place, and she must run, but her legs freeze.

Get out of here, a young man says, approaching her from the end of the road. His eyes trace her body. You can keep your hands down.

Zhuri lets her arms fall by her side. She opens her mouth to say something but words refuse to leave her lips.

Don't you see the empty street? The man places his gun inside his black coat. He kicks the corpse as though checking if it's dead. This is going to get worse. Leave while you can.

Nikita. A middle-aged man in an apron runs from the shop next to her. Forgive her, Raj sir, she didn't know you were coming.

Grabbing Zhuri by her arms, he drags her inside the bakery. Zhuri turns around, looking at the corpse. As she glances up, she sees Raj still staring at her. Her mind is too numb to understand anything. She lets the old baker carry her inside the shop.

Go, hide in your room, the baker whispers, pointing his chubby finger at the first floor.

There are a few tables and chairs in the room, but they are all empty. Zhuri follows the man's gaze and strides up the stairs. She doesn't know where it leads to, but anywhere away from the guns will do.

A couple of shots echo in the room. She gasps and spins around. Despite the sun overhead, she sees the bullets spark at the nozzle of the gun in the hands of the young man who saved her.

Quick, close the door, the baker shouts, and rushes in what appears to be a kitchen.

Zhuri dashes into the room and slams the door shut. She can still hear noises. This is weird; it's not supposed to happen. She has been travelling in the stories her roommate, Aditi, loves. And Aditi is not into action novels. Her heart thumps as she crouches and moves from bed to the window, trying to understand what's going on.

Two cars stop on either side of the road. A couple of men bolt out of them and start firing at each other. Needless to say, none of them is able to get a good hit. Despite the bullet shells hitting the ground, no one's bleeding. It looks like a gang war of terrible shooters.

Zhuri moves away from the window and ducks close to the bed. Her roommate, Aditi, is not into these kinds of stories, or at least Zhuri doesn't think so. Maybe she's wrong and there's one action novel in the pile of garbage that Aditi reads.

As the firing intensifies, Zhuri covers her ears. Looking at this mess, and considering Aditi's obsession with bad boy romance, Zhuri should not be there. This book doesn't seem so bad. If it's not a love story, then she won't have to push away some psycho lover and dons.... She gasps.

Bad boy novels include mafia romance as well. Zhuri's breath stops for a while. Out of all the books she can be in, this has to be the worst. She has to get off this story immediately. But she knows that she can't leave any novel without changing the plot, and to change this one, she'll have to deal with a criminal.

The moon god has been ruthless with her this whole time. She has completed her quest in every book she was put in, yet she hasn't returned home. In this story, it's quite obvious that she has to stop this girl, whose body she's in, from marrying a don.

Pressing her temples, Zhuri tries to recall the name the short, fat baker called her. Nikita. She has talked to Aditi millions of times, but Aditi never mentioned anything about a mafia love story. It's probably because she knows Zhuri will make fun of her.

Zhuri slaps her forehead. She is not wrong for laughing at her roommate's book choices, they are awful, but had she not done it, it would have been helpful now.

One thing's for sure, though the male lead in this story is a killer, he won't hurt her. After all she's the female lead, and he's supposed to fall for her head over heels. She'll have to figure out which one it is. Crouching, she peeks outside the window again.

The firing continues from people on the road, ignoring the dead body of the man in the centre. Zhuri tries to stand to get a better view, but as soon as the bullets sound ricochets, she slips and falls on her bum.

Knowing she won't die doesn't lessen her fear of guns. Her heart races as she attempts to look outside one more time. Again the firing stops her legs from standing.

Never mind. She ducks and moves towards the bed. Being the female lead, she's bound to meet her male counterpart. All she has to do is be patient. And being patient is the toughest thing.

In the last two stories, the guys were not criminals. With the vampire, Eisa, she has had the easiest time. Despite him being a blood sucking creature, he has been gentle with her. The matters with the billionaire, Dev, have been weird, but he didn't kill people either. None of the men in the previous books have been homicidal.

However, this time someone has already died, and right now, more people might be dying on the road.

Zhuri grabs her head and slouches behind the bed. There's no way she can change the heart of a mafia. Mafias are usually violent from an early age and are involved in the crime world from childhood or teenage. She can't challenge a man like that.

Maybe in the books it's possible to alter someone's entire personality, but she's from the real world. She has no clue how to deal with fictional criminals. At least, dons on Earth sometimes get arrested or die in an encounter. Neither of those things are going to happen there. She'll have to figure out something else.

After a couple of minutes, the firing stops. Or perhaps, Zhuri has gone deaf due to all the noises. She can't hear anything and doesn't know what happened. For some reason, she doesn't want to know. She has a feeling she won't like the reality of this book.

Someone knocks on the door. She gasps and stares ahead. The good news is her ears are still working.

Nikita, open the door, a man calls.

That's her name in this story. She hops up and rushes towards the door. As she opens it, the old baker dashes inside.

Are you alright? he asks, scanning the room.

This is a tricky question. If by alright he means not dead, then yes; however, if he's talking about her mental state, she has never been worse.

Grabbing her shoulders, he shakes her. Nikita, are you okay?

Yes. Zhuri steps away from him. The way this man is huffing, it's obvious he's way more anxious than her. She can't tell him how horrible she feels.

What were you doing outside the shop? he shouts.

It's not like it was her choice to enter the story during that scene. Clueless how to answer him, she keeps her mouth shut.

That Don, Raj, saw you. The man grabs his hair. You saw him kill someone.

There's no need to repeat the events. Zhuri is well aware of what happened. She nods wordlessly and moves towards her bed. If she has to deal with a mafia, she better rest and save all the energy she can.

You can't tell anyone what you saw, the man shouts, and rushes in her direction. The police, the dons, everyone will be after you.

Zhuri shoots him a glance. She knows this baker wants to keep her safe, but telling her she'll have to deal with the authorities and criminals alike is not helpful.

Promise me, you won't tell anyone about it. He holds her palm. Say it.

I promise. Zhuri pulls her hands away.

A teardrop glints in his eyes as he stands straight and hugs her. My little girl, he says, sobbing. Everything will be alright.

Sirens echo outside.

The police are here. The old baker bolts towards the window.

Following him, Zhuri does the same. The copper caps glint under the afternoon sun. Only one corpse lay in the middle of the street. After all that firing, more people must have been shot. Perhaps their gang members took their bodies, leaving this dead man behind.

The police van stops in front of the bullet shells. A young man in khaki uniform steps out and trudges towards the body. He checks its pulse. Turning around, he gestures to the old officer behind. As the old policeman makes a call, the young one rises and looks at Zhuri.

The baker grabs Zhuri's hands and pulls her back. If this is his way to protect her, then he's doing a terrible job. Hiding from the authorities will only make them more suspicious.

Get away from there, the baker says, and points at the bed. He closes the window door and curtains. Come.

Clutching her arm, he pulls her out of the room. You can stay downstairs for today. If the police ask you anything, tell them you were inside. You understand?

Zhuri nods. Though the man is right to worry, she doubts authorities will believe these lies. Their restaurant is so close to the crime scene that people are bound to see something, even if it is just out of curiosity. But she doesn't want to argue with Nikita's father.

Go now. The baker pushes her towards the stairs.

She trudges down the stairs and the baker follows her. Nothing seems distributed in the sitting area. All the chairs and tables are intact, and the curtains on either side of the exit are pulled together.

This can be the excuse Nikita's father might be thinking about using, but the police are not stupid. They know how people react in case of firings. Besides, it's afternoon, and the restaurant's open sign is still facing the road. No matter what the baker plans, they will see through it.

Never before has Zhuri been interrogated by the authorities in the real world. In the previous story she has had an encounter with the cop, but it was minor. She has been there just to file a complaint, not as an eye witness to a murder.

The blood dripping from the man's head flashes in Zhuri's mind. She shudders.

Are you alright? The baker pats her on the back.

No one can be okay after watching a man get shot. Yes, she lies, despite the sweat trickling down her temples.

Go inside. The baker pushes her towards the room next to the staircase.

Before Zhuri takes a step, chimes of bell echoes in the restaurant. She pivots to see two male officers walking inside. Her body freezes.

The baker pokes her in the back. Go, he mutters.

As Zhuri turns, one of the policemen calls, Wait a second, Miss. We have some questions for you.

About what? Nikita's father asks the obvious question.

About the murder, Mr. Romi, the young officer answers. I believe you and everyone in this restaurant might be the prime witness of the crime.

We didn't see anything, Officer Manoj, Romi says.

There's no way the authorities are going to believe it, Zhuri thinks.

Manoj smirks. Fair enough. Then we'll like to know what you didn't see.

Chapter 2

AS EXPECTED, THE POLICE have started interrogating everyone in the restaurant. That involves Zhuri, Romi, and an elderly female chef, who has been hiding under the kitchen counter all along.

The older policeman asks Romi some questions in one corner of the room, whereas Officer Manoj strides up to Zhuri. Do you mind moving a little further? he asks, gesturing towards the other end of the restaurant.

It's not like if Zhuri protests, he'll let her talk standing in the centre. Of course, she says, and moves ahead.

These policemen clearly don't want Romi to hear Zhuri's questions and vice versa. Perhaps they are suspicious of both of them.

Shaking her head, Zhuri faces Manoj. She's being paranoid. As always, the authorities have arrived after the crime. They know nothing. She can tell them anything she wants and get away with it. After all, this is just a story. How efficient can an officer be?

Manoj takes out a pocket notebook and pen from his uniform. Where were you at the time of firing?

In my room upstairs, she lies, just like Romi wanted her to.

Manoj raises his chin and stares at the door on the first floor. So it was you I saw when I arrived. He looks back at her. You were peeking from the window, weren't you?

First question only and Zhuri has managed to get under his radar. Her palms turn cold as she glances at Romi in the other end of the room.

Focus, Miss.... Manoj waves his pen at her.

Nikita, Zhuri answers.

"What is your