Isn't it funny that both my second and third stated the same thing within the space of an hour?Am I really isolating Emma from me?Is my behaviour such a shock to her system?I can't sit and believe that not after she turned into a complete stranger at the hands of our fathers. And don't get me wrong when I say that it's clear to see she was trained for a reason.Emma's not the naive child I once doted on. She's complex, dangerous and an unknown entity to me now.It hasn't slipped me by that I know nothing of the woman I married.Niko shrugs as I glance back at him from the corner of my eye as I slip the knuckle dusters over my fingers. I keep my hand hidden before me, my back to the bastard. "Mass, hold him for me, will you?""'Course," he agrees, even if feebly. "How loud will you scream, Niko? How many men will you send a message to? How many men do you believe will take their chance just as you have despite the death count hitting five now?""You'll lose them too, Luca, just as
EmmaAfter seeing the incriminating photos back in the bedroom, my heart races with the need to protect Niko at all costs.I grab my knife and strap it to my ankle, and I'm about ready to fall into hand-to-hand combat with Luca if needs must. But I hope it doesn't come to that.Racing through the house in a sprint, I note the angry stares of a few of Luca's men, but they don't stop me as I walk down the stairs leading to the house's base level, the cold seeping into me instantly. My anxiety about the past haunts me, and memories surface just as quickly as I blink the days spent below my father's home in the name of training.I can't dwell on the past, not now, not when Niko's in grave danger for no good reason because of me. God knows how much time has passed and how much time Luca has had to do whatever he deemed fit in the name of punishment. I can't explain it, but there's something pulling me to protect him, to ensure his safety despite the fact that I barely know him.Bianca stop
"What did you do?" I ask as Niko over-talks me."Get out, queen. Let us men fight; it'll all blow over soon enough.""You don't understand... the pictures. They've manipulated them to look as if you were...kissing me," I whisper. My words burn my tongue as Luca watches with keen interest. My body gravitates forward, placing itself in front of Niko as if I were the shield to save his life."Manipulated, or showing the truth?" Luca asks."He wouldn't touch me like that," I gasped. "You heard what Mass said, he's my brother—."Luca assesses me as Niko leans up and onto his feet. Suddenly, I'm flung behind him, his body covering me as he staggers forward unsteadily."So it's true?" Luca's voice changes. He seems somewhat resigned, a flicker of uncertainty filtering through his gaze as he assesses whether I'm lying.Once, he would have known if I were lying by just looking at me, but it seems I've mastered fooling him, and it seems he's still deciding whether I am telling the truth.Sadnes
EmmaWe struggle despite Niko trying to aid Bianca and me in getting him up the stairs. He's a dead weight and is moaning far too much with every movement.I worry about his organs and his blood loss, but I have to grit my teeth and concentrate on the task at hand.Eventually, we get him up the dark stairs and into the lower level of Luca's home. He half-limps there as Bianca and I shoulder some of his weight to his office. Luckily it isn't far from the basement door because he's a wall of fucking weight despite being a lean man."Stay here with him whilst I find Anna," I stipulate to Bianca as he falls into his bed dramatically. Her eyes widen with fear, but I ignore the niggling feeling and turn to leave. "Wait—." She calls after me as I reenter his office, hoping to look for Anna."What is it, Bianca?""Are you sure you'll be safe out there...by yourself?" She asks with deep interest."I'll be fine; go watch him. Please?"She huffs but nods anyway and then turns back and walks i
LucaContemplating my life is not a task I like to take part in. But here I sit, five tumblers deep, as I assess every fuck up I've made since Emma came back to me.I love the girl so profoundly that my behaviour stems from fear of losing her for a second time, yet this time, it is me who is making the decisions; it's me who is pushing her away.I can't believe I hurt her as I did in the kitchen. I can't believe I allowed that insidious side my father nurtured to take over and cause her harm.Her, of all fucking people.Why must I keep making these mistakes?Why can't I treat her as I always did when we were younger?Can she even love me after seeing the monster I've indeed become?These are the things I contemplate in my alcohol-induced haze.Emma never resurfaced from Niko's room, and though I could have barged in when the doctor let himself out, I knew it was the wrong thing to do.So instead, I stood in the darkness of the unlit hall, waiting for her to leave the room, hoping that
"Your mother warned me that you seemed off the other night, but I didn't want to admit that perhaps this takeover has put too much on your shoulders too quickly. But this," he bellows, stabbing his pointer finger into his phone. "This is very, very disappointing.""I'm sure it is, father.""I never raised you to be this type of man," he adds with a fist on the desk."We sell women to the highest fucking bidder; we hurt women every day of our lives. Force them to uproot everything they know, to lose their families and dreams and aspirations to sell them to the next man, one that probably has a weird ass kink that the girl has never even heard of yet a few measly marks on my wife's neck is too much for you to handle?" I scoff. "Oh yeah, besides that, you never taught me to lay my hands on a woman.""We sell women to men that are vetted. They are safe, fed, looked after," he shakes his head. "I have a team checking on each girl that passes through our hands at least once every few months
EmmaI woke up from a restless night's sleep to face a new day with a fresh perspective. Throughout the night, I had been nestled between Bianca and Niko on his bed whilst cuddling Bianca, but in the morning, I turned to look at Niko.He was still clearly in pain, his abdomen showing worsening signs with mottled purple hues. Despite the doctor's miraculous revelation that nothing was broken, Niko was seriously bruised, and that coincided with his lack of sleep overnight.I spent some time simply observing his breathing, silently contemplating how to best care for him. And though I lay there promising myself not to think about the events of last night, my mind wandered. Had my behaviour triggered Luca's response just as much as his triggered mine in the kitchen?It feels as if we've been conditioned to tiptoe around one another for fear we'll lose one another again, and I know that my father dislikes that I was called home to fulfil his promise. So, are we exasperating the problems r
The mafia business follows mafia protocols. Luca obviously upset his father enough to provoke this reaction from him. Besides, I'm not sure I want to argue with him after he's lost an evidentially large amount of blood.I pour us both a drink, passing one tumbler to him as he assesses me with hooded eyes. I have no clue what he's thinking right now, and for once, I see the pain etched on his handsome face. The liquid burns my throat as I swallow the tumbler full, but after the last few days, I feel that I need something to steady me and look at his arm.I'm not squeamish, not really, but I was right. After ripping his shirt open, I note his shoulder is a bloody mess with flesh sticking out of a close proximity shot from what I can only presume is a pistol. Blood trickles out the hole and down across his skin as I assess him flexing the hole."You need a doctor; it's still inside—," I note as the gold bullet shines back at me and the blood surrounding it dribbles down onto his peck."
Continued:My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile.I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me.The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand."Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably won't believe m
BiancaThings are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind.I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now.Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who?So, I defer. I accused her of cheating des
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need. Bu
Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into thin air
Continued:"Stop calling me Bambi.""Don't you like to be reminded of who you belong under, Bee?" "Benji, I—."Surprisingly, he pushes past me, heading for the opened suitcase on the bed. He shoves a few loose articles inside, then walks off to bathroom returning with a wash bag that goes in too.I blink, like a retard. What in the hell?"Don't play games with me, Bambi. Sit down," he scowls at his hands, speaking in the same tone as before. And yet his whole demeanour changes. He drops the knife on the bed, disregarding it as if it hurt him to hold it up to me.I frown at the door I'm still stood before and I talk in a genuinely frightened and confused voice."Okay, okay. Where do you want me?" I ask."There," he point to the desk."I'll sit," I tell him, moving with my hand before me to show I'm playing his game. Even if it seems demented at this point. I walk to the desk, and I see a notepad and pen supplied by the hotel. Taking the pen I write down on the notepad.What the fuck i
BiancaNiko executed his plan very promptly leading me and grabbing the girl as we compiled out of the small door that led us back here in the first place. But things don't continue as expectedly when I start to veer off from Niko with the encouragement of a hand that surely isn't his."Let go of me," I hiss in pain as I'm dragged by the wrist through the crowd of people. The hand holding my wrist is cold, and unlike Niko's warm and inviting touch, I recoil very quickly from the individual leading me away. I try to turn away using my weight as a tool to pivot in the direction I want to head in, my aim is to head back to the group of people that are now lingering outside the door. Back to Niko, back to safety but my feet lose purchase on the floor, my body being lifted quite easily as if I weighed nothing.The strong smell of aftershave fills my nostrils, a stark reminder of him, of Don Densel."Let me go! Let go of me," I begin to shout.Pushing away from the body I find myself crus
Continued: Fuck, I knew bringing her here would mean trouble. No girl enters the den if not to be sold. "Stop," I hiss at Alexandra's struggles as I circle in a hurry. The weight of her stare has me wilting, yet I cannot concentrate on protecting her as I should. I should be hurrying her out of the hotel, getting her into the getaway car. Yet I'm failing my job because of Bianca's whereabouts. "Niko?" Alexandra's voice shows her confusion as she looks up from where my hand is crushing her wrist to my face. I allow myself one moment to look her in the eye, and then I continue to look around the dispersing people for Bianca but not before I see her shoulders square up rather than drop in relief. "Yes, it's me. Please stop trying to get away from me. I've lost Bianca," I worry aloud. "She's over there with Mr Densel," she points out. I halt, turning the way she looks as I see the tail end of Densel leading Bianca through a door at the back of the restaurant's main room, much as I l
NikoI barely had enough time to glance at Alexandra's way, let alone devise a plan with Bianca to lure her away from that table and to safety. I took too long entertaining Bianca and failing to ignore the men's stares when, in fact, I should have been devising a quick escape plan as per my brief.I start thinking of big distractions. Having something like a fire creates chaos seems the best bet. We could grab her as everyone rushes to safety, but the Densels obviously do not want to play around.This Passover seems to be happening far quicker than many before it, and Alexandra is in serious danger of being lost to the Densels.No one has a clue about their bases or where they take their girls, but they live off the grid somewhere protective, and no soul has breathed a word of their whereabouts in years. I've lost a fair few girls, and none have ever shown up afterwards so I fear that's the reasoning for the lack of information. And unfortunately each girl is a life etched into my bra
Continued: Again, I feel the weight of each gaze around the room. Are they seriously waiting for me to eat so they can perve on me some more? I push aside my discomfort and begin to eat. My mind replays our conversation, and I get the intense feeling of needing to push Niko on the subject of his private work. What's their deal, anyway? "There she is," I note, seeing one of Ivarni's sons holding onto a girl's bicep. She looks far from in perfect condition. Despite ample make-up, there's a noticeable darkened mark around her lip as evidence she's been maltreated unacceptably. Her blonde hair screams fake, especially against her tanned skin, and she looks highly dishevelled. Niko tips his beer up, and now I see why he ordered a drink with such a big glass. His movements are half hidden by the fact that he's drinking, but of course, he looks back their way as I try to place the girl's face. Her name is in the back of my mind, yet I struggle to recall it or who she is. But I recognise