Forbidden obsession: Claimed by my Mafia Stepdad

The dirt hit my parents' coffins like bullets. I stood there in the pouring rain, black dress clinging to my skin, and I couldn't even cry anymore. Everything inside me felt hollow. "You've got some nerve showing up here, Frost b***h," a rough voice snarled behind me. I turned slowly. Three men in cheap suits blocked the path away from the graves. The tallest one, neck tattooed with a snake, stepped closer. Rain dripped down his face as he sneered. "Your old man owed us big time. Now that he's rotting, guess who pays?" "I don't have anything," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Please. Not today." "Not today?" He laughed, loud and ugly. "You think this is a f*****g charity? Your dad was a rat. Now you're just trash left behind." His hand flew before I could react. The slap cracked across my cheek so hard my head whipped sideways. Pain exploded through my face. I tasted blood. I stumbled back, slipping in the mud, landing hard on my knees. Cold water soaked through my dress. The other two laughed. "Look at her. Pathetic." One of them grabbed my hair, yanking my head up. "Maybe we take it out in trade. What do you say, sweetheart?" "Get your f*****g hands off her." The voice cut through the rain like a blade. Deep. Cold. Deadly. The men froze. I looked up through wet strands of hair. He stood there like he owned the graveyard. Tall, broad shouldered, dressed in a black coat that probably cost more than my entire life. Viktor Kane. My father's best friend. The man I'd only met a handful of times as a kid. The tattooed guy released my hair like it burned him. "Mr. Kane. We didn't know she was" "Touch her again and I'll bury you with them." Viktor's voice stayed low, but every word carried murder in it. His silver grey eyes locked on the men like a predator. They backed away fast. One of them actually tripped over a headstone in his hurry to leave. I stayed on my knees in the mud, shaking. Viktor stepped closer. He didn't offer his hand right away. He just looked down at me, something unreadable in his expression. "Get up, Aria." I tried. My legs wouldn't work. The slap still burned. My cheek felt swollen. He cursed under his breath and crouched. Strong hands gripped my arms, pulling me to my feet like I weighed nothing. Up close he smelled like expensive cologne and rain and something darker I couldn't name. "You're coming with me," he said. "I can't. I have nowhere to go but I can't just" "You don't have a choice." His fingers tightened on my arm, not painful but firm. "Your father named me your guardian if anything happened to them. It's legal. It's done." Guardian. The word felt wrong. He was my dad's best friend, sure, but he was also Viktor Kane. The man everyone whispered about. The one who ran half the city. "Why?" I asked, voice small. "Why would he do that?" Viktor's jaw tightened. Rain slid down his sharp cheekbones. "Because he knew I'd keep you alive. Now get in the car before more of them show up." He didn't wait for me to argue. One arm went around my waist, half carrying me toward a sleek black SUV waiting on the road. His driver, a silent man with a scar across his eyebrow, opened the door. I slid into the warm leather seats, dripping mud and water everywhere. Viktor got in after me. The door shut with a heavy click that sounded final. The car pulled away from the cemetery. I stared out the window, watching my parents' graves disappear. "My stuff," I said suddenly. "Everything I own is at the apartment. The landlord already changed the locks this morning." "I'll handle it." Viktor leaned back, long legs stretched out. He took up so much space. "You won't need any of it." I turned to look at him. Really look. He was older than I remembered. Early forties, maybe. Handsome in a terrifying way. Sharp jaw. Those strange silver eyes. The kind of man who made the air feel thinner. "Why are you doing this?" I asked again. My cheek throbbed. "You barely know me." He stared straight ahead for a long moment. Then his gaze slid to me. Something dark flickered there. "Your father was my brother in everything but blood. When he asked me to watch over you if s**t went south, I gave him my word." His voice dropped lower. "And I keep my word, Aria." The way he said my name sent a shiver down my spine. Not quite fear. Not quite anything I wanted to name. I touched my swollen cheek and winced. Viktor noticed. His hand moved before I could stop him, fingers gently tilting my chin toward the light. His touch burned. "They'll pay for that," he said quietly. The gentleness in his voice didn't match the violence in his eyes. I pulled away, heart hammering. "I just want to be left alone." "Too late for that, little one." He dropped his hand but stayed close. Too close. "You're under my protection now. No one touches what's mine." The words hung between us. Heavy. Possessive. I swallowed hard. "I don't belong to anyone." A small, dangerous smile touched his lips. "You do now." The car climbed through the city, heading toward the richest district. Towering buildings glittered through the rain. I felt smaller with every passing block. My mind kept replaying the slap. The laughter. The way those men looked at me like I was nothing. Tears finally came. I tried to hold them back but a sob slipped out. Viktor shifted. For a second I thought he'd pull me against him. Instead he reached into his coat and handed me a crisp white handkerchief. "Clean yourself up," he said, voice rough. "You've cried enough for one day." I took it with shaking fingers. It smelled like him. We drove in silence for a while. The city lights blurred past. I kept stealing glances at him. At the way his hands rested on his thighs. The tension in his shoulders. He caught me looking. "Something on your mind?" he asked. "Everything," I whispered. "My parents. The debts. Those men. You." His eyes softened just a fraction. "I'll take care of the debts. The men. All of it." "Why do you care so much?" For the first time, he looked away. Just for a second. "Because some promises you don't break. No matter the cost." The SUV slowed as we approached a gleaming skyscraper. The penthouse levels disappeared into the clouds. Viktor's driver spoke for the first time. Low voice, respectful. "Cleaned up the loose ends from the Frost hit, boss. No traces left." My blood turned to ice. Frost hit. I stared at Viktor. He didn't react. Didn't even blink. But I saw it. The slight tightening of his jaw. The way his fingers flexed once. The car stopped. Viktor turned to me, silver eyes unreadable in the dark. "Welcome home, Aria." I stepped out into the rain again, heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe. Whatever this was, whatever Viktor Kane really wanted from me, one thing was terrifyingly clear. My life had just been claimed by the most dangerous man in the city. And something told me he wasn't going to let go.