I HATED THIS feeling of waiting. I fretted and paced the length of my living room anxiously. "Come and have a seat, Olivia," Laura said. "Stressing yourself out won't help the situation." I turned to look at her angrily, but I saw the concern in her eyes and I felt drained of energy so I went to sit beside her. "Marcus and the police are on to this," She said, trying to console me. I nodded absently. "But I don't see what Marcus is going to do," She said. "Is he in the military or something?" I chuckled dryly. "Or something is right." I stood up again and walked to the window. I could not sit still, knowing that my child was out there somewhere. "Do you think he has eaten?" I asked turning to look at Laura. "I'm sure he has been given something," Laura said softly."What of his nut allergy?" I cried. "He might have been given something to trigger the allergy. That could be disastrous–" "Olivia!" Laura snapped. "Get your shit together!" I clamped my mouth shut. "Would you rath
OLIVIA, IT WOULD not be any good if you crash the car and we died in an accident," Laura said beside me. "Or if the cops pull us over for overspending," I turned to look at her. She was gripping the side of her seat tightly and her face was white. I looked at the needle on the speedometer. It was pointing at 90mph. Okay, she is right. I eased my feet off the gas and slowed down. "You are still driving faster than the speed limit," Laura said. I scoffed. "Cry baby!" I sneered. I do not know where the desperate daredevil in me came from as I weaved through the traffic. "I thought Marcus said you should stay at home because it might get dangerous," Laura said. I scoffed again. Like I was going to obey his instructions. He had found my son and expected me to stay at home drinking coffee while waiting for him to come.I subconsciously pressed on the gas again. On the call, he had not said anything about the state of Jake. If he was… I could not bring myself to finish the thought.
JULIAN ADJUSTED IN his seat again, for the 5 time in a minute. "You did not have to come," Marcus said, but Julian only scoffed in reply. They were both in an SUV. The rest of the men were in another SUV following them. "This might be a trap," Julian finally said. "Yeah, maybe," Marcus agreed. "But for what purpose,""You forget you punched him in the mouth in the last New York meeting we had," Julian said. Marcus scoffed. "That is a past and forgotten incident already, besides, news must have gone around that I had a meeting with Declan. So, him, killing me will serve us no purpose except start a brutal gang war as he would be the lead suspect for my murder.""You hold yourself in a pretty high esteem…" Julian muttered adjusting again as the car bounced on the bumpy road. "It's like you think you can't die or something."Marcus laughed. "Maybe I can't." He pulled on the sling that his arm was encased in. "I'm sure if the bullet had gone to your head, instead of your arm, you wou
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
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
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. "
"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
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
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