Genesis P.O.V"Not yet." His smile did not reach his eyes. I did not think he had smiled in a long time. But they glint with some emotion that makes me shiver. I did not know what it was. "You will.”"Never."His smile widened. "You are coming to work for me." Is he insane? He found me taking out his cash and nowhere wanted me to come and work for him."I have a job.""Not anymore. As of this moment, you work for me, tesoro. Or..." He lets the threat linger unspoken. I know what he meant though. Or he would call the police and we let the chips fall where they may. I think he knew I could not take that risk, though. The bastard knows he was not really giving me a choice here.I think he loves knowing I have no choice and no say. I am his to command, his to control and I hated it but I have no other choice.He was a six-foot-three lion. And I think I may be the little lamb to the slaughter."Fine," I growled, giving in about as gracefully as a bull in a china shop."But I am not for sal
Dant P.O.V“You live here?" Genesis eyed me skeptically, her arms crossed over her chest and her brows furrowed as she glanced around my living room."Yes. Surprised?" I arched a brow, already knowing the answer to that question. Unlike my brothers and sister, I did not live in a house large enough to fit an army. My place was an old greystone in Bridgeport...as fucking far from Robert as I can get without encroaching on territory that did not belong to the DiFronzo family.Once upon a time, the house belonged to my mom's parents. I was not sure any of my brothers knew that. I never told them. Did not see a point when they had lived with our mom's ghost for so long already. Sometimes, ignorance is preferable to pain.Me though? I barely remember her. Not the color of her eyes, or the way she smiled. Not the sound of her laugh, or the warmth of her hugs. I was four and Lily was three when she died, barely old enough to spell out our own goddamn name. Any memories I had of her were eras
Riccardo P.O.V By the time we pulled up by the dock at the harbor, Dant was already there. He leans against the side of his Harley, skipping pebbles across the water. He did not even glance over his shoulder to see who pulled up. I did not think my youngest brother gave a fuck anymore. He tried for years to keep us together, but this way of life wears on you. By the time he had his accident a few years ago, he was not the same kid who spoke the vow. He is harder. Darker. We rarely see him unless he has no choice. I think he would have walked away from all of it if he could. Hell, which of us wouldn't? This life only brought us misery . We lost those we have loved and lived with our enemies. "You are early," I observed, striding across the dock toward him. "You are late." He lets another rock fly. It skipped three times before sinking, dragged to the bottom to rest alongside decades worth of evidence of La Cosa Nostra crimes. Merda. Ours were not the only secrets this harbor keeps
Callandria P.O.V "I am ready," I told Alessio less than a minute later, stepping out of the bedroom. He led me down the hallway. Unlike my father's house, Riccardo's was not built like a museum to wealth. It was timeless and beautiful. Dark wood panels line the walls, with ornately carved banisters and balustrades. Instead of a chandelier, a crystal dome over the staircase floods the foyer with natural light. We passed through the living room, decorated more for comfort than to impress. A large fireplace and sectional dominate the room, with bookcases lining one wall. Massive doors lead out to a patio and a rolling green lawn. "Kitchen," Alessio said, standing to the side to let me pass. I stepped inside and then stopped to stare. The entire kitchen was made from stone, with a cobblestone floor and gorgeous dark wood cabinets. Appliances rest in arched alcoves. Windows look out over the lawn. It was breathtaking, like stepping straight into Tuscany. "Wow," I whispered. No won
Nora P.O.V The red silk gilded on my legs as I walked forward with an air of confidence surrounding me . Light shone from above and with my stride each of their attention drifted towards me . Their wandering expressions made me smirk from inside , some had envy in their eyes and most of them were curious . Time to charm some pants off. A seductive smile spread over my lips with the promise of wickedness as I watched the men there fall under my spell even though they had their hand around another female. What a pig! If I ever have to describe men and women then I would say men are like moths , gravitated towards fire even though they know it can burn them and women are like roses , beautiful but have thrones . Hurt her, you will not know what has stuck you. They may be weak from the heart but not from the brain. My smile dropped as soon as I entered the hall . Time for some actions. I took my mask from the table near the door and wore it like the others in the party. The gold
Nora P.O.VI was speaking with some women when the lights dimmed , almost too dark. Murmurs started to rise inside the hall when the sound of the door opening stole everyone's attention followed by heavy footsteps. The presence behind me made the hair on my nape stand up . I turned to see the reason behind my body’s reaction. Standing there at the entrance of the hall was a tall figure, light shining behind him like a halo making his brown luscious hair radiant like brown glass. His face was hidden in the veil of darkness inside the room.Just as he took a step into the room the lights brightened back . He was facing the other side. From the side the three piece suit stretched against his muscular body like a second skin ,the dominating aura he was emitting made everyone's attention gravitated towards him . The black mask was covering half of his face, he stood there like a dark prince observing every movement . His presence was enough to make the weaker cower away. I looked around
Robert P.O.V The ice melted inside the glass as I swirled the glass of my drink slowly while looking out at the busy street of Chicago. “What are you thinking?”. I looked to my left , sitting beside me was my younger brother Riccoda, observing me closely . “Just thinking”. I put the glass down. “About?” My other brother , Dante groaned and said from the other side“The guy is going to be the new capo of the Italian mafia tonight, what else does he need to think about? ”. His head was resting on the back of his seat with his eyes closed. He had been working for three straight nights with very little sleep. His grumpy ass has been giving me a headache since morning. “Not everyone is like you Dan. Grumpy asshole . I just wish Nick was here”. Saying Lily turned to look outside of the window. My grip tightened at the mention of my brother. Nick and I have not seen eye to eye over a decade. He hated this life and wanted nothing to do with it. He cut all his ties from the mafia when h
Nora P.O.V I typed the password that Cyber told me , a beep sound came and the lock moved . I turned the circular grab handle of the volt and started to turn it. The vault door opened with a scratching sound. Inside was lightened up with lights. I stepped inside and there they were , sitting in the centre of the twelve blue stones but there was something else. “You did not tell me there is another safe made of transparent blue glass with a digital glass keypad on it”. “There is another safe ? He never told me there was another safe”. I removed my hand from over the door and walked closer. The door closed behind me . Suddenly a female voice of artificial intelligence rang through the safe . “Welcome Gilberto ”. I looked around. He still has access to this system , I thought. I typed the date when all this started. It declined . Two more tries are left. I entered another number. It again declined . One chance is left. “What could it be?” Cyber’s voice came from the other side. I l
Callandria P.O.V "I am ready," I told Alessio less than a minute later, stepping out of the bedroom. He led me down the hallway. Unlike my father's house, Riccardo's was not built like a museum to wealth. It was timeless and beautiful. Dark wood panels line the walls, with ornately carved banisters and balustrades. Instead of a chandelier, a crystal dome over the staircase floods the foyer with natural light. We passed through the living room, decorated more for comfort than to impress. A large fireplace and sectional dominate the room, with bookcases lining one wall. Massive doors lead out to a patio and a rolling green lawn. "Kitchen," Alessio said, standing to the side to let me pass. I stepped inside and then stopped to stare. The entire kitchen was made from stone, with a cobblestone floor and gorgeous dark wood cabinets. Appliances rest in arched alcoves. Windows look out over the lawn. It was breathtaking, like stepping straight into Tuscany. "Wow," I whispered. No won
Riccardo P.O.V By the time we pulled up by the dock at the harbor, Dant was already there. He leans against the side of his Harley, skipping pebbles across the water. He did not even glance over his shoulder to see who pulled up. I did not think my youngest brother gave a fuck anymore. He tried for years to keep us together, but this way of life wears on you. By the time he had his accident a few years ago, he was not the same kid who spoke the vow. He is harder. Darker. We rarely see him unless he has no choice. I think he would have walked away from all of it if he could. Hell, which of us wouldn't? This life only brought us misery . We lost those we have loved and lived with our enemies. "You are early," I observed, striding across the dock toward him. "You are late." He lets another rock fly. It skipped three times before sinking, dragged to the bottom to rest alongside decades worth of evidence of La Cosa Nostra crimes. Merda. Ours were not the only secrets this harbor keeps
Dant P.O.V“You live here?" Genesis eyed me skeptically, her arms crossed over her chest and her brows furrowed as she glanced around my living room."Yes. Surprised?" I arched a brow, already knowing the answer to that question. Unlike my brothers and sister, I did not live in a house large enough to fit an army. My place was an old greystone in Bridgeport...as fucking far from Robert as I can get without encroaching on territory that did not belong to the DiFronzo family.Once upon a time, the house belonged to my mom's parents. I was not sure any of my brothers knew that. I never told them. Did not see a point when they had lived with our mom's ghost for so long already. Sometimes, ignorance is preferable to pain.Me though? I barely remember her. Not the color of her eyes, or the way she smiled. Not the sound of her laugh, or the warmth of her hugs. I was four and Lily was three when she died, barely old enough to spell out our own goddamn name. Any memories I had of her were eras
Genesis P.O.V"Not yet." His smile did not reach his eyes. I did not think he had smiled in a long time. But they glint with some emotion that makes me shiver. I did not know what it was. "You will.”"Never."His smile widened. "You are coming to work for me." Is he insane? He found me taking out his cash and nowhere wanted me to come and work for him."I have a job.""Not anymore. As of this moment, you work for me, tesoro. Or..." He lets the threat linger unspoken. I know what he meant though. Or he would call the police and we let the chips fall where they may. I think he knew I could not take that risk, though. The bastard knows he was not really giving me a choice here.I think he loves knowing I have no choice and no say. I am his to command, his to control and I hated it but I have no other choice.He was a six-foot-three lion. And I think I may be the little lamb to the slaughter."Fine," I growled, giving in about as gracefully as a bull in a china shop."But I am not for sal
Genesis P.O.VThe elevator glided to a stop on the top floor. The doors slid open, revealing the sort of ostentatious wealth that made my stomach hurt. You know, the kind that could feed half the world, but is spent building glass castles like this for despotic kings instead.The kings who worked from this glass castle are rumored to be some of the worst. They are mafia, Made men. The entire city loses sleep over them and their whims. Yet I never have. When you are trying to survive the devil you know, it was hard to care about the devils you did not.I dragged my bucket off the elevator and set to work emptying the trash. It took all of five minutes to clean up after the reception staff. Two of the executive offices are spotless, as if they were rarely used. The desks held no personal items, nothing to give any hint about the men who worked within.I finished straightening them quickly and moved to the third.A masculine, woodsy scent wafted through the open doors, enveloping me in i
Callandria P.O.V "What do you want from me?" I cried out, my stomach clenching at the look in his eyes, as if he has never been more serious in his life. He meant every word. I might be here for a reason, but he wants me for and that scared me and did not scare me nearly enough at the same time. I expected him to give me the same no-answers he had been giving me, but he did not. He surprised me this time. He gave me the truth. At least, some version of it. "I want you to help me stop a war, Callandria," he said, sitting back in his chair. "Your father started something that may very well destroy us all. I need you to help me stop it." My stomach trembles as the pieces begin to connect in my mind. I did not need him to spell it out for me. I know exactly what he was asking of me. And yet...and yet I wanted to hear him say it anyway. "Tell me," I said. "I want you to give me an heir." He held my gaze, unflinching. "In exchange, you will have your freedom. Whatever marriage con
Callandria P.O.V Everyone has it wrong. Robert DiFronzo was not the devil. Riccardo is. I paced around the luxurious bathroom, muttering under my breath like a crazy person as I made the same circuit across the stone tile. I had already used the bathroom, checked the window, and scoured the shelves for a weapon. There was not anything of use. There was not even a bottle of cologne I could spray in his eyes to blind him. I was in no hurry to return to captivity. I even took a quick shower and stole a toothbrush from beneath the sink to delay the inevitable. My heart still races. Dio. No one has ever spoken to me the way he does or touched me as if I belong to him. It infuriates me and makes my blood run hot at the exact same time. I was so caught up in cursing him out that I didn't hear him approaching. The sharp rapping against the bathroom door made me jump, and my heart thudded against my ribcage, rattling my nerves. "I brought you something to wear," he said. "Would you like
Riccardo P.O.V My phone rings,vibrating across the countertop. I dipped my head under the water to rinse the soap out of it, turn the water off, and stepped from the shower to grab a towel. Steam swirls around me, fogging up the bathroom. "Merda," (Shit) I muttered under my breath when Robert's name flashed across the display. Whatever he has to say, I am almost positive I do not want to hear it, but I swipe to answer anyway. "You have Callandria Castellano chained to your bed?" he growled. "What the fuck are you and Mattia thinking?" "You are the one who decided to deliver a pile of bodies to Emilio Castellano's doorstep," I reminded him. "Mattia could not just leave her there after she spotted them.” "So you chained her to your bed?" he growled, his voice deadly quiet. Robert does not yell. He rarely ever raised his voice. When you are the king, you do not have to shout to be heard. People listen even if you fucking whisper. "God, Riccardo. Think! She is a principessa, not some
December P.O.V "You do that," he said, humor in his voice. "In the meantime, care to tell me why you are on my doorstep at midnight?" "Yes. No." I pressed a hand to my forehead when he frowned at me. He was half naked and I was spiraling. "I mean, I have a reason but maybe this is a bad idea. My issues are not your issues, and I should not even be here right now. Um, I should just go. Sorry for bothering you." I turned to do just that, suddenly afraid he would call the police himself. And then where will that leave me? D-E-A-D dead. Or arrested for assaulting him and a slew of other crimes I committed before landing on his doorstep. Some of which, I am ashamed to admit, I committed before I saw his brother off someone. "December, wait." He grabbed my arm before I could slip away. As soon as he touched me. I nearly lost my footing on the slick stoop. He cursed beneath his breath and grabbed me around the waist, pulling toward his body to prevent me from crashing to the cement. I