Runaway

by bazookah

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞.
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝.

𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲.
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭.

. . . . . . . . . .

Living in The Colony was all Josie knew. To the outside world it was a cult of brainwashed victims all under the spell of Kade Rogers, but to her it was home.

That was up until a series of events that led up to her escape.

If only fate wasn't so cruel as to lead her away from one monster and put her directly into the hands of another.

Now, with a new sense of determination, Josie explores the world outside of The Colony and learns the hard way that trust is a dangerous weapon of destruction.

Trying to lead a normal life starting college proves to be impossible after meeting Nico Blaine.

He was everything she was suppose to stay away from.
But when Josie lay's eyes on the tattooed beauty, she can't help it.

What starts out as a innocent infatuation turns into a twisted tale of betrayal.

.. . . . . . . . . .

- Dark romance
- Explicit sexual content
- Mature themes
- Criminal
- Villain
- Anti-hero

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Mafia Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark, Contemporary, Fiction

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words. Best mafia romance book I have ever read. Nico Blaine is now tied with Christian allister. Nico and Josie mean EVERYTHING TO ME IM SO UNWELL. I literally can’t for words it’s not possible. I’ll be rereading this every read and again when it’s published. Oh. My. God. She’s back in her Wattpad era.

[benedicta · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ whenever he calls her baby I fold and scream 😭

ngl, I kept going back and forth between 4⭐️ and 5⭐️ BUT when Nico started to keep an inhaler on his person all the time because she's asthmatic, I lost that fight 🥺❤️❤️

***
my baby girl 💖 asked me to go read this filthy, lil wattpad story 🏃🏽‍♀️💗

[nadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

i’m not a hater but sometimes i am. this was bad bad. half the chapters were filler, and it took me an entire week to finish which says a lot because I usually fly through books. and y'all need to stop lying. 1 stop comparing this to an ACTUAL book. 2 stop comparing Nico Blaine to Nino Falcone, Nico Russo and Christian Allister because THEY. WOULD. NEVER. we're supposed to be raising the bar, not lowering it.


. 𐙚˚࿔ pre-read 🫐 ˚⋆
⤷ someone really said Nico Blaine is better than Nino Falcone 🤨 so now I have to find out if it's true because I don't believe anyone could EVER top Nino Falcone.

[ˋ✧*⁀➷ ʙᴇᴛᴛʏ (med school got me good) · Rating 5 out of 5]

#4th READ: oops i did it again... i re-read this book.

#3rd READ: NICO RUSSO BLAINE. THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.

#2nd READ: Y'ALL NICO HAS TO BE THE HOTTEST FUCKING MAN SOMEONE HAS EVER WRITTEN ABOUT I AIN'T KIDDINGGGG

#FIRST READ: I'm a weak weak woman for Nico Russo Blaine 😮‍💨

[Mika Auguste · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was better than 99% of the mafia books that are currently published on Kindle Unlimited

[Arushi♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would definitely not call this an actual book.
The characters suck, the development sucks, the writing was very repetitive and don't even get me started on the grammatical errors every next page. The storyline felt like every twist was thrown just for the sake of having something unexpected and it was poorly executed. This was unnecessarily long and an absolute cringe fest.

[mel ✧˚ · . · Rating 5 out of 5]

is been awhile since i've read a wattpad story and i'm so glad i started reading wattpad stories again because this is was amazing UGH !! 😭🩷🦋 i swear the little things that Nico does, has my heart melting !!! how ? just how is this guy so amazing !! 😭 🩷

i love how its perfectly written, i love the tension, the chemistry , the smut ( 😏 ) , the small cute fluffy moments, is just purrfffecctt !!!


if only the cover had butterflies on em, it would be socute tho !!

[bloomysoul (lowkey ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🚬 ⋮ four stars .ᐟ⠀


₍ 🗓️ ₎ reading log :
⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⤿ 15 july, 2026 .ᐟ
⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⤿ 4 aug, 2026 .ᐟ
ㅤ

the first few chapters are a bit boring and frustrating because of that shitty colony, Father Kade, and everything that is happening to Josie. What kind of freaking colony is that? father kade keeps everyone under his control, and behind everyone's backs, he has his eyes on Josie. WTF.


Josie runs away from the colony and goes to her brother in New York, who also runs away years earlier. Josie is the good girl - an angel, completely innocent when it comes to the outside world because of the way she grows up in the colony. Nico is the complete opposite of her: an extreme bad boy who runs an underground world at his fingertips, is addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has some dark secret from his past that messes up his present life.


Nico gets suspicious of Josie and keeps her in his apartment. He acts so cruel and brutal toward her, and there are always different women walking in and out of his apartment. Nico is constantly riling her up, and at one point he even forces her to shoot him. She does, but she doesn't kill him - the bullet just grazes his shoulder. She loves painting, but when Nico finds out she draws his tattoo, he scrambles it just to rile her up even more. Later, he offers her submission, and poor angel knows nothing about any of it, so she asks him to teach her.


. . .

⤷ oops i got carried awayyyy reading so there's a lot of things that had happened in between but I will just mention some of the things i LOOOOOVED ◞ 🪽゛



⟢ i love them so much. the turn this book takes after those first few chapters is so good. Innocent Josie with hot, rude, grumpy Nico... all the incidents make it impossible for me to stop reading because I just need to know what happens next && omg, the way Josie keeps doing something so naive in Nico's eyes, and the way he instantly turns into a jealous caveman... even though he absolutely despises how much softer he gets whenever Josie says "please" with those doe eyes. the number of times he pins her down... 😭💞 every time they're in the penthouse... the sexual tension. Omgggg. He is so possessive, jealous, and such a caveman. The smut is 5/5 - my God, it's so hot. him marking her with a marker saying " Property of Nico Blaine " 😂. . .nd then both of them groveling... my God, it is so good. they're just too good together. their confrontation, and then the end of father kade... oof, bliss!



⟢ the end... poor Daniel. I am dying laughing at how he ends up being Cinderella with a (🪥) mopping Nico's restaurant and then getting promoted. LOL. that ending... i will miss them. they definitely take a place in my heart. I read this story for so long that I might actually end up opening wattpad just to reread some of my favorite chapters 😛

Nico?
Yes, bambi?

every time nico calls josie baby, bambi 💋🫣💞 oh god, i haven't even read the epilogue yet and i'm already missing this story. i don't think i'm ready to let these characters go 🥹💗


⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──


꒰🦋꒱﹒ pre-read ﹒⟢

everyone is reading this, why wouldn't I?
buddy reading with pheebz, lina, sana and rae ❀

[Jen ♥]

DNF @ chapter 10

I'm too sensitive for OWD and don't have the mental capacity to process the vagueness of what I just read. So here's the scene below; some descriptions were cut out.

"I knew where he was. There was a bedroom next to mine. I didn't know what it was used for nor had I ever gotten a peek inside but I knew he used it occasionally. Sometimes I even heard noises at night.

I knocked on the black door and didn't stop until I heard the lock turning. "I know you're in there- oh."

I pause and straighten out, forcing some of my composure back in as I stare into the eyes of that same girl. The one that I'd chased out the other night.

She smacks her lips and raises a brow at me from her position at the door. The door wasn't open enough for me to get a view past her and I knew that she wasn't going to be so welcoming as to let me in.

She opens her mouth to speak, but the door swings open father and I watch the man of the hour emerge from behind her. He pushes past both of us and moves down the hall towards the living space.

He simply glances towards her. "The fuck are you still doing here? Get out."

I watch her smile drop as she sits up. "But we weren't done."

Nico slips the black dress shirt on, his attention on his hands as he starts to do up the buttons. "It was done when I said it was. Now I'm telling you to get out."

Well, this scenario pissed me off. Tbf, nothing intimate or romantic ever happened between the MCs at this point. There were just some light touches from the MMC, but he didn't initiate anything else, and the FMC didn't give meaning to his behavior. She's way too innocent and just ran away from their cult, so she took things at face value and didn't know any better.

Maybe he'll change; after all, this is their story, but that scene soured my mood. Maybe I'll continue this when I'm more rational and calm, or maybe I just won't read this at all.

[Marureviere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Idk what kind of drug the author put in this book bc I inhaled it aggressively like it's my personal brand of heroine y'all I'm obsessed 😫

[Readbyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading on Wattpad for so long I mean, I feel like most of us started our reading journey there. And I honestly don’t know how I hadn’t discovered Bazookah's books before because she is so good, and her books definitely deserve to be published. The way she writes such complex characters has me completely in love.

Idk why, but I couldn’t hate Nico... even when this man did so many questionable things. The way he was raised was so problematic, and it clearly affected so many of his choices. But despite everything, the way he always protected Josie made it so hard for me to hate him. 🥹

But His character development was so good. And the way he folded every time Josie said “please”?? AHHH, MY HEART!!! Also, whenever he called her “baby”... I was gone.

I loved both of them, but Josie was honestly too good for her own good. I really loved the way the author wrote her character development too. She grew so much throughout the story, and I loved seeing that.


➣ 𝑷𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 :-
Suddenly this book is all I'm seeing on Instagram, and I can't wait to find out what everyone is hyping it up for. 🤭
Hopefully this ends up being a hit. 🤞🏻😩

[pheebz ₊˚⊹ ᰔ (semi-ia)]

ּ⊹౨ৎ ּ֯ ┆preread ˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌑˚ׅ
💻 — start date: 16.7

wattpad save my reading slump pleasepleasepleaspleapsle
buddy reading this with my angels pri, rae, angelina and sana 💐 IM READY

[ess ✶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

NICO ROSSO BLAINE YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

[Fahmida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dobby is FREE!

Okay so I know this is a Wattpad publication and the only thing that pushed me to go through all the trouble of downloading the Wattpad book and converting the file into an epub and then transferring it into my Kindle is solely the hype surrounding it but honestly it wasn't that good.

This isn't BAD at all and I never had a Wattpad phase so I know I have to cut some slack for the writer and let all the grammatical errors slide. The plot was there but this was SO FUCKING LONG for no reason at all. It could've been at least 20 chapters shorter without all the miscommunication, filler content and sheer overbearing stupidity of the characters. I wanted to rip my hair out by the end of the book and I actually skimmed through the last 10 chapters because my patience was wearing thin.

The plot had so much potential but the way everything was dragged out unnecessarily and wrapped up was comical and pretty anticlimactic. And I'm no prude but this had way too much smut for my liking and I ended up skimming those too.

Again, I'm not a Wattpad reader so maybe I'm just not used to all these imperfections because I read a lot of good, proper books already so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody but I also wouldn’t hate on it deeply. The opening chapters intrigued me but somewhere along the way it all faded into lazy nothingness. Too many strings untied or messily tied for my liking.

-------

No you don't understand how deep this is for me. I came here after Marianna kept raving about it (+ one of my irl friends) and now since I'm in the mood for some mind blowing mafia books (which are pretty rare btw), I installed Wattpad immediately (at 1 am btw), created an account, searched this up and converted the file into an EPUB and sent it to my kindle just for me to be able to read it undistracted. If that doesn't show dedication, idk what will.

This better be 5 stars because I'm telling ya if I went through all that trouble for nothing. I'm coming after each and every one of y'all!

[Saranya [uni- s.ia.]]

pre-read:
It's been more than a year since I uninstalled wp from my device, but I just reinstalled it because of all the glowing reviews on my feed lately. I really need to look into this to find out what the hype is all about.

╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍: on 23 July 2026
╰┈➤ˎˊ 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍: on

[Kiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so good I need it published so I can buy a copy. I loved Nico & Josie my goodness this was such a fun & unique mafia romance. The way this FMC is so innocent & sheltered but was written SO WELL I was laughing my head off watching her learn things because she grew up in a cult!

Nico Blaine LET ME TELL YOU. This man starts off not understanding how to grasp emotions and his actions reflected that. I did not know how he could be redeemed but I fear I fell in love with him. The way he protects & loves Josie is so hot.

The spice in this book is quite literally some of the best spice I’ve read & I genuinely can’t move on

For a Wattpad story the writing is GOOD I hope it gets published

[ᰔᩚ ash ᰔᩚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is by far the best wattpad book I’ve ever read. like this author is absolutely incredible. I read hideaway too and it was amazing! but this one is like. omg. I want nico to smash my head against the wall. that man has me fucking weak in the knees. When he says “Josie baby” I suddenly cannot walk anymore. JOSIE IS THE SWEETEST SOUL EVER. I am obsessed with her.

[elara · Rating 4 out of 5]

#iloveitalianmenwithbigdicks

[yuvi (hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

so we all saw marianna losing her mind over this book right? (for good reason tho)😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

in my wattpad era again and this book was just too good

[sakshi ⋆˚꩜ · Rating 2 out of 5]

See, it was a very typical wattpad mafia book. It was cute at places, hurting my head at most. So please ffs stop saying this is better than actual good writing and plot pacing books and PLEASE stop comparing nico blaine to nicolas russo, christian allister or nino falcone. The bar is too high, let's not lower that yea?

[ash ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at ch 5 love it when the fl can hear the ml doing other women through the walls 😍😍😍

[‌ · Rating 4 out of 5]

crazy how nico is better than most of y’all’s lame ass mafia bfs nowadays

[Lana Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Runaway by Bazooka, and I am officially obsessed with Josie and Nico's story.

The author absolutely nailed the "she fell first, but he fell HARDER" trope. The dynamic between them is unmatched—the jealousy, the protective vibes, and the pure tension kept me clicking "next chapter" way past my bedtime.

What really made this book stand out was the emotional depth. Balancing Josie's genuine innocence with the heavy trauma both characters carry takes serious skill, and it was incredibly well-written. You can really feel their pain, growth, and connection.

The only reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that the ending felt just a bit okish compared to the high-stakes energy of the rest of the book. It felt a little rushed, and I wanted just a bit more closure for everything they went through.

That being said, the writing style is amazing, the romance is top-tier, and I highly recommend adding this to your reading list!

[safeya ༒︎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf
my fucking fault i listened to those tiktoks praising a man with internalised misogyny whom calls women bitches and hoes 🖕🏼

[Janessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC!!!🖤 I inhaled this book 🥲 need to gather my thoughts but…

👏🏽✨NICO BLAINE is the morally black MMC I didn’t know I needed. 🫦

[aimz ꕤ｡˚⋆♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 ⭐

[7:58pm — 10/08/2026]

𐙚⋆°💄⋆♡ 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀

⤷ mafia romance
⤷ morally grey
⤷ he falls first
⤷ opposites attract

𐙚⋆°💄⋆♡ 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸

❛❛𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.❜❜
⤷ 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 by 𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲

-`♡´- 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 -`♡´-

I’m going to have a group of people coming for my neck, but this book is so overrated. No offence to the author, it’s an alright book, but it’s not amazing as everyone makes it out to be.

I was reading it when it was first coming out back in 2021/2022 (correct me if I’m wrong with the dates). I couldn’t finish it/continue reading it because it wasn’t engaging. But, I finished reading it, to give a proper review.

Nico was annoying, I liked Josie though. She should’ve stayed away from him, like girl? No. But still, I liked her and her personality. It just got so annoying as it went on. Too many fillers as well. I like to think fillers aren’t fillers. I’m not sure how to explain it, but even the fillers are useful for the story. However, these fillers are just not impactful at all. It was seriously agitating.

There are so many other amazing wattpad books that deserve more recognition. And please, do not come for me, this is my opinion. And in no way am I disregarding the author, because I’m certain she’s amazing, this book is decent, just annoys me how the public overhype books.

This book has had its moment back in 2022, so can we just leave it there.

Okay, bye. Don’t come for me. This is my opinion 😭.

[8:05pm — 10/08/2026]

[౨ৎ rae ‧₊˚. [semi ia] · Rating 4 out of 5]

ᝰ.ᐟ 4.5 ✨
Anytime Nico Blaine said "Josie baby", I wanted to scream and kick my feet!! 🤭🤭🤭🤭

[Oissela_Retssila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK! I thought when I wanted to read it “it can’t be as good as Hideaway”. It was not as good as Hideaway BUT IT CAME CLOSE! But the book Hideaway is literally the best book I read so it is very hard to beat that LOL. But I love this book AND BAZOOKAH I love the writer of this book serie. 5⭐️

[tor · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️’s

That was a book that i have read and enjoyed.

If I would say more things about the book. I really liked the story line i wished we had more of "the colony" that was interesting but also weird but it was my first time reading about something like this
I loved the fmc wouldn't change anything about her my baby
The mmc just needs a little bit more therapy and lessons about communication and all is good
Josie and danial's relationship was not what i expected.. i didn't enjoy reading about the siblings as much as i thought i would
Would be more fun if we didn't meet him so late in the book and he was more involved idk

Overall it was fun but it didn't change anything about my life