The Heir: A Dark Mafia Romance (Sokolov Mafia Clan Book 1) Read online

  THE HEIR

  Sokolov Mafia Clan I

  IVY CLYDE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Ivy Clyde. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted and reproduced in any manner or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or whatsoever without written permission of the author.

  *For information contact, Ivy Clyde

  Table of Contents

  THE HEIR

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  Ready for the next part in Danica’s journey?

  THE HEIR

  Victor Sokolov, the heir to the most powerful mafia family in the city, is stepping into power.

  Cruel. Merciless. A demon wearing the face of an angel.

  He is on a purge to rid the gang of every deceitful follower, paving the way to his succession with a trail of corpses. It won’t be long before the city turns into a battlefield.

  He is recruiting new blood into his ranks and I am the rookie agent being sent to breach them. After all, no one has studied him and the movements of the Sokolov Clan as obsessively as me.

  My department doesn’t just give me a fake ID.

  I am also disguised as a man.

  Soon, I’m plunged into a world unlike anything I could have ever imagined. Every moment spent with Victor makes me question everything I know about myself.

  I’m torn between fear and desire, right and wrong, pain and pleasure as I struggle to win his trust. My body and mind are betraying everything I’ve been taught to abhor.

  Can I still remain one of the good guys or will the devil devour my soul completely?

  1

  Danica

  I glanced at the clock in the corner of my screen and then toward the closed door of the chief’s office room. He’d left for a meeting earlier that day and was still not back yet.

  “Hmm,” I mumbled, tapping my fingers on the desk.

  “Any idea where Chief is?” I asked, turning to look at Jacob, my co-worker.

  He turned his blue eyes on me and shrugged. “I hope he stays away,” he said with a grin. “It’s so much more relaxing that way.”

  I frowned at my grinning colleague who reached inside a drawer and stuffed his face with Oreo cookies. “What?” he asked, chewing through a mouthful. “Loosen up, Taylor! Chief’s not even here. He can’t see how hard you’re working or how much I’m slacking.”

  Soft chuckles sounded from behind me. Brian, my other colleague, was laughing at Jacob’s joke. They both found my insane need to impress the Chief funny. I wish I could stop it, but I nursed a tiny crush on my forty-something-year-old boss.

  I glared at Jacob and Brian before letting my gaze take in the almost empty office space. Nolan and the other higher-ranking officers were all missing today.

  I went back to scanning the emails on my screen. It was better to focus on the job at hand and have it completed by the time Chief came back.

  My eyes were glued to the screen of my computer when movement along the corner of my eyes alerted me to a presence. The scent of a familiar cologne wafted into my nostrils.

  Glancing up, I saw a tall figure towering over me.

  “Come into my office.”

  “You’re back.” I smiled at Captain Nolan Lawson, my boss and the commanding officer of the special drugs and narcotics division where I worked.

  I tried to gauge his facial expression but his handsome, sharply angular face gave nothing away. He gave a grim nod and gestured for me to follow him.

  “Is this about the intercepted emails we received this morning?” I asked.

  Jacob glanced at me from behind Nolan’s back.

  “It’s not about that,” said Nolan, turning away from my desk. “Follow me.”

  Jacob shrugged his shoulders as I looked toward him again. He seemed to be as clueless about this sudden call as I was.

  I stood up from my seat and straightened my hoodie before following Nolan.

  The captain stepped into his office, but instead of walking toward his desk, he moved toward the window. “Close the door,” he commanded.

  The grim tone in his voice made my mind whirr. Had I made a mistake in one of my reports? Did someone else complain about my work? Did he catch me sneaking packets of Doritos in my desk drawer?

  I looked down at the dark navy hoodie I was wearing to make sure there were no traces of orange crumbs on it.

  “What’s up, Cap?” I asked with an awkward chuckle.

  “I have a new job for you, Taylor.”

  My breath rushed out of me as relief spread through me. This wasn’t about the Doritos. “Sure,” I said with a nod. “Although, I still haven’t found anything strong enough in those emails yet but don’t worry, Cap. I’m reading every word in those messages so I don’t miss anything that could help us secure a warrant.”

  Nolan’s brows furrowed slightly. “I told you this wasn’t about the emails.”

  “Then, what?”

  “We have finalized everything about the Sokolov gang sting operation,” said Nolan, looking directly at me with those sharp hazel eyes of his. “You’re up.”

  “Me? Up for what exactly?” He couldn’t possibly mean what I thought he meant.

  The captain gave a nod. “You’ll be the one to infiltrate the gang.”

  The urge to giggle was overwhelming but Nolan’s stern expression was enough to tell me this wasn’t a joke. So, I stared at him as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  The rolled-up sleeves of his shirt gave me a glimpse of his muscular forearms. He was quite a handsome man in his early forties with closely cropped dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes.

  “Taylor,” he called.

  I met his gaze. “Why me?” I asked in a quiet voice.

  It didn’t make any sense for him to be sending someone as inexperienced as me to such an important mission. I’d been chained to a desk job ever since I stepped into the department without any significant field experience to qualify for such an operation.

  “How long have you been in the department?” asked Nolan.

  “About a year,” I replied.

  “Exactly,” he said. “Your name is not connected to any case yet.”

  “Still, Chief,” I said, trying to wrap my head around the idea of me being an undercover agent. “I’m barely qualified. Other people have more experience than me. They probably have more knowledge about the Sokolov Clan than me.”

  “You lack experience,” he said with a nod. “But not knowledge, Taylor. You’ve become a walking encyclopedia on the Sokolov Clan and their activities in this city. You have a knack for remembering minute details and making connections. It makes you a prime choice for this mission.”

  “But C
hief—”

  “Twelve months,” said Nolan, glancing over my head to stare at the vast board set up on the opposite wall. I turned to look at it too. Every inch of the board’s surface was covered in photographs and notes. “In that time, you’ve gone from making simple database entries to making useful links from the intel we received that have led to convictions.”

  “Only a few times but I didn’t exactly –"

  “Five convictions and seven pending trials,” said Nolan, cutting me off. “How could we have arrested Crazy Butch if you hadn’t connected that single call he made to Rustavski? They were subtle about speaking about the location of their meeting but you figured it out. We caught the entire gang red-handed before their deal could be completed, gaining both the drugs and the money about to exchange hands.”

  “Uhh…” He hadn’t praised me when it happened. I’d thought this was no big deal until now.

  “Crazy Butch’s arrest was the most important one we’ve made in a while,” he said as I nibbled my lower lip. “We were able to bust a prime drug circle and all connected parties. It was all because of you.” He moved forward and laid a hand on my shoulder to drive his point home. “We believe you’re the person we need for this mission.”

  I stayed silent, still unconvinced I was the best person he could choose in the whole department.

  Nolan walked toward his desk and lifted one of the files from the stack. Opening it, he handed it to me. “You know about the Heir, right?”

  It was pointless to ask me that. Of course, I knew about Victor Sokolov, the heir to the Sokolov mafia clan who was poised to step into his father’s position soon.

  I’d been tracking and compiling cross-references for the gang since I joined the department. I knew most of their names and their faces, as well as their position in the gang. After looking at hundreds of photographs of the members and hearing recordings of their phone conversations, I could vividly picture them all in my mind.

  “Has something come up about Ivan Sokolov’s son?” I asked. Ivan was the dictator who commanded the notorious Sokolov mafia gang that ran the city’s underground scene.

  “Victor Sokolov has been spotted a lot recently, almost daily. Do you know how rare that is?”

  “Yeah.”

  Ivan’s son had gone from being an invisible force to suddenly being seen everywhere. His time to step up beside his father was fast approaching and he was starting to take control.

  Nolan nodded toward the file in my hands.

  “These were taken by Ethan?” I asked, staring at the sharp photograph of the Heir. It had been taken from a sidewalk or inside of a building, maybe a bookshop. The background was blurred, bringing focus on the tall, broad figure in a black suit. He was walking toward a classy silver-hued Mercedes Benz, his hands reaching up to undo a jacket button.

  I flicked to the second photograph which showed a closer shot.

  Victor Sokolov’s face was in sharper focus now. His dark hair was swept away from his forehead while his keen steel-gray eyes were looking toward the front.

  I’d seen Victor’s younger photographs from a time he was just a young teen. There were more noticeable changes in him now though. He was broader, his expression colder than I’d ever seen before. The soft beauty of his youth had faded away, leaving behind a hard edge to his handsome features.

  The only thing that seemed to have remained the same was his light-colored eyes. They were still soulful and beautiful and in sharp contrast to his prominent nose and tightly pursed lips.

  “These shots are great,” I said in a low voice.

  “Best ones we’ve gotten since he was thirteen,” said Nolan.

  He’d definitely grown up from the database photographs. There was an authoritative air about him now, a determined set to his square jaw.

  “He looks nothing like his old man,” I remarked with a snort as I looked at more shots of the cold, beautiful man. “Mrs. Sokolov must be a really beautiful woman.”

  “We don’t have any clear shots of her,” said Nolan as he took back the file from my hands. “Ivan has kept his wife and son persistently sheltered and guarded against the world.” A heavy breath escaped him. “Not anymore, though. Victor Sokolov is finally hitting the streets like the heir he is.”

  I stayed quiet as Nolan continued.

  “It is evident from these photographs that he is getting groomed to take over which means we’ve got a way in. There will be a shift in power and influence throughout Ivan’s empire.” Nolan folded his arms over his chest. “That’s where you come in.”

  Nolan went around the desk to sit in his chair and gestured for me to do the same.

  I sat down and waited for him to continue.

  “They’re going to start recruiting new blood into the gang,” he said. “There will be a purge. The old must go to make way for a new era.” He paused for a moment as if he was considering his next words carefully. “We got a tip-off from an informant. They are bringing in young men. Not middle-aged or old men. We’re talking young blood here. They are ready to build a new generation of soldiers.”

  “Why not use this informant to infiltrate the gang?” I asked.

  “One,” said Nolan, lifting a finger. “He is too old and has already made connections in the gang. We need him to stay exactly where he is rather than go deeper.”

  He lifted another finger and continued, “Two, he is our ticket into the gang. That’s the reason we need you, Taylor. We need someone young and fairly new in the force who can’t be linked back to the department. Your inexperience in the field is also beneficial for the operation. They won’t recognize you as a cop because they’ve never seen you patrol the streets or set eyes on you at a crime scene or raid.”

  “I’m sure there’s someone smarter than me,” I said, trying to come up with a reason why I was a bad choice for the mission. “How about you?”

  “You’re smart too,” he said. “Your test results have shown us that.”

  I stayed quiet, wondering if that was the criteria he used to bring me into his department since the time I graduated from the police academy about a year ago.

  “I could do it too,” continued Nolan. “But I need to stay back and head the investigation. My name and profile are also linked to too many cases already. Jackie can’t go. She is past forty. Same with Micah, Caroline, Jackson, and Dean. Ethan is like me. He’s a good soldier but he’s not a spy. Brian and Jacob are young too but they’re not as smart as you. Those two are neither good on the field nor at their desks.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face. “Believe me, Danica. I’ve gone over this a hundred times already. It’s got to be you.”

  Nolan had already named the members of our small team. We were an analysis and investigative unit, needing more manpower only during a raid. That was when the armed units came in.

  “Test results don’t prove much,” I insisted, struggling to come up with an excuse why using a rookie agent like me was a bad idea. “What if I say the wrong thing at the wrong time? They could kill me. The whole operation could blow up because of me.”

  “Danica, this is the best shot we will ever get at infiltrating the Sokolov Clan so deeply,” said Nolan. “We’ve been waiting for such an opportunity for ages now.”

  “I know,” I muttered. “But, me?” Nolan held my gaze, refusing to back down. “I don’t have any practical experience in dealing with gang members.” My breathing grew shallow and heavy. “And if you haven’t noticed, I am a woman. They don’t take in chicks as gang members. They’re still misogynistic assholes.”

  “You will go undergo training,” Chief replied calmly. “As for being a female, you’ll be disguised as a man. It won’t be hard for you to pass as a man when you cut your hair shorter.”

  I stared at him. Cutting off my hair would be enough to make me pass for a dude?

  “You’ll wear lose clothes and jackets,” said Nolan.

  I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped me. He’d just told me my boobs w
ere small enough to be hidden under layers of clothing without uttering the word “boobs”.

  My teeth ground together, knowing Nolan wasn’t wrong about this either. My figure was naturally lean and wiry. My curves were only noticeable when I wore something snug.

  For the first time in my life, I was regretting wearing big hoodies all the time. I probably looked so androgynous that my captain was willing to send me to infiltrate a gang posing as a dude.

  “You will undergo training in firearms and other stuff,” said Nolan. His tone was no longer persuasive. He already knew I had no more excuses left. “We won’t be sending you in naked. You’ll be prepared. We have close to four months to prepare you for this mission. By the time you’re inside, you’ll have all the facts about every member of the Sokolov gang.”

  “I already know everything about them,” I said.

  “Not everything,” said Nolan. “The only way to know everything about the Sokolov gang is to join the Sokolov gang.” He gestured toward the tallest towering stack of files on his desk. “Take these with you.”

  I eyed them. He knew I couldn’t ignore them on my desk.

  The urge to go back to my desk and scan the countless intercepted emails we’d received was overwhelming. I wanted to pretend none of this had happened.

  But I couldn’t.

  There was no way of backing out of this anymore. I had no excuses left other than I was scared to do this.

  Getting to my feet, I grabbed the stack of files.

  “You can’t speak about this to anyone in the department until we’ve finalized everything,” said Nolan just as I was about to move away from his desk.

  “Sure, Chief.”

  I went back to my station, placed the files on my desk, and flopped onto my chair.

  Brian walked up to me at once. He plucked the file sitting on top of the stack and flicked it open. “More crap about the Sokolov gang, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I said without looking at him.

  “Fuck! This guy is hot,” he whispered, staring closely at Victor Sokolov’s photograph.

  Jacob, my other colleague, moved toward us and peered over Brian’s shoulder. “Wow! When did mobsters get so attractive?”