It did not take long for Vladimir’s men to land on the whereabouts of Angela Moretti. Locating her home was even more effortless. And to walk into it, nothing but a piece of cake.
Vladimir rigorously instructed Vector to ask his men to wait and keep an eye outside and cautioned him to stay in hiding until he said otherwise. Vector obeyed with a nod and walked out without a word. His men caught his steps and quickly shuffled to their feet, locking the door on their way out.
For now, everything was going according to plan. Yet, Vladimir knew better than to not have a backup. It had been way too long for him to be in this temperamental business, to know what were the odds of circumstances like these, to fully go according to how they needed. They rarely ever did. And he dreaded that today was going to be any different.
The reason was the woman they were here for.
Angela was a crafty woman. Mir knew her that much, and had heard of all the dirty jobs (an
Vladimir—no matter how many times he tried, shook his head or attempted to get his head in the game—failed to stop his mind from racing back to Aurora. His wife, who was supposed to be dead. She was alive. What the fuck?At first, the shock that arrived with this new piece of information felt like a new, warm wound. It didn’t hurt or sting, just hummed. But gradually, as he allowed his head to coil around the actuality and the betrayal it arrived with, the same wound started to bite and throb. Painstakingly. Making him ache at places he wasn’t even aware he was hurt.It felt like someone had torn a cardinal part of him and flung it away to decay some place in the sewer. It felt like someone had whacked him to death but didn’t finish the job, leaving him at their charity. It felt like someone had wrung all the air out of his lungs and he couldn’t breathe. He could not breathe. He could not breathe.A cowardly part of him wished to go back in time and stop himself from doing what he did
Vector looked himself into the mirror and saw a tall man in a perfectly tailored suit. His eyes were sombre and dull as ever and not even a shadow of a smile attempted to venture anyplace near his lips. He appeared in all business, precisely what they deemed him to be. Before leaving the room, he made certain to pick a briefcase from the side cabinet. It had all the papers Mir had asked for. Although Vector suspected they would get the time to make a bargain. Everything that included his boss was short-lived. But it wasn't always a bad thing. Particularly not with their business. Patience was a virtue but waiting for too long led to one's downfall. Despite his messed-up personal life, Mir's lack of patience and trust had led him to where he was today, on top of the underworld of business. He was the only one standing, the only one they feared. "Vector, wait!" Lizzy called out from behind. It was becoming a routine of sorts. She would say nothing when he was home but as soon as he rea
"Target in sight," Vector informed while Mir heaved in a deep breath.Mir and his men had surrounded the double-storey building. The site was outside of Venice, near San Marino, on a private beach, owned by none other than Anthony Miller.Anthony Miller was an American, settled in San Marino after being scrapped from the US army. They accused him of shooting his superior at point-blank range, exploding his head and tossing the brains all over the tent. After fleeing US soil, he tied hands with some powerful people. With all the classified information he possessed, he quickly became the most coveted asset to enemies with a much grander agenda.However, Mir was not paying the visit to the man for anything he prized, but for what he was directed to guard.Zarina.The one and only."How many of them are there?" Mir asked, monitoring the footage of the building from inside the car, which he had conveniently parked a few miles away from the targeted location.At first, Mir had every intenti
[ZARINA]“How about James?” I asked, my head tilting against the metal bars as I awaited the response of the only people who could hear me.In the beginning, the guards positioned outside our cells bothered us so much that we could barely say anything to each other. Their stony faces frightened us. The same faces that brought us food when we were hungry and doctors whenever my wound needed to be checked and Julie’s pain would get worse. But now, I can proudly say that we have learnt to ignore them as if they didn’t exist in the first place. We have a silent understanding. They don’t intervene in her conversation and we don’t cry or scream or make their life hell if it isn’t already.According to the same visiting doctor, Marco and Julie should expect the baby any day now. The fact, which, of course, terrified Marco to the bones. No way had he wanted their baby to be born in a place like this. It is proba
[ANGELA]“We need to talk!”he said.“You know where to find me.”I hear the voicemail for the fourth time before going ahead and deleting it entirely.When I was young, I used to be the girl whose dreams were bigger, greater, and higher than what society approved. There was nothing wrong with wanting to have everything. To have money and power and control. To be someone of importance, someone people knew better than to take for granted. The passion that ran through my blood never permitted me to settle for anything less.As a result of which, I did things that I am not very proud of. I used people. Killed, tortured, and burnt some until only their ashes remained. I have cut them limb by limb without breaking a sweat. I have lied, broken promises and betrayed whenever it was my life against theirs. But I don’t find my cruelty pointless either. They were all ladders that I needed to
[VLADIMIR]I’m nervous.It’s difficult to admit a weak emotion like this, but nothing else explains the way I feel right about now.I’m fidgeting. And that is something I never do. Save for the day when Hazel was born. Aurora was screaming like hell. I still remember. She was in so much pain. I was so restless, not able to do anything about it. It made me want to pull my hair out.I used to think that my life changed when I got married to Aurora.But that is hardly the truth.The fact is that my entire life turned upside down when I held Hazel for the first time. Her tiny little fingers in my larger ones. She was so little, so pure, I thought I didn’t deserve her. Every time Rose slipped her into my arms, I would wash my hands at least five times. Hoping to get rid of the blood–the sins–I committed all these years. I was afraid that I would taint her. Frightened that I would hurt her small
[ISABELLA] "This is not you, Isabella," Angela purrs softly under her breath as if sharing one of her many dark secrets that led to the downfall of some very powerful people. The defiance shining like a thousand rubies in her eyes cannot be mistaken for anything else. I know it. I have seen it. I know how irresistible it could be for most men. I know because someone too dear to me once was foolish enough to fall for it. "Why try to be someone you are not?" "It's actually quite simpler than you think," I tell her, just as brazenly as she is trying to be against the gunpoint of the trained mercenaries surrounding us. We are standing in the middle of an empty beach. It's dark, dry and cold out here. The streetlights standing high far behind us, appear like tiny man-made stars twinkling and brightening only a small sphere around themselves. The only sound louder than our hopeless chatter is the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
[LIZZY]“You’re back early!” I realize as I watch Vector saunter inside through the main door. He stations the briefcase in his hand next to the corner table of the couch. Grabs me by the waist and pulls me in for the most passionate kiss of my life.By the time he pulls away, I’m breathless. And a little excited.“What’s up with you?” I ask him instead, grinning like an idiot, absolutely sure of the heat burning my cheeks and the wetness gathering between my thighs.He decides to ignore it. Instead, he sweeps his lips to brush against the crook of my neck. I wheeze at the abrupt outbreak of kisses all across the accessible skin his lips find, arms flying up to slither through his short hair.“Vector!” I gasp in exploding anticipation, body growing hot as hell while goose bumps occur at places I wasn’t sure it was possible to feel them. In response to my soft moans and whimpers, he makes a guttural sound from the back of his throat. Lifts me up with a relaxed effort and wraps my legs