My Savage Valentine

This is a Dark Mafia Romance, so readers be warned.

Ophelia POV

My heart pounded as I stood there at the crowded club. I was here on a mission; I was to reunite with my childhood friend and incriminate him. My director said I would be undercover, and I was to entice him, integrate myself with his friends and business, as if that was possible. Fox Valentine was clever. He would never give details of his operation up. But I was given orders and so I was there.

They had pulled me from my lab for this. I was a member of the Bureau but that didn’t mean I was a field agent. I had never been undercover. I had been in a lab. I studied chemistry in college and helped with anything pertaining to science. But they were trying to find a way to take down the Valentine Family and the head of it was Fox. My history with the family might provide an in, at least they thought it would.

I was sure that I would fail, I told my director that, but he insisted. I had field training and still was active. They knew I could hold my own if I was attacked but I was not trained to infiltrate, I had said this is not my specialty, but my past was all the director seemed to care about. I sipped on my vodka martini, in this alluring dress. This club was owned by none other than Fox Valentine, my childhood friend turned Mafia King. I had been educated these last few weeks on everything he had been doing since he took his throne at 17.

None of them were good things, but I expected nothing less from the man who brutalized my father to the point of death right in front of me. I never told the police it had been him, but they knew, even with the lack of evidence. My father was just one of the many he killed. I moved uncomfortably in the tight red dress I wore. It was skintight, but I was supposed to catch his eye, that or one of his men. The point was to draw attention to myself. Not that I needed a dress for that.

My face made people always look. I had a scar that ran from the top of my cheekbone down across my face and cut through my lips near the corner of my mouth and to bottom of my chin. It would have been enough to gather attention. Heads would turn to get a good look at the women with the scarred face. I sighed, taking another sip. I would be in this city for months, according to my director. Maybe even a year or more. It was a long-term undercover job. It would take time to integrate. I hated this city.

The only good thing about it was I had Greer to hang out with. She and I graduated together both with a degree in chemistry. She went on to work for a huge fashion agency helping them develop new perfumes, where I continued to Quantico and then stuck myself in their forensic science lab. Not that I told Greer that. I just said I worked in a lab, the science I worked in was not for talking about.

But instead of being in my safe respectable life, I was standing sipping alcohol in a crowded club. Where lights were flashing, and the music was so loud that I could feel it in my bones. Other women my age loved stuff like this, hell if Greer had tagged along, I probably would have been having a good time, but I was alone. I didn’t want to drag her into this pit of vipers.

A man came up from behind. “Hey, can I buy you a drink.” He had seen my backside that was so obvious in this dress, enticing men to flock to me. I turned to face and watched as his eyes traveled over my scar. That happy-go-lucky smile he had before faded. I was not ugly by any means, but the scar did sometimes scare men away. They saw it and assumed I had trauma. Which of course, I did. Trauma that was so clearly visible did one of three things to men. Either they put me in the category of damaged and needing some kind of savior, or they thought that I was so desperate for affection. Then there was the outcome where they ran away because of my looks. The guy in front of me fell into that category.

“Sorry I thought you were someone else.” Good way to get out of this awkward situation he was in or at least he thought so. “Alright, no problem.” I offered a smile. I didn’t really care either way. I had no intention of catching his attention tonight. No that was not the objective. I turned back to face the bar. Maybe I should be dancing, would that be more enticing. I looked up to the balcony that overlooked the dance floor and the bar. Fox had to be up there, and if not him, one of his men.

How many nights, I wondered, would I have to come here, until the right person approached me. I already was tired and wanted to go home, to that apartment I had moved into weeks prior. The Bureau had moved me to a nice part of the city. In a safe building that was clean and well cared for. Seeing as I had no end date for this assignment, they had made sure I got out of my previous lease and found me an apartment that was comparable to my last place. The Bureau ensured I didn’t have to downsize any of belongings, not that I had many.

Along with the apartment I was set up with a day job that was fitting to my degree. Some part time job where I could work from my apartment plugging in data about various chemicals. It was extremely boring and not hands on at all, unlike what I used to do with my days. It was part of my cover, because I couldn’t very well not have a job that would have been suspicious and doing anything for law enforcement out in the open that was clearly off the table. So, I was responsible for imputing data into a laptop about chemical compounds and submitting them to an insignificant company.

At least I made double the money. The Bureau paid me as well as my cover job. Overall, my salary was an improvement on what I had been earning previously. Not that I made bad money before, but without having to pay rent and bills this was a good financial job to take. I sighed and looked around, realizing my drink was now empty. I hadn’t realized I had drunken it all. I debated whether I should dance or order another drink.

I looked at the crowed floor where bodies were grinding against one another. Did I really want to be doing that? I had come with no one and would have to dance alone until someone took pity on me and decided to grope me in public. Fuck no, I decided another vodka martini was in order. I would have to stop after two though. I couldn’t afford to get drunk here. Not when I was alone. It took a while before I caught one of the bartenders' attention, but he was fast once my order was placed. I didn’t turn around again but looked at my reflection in the mirror behind the liquor that lined the wall behind the bar.

I finished my drink faster than the first one. I decided tonight was not going to be profitable. I would just have to try again tomorrow and fit my body in another tight dress. This is just one of the reasons this job would take so long. It was dependent on getting noticed by either Fox or one of his men. If the later, I would have to wait until his men introduced me to Fox and he recognized me. Then the slow build of our relationship. The only in, I had with Fox was that we had been children together.

And my director thought that is what I needed to get close to him. They had tried to infiltrate his criminal enterprise before with no avail. Fox either never brought the other agents in or he found them out and killed them, leaving no evidence. I was the Bureau’s Hail Mary. I looked down at the bar. It was real stone, it must have cost a fortune to install such a large piece of polished rock, but it was elegant and probably was one of the reasons this club was revered as a hot spot. The opulence had to drive people to come here. I decided to leave and turned, wanting to find the exit.

“Well, if it isn’t little Ophelia Blake.” His voice was dark like poison falling from his perfect mouth. He had tattoos peeking out of his white button-down shirt. He looked like sin, and that devilish smile could make angels fall just for a taste of it. But I was no angel, so began my dance with the devil.