Vulnerate: A Mafia Single Dad Romance (East Coast Bratva Book 3), page 1
VULNERATE
A Mafia Single Dad Romance
East Coast Bratva
Book 3
A.X. COLE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © A.X. Cole, 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on or by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
For avoidance of doubt, Author reserves the rights to reproduce and/or otherwise use the Work in any manner for purposes of training artificial intelligence technologies to generate text, including without limitation, technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre as the Work.
Independently Published
Cover: A.X. Cole
Formatting: A.X. Cole
Editor: Stacey @ Stacey's Bookcorner Editing Services
To the first loves that you can’t forget, the ones who put the fun in dysfunctional, the cursed dicks with haunting tongues ⎯ Repeat after me, they’re fun to read, not to live with.
‘When you’re ready to be my wife, I’ll fuck you like my whore.’
⎯ Valentin Vartanov
Contents
Playlist
Content Warnings
Valentin
1. Daniela
2. Daniela
3. Valentin
4. Daniela
5. Daniela
6. Daniela
7. Valentin
8. Daniela
9. Valentin
10. Valentin
11. Daniela
12. Valentin
13. Daniela
14. Valentin
15. Daniela
16. Valentin
17. Daniela
18. Valentin
19. Daniela
20. Valentin
21. Valentin
22. Daniela
23. Valentin
24. Daniela
25. Valentin
26. Daniela
27. Valentin
28. Daniela
29. Daniela
30. Valentin
31. Valentin
32. Daniela
33. Daniela
34. Valentin
35. Daniela
36. Valentin
37. Daniela
38. Valentin
39. Daniela
40. Daniela
41. Valentin
42. Daniela
43. Valentin
44. Daniela
45. Valentin
46. Daniela
47. Valentin
48. Valentin
49. Daniela
Epilogue: Valentin
Thank you
About the Author
Also by A.X. Cole
Playlist
t.a.t.u. – all the things she said
calum scott – dancing on my own
the drifters – this magic moment
max Lorentz – be my wife
eminem – mockingbird
billie eilish – ocean eyes
arctic monkeys – i wanna be yours
mitchell tenpenny – we got history
john legend – you & i
huts (ft. chanin) – love your lies
The full playlist can be found here.
Content Warnings
Please consider the content warnings below before continuing. Your mental health matters and if you’re not in the right headspace to continue at the moment, please take a break.
There are diminutive nicknames used, these are:
Valentin – Valya/Valyusha ・Vitali – Vitya ・Viktor – Vitya/Vityenka ・Inessa – Ineska ・Vlad – Vladik ・Anastasia - Stasya
Your mental health matters.
Happy reading if you continue.
Suicide, death of parents, cancer, molestation, noncon, drug use whilst pregnant (dubious), degradation, choking, impact play, hate fucking, arson, kidnap, violence, dubcon, jealousy, sex in front of someone who is asleep, child neglect, child abuse (not CSA), fire play, restraints/belt, humiliation, spitting, violence directed towards a minor (non MCs and non-fatal).
Valentin
eleven years old
I’m about to beat my high score when Tali stands in front of the screen, and the little shithead unplugs my games console. He moves out of the way when I launch the spare controller at his head as he tries to tell me what to do when he’s going to grow up to be my junior.
“Go upstairs, Dani is coming over.”
All I’ve heard for years is about how clever Dani is, how Dani can do anything and everything. He used to be my best friend before Dani crawled up his ass and now, he doesn’t tell me anything. Well, nothing important anyway.
I’ve never seen him, even in school Tali keeps Dani hidden. We both know our dad will kill him if he finds out he’s gay, but I don’t care about that, I care that he isn’t telling me. He’s my brother and he’s supposed to tell me things so I can stop anyone hurting him. Len Vartanov is one of those people that needs everyone to be like him, a bully. And he’ll use whatever he can to hurt everyone, especially his sons. The best thing our dad will do to him is disown him, there are two things tied for top spot – he could kill him or send him away.
Sitting forward, I make sure no one else is around to hear and whisper, “Does Vlad know?”
He’ll report to our dad, then Tali will be sent back to live with them or die. We might not sleep in the same room anymore, but I still go in there when I’m bored. Vlad jokes that we’re delayed twins born a year apart but it’s true. It would be weird if he wasn’t here, and I can’t remember a time in my life I didn’t have a little brother stealing my food.
Any sane person is afraid of our older brother. He can smile while he beats the shit out of you and that makes it more frightening. But Tali is fucking crazy and rolls his eyes shouting, “Vlad, Dani’s going to be here in twenty minutes!”
He hears his name and walks into the room dressed like a businessman. The suits are all weird, he never used to wear them before because he’d be going from fight to fight in the same pair of blood soaked shorts. Now, he’s respectable and the scabs over his knuckles don’t match his fancy clothes, but Vlad won’t wear anything else unless he’s actually in the cage.
He doesn’t offer to spend any time with us, as always, and looks at each of us as he asks, “Do you need money?”
He’ll pay for whatever we want. Buy us anything we ask for. But he won’t sit with us anymore, not since we moved into the rich peoples area, and he works more. The school is worse, everyone knows what my brother does to earn money. The few friends I have, that don’t care about what he does, seem to be from worse families.
His eyes linger on me, narrowing slightly in the corners and I get away from them by turning my game back on. Does my little brother get the same treatment? No. Because he’s a yappy little puppy that’s happy. There’s always this anger inside of me and Vlad watches me like a hawk. He does it as though he can see that anger, it usually turns into an outburst, and I’ll make someone feel like shit and watch them cry. Each tear will make me smile like it’s filling something inside me.
Vlad is our fathers son, I’m my mothers, and Tali is the milk mans because there’s no one in our bloodline who has ever been happy.
Our kind of stepdad walks into the room, following his husband. Dima and Vlad might as well marry each other when they’re the only parents we have that give a fuck and they can talk to each other without saying anything. Tali moves things on the table and punches my thigh as he repeats his request.
“Go upstairs. Or literally anywhere else. You can start plotting how to be an asshole to people. Just fuck off.”
I swipe his leg out when he tries to walk passed me and he catches himself on the edge of the coffee table before jumping back up and raising his fist. I don’t flinch, we never do, but a large, inked hand wraps around his fist as ‘Dad Two’ acts responsible.
“No fighting unless you’re training.” Dima looks between both of us, his silver eyes drilling in the rules no one even cares about. I try to go back to my game for the second time, but he keeps staring at me, making me combust.
“I didn’t do shit, so I don’t know why you’re saying it to me. Tell him to go somewhere else, I was here first.”
Vlad allows his husband to deal with the discipline since he promised he wouldn’t when we left our parents’ house and came to America. It doesn’t stop him watching with unnerving eyes to make sure that a hand isn’t put on us. Dima shakes his head and holds Tali’s collar pissing me off even more.
“And don’t grab my brother, you dickhead.”
I’m the only person who’s allowed to give him shit. He smirks as Vlad says, “Done with your tantrum now?”
Asshole. My brother is an asshole, so is Dima, and everyone else I live with. At least I’m honest that I like it, they act like it’s just a normal part of life. A knock hits the door, too gentle to belong to anyone we know, and Tali runs to it to wait for his boyfriend. I stand straight as Dima follows him and wait until he’s out of sight i
My little brother is a shithead but he’s my shithead, and no one else gets to hurt him. The deep voice isn’t enough when Vlad uses his and straightens his cuffs. “What would I be lying about?”
That unnerving stare is fully on me, but I don’t back down. My heart is beating too fast, scared that I’ve given away Tali’s secret and I try to take it back.
“They’re just friends, he’s not gay.”
I don’t care what he does, I don’t know if Vlad will when he doesn’t even have a girlfriend himself. I don’t think he has anyone apart from Dima and he’s miserable all the time. But I’ve seen Dima with women before when I’ve snuck out of the house or got caught at a party and needed him to pick me up. The last one was nice, even if I told her that she needs to start wearing clothes that fit her because I could see her underwear when I opened the car door.
Keeping my body straight, I don’t move as Vlad walks closer and sits down so we’re the same height. He’s angry and his jaw pops out under his stubble.
“I don’t give a fuck if he has a boyfriend, girlfriend, or if he’s in love with a goat. Even if it was all of the above, he’s a Vartanov. Our brother.”
He doesn’t say anything else, and I nod, relaxing a little. Until he leans forward with his arm on his knees and stares into my eyes to stop me moving. His voice is quieter, yet somehow, it’s even more deadly.
“Only perverts care about that shit. I’ve told you before, Len has no fucking control since we left. Don’t worry about him, I’ll deal with it.”
Seeing that I understand, he rubs my hair and smiles. It’s small and doesn’t reach his eyes as he acts like the brother we used to have.
“Why are you pissed? Is it because he has a new friend?”
That sounds stupid as fuck, I’m not a baby. So, I prove I’m a man and straighten my shoulders as I look at his hands declaring, “I want to be initiated.”
I have friends in other families, they might not be Bratva, but I’ve heard the rumors, and they get initiated way younger than eighteen. My brother won’t let me, it’s the biggest argument we have, and he holds my wrist with his thumb and first finger to pick it up. His other hand comes up as he pushes the sleeve of my t-shirt up and wraps his fingers around my bicep. They meet too easily, and he softens his voice.
“What are you going to be able to do at this age?” Bringing his hand back he shows me the size of my bicep as though it’s not attached to my body. It’s not like I’m weak, I have muscle and I’ve been fighting for longer than I’ve been walking, his hands are just huge.
He stands as the muted voices come through the door and shakes his head as Tali’s uncivilized ass says, “I need a piss, go sit down and ignore everyone if they act like idiots.”
Vlad brushes my hair away from my forehead as he leans down and kisses the top of my head like I’m a girl and not a man. It’s weird when he’s so… Vlad and he acts like an ass when he moves back.
“Looks like he might not have his new friend for long, so you can stop your tantrum.”
He walks away and goes back to planning fights with Dima. I nearly go find Tali to beat the shit out of him when I get back to my game because he’s made me lose my place and he’s probably done it on purpose so he could win. Shithead.
Restarting my place, I’m still angry going through all the levels and killing the zombies. I straighten the cheat codes Lucky gave me on the table while it’s loading the level for the island and try to memorize them. A girl’s voice is behind me, and I turn around. There are no girls in the house during the day since Katya, Dima’s sister, will be home after she finishes with her tutor but it’s not her voice and she normally smacks me on the back of the head.
The girl standing behind the sofa is my age, big brown eyes, and hair that’s the same color. She’s pretty, even with paint on her overalls, like a girly mechanic.
“What do all the shapes mean?” she asks, squinting to see the paper clearly.
Her voice is nice, but I look around to make sure I’m in the right house. “Who are you? And why are you here?”
It sounds rude but people don’t walk into our house. Even if we know them, especially if we know them, and I’ve never seen this girl before. I’d remember her if I did, she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
She holds the straps of her backpack tighter and smiles with her cheeks pushing up into her eyes, but her lips are in a straight line. Her voice is quieter, and I start my game.
“Vitali said I can wait here. He’s asking his brother to order pizza and he went to the bathroom,” she says while I continue ignoring her.
It’s strange to hear someone call it the bathroom, even Katya just says piss after growing up in a house full of boys. But this girl is even weirder as she introduces herself with her hand out, showing she’s definitely in the wrong house.
“I’m Dani, Daniela. I’ve seen you, in school I mean. I don’t just follow you. You’re older than me so you won’t know me.”
She’s cute when she rambles.
I nod because Dani is a girl, a very pretty girl, and I don’t want her to be friends with my brother but with me. I don’t shake her hand and go back to my game. I want to, there’s a tiny bit of paint stuck to the inside of her wrist, and it makes her hands look softer. She smells nice too, it’s girly and mixed with the smell of clay like she’s been born in the earth.
I’ve always shared everything with Tali, he takes my clothes and my games because he’s only a year younger and we like the same things, but I want to take Dani away from him, have her to myself, and see if her eyes are always that dark. I want her to be just mine without me having to tell her to. More than that, I don’t want to make her cry. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt like that, I always have the need to do it.
It gets worse when she sits next to me and asks, “Can I play?”
She has smudges of different colors on her hands, chalk on her knees, and paint on her clothes, but she wants to kill zombies. I laugh and keep working my way through the island as I’m ejected from the helicopter.
“Yeah right, you’re a girl you can just watch me.”
She punches me in the arm with more strength than she should have, and I pause my game to look at her as she tells me off.
“Girls can kill zombies too, let me play.”
I listen to her without thinking and save my progress before she can mess it up. I have the spare controller in my hand when I change my mind and leave it unconnected. Her hands are soft, they brush mine as I pass her it and show her the buttons. But she fidgets, making me move away.
As soon as I press play she slaps her hand over mine. “I know what you did.” Her voice is low, and she rips it out of my hand to swap players when she was set up as the computer. “You’re not very nice Valentin.”
She says my name the right way, everyone always calls me “Valentine”, but she doesn’t, and I didn’t even tell her.
When Tali comes in, I’ve forgotten that she’s supposed to be his friend and he doesn’t go in a mood about me talking to her. He just sits next to her helping her get passed all the zombies and shouting out the combos.
I don’t know who Dani is other than my brothers friend, but I know she’ll be mine.
Not my friend, something more and permanent.
Yeah, I’ll just make her mine and no one else’s.
Daniela Carvalho made a mistake by talking to me first and being pretty. Even though my brother narrows his eyes at me when he catches me looking at her, I don’t care.
She’s mine and I’m claiming her.
ONE
Daniela
Mom and Dad are away visiting a new doctor and I want to call them to come back so I’m not stuck with Carly. She’s twenty-one years old and she should be looking after me, but the man she’s sat on is taking up her time and her tongue. Dad will go crazy if he finds out her boyfriend is here, but Mom is sick again. I can’t let her know Carly isn’t the angel she thinks she is when she’s drunk or high every night instead of focusing on work like she should be. The accountant does everything Carly is supposed to, and she only goes to the office to sign so our cards don’t get cut off.
