Novels by Odessa Blue

LEONI will kill him.The words aren’t a mere threat floating in the back of my mind. They are a fact.I will kill him.After the last beating I gave him, I warned him to stay away from Gabriella or I’d kill him. He had this coming.My hand is wrapped around Jack’s windpipe, fingers locked like iron. The bastard’s heels lift off the floor as I slam him backward into the brick wall with enough force to rattle his teeth. A choked, pathetic gurgle escapes his throat.“Leon, stop! Please, let him go!”Gabriella’s voice cuts through the red haze blinding my vision. Her small hands wrap around my forearm, her fingers digging into my skin as she tries to pull me back.Jack is clawing desperately at my wrist. His face has turned a sickly, bruised shade of purple as I crush his airway. He’s gasping, his eyes bulging out of his head with terror.He knows I can carry out my threat.But fortunately for him, I won’t.The sound of panic in Gabriella’s voice finally snaps the violent cord in my brai

GABRIELLABy the time I finish my third hour of solo practice in the apartment’s dance studio, my muscles are burning and my tights are clinging to my skin with sweat. Every jump and turn I made was fueled by the memory of Leon’s mouth on mine and the sickening doubt Nicole and Lisa planted in my head.I’m breathing hard when I finally drop onto the polished wood floor. I press the heels of my hands into my eyes and inhale lungfuls of air through my mouth.My mind is a tangled, exhausting mess.What if my friends were right? What if Leon lied? What if he’s just using me? What if Jack really is innocent? What if this was just another ploy to depend only on him and let him control my whereabouts?My stomach lets out a growl, breaking the silence of the room. I skipped lunch, and now my stomach is protesting.Sighing, I drag myself up, throw a towel around my neck, and unbolt the studio door. As I near the living room, I hear sounds coming from the kitchen. I don’t want to face Leon, esp

GABRIELLAThe moment Leon’s mouth makes contact with mine, my brain completely short-circuits.For a fraction of a second, I freeze against the cold brick wall, my mind struggling to process the delicious weight of his body pressed against me. But then the friction of his lips, hot and wet against mine, ignites a flame on my skin.My hands move on their own, fingers moving up to tangle into the short hair at the nape of his neck. I pull him closer and wrap my legs tighter around his waist.This isn’t anything like the clumsy, quick kisses I shared with Jack in the past. Jack kissed like a college boy trying to get done with it immediately.Leon kisses like a possessed man.The kiss is hard, rough, and intoxicatingly possessive. He shifts his grip on me, his large hands digging into my thighs and hauling my hips closer against the hard length of his body. He deepens the kiss with a possessive slide of his tongue, and I taste the liquor alongside the desperation on his tongue.A quiet m

LEONI am losing my goddamn mind.I crush the thin red plastic cup in my palm until the plastic cracks and splits under my knuckles. I’m standing in the shadows as we agreed, but every muscle in my neck is pulled tight as I track every single movement she makes.I know exactly what she’s doing.It’s a deliberate, lethal form of torture. Ten minutes ago, under the excuse that the hallway was too tight, she squeezed past me on her way to the cooler. She made sure her bare shoulder slid against my arm, her silk-draped hip brushing against my thigh.That scent of hers, sweet vanilla, warm skin, and a hint of liquor, hits my senses all at once, that not-so-innocent touch leaving a line of fire everywhere her skin brushed against mine.I am uncomfortably, ridiculously, hard.Fuck.I should not be fucking aroused on duty. I’m sure that’s utterly prohibited in the how-to-be-a-bodyguard rule book.But she’s not helping matters here.Now, she’s in the middle of the crowded living room floor, fl

GABRIELLAThe boutique smells like lavender, vanilla, and money. High-end racks of silk and satin line the walls, and for the first time since moving to New York, I’m actually dress shopping with friends. I trail my fingers over a rack of evening gowns, trying to tamp down the excitement bubbling up inside me.A few yards behind us, near the store's glass front, is Leon. He’s leaning against a display case, hands shoved in his trouser pockets, his dark eyes scanning the room like a hawk. He’s dressed in black from head to toe, which causes him to stick out like a sore thumb in the boutique filled with bright, pastel colors. But he doesn't seem to care.Nicole grabs a bright crimson mini dress off the rack, holding it up against herself before glancing back at Leon. "How on earth did you reconcile with your bodyguard to the point that he not only agreed to let you come to the party but also let you go dress shopping?"I shrug, a small hum escaping my throat as I flip through a line of

LEON“I think this search is fruitless. We have found absolutely nothing.”Kai tosses a thin manila folder onto his desk, his frustrated expression illuminated by the light from the large computer screens before him.“I know I might be a pro at technology and all, but it’s hard to find someone if you don’t have a name or a face. It’s like chasing a ghost, which, technically, that’s exactly what this is because the woman is dead.” He sighs, rubbing his eyes and spinning his revolving chair to face me. “This is a complete waste of time.”I lean forward, resting my forearms on the desk, my eyes moving from the useless printouts to the images of the dozens of dead ballerinas we’ve scanned over the past few hours. If Ivy were here, we wouldn’t have even spent that much time on this in the first place. She’s out on one of her solo runs today, leaving just Kai, Dante, and me to sift through the dead ends.Dante pushes off the brick wall, crossing his arms over his chest, his expression as br

CHAPTER ONE HUNDREDEPILOGUE (Eight Months Later)ARIA“Maximo,” Dr. Marini said, adjusting her glasses as she peered at him from across the table. “We’ve talked about this. You can’t solve everything with threats.”Maximo, sitting beside me in a perfectly tailored suit, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t threaten,” he said smoothly. “I give options. It’s not my fault people don’t like the consequences of the second one.”I stifled a laugh, earning a sharp look from Dr. Marini. She was one hell of a woman. Soft when she needed to be, but also scary nonetheless. It was why she was the only woman in the Cosa Nostra who could call my husband by his first name. I still wasn’t sure how I should feel about that.“Aria,” she turned her attention to me, “how do you feel when Maximo behaves this way?”“Honestly?” I said, tilting my head. “It depends. Sometimes, it can be infuriating..."“I didn’t even do anything,” Maximo grumbled beside me. “Do you know what other dons do

CHAPTER NINETY-NINEARIAThe sting in my hand was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. Maximo stood frozen for a moment, his cheek reddening from where my palm had connected. And then, to my utter disbelief, he laughed—a low, bitter sound that rumbled deep in his chest.“Wow. And here I was thinking you would be happy I’m offering you an easy way out,” he murmured.An angry snarl slipped past my lips as my hand shot up again, ready to slap him a second time. But before I could bring my hand down on his cheek again, he caught my wrist in midair. His grip was firm but not rough, and despite everything, a small, pathetic part of me was happy that he was touching me again.Piercing, grey eyes bored into mine with a mix of frustration and something else I couldn’t quite place.“Aria,” he said sharply, his voice edged with irritation, “I thought you’d be pleased.”“Pleased?” I yelled, my voice rising as tears burned in my eyes. I wrenched my hand free from his grasp, glaring at him th

CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHTARIAIt had been five days. Five days since Maximo killed Lorenzo. Five days since Maximo last spoke to me or looked at me.The house felt colder than usual, and the silence pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket. I’d spent the entire day trying to distract myself from the ache in my chest, but nothing worked.I had tried cleaning the kitchen even though everything was already spotless, scrubbing every surface until my hands were raw. Maria panicked when she saw me, and when she tried to shoo me away from the kitchen, I reminded her that I was her boss’s wife. I did it a little too harshly, I’ll admit, but I’ve been on an uncomfortable edge ever since.I prepared lunch with the rest of the kitchen staff. At first, there was an uncomfortable silence due to my presence in the room. But after I urged them to ignore my presence, a soft conversation amongst the maids followed, and I drowned myself in the city gossip I never knew could distract me.By mid-afterno

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVENMAXIMOA sharp scream pierced the room as Aria crouched to the floor. My heartbeat thudded in my ears as Lorenzo’s head snapped back, crimson blood staining the wall behind him as his body crumpled to the floor.Silence followed, but it was so loud that it felt like a roar.I stared at the lifeless heap on the ground, at the way his blood—my blood—pooled beneath him. My hand stayed clenched around my gun, trembling as I tried to make sense of what was in front of me. The pure rage that had driven me seconds ago evaporated. It was now replaced by a hollowness that spread through my chest like poison.I did it. I killed my brother.The realization ripped through my chest, leaving behind a void so vast that it threatened to swallow me whole. Lorenzo’s face was frozen in a blank state. I stared at his once-sharp features—features that were almost identical to mine—and the slack and lifeless face stared back at me. His eyes—eyes that used to glint with mischief, love,

CHAPTER NINETY-SIXMAXIMOI stood there, gun in hand, staring at my brother as his smirk spread and his mocking laughter echoed around the room. It wasn’t the laugh of someone remorseful or regretful. It was the sound of someone who had nothing left to lose.“You’ll have to be more specific,” I said through clenched teeth. “What exactly did you mean when you said you’ve been behind everything?”Lorenzo tilted his head, his smirk widening. “Do you really want me to go into detail? Are you sure your heart would be able to handle it?” He asked with a mocking pout.My anger burned hotter in my chest, and I tightened my grip on my gun. “Start talking.”“Fine,” he huffed, but then his eyes glinted with malice as he began to speak. “Do you remember when we were boys? How I did everything right? I trained harder, studied more, followed all the rules of the Cosa Nostra, and yet..." He waved a hand as his voice took on a bitter edge. “Yet you—the reckless, weak son—were chosen to lead.”“Yo

CHAPTER NINETY-FIVEMAXIMOI couldn’t wrap my mind around what Aria had just said. Her words echoed in my mind, loud and jarring like a bullet through the air. It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be true.“I don’t believe you,” I finally said, and I saw the way her eyes fell.“I’m telling the truth, Maximo. What will I gain by lying about this?”I gritted my teeth and stepped away from her, needing to clear my head. The woman I loved just told me that my own blood brother, whom I’ve known my whole life, is planning to have us killed. What the fuck was I supposed to make of that?She took a step towards me, and I raised my head to look at her again. My eyes narrowed at her as I tried to understand if she was lying, if she had misheard something, if this was some kind of sick joke. “Have I ever done anything to break your trust?” She asked, and I could hear the hurt in her voice. The fear in her eyes and the slight wavering in her voice were too raw to be fake.“Are you sure?” My voice