BIANCA’S POVThe man sneered at me, making no effort to help me steady myself. “I should ask you that, young lady. This place is closed to outsiders,” he frowned. He looked angry about something, and being lost and alone with an angry man didn’t seem like the best situation for me.“Could you help me find the exit?” I asked instead, feeling for anything behind me that I could use as a weapon while I was still on the floor. The man looked angrier, reaching into his pocket for something I could only pray wasn’t a gun. He seemed too angry to be a normal person, and his resemblance to my missing boyfriend became slightly more pronounced, save for the difference in their heights and intonations.Alas! It was, in fact, a gun. I cursed my luck. Everything was going against me today. I should have told Darren immediately that I had no idea where I was. Luca was too young to lose his mother.I kicked up my leg, hitting him in the shin. The man yowled, and I scrambled to stand up before he coul
BIANCA’S POVI looked properly at the man, seeing the fight drain out of him completely. "I am so sorry," he breathed, his eyes still fixed on Luca. Darren snapped his head to look back at me, silently asking what was happening. I shrugged. I couldn’t answer what I didn’t know."We’ll be leaving now," I said pointedly, getting Luca into the car first. The man seemed more mellow at the clear show of distrust I was displaying."I’m Giovanni, Sandro’s immediate younger brother," he said, stretching out a hand to hold my car door just as I was about to enter. Darren quickly intercepted, placing a forceful hand on Giovanni’s and removing it from the door."You can introduce yourself without getting so close," he said, standing between Giovanni and me. The air was tense, and I half-expected someone to throw a punch. Instead, Giovanni sighed and backed away."I want to apologize to her," he said to Darren, giving him a slightly hostile look. I couldn’t see Darren’s face, but I was certain he
DARREN’S POV I had not been myself all day, just like Bianca hadn’t been herself all week. After hearing about Luca’s near kidnapping, fear had taken hold of me. I loved Luca; he was the biggest light in Bianca’s life, and the thought of anything happening to my best friend made me shut down. Then we saw my trashy boyfriend kissing a woman like some spineless bastard. I hadn’t really liked him anyway—I didn’t feel anything between us. He wanted to use me as a ladder to the top, and I needed something to pass the time. It still hurts, though. I needed to get to the roots of Alessandro’s life to protect Bianca and Luca because the man was becoming more and more convoluted. What could one man need a torture facility this huge for? No one could convince me otherwise, not even the fake happy vibe the interior decoration gave off. Something definitely screamed dark about it all. Bianca and Luca hadn’t noticed anything, though, with Luca droning on and on about how the spies were coo
BIANCA’S POVI was momentarily thrown into contemplation. Why would Luca ask such a question? I had already previously told him that Matteo was his father, way back since Matteo’s wedding, and my son was neither forgetful nor stupid. So why was he asking me this so seriously?I told him that Alessandro wasn’t his father just as Darren entered, and my little munchkin looked at me with grievous eyes. I couldn’t blame him—I wished Alessandro was his father too, instead of Matteo. But did it really matter who his father was as long as he had me?“Mommy, I look a lot like Daddy,” Luca said slowly, as though he were a fifty-year-old man speaking to a two-year-old. I regretted letting him and Darren hang out so much—his sass had completely rubbed off on my baby.“Not really. You look like me. You barely look like your father,” I said gently as Darren began driving. I hadn’t even realized we were already moving because of the bizarre conversation I was currently having with my son. He really
GIOVANNI’S POVI had come into the base extremely angry. The one person I respected more than anyone else was my older brother, Alessandro. I respected him a lot more than even our eldest brother, and I had just had to sit through an hour of some whore claiming that my brother was her boyfriend at some silly event I attended to assure everyone that my brother was not dead or dying.I hated going to events in general, especially when some idiot was talking my ear off. It was the anger from it that I had brought into the base.I hadn’t expected to bump into a woman on the other side, and my first thought was that she was a plant from the enemies. So, my anger multiplied when one of my brother’s hidden men came out solely to save her life.I was affronted by the women constantly hanging off my brother. They couldn’t have done that to the previous Alessandro, but he had gone softer over the years, preferring to avoid conflict instead.I had been incredibly prepared to threaten her out of
GIOVANNI’S POVI was led deeper to see the man. He didn’t seem like much, but he had still apparently not volunteered enough information about the person who sent him. All he had given was her name. That was, thankfully, all I needed.I left the men to do their work and went to the other side to get into our base and look for my brother. He had been more silent than usual these days, and I had first thought it was because he was worried for our youngest brother. Now I knew it was because of his woman and son, although I needed to grill him for not telling me I had a cute nephew already.I twirled my gun and lightly continued into the base. I didn’t know when Darren would call me; I didn’t even know if he would actually call me, but the thought of the possibility made it difficult for me to hold on to my anger. So the walk to the base was filled with less anger than the initial one.The smell in the area became unbearable, signaling that I was close to the entrance of the base. I broug
LEO’S POVI had not slept for more than an hour at once ever since Alessandro called me. He had quickly changed, reverting to the man that invoked fear. I felt grateful that he had begun dating Bianca before this happened, as I felt like his bond with her was the only thing tethering him to not stray too deeply.We had to cut off contact with the girls so they wouldn’t be associated with us and therefore be exposed to less danger. It was easier on me than Alessandro, because I hadn’t known Charlie for too long. I could only hope Alex never got to her, and if he did, I would end him.Alessandro, however, had completely thrown himself into work. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him; he was forced to stay away not only from Bianca but also from Luca. I knew how much both of them meant to him. It was equivalent to me not being able to see my mother.The one good thing about the war that was sure to come this time was that my father was truly embroiled in it. He had confessed his earlier i
GIOVANNI'S POVMy brother was quieter than usual. Usually, whenever he was angry in this manner, he yelled at me for no reason, but right now, he was staring at the wall, his eyes a dark cloud of resentment. I wondered what he was thinking, but I smartly prioritized my well-being over my curiosity. I would be as quiet as a mouse until Leo came back with Salvatore, so I wouldn’t have to be the only one in the room with him.His aura felt malevolent, vaguely choking, and as sharp as a brand-new sword. Where exactly was Leo with Salvatore? Did they both decide to make a break for it? I couldn’t slip out of the room without him noticing I was in there in the first place, and the most foolish thing I could do right then was alerting him to my presence.Right when I was debating making a run for it, a knock sounded on the door. I almost cried in happiness—Salvatore and Leo were here already. Alessandro made a low, curt sound that Salvatore interpreted as a command to come in. I was appalled