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Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The front door slammed behind him, the sound echoing in the silence of the room. My whole body flinched, and I gripped the sheets tighter, holding onto them like they were the only thing that was real around me. My chest felt hollow, like he’d ripped something out of me on his way out. And no, it wasn’t the physical part...I could live with that. It was the words he’d left behind, cutting me open and leaving me bleeding in ways I couldn’t see. I still smelled like him—whiskey and his cologne. I let out a shaky breath, but it felt like it wasn’t enough, like I couldn’t get enough air. He was gone. My throat burned. I thought I was done crying, but the tears were there again, stinging my eyes. I looked around the room—his room. The bed was a mess, the black sheets wrapped around me. His glass was still on the nightstand, empty now, just like the bottle beside it. The faint morning light from the window stretched across the floor. I ran a hand through my hair, m
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ We stood outside the courthouse, my FBI badge clipped to my belt. I forced myself to appear calm. The world was watching, even if I couldn’t see the cameras. Logan stood beside me. The faint smell of coffee clinging to him like always. “Viv,” Logan said softly, leaning closer so only I could hear. “We’re going to find her. You know that, right?” “I know,” I replied. “You’re not alone in this. We’ve got everyone on it, Viv. We’ll get her back.” I nodded stiffly, though I avoided looking at him. He meant well, but his words scraped against the rawness inside me. If only he knew. I didn’t need them to find Felicity, I’d made sure she was out of their reach. I needed them to believe me. And if I cracked, even for a second, it would all come crashing down. The faint rumble of engines pulled my attention, and Logan turned his head, squinting down the street. A line of sleek black SUVs rolled up, gleaming under the harsh midday sun. “Costello,” Logan muttered, his
IMPORTANT If you haven’t read Mafia Men VI – Alessandro’s Games, stop right here. Seriously, close this book, go read that one, and then come back. Trust me, you’re going to need the backstory, the drama, and all the twists to fully get what’s about to happen here. This book kicks off right where Alessandro’s Games left us hanging. No time skips, no recaps. You’ll want to know who everyone is, why they act the way they do, and what’s already gone down to set the stage for what’s next. So, if you haven’t been introduced to the chaos, deception, and mind games Alessandro and Viviane wrapped up in the last book, hit pause on this one. Read it, live it, and then come back to this book and get ready for more. •───⋅☾ ☽⋅───•DISCLAIMER This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental and unintentio
Viviane☩═✦═☩The warehouse was cold, and the air was filled with the smell of salt and iron. I kept my face still, breathing evenly as I took in the scene in front of me. Pallets stacked with bricks of cocaine stretched toward the ceiling, row after row of neatly wrapped product, each one stamped with a symbol I’d come to recognize too well. It was enough to drown the streets in a storm of white powder, and the thought twisted in my gut. Tomorrow, every ounce of this would be out there, touching lives, ripping through neighborhoods like a fire set by men who didn’t give a damn about the damage.Nikolai stood at the center with arrogance he wore like a crown. He moved with such confidence, hands tucked in his pockets, an amused smile playing on his lips. To him, all of this was his empire—New York his kingdom, and its people his subjects, whether they knew it or not.Marco poured a generous amount of whiskey into his glass, raising it with a smirk. “Gentlemen, a toast,” he drawled,
Viviane☩═✦═☩I was slipping, and I knew it. It was like trying to hold onto water, and the more I fought, the faster it slid through my fingers. Alessandro was everywhere—in my thoughts, in my dreams, in the way my pulse spiked every time I heard his voice. He’d wormed his way into my mind, and I hated it. I hated how much I thought about him, how some part of me had started to crave him. How I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was losing pieces of myself, piece by piece, and he was the one holding them. Standing alone in my bathroom, steam still clinging to the walls, I pressed my hands against the sink, holding myself in the coolness of the marble. I stared at my reflection, wrapped in nothing but a towel, hair damp and sticking to my skin. My eyes looked harder, but underneath that hardness, there was a crack, one that had only started to show since I came back from the island.“Get a grip,” I said through clenched teeth, as if saying it would snap me out of this. Who was I
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩I grabbed my phone and called my driver, “Change of plans,” I said, jaw tight. “Switch out the champagne for… I don’t know. Juice. Something kid-friendly.” “Yes, Boss, anything else?” he asked. “And make sure everything is… appropriate in the back,” I cut the call before he could respond. What the hell was I doing? My pulse kicked up, an ache right behind my temples. I was taking a little girl along on a night I’d planned for her aunt? And the plans I’d had for her aunt weren’t exactly kids-friendly. I’d planned to fuck her in the backseat of the limo, while my driver drove through the city lights. The image played out in my mind: her breathless under me, our world reduced to that dark leather seat, her only focus on me. But with this little change of plans? Guess I’d have to wait.I had made space for Viviane’s niece like it was the most natural thing in the world. Couldn’t even pretend this wasn’t my idea because it was. The kid wasn’t just some extra lugga
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be feeling… this. After tucking Felicity in, I lingered at her bedside, watching her breathing settle, the soft glow of the nightlight casting a shadow over the side of her face. I whispered goodnight, as I stepped quietly out of her room. And then I stopped. There, in the dull light of my living room, was Alessandro. He’d taken off his jacket, leaving him in just that white linen shirt— still slightly unbuttoned at the collar—and black slacks that fit him so perfectly. I swallowed, forcing myself to breathe. He threw a careless look my way and I forgot to breathe all over again. And in that moment, I felt stripped bare, as if he could see every flicker of doubt, every forbidden thought I’d tried to bury. He was making this harder than it should be. I’d always prided myself on my indifference toward men and their feeling, the armor I wore so effortlessly. But with him, that armor was starting to crack, and I could feel that
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ I woke before her, sunlight slipping through the curtains and casting a faint, almost angelic glow over her face. For a few quiet moments, I allowed myself to just watch her, taking in this version of Viviane—the version most people would never see. Peaceful. Still. I reached out, tracing a finger along the freckles scattered across her cheeks, those damn freckles that made her look softer than she’d ever admit. Leaning down, I pressed a slow, careful kiss to her lips. She stirred, shifting a bit before curling deeper into the covers, murmuring something softly in her sleep. I smiled, sliding out of bed, my gaze drifting to the bookshelf across the room. Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked over, half-expecting some business books, maybe a few classics. But as I scanned the titles, I let out a low laugh. Damn, Freckles. The first book I pulled out was called “Images You Should Not Masturbate To”. I snorted, flipping through a couple of pages and s
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ We stood outside the courthouse, my FBI badge clipped to my belt. I forced myself to appear calm. The world was watching, even if I couldn’t see the cameras. Logan stood beside me. The faint smell of coffee clinging to him like always. “Viv,” Logan said softly, leaning closer so only I could hear. “We’re going to find her. You know that, right?” “I know,” I replied. “You’re not alone in this. We’ve got everyone on it, Viv. We’ll get her back.” I nodded stiffly, though I avoided looking at him. He meant well, but his words scraped against the rawness inside me. If only he knew. I didn’t need them to find Felicity, I’d made sure she was out of their reach. I needed them to believe me. And if I cracked, even for a second, it would all come crashing down. The faint rumble of engines pulled my attention, and Logan turned his head, squinting down the street. A line of sleek black SUVs rolled up, gleaming under the harsh midday sun. “Costello,” Logan muttered, his
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The front door slammed behind him, the sound echoing in the silence of the room. My whole body flinched, and I gripped the sheets tighter, holding onto them like they were the only thing that was real around me. My chest felt hollow, like he’d ripped something out of me on his way out. And no, it wasn’t the physical part...I could live with that. It was the words he’d left behind, cutting me open and leaving me bleeding in ways I couldn’t see. I still smelled like him—whiskey and his cologne. I let out a shaky breath, but it felt like it wasn’t enough, like I couldn’t get enough air. He was gone. My throat burned. I thought I was done crying, but the tears were there again, stinging my eyes. I looked around the room—his room. The bed was a mess, the black sheets wrapped around me. His glass was still on the nightstand, empty now, just like the bottle beside it. The faint morning light from the window stretched across the floor. I ran a hand through my hair, m
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ I swirled the whiskey in my glass, watching it catch the dim light from the rising sun. The bottle was empty now. I downed the last of the whiskey and set the glass down. I glanced over my shoulder. Viviane was still there, half-buried in my sheets. Her pale skin almost glowed against the black fabric, fragile like porcelain, like something I could shatter with the slightest pressure. Her breathing was shallow, the faintest hitch in each exhale told me she was alive. She wasn't crying anymore, but I’d felt her tremble once in a while. Now, she was still, too still, except for her fingers. They were curled into the sheet, clutching it like a lifeline. I turned back and stared at the wall in front of me. My shirt hung open, the buttons undone, the whiskey burning its way through my veins. I wasn’t drunk, not nearly. I wanted to feel every second of this. Loyalty was sacred, and she had none of it—neither professionally nor personally. She betrayed the FBI for
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ His tongue darted out, licking a tear from my jawline all the way to my cheek. The wet heat of it made me shudder. "You're such a pretty crier," he murmured, his lips brushing against my ear, "You should cry more often. It suits you." In an instant, coldness coursed through my veins. My chest tightened as I tried to blink through the haze of fear and disbelief, struggling to make sense of what I was hearing. I have heard these words before, haven't I? His head tilted slightly to look into my eyes, his lips curling into a harsh, twisted smile that made my stomach churn. No. No, this couldn’t be happening. I searched his face, desperate to convince myself I’d misunderstood, that I was imagining it. But then, his voice drove a spike of ice through my heart. “That’s it, Red,” he murmured, his grip on my neck tightening just enough to make me gasp for air, “Let me see it. Let me see all that pain you’ve been hiding.” My insides froze, the words slammed into me so
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ The words snapped something inside me. My blood boiled, my fists clenched, and before I could stop myself, I stepped right into his space and yelled, “The only reason you’re going to win is because of me!” His eyes flicked to my lips, just for a second, before snapping back to mine. The movement was so quick I almost missed it, but it was there, like a chink in his armor. And then, just as fast, his expression shifted back to cold indifference, like whatever I had to say didn’t matter. Like I didn’t matter. My chest rose and fell with the force of my breathing, adrenaline pounding through my veins. “You want the truth, Alessandro? You want to know what I’ve risked? What I’ve done for you?” I pursed my lips, trying to hold my tears back but failing. “The truth is, without me, you wouldn’t even know the FBI’s next move. Without me, you’d be in the dark, still trying to figure out who’s feeding them intel, who’s planning what.” I stepped closer, “You’re winning thi
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Alessandro stood in the doorway, his broad frame blocking out the faint light spilling in from the foyer. He didn’t bother to turn on the lights; the dim glow from the corner lamp was enough to show his sharp, chiseled features, which were set in an expression so dark it felt like the temperature dropped several degrees. He didn’t speak at first, just stood there, his cold, penetrating gaze slicing through me, making my stomach twist into a knot. When he finally did speak, his voice was deep, and smooth, not rage-filled like I had expected, no, it was like velvet dipped in acid. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.” I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “I—” “Don’t,” his gaze pinned me to my spot, silencing me with nothing but his eyes, “Don’t insult me by pretending you have a reason I’d want to hear.” He moved further into the room, pulling off his tie like it irritated him. Tossing it onto the back of the armchair, he kept his eyes locked on mine, un
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ The dining room in Nikolai’s penthouse wasn’t designed for comfort. The long oak table stretched the length of the room. We sat around the table for hours, picking apart the trial with the lawyers, dissecting every move the prosecution might make. The room reeked of stale coffee and stress. By the time the lawyers finally packed up and left, I was one wrong word away from losing it. Then Grayson walked in. My control was slipping...had been since the moment Francesca’s name came up in the news. Every instinct screamed to get up, to demand answers, to start breaking things until someone gave me what I wanted. But the real fucked-up part was that my first thought wasn’t about whether Francesca was alive. No, my mind went straight to Viviane. To what she might be planning. To whether she’d use... that against me. The thought of her dragging my darkest secrets into the light made my stomach churn. The kind of secrets you don’t even whisper to yourself. The k
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ I had a checklist. A short, brutal little plan to tie up every loose end before midnight. The first item? Another piece of proof. Ethel Harrington’s testimony was a disaster. It reeked of theater, every stutter and hesitation felt staged, she was probably paid by the Costellos or maybe threatened to change her testimony. But Jonathan Cross didn’t lose control of a witness like that unless he wanted to. He’s a shark, and sharks don’t flail. He did it on purpose, they were throwing me under the bus purposely... I sat at the desk, staring at the thick transcript in front of me. The Bureau’s official seal glared up at me. I flipped through the pages, my fingers trembling slightly, scanning lines. “…Pursuing prosecution risks destabilizing ongoing operations. The Bureau’s priority is to integrate Costello resources into covert national initiatives…” I flipped to the next page... “…Agent Kane’s current actions jeopardize the Bureau’s objectives. To protect long-t
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Do you know what it feels like to be surrounded by people and still feel like you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean with no lifeline? That’s what it felt like sitting at the defense table today. Fitz, Logan, and Warren were right there, close enough to touch, close enough to remind me of all the bridges I’ve burned but no one spoke to me. They didn’t have to. Their silence said it all: I was disposable, and if I weren’t crucial to this case, I’d already be a footnote in someone else’s report. My stomach churned, but my face stayed neutral. Years of training couldn’t prepare you for this. My eyes betrayed me, flicking to him against my better judgment. Alessandro. He was sitting there with that smug confidence he always had. He leaned toward Goldstein, listening intently, but then, for the briefest second, his gaze shifted. And it landed on me. My heart stopped. His eyes narrowed, not with warmth or familiarity, but with something colder, harsher.