EmmaI'm unsure why I'm upset that Luca will be gone for at least forty-eight hours or more; it's not like we spend every waking minute with one another in some loved-up bliss before our seemingly fake wedding.The thing is, since he put this contraption on my finger, we've spent less than half an hour with one another, and twenty-eight minutes of that was at the dinner table with his parents.Unfortunately, I was tasked with getting rid of his parents on top of the emotional turmoil that he was walking into an ambush with a man who had already tried to kill his father because that's what this is, isn't it?An ambush.My training makes me question all of their sanity, but right here and now, I have his mother to contend with."Take a walk with me?" She asks, leaving her husband's side to grab for my elbow in encouragement.I don't point out that I have no shoes; I know it's a ploy to give the two Moretta men time to talk.Who am I to turn down their need for privacy?"Sure."She walks
"I'm sure you've seen his mood swings firsthand, and you felt the slick sweat covering his skin. He was lost after my husband had you sent away. He searched for a new way to fill the hole you've always been able to fill for him. But you must open your eyes to see you were too in love, far too soon. A teenage boy is reckless at the best of times, but throw in the weight of the crown that would one day be bestowed upon him and then a girl, one he fell irrevocably in love with so early on that his life started and ended with you from the age of nine..." she chuckles humorously. "I think you'll agree that you would only have been a distraction, a target to have been taken, knowing the young Moretta would die a thousand deaths only to save the girl he saved once before. Many call it childish love; my husband and I chose to call it stupidity of the heart.""E allora, avete deciso tutti il nostro destino come se non avessimo voce in capitolo nel nostro destino? Forse se me lo avessi chiest
LucaI haven't endeavoured to pack much because I don't plan on being away for more than a few days. Still, I ensure I have one spare set of black combats and enough straps to hold more guns to my body than ever before. I have a vest to ensure I don't get shot in vital places that might well help me bleed to an untimely death.My legs and arms will have to be sacrificed, and if they decide to shoot to kill, then my pretty face is of no use to me in the face of death.The importance of this kill strikes through me, making me cognisant of the fact that an attempt on my father's life has not happened in a long, long while.Perhaps not since he was gearing up to taking the throne from his father.Is the timing coincidental?I think not.I'm just slinging the bag over my shoulder, having given myself the pep talk to walk out of this house, intent on not returning until my charge is complete when Emma enters our bedroom. Her eyes are wide, her cheeks flushed as if she were only warming up f
Reaching for her ring, I turn her palm up, stroking the date sixteen years ago when she had almost drowned out of fear of falling into less than eight inches of water. It would have been so easy for her to be able to save herself, but she panicked so much that she failed the only natural instinct we are born with. Survival. That day, she failed to do the only thing our brain knows from the moment we take our first breath, just like she's panicking now.But what she doesn't know is I'm the snake. I slide in and slip out without so much as a batted eyelid.This man will be dead before tomorrow and, if not then, the early hours of the morning after.He doesn't know what's coming for him; he doesn't understand the gravity of his treachery, nor does he expect the son of the man he chose to execute to avenge such a decision.My father stated that it was a stupid move to have me fly out there, ready to kill him. And that's why he won't be expecting it. Everyone expects us to keep our securit
EmmaI can't sleep; I know I should, but the beat of my heart has changed; it's painful. Uneven. Luca walked out with half of it when he left with his team. So here I sit in our bedroom where he left me.I know the importance of ensuring a message is sent, but surely, they have hitmen who could carry out this formidable task.I grab the book on the bedside table and read it all night.The bedside light lets me see the words on the pages, and I devour over thirty chapters before the sun comes up.Is he there yet?Has he set up his sniper to kill the man who tried to kill his father?Does he have someone on the inside to give him intel on the target's whereabouts, movements, and routines? Or will he make it more personal, merely intersecting the man to show him who decided to kill him in retaliation?Is it wrong of me to want him to do the latter so the man knows his worth and mistake all in one go?That's what I'd do; I would have got him alone and tortured a hole into his leg, stabbi
A girl walks along the hallway half-dressed, being escorted by a man in black as they appear every so often in the windows. But Niko's appearance, who walks outside in nothing but a pair of lowly hung lounge pants, his body bronzed like any Italian god, that intrigues me. His chest chiseled to perfection, a deep v running down into those pants. My eyes rise back up to his face; his usually sleeked-back hair now acts as a curtain to either side of his face. A cigarette hangs from his lips as his bellows smoke into the air above him.Heat lances through me at the sight of him, and I don't allow the deep-seated emotions for Luca to pass judgment that I find his most trusted man hot."I see you, little spy," he whispers, barely audible for me to hear, yet I see his eyes seek me out, our gazes clashing in a way they shouldn't.Heat unfurls in my core, and for a long and adulterous moment, I allow my mind to imagine him fucking me out here in the tree line.I have only one memory to go off
LucaTravelling to France is usually more for pleasure than business, but here I lay on the mountainside with my target in his rather large abode, ready to kill him. So now it's being tinted by blood thirst instead of awe.I'd been watching all day, and he hadn't exited the house alone as Niko had suggested he might. This means I am running out of patience, and I barely have any to begin with.Do I just shoot through the window of his apparent office that he's failed to leave, or do I wait it out another day in the hopes of a clean shot that will no doubt kill?Kill.That's the demand that flung through my father's lips. So that decides it; I'll have to wait him out.One of my men army crawls beside me, Luke, with his sniper; he sets it on the floor and starts to look through the scope as I side-eye him once.He's middle-aged and has toured more times than usual, with his count being thirteen. He's the best shot in my men besides myself, so I see why they sent him.The team must be g
"Job done?" Mass, my number three, jumps to attention as he throws his half-smoked cigarette to the floor before grinding his foot on it with a huge smile as if already knowing the answer."Job done; let's get home to the others," I nod, slinging my gun inside the boot and grabbing a bottle of water because I'm more than parched after laying out under the beating sun."Good, Niko has been hounding me since sunrise this morning. Apparently, that woman of yours virtually killed our morning men from the tree line of the garden," he grimaces even though a smile still tugs at his lips as if he likes the idea of her being able to do such a thing."Virtually?" I ask."Paint gun, apparently. Red paint, too; she's quite something. Isn't she boss?"My jaw clamps, and my teeth grind; I don't appreciate how my men look at my soon-to-be wife."So let me get this straight?" I ask, leaning against the seat I've chosen in the back. "Emma shot all of the men on the morning rotation with a paint gun, a
"Mass!" I yell as I enter the house; he's there waiting for me as if knowing I would be calling upon him. Perhaps he did; it is his camera rotation this afternoon, even though he only got home late last night after taking out Pierce. "She got away, didn't she?" He asks me with a sly grin. "Have you had her followed, or have you failed to keep her within eyeshot as I demanded?" I hiss in annoyance. Mass looks at me with feigned ignorance, clutching his chest as he pretends to absorb my annoyance. "We have a car on their tail and a car waiting at the airport, as per Niko's request," he reveals. "So he got away with her?" I ask, angered a little. Not that I should be upset she has him with her; at least her back will be covered whilst she tries to kill my arms dealer on her father's whim, and on that thought, having Niko there to protect our arms dealer if the need arises is another plus for him having gotten away with her. Then again, thinking back over the way he's been looking
Luca "Emma, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have locked you in here," I mumble, ashamed as I think over what I had done not forty minutes ago while walking into our bedroom. I could have handled that meltdown with a vast difference, yet here I am, making mistakes at the first fucking hurdle. I shouldn't have locked her away like this, but I saw her stubbornness out to play, and I feared the worst, not giving her a chance to show her loyalty. Yet even as I scold myself internally, my admonishment dies as I stand in the bedroom doorway, the open balcony doors revealing Emma's escape route. I don't need to look around the room to know she's escaped the bedroom, but I do chastise myself internally because I never thought to lock the balcony door. Despite myself a smirk surfaces on my face, Emma is tenacious. Something I'll enjoy punishing her for when I get my hands on her. Something she'll soon learn is a favourite pastime of mine inside the bedroom. Peering outside and over the railing, I
"Luca's livid," Niko interrupts me again, his eyes flicking up as I raise my gaze to him again."You're texting him whilst we're in the air, in an aircraft?""There's WiFi; it's called iMessage..." he retorts with a small laugh. Yet his demeanour changes quickly when he realises I'm horrified."I wouldn't put you at risk, queen. Why'd you think I took your place? We can't have you harmed before you take your place beside Luca at the head of our family. And we sure can't risk your ability to give us our next reigning Moretta.""Is that all you people think about, an heir? I'm worth more than my wombs ability to create a child for the next generation," I spit angrily."That'll be your most cardinal job, queen. The ability to ensure the bloodline continues is no joke. The respect earned from such a task is next to exemplary. Think about it: you're the only one able to give us the little kids that we'll all cherish. Why do you sit and underestimate the importance of such a task?" "I don'
EmmaI'm silent for longer than Niko likes, but I don't know what to say, so I recite my escape with precision. He hisses when I tell him I reeled in the help of three of our men, but I think his annoyance is for the one in particular who helped me leave."You've assured his death in your little game of escape, queen. How does that feel, knowing you've sentenced him to that because of your stupidity?""If I weren't locked in a room with no way out, I wouldn't have needed help at all—Luca's my husband, not my keeper. You can't expect me to sit like a princess in my ivory tower. I have responsibilities, ones I cannot escape.""Your responsibilities now lie with your husband, or have you forgotten the mafia etiquette?" He sighs. "Do you not find it... a coincidence that your father has you leave the country on the same day you pledge yourself to the Moretta name? Or are you that gullible that you hadn't thought about that?" he whispers lowly.I glance at Matteo again and find he's lookin
"You're a target now, you know this, Emma. I won't allow you to go wherever he wants you to go. I can't lose you, Emma... I love you...""I love you, too," I almost choked. God, I've been craving to hear those little words from his mouth since our wedding night. But I can't let my emotions rule me. "Please love me enough to know this is what's needed of me, and I'll be back. Sooner than you think.""No, get someone else to do it. Fuck, I'll go instead of you, Emma.""This is family business, you're not a Rossi.""Then he should go himself," he mutters angrily. Throwing his hands up in the air as his body language starts to become hostile. He marches away from me as I stand mute and stuck to the spot. He then marches back. His hands are fisted, and his eyes are dark and angry."You're N.O.T. going!""You cannot stop me, Luca. This is my choice; besides, if not me, then it'll be Bianca, and I can't put her through that!" I yell to him in desperation.But even though I'm trying to protec
EmmaFour days have passed by in utter bliss, and even as I stare at Luca sleeping beside me this morning, I still feel the need to pinch myself at the thought that, one, we're married, and two, it seems to be blissful.He's stayed in bed with me the last three mornings, sleeping far past his usual six am wake up, and I know I should be honoured that he's taking this time to be with me, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. The fear I have is palpable. Being in the mafia makes me cognisant that bliss isn't a thing, and yet here we are blissfully happy with one another.Reaching to stroke his cheek, I can't help but smile. The skin there is prickly with the four-day-old beard growth, which funnily enough suits him, and I've told him as much, and he's agreed to keep it if that's what I want. He's been so amenable that it's unreal, yet I don't fully trust anything he's said and done because all I can ask is, why?Despite our marriage being typically normal, things in the mafia don
Emma's movement snaps me out of the memory. Yes, you could say I've been putting off that dire conversation for fear that our wedding day was ruined before it even happened. "Shall we join them?" Emma asks me, breaking away from our kiss, facing the house and our men training."It's our honeymoon; there's no need to train.""Perhaps I want to, Luca. I enjoy it," she tells me, dropping my hand as she walks towards the house and our men.I smirk, shaking my head that she seems just as unable to turn off that side of her. But in honesty, her need to train has me worried also.What does she think will happen?Why does she need to train anyway? It's not as if her father intends for her to take over the Rossi name, which is just another thing I need to investigate. "Emma!""Yes, Luca?" She turns to face me, continuing to walk backwards effortlessly. "Are you afraid to lose again?""Oh, Bambina, all bets are off now that I own your body. Didn't you know? A woman's body can be traitorous wh
LucaI grab for Emma as she squeals like a teenage girl again. We're running through the gardens outside the house. The breeze whips her hair around me as I turn her around to kiss her as the need overtakes me. Our lips move upon one another in a rush, neither of us being able to let the other go as she giggles, and I groan deep in my throat. This morning is all but forgotten, and I've heard nothing from Niko concerning whether my father has demanded I must do as I'm told regarding the charge of not but one but two men. That didn't slip my notice, Niko's cheeky slip that there was another's death left in my hands upon ridding the most known ruler of one of the biggest New York syndicates.Pierce Addisol is an American gang member turned ruler known for his smuggling and heavy-handed punishments that he metes out without due reasoning.For this reason, he's been on my father's shit list for some time, and though he holds secrets we never want to get out, a truce has always been adhe
"Good morning," Niko interrupts my thoughts."You wanted to see me?" I answer unhappily."Yes, your father has set the ceremony for four nights time. He has requested both yours and Emma's attendance.""You didn't automatically accept?" I ask, sighing as I look at the clock on the wall behind him.It's seven am, and I should be rousing Emma from her post-orgasmic sleep to take her again. Yet, here I am attending this pointless meeting with my number two because of his lack of foresight to accept the invitation to Emma's acceptance ceremony."I did accept, but I must inform you of your last task," Niko grimaces."And what shall that be, praise tell me?""Pierce Addisol, his death is your last commitment before your father agrees to begin the passing of his title.""He wants me to kill the head of the New York syndicate?""He's being trialled for unknown reasons; his death is cleaner than the possibility of his mouth running wild.""And he wants this done within the next three nights?"