I THOUGHT I had seen the last of Marcus Salvatore after that wedding event, but it seemed like I saw him everywhere and in everything in my daily life. I saw his cold, blue eyes in the eyes of the mailman. I saw his bold confident gait in the walk of my next-door neighbor, and I thought I was running mad when I looked for my son in the park and saw him talking with Marcus. I restrained the urge to walk ahead briskly and snatch my son from Marcus's hold, instead, I stood back and watched them. They looked like how an ideal father and son should look like. On close inspection, one could see the similarities between the two of them, I felt bad for withholding the information that Jake was Marcus's son, but I felt justified because, after all, it was Marcus's family that threw me out and refused me a chance to break the news. After their meeting at the park, Jake had become even happier. I did not want to ask him what they had spoken about, because I preferred not to know. It's the w
MARCUS PRESSED THE gas pedal and weaved through the traffic. He could feel the pressure building in his head as he drove in. He was blinded with anger and a strange streak of jealousy at Joe. He considered sending Àngel Mario, one of his most trusted men, to "take care" of Joe. By "take care" He meant to kill and make the body vanish. He smiled at the thought but turned to look at the bright happy look on Jake and he calmed down. He did not know what it was about this kid that always calmed him down and was very familiar, and with his wife gone for some impromptu visit to her family house, Marcus knew there was no better time to spend some good time with the kid than now. He knew his wife would notaproe of their outing. "Where do you want to go?" Marcus asked as Jake pressed his face out the window to watch the buildings wheeze past with speed. The little kid seemed to be having the time of his life just being in such a fancy car and feeling the air-conditioner blast his face. Mar
MELISSA SAT ALONE at a table in the restaurant underneath her hotel. She had told her husband's family that she was going to visit with her family for a while, but that was a lie. She was feeling choked up, staying in the Salvatore's estate like that, and Marcus had started acting up but seeing him with Olivia Bennett had been the last straw that broke the camel's back. She knew she had to take a break and stay away for a while or else she would bring out the Mafia part of her blood and that might result in a family war. "A cup of coffee, please," She told a passing waitress. Mellissa continued to mull over her situation as she waited for the waitress. Melissa had first heard the name "Olivia Bennet" after the family meeting where she was told that she was going to marry a guy she had never seen before, and although she had prepared herself for it, it still came as a shock.All her life, she had been trained in the art of ruthless killing, martial arts, and tactical planning. Her
I SAT BACK on the park bench, watching Jake ride his bike in circles. He would fall, and stand back up with a wide smile on his face. I quelled my motherly instinct to stop him from hurting himself but he is a boy, and he was as energetic as his father, even though he was just 6 years old. I did not like the budding relationship between Jake and his unknowing father, and to make matters worse, Marcus introduced Jake to his grandfather, and they had taken a liking to each other. According to Jake, the last visit was very interesting. Old Nonno had taught him many things while Marcus went to buy him a bike. He was even learning Italian now, and he calls Vittorio by the Italian term of grandfather. It was like the Salvatores knew that Jake was Marcus's child and they were just bidding their time before she snatched him away, but that was not possible. He waved at me to catch my attention and flashed me a toothy grin before pedaling the bike, weaving through other playing children. H
"DO NOT DIE in Italy, you hear me?" Vittorio said as he and Marcus walked out of the mansion. It was the day of traveling already. "If I do, my blood would be on your head," Marcus muttered. Vittorio chuckled and said, "I know you won't die. You are a full blooded Salvatore, and you have Julian with you." Marcus scoffed. He watched their servants stuff his luggage into the back of the waiting limousine. "Don't call me when you get to Italy," Vittorio said. "I won't pick." "I wasn't going to call you," Marcus snorted. "I would rather spend my time hanging out with that kid you brought around last week. What was his name and who are his parents?" Marcus chuckled and got into the limousine. Before he closed the door, he looked up at his father and said, "If I die in Italy, I guess you would never know the child." The car pulled away from the driveway, leaving Vittorio standing at the front of his mansion. "You are giving your father a hard time," Julian said, handing Marcus a flut
MARCUS STOOD UP and stretched from the hammock. The waiting was wearing him out. He put on his sunshades and sauntered to the edge of the porch. "Enjoying the view, hm?" Julian called from behind. Marcus turned and flashed him a fake smile. Julian was on a chaise lounge chair with two young half-naked models by his side. "It's been two days, Julian," Marcus said. "Two days and still not a word from Giovanni. Not what he wants. No attempts in our lives. Nothing. It's almost like we are on vacation!" "Hmm…" Julian blew out on his cigar. "What are we still doing here?" Marcus snarled. "I don't know about you, but I am enjoying myself here," He cupped the ass of the model on his left side. "And hey, look at you. Looking tan as ever. You look like a Greek god," Marcus scoffed. But Julian was right. He was also enjoying himself here, and his tan looked great. The wind blew on his open t-shirt, ruffling it as he stood on the balcony overlooking the beach. He glanced at his phone, he
Marcus's hand reflexively went to his hip where his gun was supposed to be, but it was empty. He remembered that the doorman had requested for their "tools". Giovanni noticed the movement and scoffed. "You would not be needing that," He said. "Come. Walk with me, eh?" Marcus and Julian fell into step along with Giovanni who led them into a small room. The room was dark save for a buzzing light bulb that hung low. Some moths fluttered around it. "Is this where you are going to kill us?" Marcus asked. Giovanni laughed. "You are so…" He did not complete the sentence, instead he said, "Oi, Pianté, give them their things," A large man stepped out from the shadows and placed a briefcase on the table.Marcus took out his gun and checked it. He kept his eyes on Giovanni as he snapped the gun into his belt and the bronze knuckles into his pocket. "So you do not want to kill us?" He asked. "Not yet," Giovanni waved them to the seats around the table. "In a way, you did me a favor. Pianté, b
"THE CAR IS here," Julian muttered. They were seated in their hotel room, waiting for Pianté to come pick them up for the operation. Marcus was still worried that it might be a trap – an easy way to cover up both his and Julian's death. He stood up and zipped up his jacket. "And the men?" "They are ready and waiting," Julian replied. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Marcus asked, walking out of the room with Julian closely at his heels. His men were hanging around in the lobby. They all stood up when he walked in. He nodded at them and said, "Non morire là fuori. è il mio debito da pagare." They all nodded in understanding. He had just told them not to risk their lives out there because it was not their debt to pay, but he knew they would put their lives down to save him. It was little things like this that made them respect him so much. "Let's go," He said. And they walked out together as a group. Pianté was in a large black jeep, "You two are riding with me. Your men will be i
JERRY COULD NOT quite understand Melissa's sudden obsession with bringing her husband's family "to the ground" but he did not have a choice or need to voice his opinion on the matter, so he simply nodded and bowed. Sometimes he questioned his sanity at why he remained loyal to Melissa, maybe it was because of her father. He never forgot how Mr. Chen had brought out hack from the bricks of death on the streets of Thailand. His loyalty to the man extended to his family members... including Melissa, whom Mr. Chen had personally placed in Jerry's arms for safekeeping. He waited to know if she had any more assignments for him, when he saw that there were none, he bowed again and walked out of the indoor pool. Heading out, he crossed paths with Marcus Salvatore. He stepped to the side as a sign of respect as the man passed by. Sometimes, he wondered where his boss's hatred started brewing from. From what he could see and tell, Marcus Salvatore was a seemingly decent man. He sighed and shr
I HAD SEX with Marcus Salvatore. More than once, and it was still as mind-blowing as I remembered from all those years ago. In six hours, I had orgasmed more than 7 times. I couldn't believe it. That the man I had always loved and hated at the same time was with me, even though his arms were wrapped around me protectively and his soft breaths feathered the nape of my head. My anger at him did not last at all after he came back to the room and undid his bathrobe. It was almost impossible to stay mad at that perfect gift of God's creation. I snorted at myself lightly. When did I get so poetic? I shifted slightly, pressing myself closer to his naked body. Why was I even angry in the first place? I was eventually going to end things with Joe, although not in this manner, but I must admit to myself that Marcus saved me from the stress. I felt quite bad for Joe. I sighed heavily. I did not know what this sex with Marcus meant. Are we back together? Was this a one-time thing? Or was I
THEY FOUND THEIR way to the bedroom, collapsed on the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately. Marcus woke her up some hours later and they made slow, sweet love again. And then Olivia slept in his arms, her body wrapped around his. When he woke her again, the tender light of late evening peeped through the plantation blinds on her bedroom windows.He slid his hand between her legs and parted her thighs.” Are you sore?” he asked softly. She nodded. "A little.""You were so tight," Marcus said as he caress her thighs. "It had been a while for you?" "I can't remember the last time," Olivia agreed. "I have been so busy with raising Jake and my job. I simply did not have the time." But she was lying, the truth was that for every man she had met over the 5 years, she had subconsciously put them in comparison with Marcus, and when they didn't meet up, she would just lose interest. "And that man Joe?" Marcus asked with exaggerated uninterest. "Joe… Joe…" Olivia said. "Is that jealousy I
WARNING: THE SECOND HALF OF THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EROTIC AND SEXUAL SCENES. READER'S DISCRETION ADVISED. "MARCUS JAKE SALVATORE Jr," Marcus muttered under his breath like he could not believe what he had just heard. I feared to look at his face so I focused my gaze out the window as buildings flew by. "You named him after me," he said. That was from a moment of weakness, don't judge me. He reminded me so much of Marcus when he was born. They both shared that startling blue eyes. "I hated my name," He growled. "I never liked it, and it is too heavy for a child." I still refused to meet his gaze. "And you didn't give him your surname," he said again. From my side eye, I saw him grip the steering wheel even tighter. I did not know it was from anger or another emotion. It was also from a moment of weakness, but out of a deep sense of morality, I had had Jake registered as a Salvatore. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. I sighed. That was the elephant in the room, or rather, the
AILUN CHEN, HEIR of Chen of the three-headed dragon clan, sat waiting for his psychopathic sister. He sighed and pushed his hair behind his ear. No one really knew just how sick-minded his sister was, only he had seen a glimpse of that side of her. He was confused at Melissa's sudden hate for the Salvatores family, even though he knew she did not need to have a solid reason to hate a person. He had always had a dislike for the Italians too, but it was not as deep as Melissa made it seem. On her wedding day, he had threatened to destroy the family if they treated his sister badly, but over the past 6 years, Melissa had even been respected and treated like a princess in the Salvatore house. He chuckled. He knew that gentle treatment only further angered her. He had met with her husband on some occasions and although he did not like the man, he admitted that it could have been worse. Melissa could have been married off to another psychopathic Mafia boss. He chuckled at the thought. He
"WHAT DO YOU mean the favor is closed?" Melissa asked. "He closed it a few hours ago?" Jerry replied, standing near the door. "Does that mean that the kid is dead?" She asked, smiling slowly. Jerry did not reply to that, he simply stared straight ahead. Melissa stood up from the bed. She walked out, and Jerry followed her closely. "I want you to go and find some information," she said. "I am going to see my brother now, before I get have, I expect you to get all the information about what is really going on, okay?" Jerry nodded and walked out into his black sedan. He gave Melissa one last glance before driving away. Melissa started to get into her sports car but she stopped and removed her black sunshades as a large black SUV approached her car. It was not a threat, she was sure of that. After all, the security men at the gate of the estate would not allow just anybody in. The SUV slowed to a stop and she saw her father-in-law and brother-in-law. Is Julian my brother-in-law? She
THE RAREST BLOOD type… That phrase kept on resounding in my head as I sat on the hard vinyl chair after Marcus left. What does that even mean? I asked myself. Aren't there just 4 blood groups? When did one get rare? These questions bounced around in my skull. Laura came in to sit beside me. "Marcus told me," she said, clasping my hand in hers. "I'm very sorry, Olivia." I nodded. "They didn't accept my blood. I'm not of the same group." "Me either," She said softly. "But he's fine,""..for now," She sighed. "I'm going now. I need to wash," she looked at me and added. "You should too. I will stop by your house and get you a change of clothes." I nodded dumbly. She pressed her lips to my cheek and muttered, "Everything will be fine." "Ms Bennett?" I looked up to see a nurse. Her eyes glanced from Laura and then settled on me, she must have figured that with my disheveled look, I was the mother. "You can go in to see your son now," She said. "Just one of you." Laura stood up. "
MELISSA WAS BUMMERED. She paced the room of the secret motel she was staying in for the main time. Her henchman, Jerry was slumped on the chair, holding an icepack to his nose. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," He said. His voice was whiny because his nose was clogged with blood. "But he teamed up with the Irish. That was not something we had expected." Mellissa knew he was right, but she was still very angry at his failure. "I expected more adaptability from you," she snarled. "When you saw you were outnumbered, I would expect you to take the child and run.""That was what I was doing, ma'am," Jerry said. "The Irish bastard clobbered into me like a truck." She paced the dim-lit room angrily. Yes, the Irish were notorious for their drinking, but at the same time when incomes to brute strength, she knew how strong they were. "The only reason my cover wasn't blown was because the boy was hit," Jerry added. She stopped in her pacing and looked at Jerry. "What do you mean hit?" "A bullet," J
IT WAS THE worst moment of my life. It was a moment I never wanted to remember ever. Worst than Vittorio's guard hitting me in the neck 6 years ago to make me pass out. Worse than the feeling I had felt when I realized I was flunking economics in college. Even worse than how I had felt when my father died from some blood clotting in his brain. I was 18 at the time. This was the sickest feeling I had ever felt in my entire 26 years of existence. I had just felt some relief at seeing Jake unharmed, as I had clutched him, enjoying his small warm body and the smell of his unwashed hair. "Let's see who this is," Marcus had said. Through the torrents of joyful tears, I had seen him bend down awkwardly because of his bad arm, to remove the mask of the man. Then I felt a small jolt in Jake's body, and my fingers behind his back went wet and sticky. Blood. At that same moment, Marcus looked over at me, his face went pale in horror. "Out, out out!" He yelled. "Now!" "Oh shit!" I heard the