The Viper My Angel of Death spooked easily. I couldn’t help smiling with every meaningless thing she threw into her cart to secretly find me. The problem was, she couldn’t. Not unless I wanted her to. When she headed straight for the parking lot, I had to hold back a snicker. She was a daring little devil, yet so predictable. I would have to take her back with me sometime and remind her what predictability did to her dear Mama and Papa. While it would be fun to play this game for a while, I had bigger fish to fry so I took off the mask I had slipped on when I got to the parking lot. Her sharp intake of breath was something I could live for. If I was anyone else, she would have fought—even knowing she would lose spectacularly. But although she was so scared of me, she knew I couldn’t hurt her. At least not until she was done with those pesky Arcieros. Their destruction was the only thing I ever looked forward to and she was the only one who hated them as much as I did. Maybe even m
Angelica If The Viper didn’t put a bullet in my head, he would kill me by revealing my connection with him to Curtis. Putting aside his own grudge against the Arciero family, everyone who knew him knew what he prided himself in—revenge. He helped people dole out their vengeance against their enemies if he found the feud interesting enough. Hell knew what criteria he used. He actually had an entire syndicate for it. If Giancarlo caught wind of me talking to him and he happened to know about the syndicate, I would be dead. But he didn’t care about that. Of course he didn’t. He had a gazillion identities and safe houses he could run to if things went haywire. He wouldn’t be in half as much danger as I would be in. The only good thing that came out of his unwelcome visit was the realization that he thought I had set Inferno ablaze. That would placate him for now. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with both him and Miles at the same time. When I got back home, I knew what I had to do b
Angelica Curtis could have chosen a million other ways to die but he chose the worst of them all. He lied to me. He actually dared to bring up my dead sister and disrespect her memory. "I'm gonna kill him." I hissed. I didn't realize I was crumbling the blueprint until Spider pried it out of my hand. "Take deep breaths," he urged, taking deep breaths himself so I would mimic him. I was in no mood to calm down. "What's The Viper doing in Silverwood?" I asked in an attempt to change the topic, but it only reminded me of the rush of fear I had felt when The Viper implied he wanted to kill Curtis.. The man had played me for a fool and like an idiot, I fell for it. I even tried to save his nightclub. I wasn't able to, but that was my precious time and effort wasted and that made me fucking furious. Spider stammered, probably sensing my fury. "The Viper is here?" "He cornered me in the grocery store." Before I could ask him to find out, he went off on tangents. "Grocery? Please tell
Curtis A Blazing Inferno. I glared at the top headline on the Silverwood Daily newspaper. The damn media. I had paid a king's ransom to make sure Inferno's plight didn't make headlines. The damn media had double-crossed me. Of course they would. They didn't care about feeding the public the truth. There was no such thing. All they cared about was fattening their bank accounts. That's why I had made sure to give them more than they could possibly get in sales if they splattered pictures of Inferno across their pages—attempted to, at least. Because clearly, I'd failed. The headlines infuriated me but that was only until I read the actual news. "The infamous owner of Inferno, Curtis Arciero, suspected of torching his own nightclub to evade police investigation. According to anonymous sources, the police and National Crime Investigation Agency have had Curtis under their radar for years for uncountable organized crimes including illegal arms deals and massive drug trafficking. The ho
The women were getting along better than I thought. Klara had only been in Silverwood for a few hours but she had charmed my wife away. The two of them were currently lost in some discussion about some celebrity women had a huge crush on. I may not know much about Angelica but I knew my sister, which is how I knew what she was doing. She was roping my wife into discussions about men to make me jealous. What I hated most was the fact that it was working. It was already enough that she had disappeared for hours last night and I had to battle the urge to go looking for her. I didn't even know when she returned, she'd been out so late. It was infuriating that I didn't even have the right to know where she was or who she was talking to. And just when I thought I couldn't possibly be angrier, my evil nephew climbed onto Angelica's lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. I would have thought he was only doing it because he liked her but when Angelica showered him with attention and fon
Angelica Klara was a darling. I couldn’t believe I would ever think that way of any Arciero but there was no other way to describe her. For a woman of her beauty and qualifications, I had expected a grumpy boss lady—maybe those only existed in movies? Whatever this was, the last thing I needed was a reason to think an Arciero could be nice. I had already made that mistake once and no matter what, I couldn’t lose myself this time. Not even to the charm of the two cutest kids I’d ever met. To be fair, I had never really allowed myself to be this close to kids. Maybe they were always cute and I just didn’t have the chance to find out. Lizzie was currently painting something at the table while I subtly drilled Klara for as much information about Curtis as I could get. I would have learned to learn more about the rest of the family but I would be treading on dangerous grounds. “What’s the deal with Curtis and the kids, anyway?” I pried. I had realized how stiff their relationship was.
One year ago. “What’s a woman’s greatest weapon?” The Viper asked me, hovering over me with his intimidating frame. It wasn’t how tall or bulky he was that terrified me, but the thought of what he would do if I got his question wrong. I had to think about it for a while. If he had asked that question a year ago, the answer would have been different. But after spending two and a half years getting me ready for an inevitable battle, he soent the last six months teaching me how to learn a man and get under his skin. He certainly wasn’t looking for answers like “her skill” or “her wits”. “Her beauty?” I tried, trying not to cower away when he inched closer. “Her tears, silly.” He brushed past me and sat down in the seat exclusively reserved for him, which looked more like a burgundy throne and was also the only chair in the room. “It’s time for you to master the art of crying. I want you to be so good at it that you can cry on command and stop on command.” That was the most ridiculou
Curtis“I knew it.” I cursed when I caught sight of my open bedroom door. I knew Giancarlo wouldn’t be able to stop himself from confronting Angelica. Was he out of his mind?Sure enough, by the time I entered my room, Angelica looked like she was seconds away from passing out while Giancarlo had his arms crossed before her. He turned and eyed the fruit platter I was carrying in my hands with a mocking grin. I glared at him, daring him to say a word.It wasn’t what it looked like—I wasn’t taking his advice about the way to a woman’s heart. I was only feeding my wife because it was the least I could do after what she’d been through.While he didn’t say a word, his reaction was in sync with Klara’s when she caught me trying my best to make the prettiest platter I could come up with.“Get lost.” I shooed him off and placed the platter on the bedside table beside which Angelica was standing. When he finally left, I nudged Angelica to sit back on the bed, stabbed a mango piece and brought
Angelica"What is it like being a mother?"Klara paused with a spoon of chocolate ice cream halfway towards her mouth. I only realized how odd my question was when I saw how she was looking at me. I dug into my ice cream and shoveled a spoon into my mouth to calm myself down."Why would you ask?" she asked. "Are you planning to have kids?"I was glad I wasn't looking at her so she wouldn't read my mind—not that I still believed shrinks could read minds but it was awkward nonetheless."Maybe," I gave a vague answer. Considering Curtis's stance on kids, her surprise was understandable. However, I didn't want to tell her I was pregnant yet. It didn't feel right to tell anyone else before Curtis."Well," she shrugged. "That's a broad subject. But I had all these plans for my kids. Rowan and I always wanted two, close in age, and we planned everything including what parenting methods we would use, which schools they would go to, what kind of friends we would allow around them, how I would
Angelica I groaned as I forced my eyes open, adjusting to the blinding light that had just been flickered on. I didn't know how long I had slept. Hell, I wasn't sure if it was day or night. There was no window in this dingy cell and the door was a solid hank of metal that didn't allow any light through it. The only source of light was the offensively bright bulb above me, which had been kept off until now. I had alternated between sleeping and pacing in the dark the whole time and it was driving me crazy. The only thing I could feel was the chains around my wrists and ankles, reminding me that I wasn't dead yet. I didn't know how long had passed since Curtis interrogated me about The Viper. It could be a day, a week, or a year. Hell, it could be ten years for all I knew. I looked down at my stomach and my lips twitched. At least there was a way to know if months had passed. My belly would bulge out. This was Curtis's idea of torture.To be fair, solitary confinement was one of the
Curtis“Angelika Giannelli, Angel of Death…is there any other identity I should know of?” I mocked.“Tell me everything about The Viper,” I demanded.She averted her gaze, dragging the long chains with her so she would walk up to me. I smirked when she stopped, her radius finally running out.“Is this necessary?” She bit back.Yes, it was. This woman killed Miles right under our noses and we didn’t think she was at fault. She played us all like a violin with that innocent smile on her face, all while taking out one Arciero after another and pitting us against each other. However, that was not why I was here.I pointed at her chains. “That will be the least of your problems. Answer me.”She shook her head. “I can’t tell you anything. You’re going to kill me anyway. Just do it.”“I knew you would say that.” I grinned. Someone with her skill could endure a lot of pain.Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to torture her. At least not physically anyway, which was odd, considering how willing
Angelica I needed my head examined. Was I seriously considering having this child? I had bought a dozen pregnancy test kits in the hospital’s pharmacy and couldn’t wait until I got to my hotel room, so I took the tests right there in the hospital washroom. Unsurprisingly, all of them came positive. It was unbelievable. I didn’t know what I thought pregnancy felt like but this was not it. I had expected a little more drama. Aside from my boobs feeling like they were about to fall off, the doctor mentioned I was lucky enough to have a morning sickness-free pregnancy. Maybe that was why I still couldn’t believe I had an actual baby inside me. It sounded like a joke—until I remembered I had to tell Curtis. Between upgrading and downgrading my way through as many cars as possible in the last two months, and spending each of those nights at a different hotel, I had about a thousand dollars to my name. It was a drop in the bucket in relation to how much I needed to bring up a child. I
AngelicaI felt like crap. Where the hell am I? I wondered. I forced one eye open and squinted, wincing from how horribly my head hurt. I patted around for my phone and remembered dropping it the night before. I hadn’t stopped to pick it up. I was too busy running for my life with Curtis hot on my tail. I didn’t know how he found me but I wasn’t going to be able to hide from him forever, I guess. My plan was perfect if I do say so myself. I ran around the city, leaving Curtis a trail that would make him think I was headed for Arcron, then I circled back and returned to Silverwood, where I rented two apartments; one in my name and the other under Klara Arciero. I stayed at neither. I spent every night at a different motel far from both apartments. The apartments were only a way to keep Curtis busy if he found out I was still in the city. Which is why I couldn’t understand why the fuck I thought it was a good idea to check out my fake apartment. I was yet to enter the building when
CurtisTwo months later. Why was I still on this wild goose chase? I hadn’t caught a whiff of my wife even though I felt I had searched the whole of West Auburg. She couldn’t have left the country. There was only one person capable of helping her get a fake passport and he was currently on our side. Sometimes I could swear she was leaving me a trail. Though when I got to it, she was gone like a puff of smoke. I was more frustrated by the realization that the longer it took to find her, the farther away she could go. If she found a way to get a fake passport from somewhere else, she could be halfway across the country and there was nothing I could do about it. But I wasn’t giving up. I meant it when I said I would tear down the whole world to find her. I was not giving up now. I was still staring at the road with my hands gripping the steering wheel. What if I was approaching this from the wrong angle?I took a U-turn at the next exit and returned home. Klara was visiting, which was
The Viper “Angelica left.” I glared at Spider. “What do you mean she left?” He shrugged, letting me know there was nothing else to explain about it. She ran away. “And you let her?” He scrunched his nose. “You know there’s no such thing as ‘letting’ with Angelica. You could lock her up in a cage with an active electric field all around it and she would still find a way to leave.” His words conjured up a memory of that feisty little kitten she once was. She’d been looking for me for a year and I knew every bullet she put between a target’s brows, every throat she sliced was to get my attention. She did get it, but it was way too much than she bargained for. She ended up in my dungeon after putting down one of my most loyal men. I made sure the shackles were way too small for her to wiggle her hands free, and the chain was too short to be of any use. I was going to decide whether she was worth keeping that night but I walked into the dungeon only for her to head-butt me and make
CurtisLyra Giannelli, now known as Eloise Dalton, was as hard to find as her sister. I already knew she was Samantha’s cousin from overhearing their argument but I still couldn’t find her, not even with Giancarlo’s help. Eventually, I had to ask Samantha and I had to promise not to harm a hair on her head before I got any useful information.Good, because I didn’t plan to hurt her. She was more useful to me alive, anyway.I watched as the debate played out on her face, if she would be able to run past me if she tried. She decided against it. Smart girl. I didn’t track her down just to let her escape.She sat down opposite me. “Make it quick. I have to get home.”“Of course.” I let her settle down before I asked what I knew she was already expecting. “Where is she?”“Who?”“Don’t play dumb with me.”She crossed her arms at her chest. “What do you expect me to tell you? That I know where to find your wife? Why would I know that if you don’t?”I knew what she was worried about. “Look, I
Lyra “Come with me.” Angelica urged me. When we made it to her car, she had floored it out of the Arciero mansion’s garage and only stopped about half an hour later. We were far from the Arciero mansion and certainly not being followed. How nice of her to ask if I wanted to leave with her after grabbing me without much choice earlier. I was yet to figure out why we were running away. Wasn’t Curtis her husband? So what if her maiden name was a little different from what everyone thought? “Why?” I asked. “You said your life is in danger. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She said frantically, and I knew she was hiding something. “Curtis might just take his anger out on you.” “I’ll be fine.” I assured her. Samantha was my cousin. Not biologically, but if the Carlo she always talked about was Giancarlo Arciero as I was starting to think, Curtis wouldn’t hurt me. And Andre…well, I wasn’t about to put Angelica in more danger than she already was in. “No one wants to mess with