Chapter 1

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself as I stood outside the club doors.

I had just finished with another grueling shift at the bar and was waiting for my lift, who I was sure had completely forgotten about me, I had been waiting for hours.

It was rather late, but I knew I would need to walk home, I had forgotten my phone behind and had no way of making any calls to get someone to fetch me.

With a heavy sigh, as I shivered from the cold night air, I began my walk home while wishing I hadn't chosen to wear such a short dress; it wasn't exactly the safest area at the best of times.

The cold chilled me to the bone as my skin pickled with goosebumps, each step I took felt colder than the last. 

I was thankful I wasn't far from the flat I rented with my cousin Dom.

I couldn't help but shake my head at the thought of him, he had been the only one in my family to ever really understand me without any judgment.

He understood that I resented my entire childhood and wanted to part from my family's lavish lifestyle. I was even happy when my family disowned me for choosing to move out and live my life the way I wanted to.

In an effort to help me with this, Dom had agreed to let me share the flat with him.

As I neared the apartment building my face scrunched up as I squinted my eyes in an attempt to make out what lay on the front steps.

I was too far to see exactly what it was, but it looked to me like it may be some sort of large bag slung carelessly on the stairs.

Rushing to get over and inspect it, I froze once I was close enough to see what it was.

It was certainly no bag.

My feet refused to move, keeping me frozen to the spot while I stood shaking in shock at the sight before me.

It was Dom.

He was laying on the steps with blood pouring from his mouth.

When the initial shock wore off I could feel my heart tightening, a sharp pain in my chest as I dropped to my knees, and my hands shaking as I reached out to my cousin.

"Dom?! Oh my God! Help! Someone! Please!" I screamed while frantically looking around.

Dom's eyes were swollen and as he tried to speak his voice came out in gasps making it hard for me to understand him clearly.

"Dom, I need to go and get help, okay? I'm going to get help."

His hand grasped loosely at my wrist, "Kin... Go... Not safe for you."

"What? I don't understand, Dom. It's going to be okay," pulling my hand free from his grasp I quickly got to my feet, I couldn't believe that with all my screaming, no one had bothered to come out and help me or at least check what was going on.

I glanced around me, making sure the person or people who had done this to Dom were not still around before I climbed the steps to the building, desperately praying someone would call an ambulance for me.

GIANNI

While the girl ran into the building, there was no indication that she could have seen the two of us watching the scene from only a few feet away.

We were hidden by the car marked on the opposite side of the street.

"Who is that, boss?" Talon asked me.

I shook my head, "I have no idea. She doesn't look his type so I doubt it's a girlfriend."

"Shouldn't we finish this? She's probably calling the cops as we speak."

I kept my eyes on the building, normally I would have agreed with my second in command, but the woman had intrigued me.

"Talon, go in there and make sure she doesn't do that. Do not kill her. I'll bring Dominic up to his flat. I want to see how this plays out."

Talon would have preferred to kill Dominic, I knew this.

But he knew better than to argue with me, I was known for having quite the temper when people disobeyed me.

TALON

I left Gianni outside while I went in for the girl.

Fortunately for me, she was banging on a door that appeared not to be opening which meant that she had not been successful in alerting the authorities just yet. 

I approached her with fake concern on my face, "Excuse me, miss, I heard you screaming, is everything okay?"

She spun to face me, her green eyes glassy with tears.

I inhaled sharply, I had not been expecting her to be this beautiful, from afar I had only been able to see her long dark hair and creamy pale skin.

Even with tears running down her face and a frantic look in her eye, she was strikingly beautiful up close.

"Please! I need a phone!"

Right, bosses orders, I reminded myself, "Do you not have one? Mine has died."

"No! Yes! But it's in... never mind!"