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Under Attack
Last Updated:
2024-12-02 17:56:45
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All Because I Kissed a Stranger Restless
CATHERINEI realized what had just happened and froze. The back of Hunter's jacket was soaked in his blood. I had no idea where he was shot, and I could only pray the shot wasn't lethal. The time seemed to slow down. I saw a menacing smile spread across Dante's face. He shifted his grip on the gun, aiming at Hunter's head. Hunter's gun fell to the ground as he lowered to his knees, preparing to lurch. I might have screamed as I heard the shot, and it took me a second to realize it wasn't Dante who fired…I blinked and saw Dante bent in half, holding his bleeding arm, his weapon lying on the ground. The sounds of several voices and footsteps came from the left—Hunter's men. If I hadn't been already sitting on the ground, I would have collapsed in relief.Dante cursed, turned around, and started running. Before I drew another breath, I saw Hunter lunge after him, following him through the gate and disappearing into complete darkness. “No!” I cried out, struggling to rise to my knees. Go
Last Updated : 2024-12-03All Because I Kissed a Stranger The Bitter Victory
HUNTERI was furious and fucking tired. I didn't know how long I had chased Dante before he reached a dead end. I rammed him down, sent a few blows, and was more than ready to end him… until I realized he wasn't alone. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, and that fucker was driving away in a black SUV. My men came less than a minute later, far too late to stop them.The one who helped Dante could have killed me—should have killed me. I had no doubt he had a gun and a perfect opportunity to shoot me in the back. And yet, I had been left alive. Spared. For some reason, that pissed me off even further.“Hold still,” Fabio Lanaro grunted, glaring at me. He had been the Cartelli's family doctor since I could remember, which meant he was most likely old as fuck. He was excellent at treating gunshot wounds, but perhaps after years of working for the Mafia family, any doctor would excel at that. Unfortunately, aside from that, he also excelled at being a rude prick and a giant pain in
Last Updated : 2024-12-04All Because I Kissed a Stranger A Little Bit Of Honesty
CATHERINEI didn't remember the last time I slept so peacefully. A soft smile tugged at my lips as I turned around, eyes still closed. I drew a deep breath through my nose. Then another one…My eyes jerked open, and my heart began to pound. This wasn't my bed. This wasn't my bedroom! My mind turned on the highest speed, frantically piecing together everything that had happened yesterday. The realization hit me like a speeding truck.“Hunter,” I breathed out, hectically scanning the room. Because I was still in his bedroom, lying in HIS bed, and he… He wasn't here.I slowly rose to sit, combing my hair with my fingers. I remembered entering his room and sitting on the sofa… Fuck. I must have fallen asleep, but why did I suddenly end up sleeping in his bed? Had he carried me here?My heart tripped at that thought. I examined the other side of the bed and swallowed. The sheets were crumpled, and every inch was heavily soaked in his scent. If he'd been here and had enough strength to carr
Last Updated : 2024-12-04All Because I Kissed a Stranger The Scars
HUNTERI could feel Catherine's fingers brushing over the skin of my back. Her touch was soothing, easily making me forget about the pain. I could hear the tremor in her breath as she fought her nervousness. But despite how agitated she was, her moves were confident and precise.She kept surprising me. Every time I thought I had her figured out, she proved me wrong. A part of me was pissed that the report on her was incomplete. There was little detailed information about her childhood and the time she lived with her mother. Rowan had found it irrelevant, and I could agree with him… to some degree. But it was those little things that turned her into a mystery I craved to solve.“All done,” she said, gently pressing the edges of the patch on my back.“Such a gentle treatment,” I purred, shifting in my seat to face her. “Perhaps I should fire Lanaro and let you patch all my wounds the next time.”“Please don't,” she muttered, focused on collecting the rest of the medical supplies from th
Last Updated : 2024-12-05All Because I Kissed a Stranger The Price
“I sent a word to Barbieri and Rossi.” Rowan moved to stand next to me. “After tonight, Blandini's allies would surely look for some ways to retaliate. They would probably go for Rossi first.”I nodded, keeping my eyes on the tall fence surrounding Blandini's estate on the far outskirts of East Hills. Those fuckers found a perfect place to build their fortress. It was surrounded by a vast forest—a perfect spot to hide whatever ill businesses they had been doing. Now this fortress would become their mass grave. “We'll need to send our squad to Aurelio's home. They could use better protection.”“I took care of it already,” he muttered, scanning the area before us.“Good.” I pulled out my Glock and checked the extra clips hidden in my pants pockets. Our black combat clothes flawlessly blended with the darkness around us. We remained hidden just like the rest of our men spread into positions around the fence, waiting for our signal. Rowan and I were right by the first line of trees, less
Last Updated : 2024-12-06All Because I Kissed a Stranger Waiting
CATHERINEI had spent most of the day placing my clothes and things in Hunter's chambers. I was only moving my stuff through two corridors, yet it felt like moving to another city. Luckily, Gianna showed up at my side to help me with this task.Hunter hadn't lied about the space for the two of us. Gianna told me those chambers had belonged to old Mr. and Mrs. Cartelli and were initially designed for the couple. I hadn't noticed it before, but some parts were nearly empty, such as one side of the walk-in closet. It looked like it had been this way for a while as if waiting for the new Mrs. Thorne.Still, this new situation was overwhelming. This was his private space; it had been for years. How was I supposed to make it mine as well? A part of me was certain I would always feel like a slightly unwanted guest who would move out as soon as Hunter officially became Don Cartelli. But there was also a different part of me, a part that felt I belonged here…“Once again, I'm so sorry I haven'
Last Updated : 2024-12-07All Because I Kissed a Stranger Piece of Evidence
HUNTER“Blue balls it is,” I grunted as Rowan and I passed the prison corridor in the northern part of the estate.We rarely used prison cells; those we chose to eliminate were hardly ever valuable enough to be kept alive. Marcelo Blandini was an exception—or rather, was supposed to be an exception. Perhaps I shouldn't be pissed that he was dead; he would have died anyway. But I hadn't given this cunt permission to fucking die before I found out what I needed.Rowan dipped his head, leveling his eye with the scanner. Then he typed the code on the panel, and the doors finally opened. We walked inside, hurriedly passing several empty cells before stopping in front of the last one—Blandini's cell.Four guards stood in the corridor, their expressions grim, their jaws tense. I motioned my chin at one of them, and he opened the cell. I entered, and my hands curled into fists. That fucker had torn his shirt to form a makeshift rope. He'd used it to loop through the iron bars in the small win
Last Updated : 2024-12-08All Because I Kissed a Stranger Too Peaceful
CATHERINEI felt a gentle stroke on my cheek. “Wake up, firecracker.” Hunter's lips nearly brushed my ear.My thighs clenched in response. Smiling, I opened my eyes and lazily turned to face him. He was sitting on my side of the bed, already dressed in a charcoal three-piece suit. A faint disappointment wiped my smile away. “I overslept again, didn't I?” I said with a hoarse, sleepy voice.He breathed out a laugh and shook his head. “It's little after eight.”I glanced at his side of the bed and noticed the sheets were untouched. “Did you sleep at all?”He scratched the back of his neck. “Not really.”My brows knitted. “You need to rest.”All of the traces of his amusement faded, and his eyes fixed on me. “Something happened… I mean, we found a lead in Marcelo Blandini's documents.”I rose to sit, my eyes widening. “Is this about Connor's death? You found the one who gave him the drugs?”“Well, that too… sort of.” His lips twitched into a brief half-smile before his face turned grim a
Last Updated : 2024-12-08
Latest chapter
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Talk to 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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Accepting the Inevitable
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Waiting for the News
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger The Ticking Clock
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Promise Me
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger The Message
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Messing With My Head
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Feverish
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
All Because I Kissed a Stranger Her Payback
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
