Emma I wake in a foul mood; I think because Niko dressed after his shower and then took his pew on the small chair at the desk for the rest of the night. It seems he was just as exasperated. He constantly looked back at me, appraising me before sighing as if he wished he weren't here with me. So I fell asleep, chastising my choice all night, but now that I'm here, I might as well follow through with my instructions. I rise late into the morning, having pretended I was asleep for hours. I don't move an inch, and I most definitely don't roll over to face Niko. And I knew he was awake; after all, he'd been on the phone non-stop all morning. I suppose one might think it's not polite to listen to another's phone calls, but it seems that for most of the morning, he's been talking away to Luca and Mass at home. I only know that because someone asked about me, and he gave a detailed list of everything I've done up until then, so it would only be Luca showing such a need to know my move
My target, Auschwitz, will apparently mingle just before four p.m. He's a man of broad knowledge and is a significant investor in this dinner night for a charitable event for the local hospice. How can a man so dedicated to philanthropy work with someone like my father? The worlds he has his feet in are a far cry from one another. "This monkey suit is not even fitted," Niko moans for the hundredth time about the ill-fitted suit that my father had dropped off this morning. "Did you pack your own? You can change it if you want to..." "You know I didn't, Queen. Jesus, is you man here yet?" He asks, looking around the room as if looking for someone in particular. "I haven't seen him, but then again, we haven't moved from this bar." "I have instructions to keep you safe, Queen, but mingling isn't a safe operation." I frown, isn't it safe? "Oh, he's here," I note as Niko's eyes glaze over for the third time. "Where?" He whispers as he leans in, his hand brushing my lower back wh
LucaI'm livid, so beyond upset that my life has all but halted as I stare down at the photos sent to me from Team B, which is in charge of Emma's care in Germany. Niko, my most trusted confident and number one, not to mention my protector, has his hands all over my wife as he has her caged against a bar.Several people are looking on, caught incidentally by whoever took these photos, exasperating my heartache that Emma has been seen in public with Niko in this manner.Did he not get the message that night I beat Aldo to a bloody mess? Did he not hear the underlying warning I issued to every man on my compound once four of our men lay dead at our feet?I've waited for them to arrive home for an age. Word has it they landed not long ago, and we all know how short of a drive it is from the airstrip to my compound.My veins are laced with the whisky I've consumed in the last few hours. Betrayal is plaguing my every thought, especially where Emma is concerned, considering the lengths I
"Oh look, a welcome home committee," Niko drawls with his funny wit that knows no bounds."Take him," I growl unhappily, swiping that stupid fucking look right off his face.I watch, amused, as Mass clamps his large hand around his bicep, and I hate that Niko doesn't fight an inch.That's a sure sign of fucking guilt right there."What are you doing? Where are you taking him?" Emma asks with confusion.She takes two tentative steps inside the house, watching Niko walk alongside Mass."Luca?" She looks at me."How does it feel, Emma?" I question, barely holding onto my anger."How does what feel?" she asks with an open mouth and wide eyes."Don't play coy with me, wife!" I snarl."Is this about me escaping? Because if it is, I have no shits to give, Luca. I shouldn't have gone without telling you, but you shouldn't have trapped me inside like some bird with no wings—" she tells me, moving to walk behind me.I glance around, noting all of my men have disappeared, which is a good thing.
EmmaThe dimly lit bathroom felt like a maze as I stood still, desperately trying to push away the fear that threatened to engulf me. I extend my arms with cautious, trembling hands to map out the familiar layout. The tips of my fingers grazed the cool, tiled walls, guiding me with tentative reassurance as I found the door.Grabbing the handle, I try again to open the door, but it's useless. Deep down, I know that. I heard the locks slide into place, threatening to take my sanity with them.I'm truly trapped, at his mercy.I visualized the space in my mind's eye. The shower cubicle stands to my left, while the solidity of the bath is to my right. The vanity unit, adorned with its familiar array of toiletries, will be nestled against the wall that houses the door.Seeking solace, I step back, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dimness. The back of my body contacts the shower cubicle door, making me feel the need to ground myself. Collapsing to the floor, I struggle to control my rapid,
It's one thing my husband locking me up but to drug my sister?That's overstepping a damned line.Its anger now coursing through me, but Anna gasped once again, reaching for something on the bed. I watch her pick up A4 pieces of paper, her eyes appraising whatever it is that she's looking at."Oh, Emma!" She cries. "How could you?""What?!" I mutter, walking Bianca and I over to her in a panic.She's holding a multitude of images of Niko and me.He's caging me into the bar as Luca had described, but from the camera's point of view, it looks as if we're embraced in a kiss. Niko's hands are all over me. And myownhand finds its way to the back of his neck as if I'm holding him to me while we embrace.I swallow loudly, getting a look from both Anna and Bianca."That isn't what it looks like—.""Said every cheater going," my sister snorts with disbelief."Bianca," I cry.She looks at me with wide eyes that, this close-up, I can see is bloodshot. She nods, looking from me back to the pictur
LucaThe walk from my bedroom is more complex than I thought. The look of horror and disappointment in Emma's eyes was already plaguing me just as much as her crying words as she begged me not to leave her alone in the dark bathroom.Am I overreacting?Is there more to this than meets the eye?Surely not, as my father says, coincidence is not a factor in our life.But even with that said, I struggle to put one foot in front of the other as that niggling voice tries to convince me otherwise."I don't know whether I should shoot you now or have my fun before I end your fucking life," I mutter as I walk into the cell that Mass and Enry are holding Niko in.Unbelievably, Niko dares to look at me with confusion, believing that faking through this encounter is his best bet."Why am I down here? Where's Emma?" He asks, looking behind as if he's expecting her to jump out and reveal something, anything."Emma is none of your concern, Niko."He chuckles, throwing his head back as the sound reve
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
Walking me to the bed, he places me down softly at the end of the mattress, leaning with me as he deposits me on my back. His arms lay on either side of my head as we kiss passionately, his tongue swiping against my own as we share the saliva living in our mouths. My hands find their way into his hair, fisting gently as a wave of pleasure flits through my lower stomach, making me attempt to close my legs finding that it's an impossibility with him between them. Luca takes that as his cue to laugh before pulling back, taking his lips and tongue to kiss down my throat, between my breasts. Overmy stomach."One day soon, this tummy will swell with our child, and I'll worship you at your feet for giving me my second reason to live," he whispers against the taught skin of my tummy."Your first?" I breathe."You, of course, Amore Mio.""Soon," I say with avid hope, jumping back to the thought of a child living within me. I think that's something we both want now, something I can be thankful
Emma"Luca—," I drag out as he slams me into our bedroom door carelessly. The night was a success, and I've officially agreed to work for his name much as I promised to remain by his side at our wedding, not that there was ever any cause for concern regarding protecting Luca's legacy. It's always been at the forefront of my mind; I've never needed convincing."Fuck you're so enticing, Bambina. Why did we fight for all those weeks?" He asks me as he kisses up the column of my neck beneath my chin, only to pull away and start on the opposite side of my neck from my clavicle to my ear. His beard ruffs against my skin, sending slight tingles through my neck."It was—fun," I admit shyly because, amid the heartbreak, I found some solace in connecting with Luca after so many years apart, even if it was unfavourably. "Oh, it was?" He asks, pulling back to stare at me with an incredulous look of confusion, but his hands never leave my waist, his fingers flexing as he says his following words.
“Very well, Franko. Perhaps you'll be my first enemy. How joyous," Emma laughs manically.So sexy..."You bitch, you haven't got that title yet. It belongs to Bianca; go lay down under your husband and stay in your place!""Enough," I growl unhappily. "Emma is the next Don Rossi. She'll be taking over in my name. All assets will pass between us, and we will rule with an iron fist over both cartels," I tell him, walking closer to where I grab his shoulder. Squeezing down, I have him turning into a bitch himself. "If I ever hear you talk to my wife like that again, you'llbe fertiliser formy plants.""Stop," Maria Densel, his mother, cried as I make him kneel at my feet."Do you understand, Franko?" I ask, ignoring her as I press hard on his clavicle."Yes," he spits through clenched teeth. "Very good, stay the fuck away from my wife and sister-in-law. And keep far, far away from me."Walking away, I note every damned person staring my way. They all look shocked that I'm letting the man
My father's home is filled with black-coat men who appraise Emma hanging on my arm and silent women who wish to be her. I watch with a clenched jaw and tick in my muscles as they look at her from head to toe with need or envy.I hate these men, hate that I have to work alongside them, but needs must, and I'd rather be breathing than dead in a ditch somewhere. And regarding the women, they should be jealous.I move my hold from Emma's hand to her waist, pulling her into my side as I attempt to stake a claim on her. But honestly, with the cartel, your wife never belongs to you, not really. This is one of the main reasons I'm choosing to have her lead. It'll be me in the firing line, so to speak, which is a vast improvement over potentially having her taken in an attempt to use her as leverage. My father's face flashes in the corner of the room illuminated by the many chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and my mother held closely to him, much as I'm holding Emma. His eyes appraise us
Luca"You look—ravishing," I whisper against the side of Emma's throat as I kiss my way down the column of her neck. She's freshly showered and tastes sweet like her body wash, which still resided in my bathroom cabinet even all these years later. It's sweet, like marshmallows, and reminds me of the old Emma. The one that smelt delicious out in the breeze. Nowadays, she uses a more floral body wash when she isn't stealing mine. She's wearing a full-length gown in deep emerald green. It splits up her right leg, opening at the thigh whenever she moves. A silent invitation if I've ever seen one. It makes me want to strip her and do unspeakable things until we fall asleep. But she's needed downstairs, and I'll be damned if she misses this ceremony for the second time in a row. We're at my parents' home, and she's in my childhood bedroom. The decor is the same, and my things remain untouched. A photo of us as teenagers stuck by her sits in the mirror before us. I stare back at us, admiri
Glancing upfront, my eyes clash with Mass's in the rearview mirror. Concern etches his face for me, something I wish he hadn't shown me. I glance out the window for the drive over to the airstrip. It's only a short fifteen minutes, the very same one I ran off to with Niko when I escaped the house Luca tried so desperately to cage me into. God, things have changed so much in such a short amount of time. As we pull onto the tarmac, I note the plane, a few cars, and four crates are being moved to be unloaded from the small private plane on the strip. "You go, I have a phone call to make," Luca encourages as Mass walks around the car to open my door for me.Though he takes out his phone, I presume he's making excuses for me to do the work. He's told me umpteen times that I must make a name for myself to prove my abilities. And I know this is all in the name of proving I'm capable, but the daunting task of revealing our wishes to his father seems overwhelming.Walking in step beside Mas
Emma Over the next week, Luca has an increasing number of jobs circulating from his father compared to the weeks before. I think this has to do with the two-week rule of marital bliss that any heir is given post-wedding before the run-up to their takeover. We are now spending the majority of our time driving around to docks and airstrips to intake the likes of drugs, weapons and girls.Luca has been deferring all decisions to me, even with his father's disgust, but I've been making them, and Luca has been acting on my suggestions. Dimitri's a very clever man, and there's no way he hasn't gotten wind of something shifting between Luca and me. I hope he doesn't take the news so badly that he makes a rash decision regarding my life because the possibility is high, especially in this line of work.This evening, we have a dinner at Dimitri's. Several of the Don will be in attendance, as I'm pledging myself to the Moretta name. This should have happened some time ago, but I ran off to Ge
He's playing cat and mouse with her, and usually, I would laugh, but he did agree to fucking marry her, and he ought to know if he were to have a fucking affair to keep it private. Bianca doesn't seem to know when to stop, her shrill scream filling the damn house as a sharp slap sounds like breaking glass.All quiet on their front, and for a moment, my interest in their little lover's tiff gets the better of me.I almost stand up; I envision glancing out of the dining room to find Bianca somehow overpowering one of Niko's many girls. Not that I think that would be a possibility. He has specific tastes, and all of his girls are on the heavier side of muscular. Bianca is so small, petite and fucking young compared to the type he usually brings home."Ooooh, little Bee. You shouldn't have fucking done that," Niko growls lowly, his voice menacing. A thud sounds, I presume him pinning Bianca to the wall. "Go, Andrea," he stipulates surprisingly. "I'll do it again, don't you worry. Any gi
Luca Something has changed in Emma. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the more I sit and stare at her as we eat dinner, the more I realise she's mulling things over that I honestly don't want inside her mind. They say your worst enemy is yourself, and I'm beginning to believe that.I've been brooding since Niko passed her those photos back in the docks. I know he was making a point of treating her above me, but the pair of us doing such things has made a rod for our own backs.Perhaps I was wrong for taking her with me today, but it was the lesser of two evils.Leave her here where Bianca could do anything she wished while I was away or take her to oversee the work that, one day, she'll eventually take over per my request.I hadn't particularly thought anything over beforehand, and now I'm questioning my decisions.Gritting my teeth, I suspend my fork, and the steak speared on it before me. Emma eats heartily, moving from each food group when the last disappears.We hadn't eaten