“Here, drink this.” Fifi handed me a glass of… something. It had a light amber color and reeked of alcohol, but perhaps this was what I needed right now.I'd called Fifi as soon as I left the restaurant, and currently, I was sitting in her office, trying to piece together everything I had heard. I stared at the liquor for a moment before pouring it down my throat. I winced at the searing sensation. “What the hell did you give me?”She shrugged. “One of my uncles makes it. Strong, isn't it?”I coughed, hurriedly grabbing a glass of water and gulping it down. “This should come with some warning!”A small smile appeared. “At least you no longer resemble a ghost.”I sighed and slumped on the sofa. “Fifi… it's bad. What I heard from Father seriously messed me up. If it's true, then—”“You don't know if it's true,” she reminded me. “Right now, you know only your father's version, and it's based on the words of a psychopath.”I exhaled slowly and nodded. “You're right, but… what if it's true
HUNTERRowan entered my study and halted as soon as he found me sitting in the armchair, whiskey glass in hand. His brows rose. “I thought you'd be fucking your wife now. The last thing I expected was to find you here,” he said, strolling toward the three-piece suit.One side of my lips twitched. “Change of plans,” I grunted, pointing at the half-empty decanter on the coffee table. “Join me.”He breathed out a laugh before grabbing a glass and helping himself with the whiskey. “Gladly.” He slumped down on the sofa, his eyes fixed on me, studying me, assessing me. “Want to tell me what happened?”I tilted my head back. “Her father is a larger pain in the ass than I thought he'd be.”“What did he do this time?”A wry smile twisted my lips. “He talked with Grasso and matched the dots. Then he told Catherine I planned it all so she had no other choice but to come to me.”Rowan cursed and drank from his glass. “So what did you tell her?”“The truth.”His eyes narrowed. “What version of the
I stared at the few pale-faced club employees standing close to the bar. It was Monday, so the club was closed to the public. Perhaps it was fortunate. At least this whole search wouldn't cause a scandal… or at least not right away.I ignored Sullivan and Prescott and walked over to our staff. “Who was responsible for stocking supplies?” I looked around and saw a single hand raised.A young man with curly blond hair stepped forward, his whole body trembling. “I checked the entire bar just three hours ago. Those packages…” He pointed at the drugs, now carefully packed by two officers. “I've never seen them before. I swear!”I gave him a curt nod. “Good answer.”I turned to Rowan. He was on the phone talking to Enzo, informing him of our situation. Before I could tell him anything, the two detectives walked over, cold smiles on their faces. “Mr. Thorne, Mr. Pierce, you will come with us to the precinct.” Prescott looked at us and gestured at the door.I ground my teeth. “I want to call
CATHERINEIt was almost ten o'clock, and there were still no signs of Hunter. An hour ago, Ferro had told me something had happened in the club, and Hunter and Rowan had been taken to the police station for questioning. He'd assured me it was nothing serious, but I had a feeling he only tried to calm me down.I hadn't forgiven Hunter for all his scheming, and I wasn't sure I could ever fully forgive him, but that didn't mean I wanted anything bad to happen to him. And although I knew he and Rowan must have known how to deal with such circumstances, my restlessness grew by the second.“They should return any time now.” Gianna obviously tried to soothe my worries. “And in case of any problems, the Cartelli always had the best lawyers working for them. Even if the police wanted to keep them, I'm sure Mr. Noah De Santos will work something out.”I gave her a faint smile. “I hope you're right.”She grabbed the empty plate from my table, chuckling. “I am right. Besides, Ferro doesn't look w
HUNTER“Open this fucking door right now!”I kept banging and kicking the door for the last several minutes, but no one answered. My mind worked at a hectic speed, going through every possible scenario. All outcomes were bloody, and Catherine ended up dead or crippled in ninety percent of them. I didn't know who left this message, but whoever it was had access to the police station, and that couldn't mean anything good.Finally, the door opened, and my two favorite detectives walked inside. “Getting violent, aren't we?” Sullivan sneered. “You must be tired. Are you ready to confess your crimes?”I cautiously stepped away from the door, watching their every move as they entered. I knew their tricks. The last thing I needed was to be arrested for alleged physical assault on a police officer. “I need to call somewhere, so unless you can turn off the damn jamming device you have here, let me out of this fucking room,” I gritted out.Prescott scratched his chin and sighed. “I'm afraid we c
CATHERINE“I thought you're taking me to the precinct in the city,” I said as Detective Jacobson took another turn, entering something that resembled a private driveway in someone's possession.“No,” Jacobson muttered. “That's not where we're going.”A shudder coursed through me. I glanced at both sides of the road and saw nothing but dark forest. “Then… where are we going?” I dared ask.Garrett twisted in his seat, turning toward me. “That shouldn't be your concern.”My hands fisted. “Tell me where we're going, right now!” I snarled.A cold smile spread across Garrett's face. “Shouldn't you be a little nicer to the authorities?”“Mrs. Thorne, I'd advise you to calm down,” Castillo gritted out, as if my demands were somehow unreasonable. “I have the right to know where I'm taken,” I reasoned, my voice sharp.Castillo placed his hand on my arm and gave me a tense smile. “You should just do as I say and be quiet.”The car took another turn, and suddenly we found ourselves on the inters
“Shoot to stop her, not kill!” Garrett's voice echoed through the forest, his command followed by the whistling sound of bullets.I sucked in a sharp breath and stormed forward, praying none of their bullets would reach me. The densely growing trees shielded me so far, but I knew my luck wouldn't last forever. I pushed myself to the limits and beyond, ignoring my hurting feet, the torn skin on my wrists, and the throb in my head. I didn't know where I was running. I could barely see anything in the darkness of the night, but they couldn't see much either. The problem was that outrunning them all seemed almost impossible... but stopping meant death.“These woods go for miles, princess! No one to save you here!” I heard Jacobson's booming voice. “You can't run forever!”I knew I couldn't. A part of me wondered if my mad escape made any sense. I couldn't even call for help; there was no one to help me here. And yet, I kept running, even knowing that only a freaking miracle would help me s
HUNTERI sat on the bed, watching Catherine in her sleep. I hadn't left her side since I'd found her in those woods. I was still wearing my blood-stained combat pants and tee, but changing clothes or taking a shower wasn't my priority. Not when she had been beaten and nearly raped.She looked so peaceful now. Nothing could indicate she had been pulled out of the nightmare only hours ago. I didn't even want to think about how close it was. Rage still hummed in my veins whenever I thought about it. I wanted to revive those fuckers and kill them again—this time slowly and ten times more painfully.I leaned over my wife and brushed the strand of her fiery hair off her face. So many bruises marred her. She had gone through hell in less than two hours. Now I could only hope she would recover fast. I needed my firecracker whole, without a single inch of feistiness missing.I leaned over her, gently kissing her bruised cheek. “Sweet dreams,” I murmured before rising to my feet and leaving her
HUNTERTen days had passed since Mrs. Lewis had woken up. Catherine had spent nearly every minute of the day by her side. I couldn't blame her. Their time together had been cruelly limited. I had seen Catherine's smiling face—the mask she had created for her mom. And then I'd seen her crying in some quiet corner of the hospital. I knew this situation had been taking a toll on her, and I could do almost nothing to help her…The renegades had gone silent. After everything that had gone down in my LA club, they had yet to make a move. While my wife sat at the hospital, I spent long hours analyzing and rewriting all our strategies, hoping to prepare my people for every possible attack. We might have known more than before about the renegades and their true power, but our knowledge was still insufficient, and slowly our common sense was giving way to the overwhelming frustration and anger.“Fuck this!” Remo growled, shoving a pile of paper folders off the table.“Would you calm the fuck do
The probability of Mom's operation succeeding was ten percent or less. Doctor Sinclair gave Mom a few hours to decide, but I already knew what her answer would be.Bitter laughter bubbled in my throat. How pathetic my bold declarations had been. I'd promised myself I would fight for her. I had been confident she would fight, too. But no victor would leave this battlefield. The choice she had was between likely dying within hours during the operation or simply waiting for the death to claim her…Unsurprisingly, my mom demanded Hunter stay out of her room. I couldn't blame her. If she were to accept him, it would require time… something we didn't have.As more time passed since she had woken up, her strength seemed to return. Superficially, she looked almost healthy. A gentle blush covered her cheeks, and her eyes shone as I remembered. She even moved and talked with more ease. But seeing every element of this façade only brought more pain…“I don't want to die on that table,” she final
CATHERINEMom's words still rang in my head as I sat in the corridor, waiting for doctors to finish another series of her tests. I'd told her I would leave Hunter only if he hurt me. She had called me foolish and nearly kicked me out of her room.I knew she meant well, even if her methods were harsh. She was trying to protect me. She thought she needed to protect me from Hunter. I'd wanted to tell her I would always be safe with him, but as I'd started to speak, all my confidence had disappeared.I knew Hunter kept secrets from me. I'd known him long enough now to see the slight changes in his expression. It appeared each time he wasn't honest. I'd seen this change in Chicago after I'd asked about the meaning of the red-haired stranger's words.I was nearly certain he had lied to me then. Of course, I tried to tell myself that perhaps the stranger's words meant something insignificant, and he had said them to mess with my head, but a second later, my mind returned to his suggestion th
HUNTERI wondered if Catherine's mother had truly known my father or simply heard stories and all kinds of nasty rumors about him. I wouldn't have called him ruthless, but everyone had known he'd been a part of the Mafia world. I could understand Mrs. Lewis didn't want someone like Nicolas Thorne's son around her daughter. Too bad she didn't know that her daughter had already sunk into our world and she was becoming a part of it, too.Despite Mrs. Lewis's obvious lack of acceptance, I didn't want to leave the hospital. Catherine needed me around, even if her mother would never fully welcome my presence. Besides, we waited for the test results that would tell us more about Mrs. Lewis's condition…While Catherine and her mother talked, I found a conference room I could use and arranged my inner circle's emergency meeting. I had to know if the bugs we planted on Grasso were still working or if we had managed to get anything useful.We were running out of time. We needed answers, and we n
CATHERINEI barely remembered the flight from Chicago to New York. I vaguely recalled Hunter holding my hand and repeating that it was going to be OK. I didn't know if I believed him or not. A frantic mass of thoughts swirled inside my mind, their weight slowly crushing my insides.“Breathe, firecracker,” I had heard him say several times, but the suffocating feeling remained.I felt guilty because I wasn't there. I hadn't been there to see her opening her eyes. I might have said it out loud since Hunter suddenly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace.“Don't blame yourself. You couldn't be there all the time, and you'll see her soon,” he murmured, kissing the top of my head.I had remained in his embrace throughout most of the flight, as if I could have fallen apart if I hadn't. At one point, someone—probably Hunter—told me I should change my clothes and wipe off my makeup, so I did. I doubted I would have even thought about it otherwise.Once Hunter's private jet
HUNTERFury hummed in my veins, awakening all the violent urges. I had made a mistake trusting that Augustin would handle all the issues concerning Nox Aurea. Surely, he had failed to notify me he hadn't been doing the job he had been fucking paid for, but I wasn't without guilt either. I should have seen the problem sooner and fired him.I had bought this place nearly six years ago. I had changed roughly everything about the old club and reopened it, turning it into a profitable business. Yet there had always been problems here and there, and some things—like the owner of the neighboring building—had been harder to fix than others.The alarms in the basement had been cut off. Why? Because Augustin—who would soon become the ex-manager—had ignored my order to replace the old system with the improved version. For that, I debated ripping him to shreds. That, unfortunately, had to wait…My eyes zeroed in on the fucker tied to a chair. He was dressed in a gray fitter's uniform with the nam
Hunter released my hand and inched closer to Augustin. “Are you telling me there's a bomb in the club?”The manager winced. “Not quite… I mean, there might have been a bomb if the fucker armed it. One of the guards interrupted him, though.”I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved. The fact that someone entered the club with the explosives was terrifying enough.Hunter raked his fingers through his hair. “How did he enter the basement unnoticed?”“Well… you know we still have an issue with the owner of the neighboring building. Two weeks ago that fucker broke a hole in the wall on the basement level. We sealed it, but as we can see now, not well enough. Our wannabe bomber used that hole to get in,” Augustin explained, wincing.Hunter worked his jaw, processing his words. Then he asked, “Why didn't the alarms go off?”“We're still trying to figure that out,” Augustin muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck.Hunter muttered a curse. “Tell me you at least caught the bastard.”Augustin nodd
CATHERINEHad I crossed the line? Had I officially gone bad this time? I had let the wicked side of me take the lead and savored every second of the terror in Calvin's eyes. After Calvin and weeping Naomi had been dragged out of the club, I heard the crowd calling me the Red Queen, as if I were walking around the club, shouting, “Off with their heads!”I would have lied had I said it didn't make me nervous and uncomfortable. I began to second-guess my decision. Maybe I should have just ignored them and waited for some godlike powers to grant them the fate they deserved…No. Enough was enough. Calvin had not only been a cheating scum but also tried to harm me, sent Giulio to rape me… My hands fisted as I recalled those moments. A part of me wanted to tell Hunter I changed my mind and wanted someone to drag Calvin back and beat the crap out of him.My nervousness lasted a few more minutes and ended as I finished my second drink. The tension finally disappeared and my party mood slowly cr
HUNTERI followed Catherine's line of sight. She was staring at one of the alcoves, her eyes locked on the two people sitting on the sofa. From where I stood, their faces were obscured by the shadows. Catherine, however, seemed to know exactly who they were.I stepped down from the dais and lined up with her. Only then did I understand what made her frown and clench her fists. That cunt, Calvin Rollins, was splayed on the sofa, drink in hand. A slim blonde in a slutty glitter-covered dress was sitting on his lap. I might have seen her in Thorn Club once or twice.I wrapped my arm around Catherine's waist, pulling her to my side. “Your shitty ex lost his wife somewhere, I see.”She gave me a wry smile. “Fifi told me Calvin is trying to divorce my sister.” Then she pointed at the blonde bimbo. “And that's Naomi, one of Portia's besties, or rather, an ex-bestie.”“Now I remember her.” My lips curved in disdain. “I saw her the night we met, right? She was that dumb bitch who came to me af