DELIA HERRERA POV "So, she's a drug junkie huh. I knew there was something suspicious about her after I saw her putting that drug in Celine's drink." I got out as I stared at the pictures in my hand, then glanced up from them to smile at Kail. "This is something Kail, but it is not enough" Kail shrugged, his eyes looking tired. "That was only what I could find out about her. So what are you going to do now? What do you plan to do about Belshar? He has totally incapacitated the whole family, he has us under surveillance twenty-four-seven and monitors all the collection" "Does he now?" I grinned, and Kail rolled his eyes. "I know my way around the measures he'd put in place, that is why I can see you without anyone finding out about it. So what is your plan and are you going to give me all that cash I asked for"I dropped the pictures and documents he'd gotten on Bella, placed my hand under my chin, and held his gaze. "You haven't gotten what I really want, Kail, so why should I gi
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV There were dead men everywhere, and as I and Stone navigated the Black Serpent mafia house, I could tell that they had all been taken unawares. It looked like they had been having a celebration when the attack happened. But even before that, they were probably poisoned, and those who survived were shot in the head. So this was why there had been no response from them. Xavier had visited them and left no one alive, the bastard. Xavier had always been quiet, so the sudden massacre raised a lot of questions in my head. He was acting recklessly and making enemies; he'd also killed everyone and didn't take over the city, so what the hell was he plotting? "There is no survivors Don Belshar. We checked the whole area, and all the men are dead," he said, and I grimaced. It was another dead end and the rage I felt grew suffocating. For how long was he going to run? For how long did I have to chase after the fucking vermin!"That fucking rat. Let him run all he wants
DELIA HERRERA POV Kail had been quiet, too quiet and I couldn't help but worry. Why was he stalling after I gave him all that money? The only consolation I had was that before he completely went off the grid, he'd told me that our plan would have to be delayed since Belshar was still on the quest for his revenge. But that was three weeks ago. I could feel my knees jerking rapidly, but I couldn't help it; I was fucking restless and worried. I wish Xavier would just stop running so Belshar would kill him and I'll be able to have him all to myself.That bastard was ruining all of my plans and it was starting to get on my last nerve.Someone snapped their finger in my face, and I jumped, my gaze meeting those of Enoch's worried ones, and I let out a sharp gasp, my eyes widening.I'd totally forgotten that he was in my office. He said he came to check up on me and had probably been saying something when I zoned out on him as my thoughts took over. I sat straighter and slowly blew out a
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar was looking for me just like Xavier said he would and I was starting to get curious about what his true intentions were. I had no memory to rely on except for Xavier's words, but there was a lot of evidence that left no room for doubt about what Belshar represented.Xavier said he wanted Belshar to suffer, wanted him to feel the same pain he'd put me through and he'd spent months preparing me for our revenge, and even though I didn't have my memory, his hate was enough to fuel mine.Belshar was a bad person; he'd married me against my will and then betrayed my trust by cheating on me with Bella, and just like he killed Crystal, he was going to kill me, too. The only reason he was looking for me was because he hated to lose; he hated to be challenged, and he hated for what belonged to him to be taken away. He was probably going to kill me himself, just like he killed his former wife. Xavier told me that I and Crystal had been best friends and the reason Bel
CELINE HERRERA POV "You shouldn't trust everything Xavier tells you, Celine," David said, his voice somber, and I glanced up at him in the mirror, my hands freezing in the process of putting on my lip gloss, my brows shooting up."What do you mean by that, David," I asked, genuinely curious. Xavier had been the one to tell me everything about my past and the gap he couldn't fill; he encouraged me to remember myself. But try as I might, I couldn't recall anything. All I knew was that I'd had a pretty decent life from what I saw in the news... there were occasions Jab at me being an illegitimate child here and there, but since I didn't have any memory of that time, I also didn't have the emotion that went along with it."Forget it," he started, and I shook my head and turned to face him."No, I can't just forget about it. Is there something Xavier is hiding from me? If you know something, you should tell me," I said, because even though I trusted Xavier, sometimes I felt as if he was o
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV I watched her expressive blue eyes widen as the words left my lips and I had so many questions, but I was only going to get my answers once she was back where she belonged. At home, with me. I could tell she was going to run and as she moved back, her body rigid as if she was waiting for me to whip out a gun and kill her, I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me. "Are you going to run away again right after I found you?" I asked, both relieved and furious. With the way she was acting, it was almost like she'd planned the whole fiasco with Xavier. Did she fall in love with him while in captivity? Was that why she chose to leave me and fake her death? Just the thought of it had me clenching my jaw. "What, Celine, do you plan to run away? Perhaps back to Xavier?" I asked and watched as her eyes widened and she trembled. So she'd been with him. She'd been with him all this time. Just the thought, oh Gods! I wanted to fucking destroy everything. Instead, I ju
CELINE HERRERA POV "Xavier" I called, refusing to believe that I was staring at Belshar. Where the hell was I? Raising my hand, I rubbed at my eyes and when I opened them, my spine went rigid when it was still him sitting right in front of me "Yes, it's me Belshar. You do not have to look so shocked," he rumbled, his deep voice causing tremors to race up my spine as I jerked my gaze from his. The room I was in was huge and unfamiliar. Was he going to kill me? How could I have messed everything up so badly? The plan had been to run into him, pretend that I couldn't remember who I was and that I'd just woken up to find myself at Atlas and was barely getting by all by myself, but I'd gone to blurt out his name the moment I laid eyes on him.I probably also gave myself away by reacting too vividly when he mentioned Xavier's name. But I'd been so out of it with fear when I couldn't reach Xavier, I'd just reacted and even now, I couldn't help but wonder if he was still alive. He hadn't a
XAVIER POV"You shouldn't have let her go. You should have made her yours when you had the chance," David said, and I glanced at him before lifting the glass of wine to my lips."I could have, you are right, but I didn't," I said and took a sip of the hard drink, but it didn't quite take away the ache in my chest. I glanced at David who stood watching me, the grim look of disappointment in his eyes glaring. "Do you want to know why"He clenched his fist and moved a step forward as if he wanted to punch me, then thought better of it."Because you've grown weaker. You and Belshar, Celine make you both weak, and you can't fucking see it. We were good, we had our own territory, and we ruled like kings before you learned about her, and then everything came crashing down. We are on the run like fucking fugitives and the only pawn we had to protect ourselves, you let her go without a second thought. You had her, and not once did you touch her, even when you knew she wanted you. What did you
KAIL NESSAR ABED POV "Victor stakov" the man gasped, blood spurting from his mouth. "It was Victor Stakov," he shouted, then screamed when I pressed the branding rod against his skin.The sizzling sound and the smell of burning flesh filled the room, everything mingling to create an atmosphere charged with an intensity that made my blood surge through my veins as if I were riding out a high God I missed this. How long had it been since I last tortured anyone? I'd made a lot of coffee and cakes to keep myself occupied but it was always so monotonous. It got boring too. This. This was exactly what I needed. Dropping the rod onto the burning coal, I raked my hand through my hair and stared down at the man on the table. His body was covered with my brand, his skin bruised and burnt.It was a work of art, really, but there were still some spaces that I hadn't marked, and my fingers itched to pick up the rod and fill it up."Please" he gasped, spitting out more blood. "Don't kill me. I
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV My heart was in my throat. Fuck! I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. I was speeding through the highway but I didn't care. I should have known that something like this was going to happen. "Argh" I roared, my hand clenching on the steering wheel. "I'm going to make you pay bastard"Just how was Celine feeling right now? My heart raced with every terrible scenario, Fear clawing at my chest, its icy grip suffocating me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't fucking wrap my mind around the fact that she had almost been hurt.I watched it all happen too.I veered off the road, my tires screeching as I turned a sharp corner. Kail's cafe loomed in the distance.When I arrived at the spot, I noticed that the car the hitmen had used was still parked out front. The windows were shattered and bullet holes riddled the door. My hands trembled, the rage in my chest suffocating. The guards were still standing around. Their greeting went unheard as the roaring
CELINE HERRERA POV Belshar still wasn't saying anything. Anytime I got a picture, I asked him about his day, hoping that he was going to tell me about the girl and why he was meeting up with her but each time I asked, he just told me how work went and how boring everything was while skipping out the most important thing I wanted to know about.There were six pictures so far, and I was starting to get angry. It all came with messages too. Messages that ruined my day every time I thought of them.Was it a reporter sending the images? Are they going to call soon to demand money or threaten to release the picture?They probably wouldn't, especially since the photos were not that incriminating.The most intimate one was the first picture I got and that was because the lady had been in a bathing suit.I dragged my finger through my hair and then sighed. "Should I just ask Belshar about it?" We had real enemies to worry about, so why was I allowing this to chip away at me? What was I so af
VICTOR STAKOV "I don't think our plan is going to work out, "Gabby got out as she strode toward my desk. "No, I know it is not going to," she said, stopping in front of me. She leaned toward me, her hands slamming down hard to get my attention. "Belshar is being very difficult"I glanced up from the laptop in front of me and then flipped it close when she arched a brow. Exhaling roughly, I inched close to her. "How many times are we going to go over this, Gabby""As many times I meet up with him and he ignores my very existence"I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Give it time, it's going to work. You're just too impatient for your own good""No, that's not the case this time. It's been two weeks. Two weeks of trying my damned best to get his attention. We've met a total of six times and I am still not close to getting his attention as at the start""You told me he spoke with you the last time you pretended to run into him at a conference""He also spoke to other women there," Gabby s
CELINE HERRERA POV "What's wrong. You look pale" Victoria noticed, her eyes flaring in concern.I shook my head and dropped my phone. "Nothing, I just got a message from Belshar that's all. I think he will be home late today""You don't have to look so sad just because he's staying out, I am here to keep you company am I not"I forced a smile. "Yeah, but you're not Belshar"She rolled her eyes. "I don't know what I do at this job of mine. I'm just getting paid for doing nothing""Isn't that the dream job?"She grinned. "It is, but sometimes I need to feel the adrenaline from working hard at something"I shook my head. "You are so weird," I said, then reached for the fruit and popped one into my mouth. It didn't taste good, not with the image I'd seen replaying in my head over and over again.Why had he gone to the beach? What was he doing with her?Did they know each other from before? He hadn't even looked at her at the restaurant. Was that all a facade?God, my brain hurts just thi
CELINE HERRERA POV "I think Kail is stalking me," Karen said and I glanced up at her. "What?""I don't know Celine... I feel like I've been running into him a lot lately""Define a lot""Like every day of this past week. He runs a cafe so how is that even possible? Just how much time does he have to be going around like that, and that too everywhere I go? We don't have the same bloody schedule." She turned to face me, her back resting against the railings. "Do you think I am being paranoid""No, I don't think so," I said since it was Kail we were talking about. Just because he turned a new leave and was acting like a saint now didn't mean that he hadn't once been the epitome of all things evil. Also, I'd noticed the way his gaze had been on Karen the last time we were at his cafe. He'd stared at her as if he was trying to see into her soul.Karen pushed away from the railing. "Should I be worried? I can't imagine what he could want from me""I think he likes you," Victoria chipped i
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV"Do you have anything to report?" I asked Christian. The words that Victor had said to me a week ago rang in my head, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. It had been a threat. Was he going to target my wife? My fist clenched. "There is nothing so far. All Victor does is work and attend conference meetings. He's been creating a network for his business that has started to work from how much progress he made this week, but rest assured, all eyes are on him"Was that what he was hoping for? For all of my attention to be on him while he worked in the shadows to strike those closest to me."I want you to plant a mole in his mansion. I need to know what goes on when he's alone in his house.""Already working on that. We'll have inside information soon.""Celine has been home for a while now, but she's going to get bored as time goes on, so assign more bodyguards to her whenever she gets the urge to go out""Yes boss"I let out a rough exhale, then glanced up at Chris
CELINE HERRERA POV I was out with Belshar, and the Sky looked so blue that I couldn't help but feel a little thrill as I gazed up at it."Nice weather, huh?" he asked as he took my hand in his.I nodded. "It's really nice""We just have to walk for a few minutes and we'll be at the restaurant. The doctor said you need to walk more than you already do""Do we have to do everything he says"He grinned. "We don't want to give that man a heart attack, so let's just follow his advice, okay? He worries over you more than I do"I chuckled. "True. Off we go then," I said, and we started to walk.The street was a lot quieter than usual, and all of a sudden, I couldn't help but think if a hitman was lurking in the shadow, waiting to get a perfect angle and take us out.It was all because of Victor Stakov. That was the name of the man who was threatening to destroy the peaceful happiness that I and Belshar currently shared. It was unfair. Belshar said he had eyes on him and that the man only s
CELINE HERRERA POV "You look exhausted," I said as I hugged Belshar. His scent was intoxicating, and I inhaled it greedily. His arms tightened around me."I missed you so much" he murmured against my hair, the sound of his voice resonating deep within me."Is that why you're back so early" I grinned. "I was sure you'd be another four hours""I couldn't breathe for that long without you," he said, his strong hands gliding down my back and sending delicious waves of pleasure through my skin."Oh yeah," I moaned, enjoying the feeling, but there was something off. I pulled back to examine his face.Belshar looked down at me and as I stared at him, he leaned close and tried to press his lips against mine. I moved my head back, evading his kiss as I noticed the worry in his eyes. He looked anxious too, as if there was something heavy weighing on his mind."What's wrong" I asked when he made no more move to kiss me. "Did something happen at work"He shook his head, then let go of me. "It wa