Chapter 1PRESENT DAYGold Coast, Chicago•• •• ••Vincenzo Mancini•• •• •• “Isn’t that exactly what psychopaths do?” Marcel snarled. “Make a point outside the frame and confidently present themselves as winners.” I snatched the bottle from him, eyeing him when he tried to keep his grip on it. “You’re not going to have her, and that’s final.” “A little touchy about this one, are we?” Marcel remarked with a sly smirk. I reclined in my seat, “What can I say?” A man might want to enjoy the soft hands of these sexy, naked strippers without the constant bickering of his brother and their, but not a man like me, apparently. As it turns out, women and an endless addiction to sex and the unholy love for all the fucked up things you can imagine in the dark underworld are not the only things I share with my brother. We also share a passionate desire to bite off each other’s throats. Because, where is the fun in agreeing on a simple fact instead of bickering like two-year-olds? Nay, t
Chapter 2 Eustacia “~~~”~~~”Once a feared and revered mafia princess, but now nothing more than a caged animal.This guy, the one they called Aurelio, didn't like me from the minute I was handed to him on that plane coming here, and that was a month ago.Who was I kidding? Nobody likes me.His rough grip on my arm was firm, leaving bruises that would join the collection already marring my skin. Each step as he dragged me through the block made me wince in pain, but I didn't let out a single sound.Aurelio’s face was impassive, but I could see the disgust in his eyes. He probably thought I deserved every bit of this. They all did.“Watch your step,” Aurelio barked as we descended the stairs.I bit my tongue, suppressing the urge to lash out with a smart remark, but it wouldn’t help my situation.I stumbled but caught myself, Vincenzo Mancini was following closely behind at a leisurely pace and I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me fall.We reached the bottom, and he sh
Chapter 3 Stacy °° °° °° °° It didn’t take up to a second for Vincenzo to react, snatching his gun even though the car was running at a speed he could barely control, and with a burst tire, we were likely to roll off a cliff or end up in an anthill—but that didn’t stop him. Without taking his eyes off me, he kept his pistol accurately aimed at my chest, his eyes a silent dare for me to do anything stupid with the rifle. “You’re going to drive us into a fucking ditch if you don’t control this damn piece of junk!” I hissed. “You have a knack for stating the obvious, I see.” Then his voice turned serious, “But around here, you don’t take unless I give, understood?” Something in the way he said that made my ovaries jump in excitement. Fucking idiots, I thought miserably, as if one Mancini wasn’t enough. Another loud bang outside and the little control Vincenzo had over it went flying out the window. It veered straight into the thick bush, making us both bounce uncontrollably in our
Chapter 4Vincenzo°° °° °° °°She has fire, I’d give her that.Most women in her position would have broken down by now, begging for mercy, tears streaming down their faces—maybe even dead by now.But not Stacy Salvatore.No, she was too proud, too defiant to crumble so easily. I mean, when you’ve spent years learning to be wicked and making other people’s lives miserable from your father, you become like him.The way she handled that rifle was almost admirable, if I weren’t so determined to crush that pride of hers when the time came.I led her towards the truck, finding her futile attempts to free herself from my grip almost amusing. She was smart enough to know that fighting me wouldn’t get her anywhere, but that didn’t stop her from trying.There was a wildness in her, a desperate need to prove she wasn’t as helpless as she felt. It was that same wildness that would make her useful, even if it meant keeping her on a short leash until I was ready to use her.“Let go of me,” she sp
Chapter 5Stacy°° °° °° °° I slumped in the damn chair, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. It had been days—weeks, maybe—since I’d had a decent shower or a proper meal. I twisted my wrists, even though I’d done it a thousand times in the last hour, each time with the same fruitless result.I’m fucking tired, too fucking tired.But at least I’m still breathing, that’s a ray of hope there, right?Well, after the gunshot Vincenzo fired in the car, still breathing felt like a twisted miracle. Not even a scratch, maybe his target was bad? But he did kill that guy behind me without blinking.I sighed, I’d missed my only chance to run. That’s how I knew my body was losing this fight.Fuck, I’m so fucking weak!Sitting there, I felt like a piece of shit—dirty, useless. Vincenzo’s cells didn’t allow me the luxury of basic amenities, and my body’s biological functions had practically shut down for the past three months.But right now, judging by the way my stomach cramped and how h
Chapter 6Stacy°° °° °° °°I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it—the sharp blade gleamed ominously in the dim light. The knife was supposed to scare me, with the way his eyes followed my face closely, I could tell he was expecting I’d be shaking like a leaf by now.“I see you like to talk,” he remarked dryly.I squinted my eyes to meet his. “And I see you like to make a dramatic entrance.” I relaxed in the seat, more out of tiredness than defiance. “Actually, I agree with you. Let’s get this hideous meeting over and done with. We could start with you telling me who you are.”The man chuckled, a low, sinister sound. “You don’t need to know who I am,” he said, his voice dripping with malice. “All you need to know is that you’ve pissed off the wrong people.”He stepped closer, the tip of the knife grazing the skin on my arm. I didn’t flinch. The fear was paralyzing, but I couldn’t let it show. “What do you want from me?” I asked coolly. “And quit the performance; I’m not easily scared.”
Chapter 7Stacy°° °° °° °°I woke up with a throbbing headache, the kind that felt like a jackhammer was having a field day inside my skull. Squinting against the brightness of the room, I took in my surroundings, trying to piece together how the hell I ended up here.The bed I was lying on was massive—king-sized, plush, with ridiculously soft sheets that I would have appreciated under different circumstances. The room was elegant, far too flashy compared to the dingy places I’d been in lately. Soft light filtered through the expensive curtains, and everything was tastefully decorated, almost too perfect. For a moment, I wondered if I’d died and somehow ended up in a rich person’s heaven.Or hell. I mean, for the sins I’d committed, I might as well get a five-star suite in hell. Because I sure as hell didn’t remember checking into a five-star hotel anytime recently.I sat up slowly, wincing as the room spun for a second. Rubbing my temples, I tried to recall the events leading up
Chapter 8Vincenzo °° °° °° °°She didn’t say anything after that, which was good because I could use the silence. I moved to the doorway, then changed my mind, not sure if I could trust her not to dig a hole through the wall and crawl out. I just stood at the doorway, staring at Stacy as she sat there, examining her wrists which were still red from the cuffs, then as if realizing she had a job to make my life miserable, she stood up and went around the room, turning and scrutinizing things like this was a room she’d traveled and left unoccupied for the longest time. A small, infuriating smile played on her lips as she flipped one thing after the other. There were no weapons in here, I'd asked Vito to make sure of it, so I didn't try to stop her, instead, I let my mind wander off.That was until I heard her voice, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. “You look like you could use a drink,” Stacy said, her eyes flicking to the locked winery. “Something very strong.”“Why are you