Johnson’s POVI rushed out of the auction house, my heart hammering in my chest. I had to get away from these men and to the border before they did. But as I ran down an alley that would lead me to my car, I saw something that stopped me dead in my tracks.Jake and his men. They were at the end of the alley, crowded around a figure on the ground. I watched, horrified, as they kicked and beat the woman. And even more horrifying, there were two police men not even five feet away. At first, I was certain that the police would intervene. I mean, it was the POLICE after all. But the police did nothing. They only stood by and watched as Jake and his men kicked the figure on the ground.Cautiously, I took a few steps towards the men and the figure on the ground. It realized it was a woman – a woman who looked an awful lot like Trista!“No!” I hollered, rushing towards them, overcome with fear. Had they found Trista? Had she been here after all? It was possible! Maybe she hadn’t left yet. Or
I…I loved her, I realized as my breath hitched in my throat. I had to save her from these men. But how?Just then, a phone rang. One of Jake’s men answered it. He nodded and then hung up.“That was the Milan border. The car with the woman and two men are being detained there.”“Looks like we were right in the first place,” Jake said. He kicked the corpse, rolling her onto her stomach. “This bitch here side-tracked us. Come on. Let’s go. The man in the picture must be with her. The hunt has begun. Time to kill the right slut. Am I right?” Jake smiled sardonically at me.“I’ll come with you,” I told Jake, my mind racing.“Good,” Jake replied. “I need to see you kill her yourself.”I shook my head.“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Jake asked, narrowing his eyes. “Cousin, it seems like this woman is very important to you. You've been acting awfully unusual.”“I hate her for what she did on me,” I told Jake, scrambling for an excuse. “You’re right she’s important. The bitch betrayed me. But I ca
Johnson’s POVI zipped through the streets like a maniac. Jake blew through several red lights and I had no choice but to do the same. I laid on my horn as I went, alerting the few cars on the road this late at night to get the fuck out of the way. My heart raced and my palms were thick with adrenaline-induced sweat.Jake had agreed to let me have Trista and the men she was with, but I didn’t trust Jake. He was a loose cannon and capable of anything. It didn’t take much to make him snap, so even though we had a deal, I had a feeling he’d break it without hesitation. I had no idea what I would do when I got to the Milan checkpoint. The police were crawling with Jake’s informants. I’d seen firsthand that the police were useless when it came to Jake and his men. They’d detained a car at the Milan border FOR Jake. I had no faith that they’d help me out in any way. If we got to the border, and Jake decided to kill Trista and Liam after all, there was no one to stop him. Except me.Jake
Johnson’s POVThe bullet ripped through my shoulder. A bolt of pain ripped through my shoulder, so intense it made me dizzy. Jake chuckled at my reaction.I expected to die. I expected to bleed out from the bullet wound. So did Jake and his men. But as they held me, something unusual happened. The bullet wound spurted blood at first, thick and warm. Within seconds though, the blood stopped. The pain still radiated through my body, but I could feel it healing, as though my muscle fibers were somehow weaving themselves back together with extraordinary speed.Jack frowned, his eyes narrowing. He could see what I felt, that my wound was healing with remarkable speed. He didn’t like this. Flummoxed, he marched right up to me and grabbed my collar. He tore open my shirt to see the wound for himself. Sure enough, the hole from the bullet was already growing over with fresh skin.“I thought that was a special gun,” one of his men said.“Shut up,” he seethed at the man. Then he turned to me. “
Johnson’s POV“My father wanted to hand over the family business to me,” I told Jake. “But I wanted to go to New York.”“Because of that bitch?” Jake asked smugly. I nodded.When Trista left to go to the US, I felt a void in my life. I realized how much she meant to me. My feelings for her were complicated since we were such good friends. But I missed her so much it hurt. And the twins too. So I’d asked my dad if I could follow her to New York and set up business there. My father had been very reluctant at first. He wanted me to stay in Italy for the family business. He was preparing me to take over, but he said there were a few loose ends he needed to tie up first. I argued with him. I was a grown man and if I wanted to go to New York, then I could. He disagreed. He said my responsibility was to the family first.But then, one day, he just changed his mind one day.“My father allowed me to go to New York because there was someone he wanted me to find.”My father’s instructions had be
Trista’s POVBack upstairs in the small cottage, Dagny rummaged through her cup boards. She produced a small, crystal jar.“This ointment will make Liam well enough to travel back to the United States,” she told us. Darren eyed the small jar and I looked at him for confirmation. He nodded, indicating that the ointment was fine.Dagny walked over to Liam, lifted his shirt, and removed his bandage. I gasped when I saw his wound. It was red and angry-looking, with small black veins spread out over his stomach and chest like a spider web. Dagny scooped up some of the ointment with her fingers and roughly rubbed it on Liam’s stomach. Liam inhaled a sharp breath and winced.“That hurts,” Liam said as Dagny continued to apply the ointment in a belligerent way. I had to admit, she could have been a lot gentler. Dagny didn’t reply to Liam’s comment so Liam put his hand over hers to stop her.“Dagny, do you have some sort of problem with me?” Liam asked. “You’ve been very polite to Trista and D
Trista’s POVLiam and I arrived in Paris with plenty of time. We had dinner at the airport and waited for our flight to board. They called us for boarding and we both took our seats in first class. Liam offered me the window seat but I insisted that he have it. His wound was bothering him – I could tell – and if he sat by the window, he could sleep more easily with his head against the wall. As we settled in, a strange feeling washed over me. I realized that Liam and I had never travelled together. In all our years of marriage, we never strayed far from our pack, at least not as a couple. I glanced over at him. He was fastening his seatbelt.‘How odd,’ I thought to myself. ‘Here we are, together on a plane. I never, in a million years, could have imagined our first trip together would be like this!’“Champagne?” the stewardess asked, her eyes bright. Champagne was one of the perksof flying first class. Liam wasn’t much of a champagne drinker, though, so I went to shake my head and
Trista’s POV“A confession?” I asked, momentarily stunned by the seriousness of his voice and expression. What could he possibly have to confess, I wondered. But a moment later, he continued.“It wasn’t just after Lucy betrayed me that I wanted to win you back,” he said, his voice steady.“What? What do you mean?” I asked. Where was he going with this? What was he insinuating?“This is hard for me to admit, Trista. But I wanted you back long before that.”“Liam,” I started. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this, but he cut me off.“You’re right. Lucy and I travelled a lot. We went to tons of beautiful places. Tropical beaches with white sand. Stunning European cities with ancient architecture. We even did a safari in Africa.” He paused.“Sounds nice,” I said dryly. What was his point? I already knew all this. I’d seen pictures of him and Lucy at various galas all over the world. Her in a long silk dress, him in a tuxedo, both smiling, hand in hand. I’d also seen the pictures of them on
Trista’s POVMy breath hitched in my throat as I stepped out into the courtyard. Was this really happening? Was I finally going to see Johnson with my own two eyes, after all this time?It was a dark night, with only a sliver of the moon in the sky. But even in the darkness, I could see his form, standing there, facing me, his shoulders slumped forward.It was him. It was really him!My heart swelled with an intense feeling and I couldn’t hold back by emotions.“Johnson,” I said, rushing into his arms. He held me so tightly, one arm wrapped around my back, the other hand cradling my head. I took in his scent, the familiar, comforting scent as I pressed into him. Tears streamed down my face, and I let him hold me for a long while. We both trembled at the relief of seeing each other again.Eventually, he broke the embrace, holding me back and studying my face.“Look at you,” he sighed. “As beautiful as ever.” He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. The touch of his thumb on my ch
Trista’s POVAs soon as the children and Jules got back, I sat them all down. I tried to keep the fear out of my voice as I told them we were going on a ‘special trip’. I wanted them to be excited, not frightened.“Another trip, Mamma?” Billy asked, his eyes wide. “On a big boat again?”“No,” I shook my head. “This time, we’re going to a very special place. It’s deep in the primeval forest.”“Primeval forest? That sounds scary,” Belle said, recoiling on the couch.I rushed to her. “Oh sweetheart,” I said. “It’s not scary at all. I promise. There are lots of people there. And they will all be excited to see you. I would never take you anywhere scary, I promise.”“I don’t know,” Jules said, biting his fingernails. “I agree with Belle. A primeval forest sounds…frightening.”Seriously? I whipped my head and shot a glance at Jules. It was bad enough that I had to convince my children to pick up and trek through the forest. But Jules was an adult! Couldn’t he see that the children were scar
Trista’s POVWas that…Was that Johnson?I sat, frozen to the spot. Could it really be him? After all this time?“Trista?” the voice said again, and I knew in my heart of hearts that it was unmistakably Johnson.It was the first time I’d ever heard his voice on a mindlink. Did this mean he was in the United States?His voice sounded a bit garbled, with an edge of confusion. I surmised that it was likely because he wasn’t used to using a mindlink yet. I also noticed a bit of surprise in his voice, as though he were a bit shocked that he could speak to me this way. I didn’t blame him. Connecting through mindlink wasn’t something he was used to. He’d lived as a human his entire life, and speaking this way took a little getting used to. “It’s me, Johnson. Yes, I’m here,” I answered rapidly while tears of relief brimmed in my eyes. He was alive. He was okay. I’d been so afraid that I’d never speak to him again. How many times had I wished to hear his voice? How many times had I tried to
Trista’s POVHow was this possible? How could they be ripping off designs I’d sold in Milan? And they were calling them ‘custom designs?’ My mind reeled as I stared at the picture of Moon Mates. I’d been SO proud of that design. I’d worked myself to the bone in Milan to create it! With Lucian’s help, I’d procured just the right material that had worked perfectly for the design. It had been risky, using Moon Mates for the competition since every other design had featured glittering jewels and high-end gems. But I’d taken a chance and it had paid off. My mind flashed back to the competition and the rush of pride I’d felt when the crowd had gasped, in awe, at my special design.And now it was being sold in some crappy brochure? Under someone else’s name? A new level of fury bubbled inside of me.This was unbelievable!“I can buy this?” I asked, pointing at Moon Mates. “I can order it? Right now?”She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes,” she said, a wide smile plastered on her face.“How mu
Trista’s POVI was furious.My designs had clearly been leaked, but how did this? The only people that had seen my designs were the board of directors at HS. I’d given a presentation and showed them some of my concept drawings. I’d told them about what I wanted my store to look like, and my dreams for my jewelry line. My ideas had been well-received but after the presentation, whether it was a press conference or during the production of the product samples, everything had been strictly confidential.I’d made sure of it, since I’d been worried that someone would steal my designs. So to ensure that no one could, different product series and different parts of the production were assigned to various processors, but not a single one of them had my complete design drawings.And yet, this store was full of exact replicas. I didn’t understand! Clearly, my designs had been leaked to someone. But how? Hazel had been in charge of everything. She’d overseen the process herself and there was NO
Trista’s POVI swiped the tears from my cheeks. There was no use just sitting there, crying. It wouldn’t solve anything. Until I heard from either Johnson or Dagny, there was literally nothing I could do to help either of them, even though I wanted to so badly. I’d come to work to distract myself, so that was what I had to do. If I let myself dwell on this, I’d become a nervous, emotional wreck. I couldn’t let myself get so sentimental. I had to stay strong and calm.I decided to take a moment to collect myself before I dove back into work. I pushed back my chair and went to the window to get some air. I propped it open to allow a fresh breeze waft through my dusty, stuffy office. But as I glanced down at the busy street below, my eyes fell on the jewelry store across the street.I was stunned to see that it had already opened for business. That was quick! When I’d left two months ago, the store had still been under construction. I assumed it would be several months before the store o
Trista’s POVThe first thing I noticed was a thin layer of dust on my desk. It made sense, since we’d been gone for almost two months at that point. Everything else was exactly as I’d left it, and it felt really good to be back in my little office.I dusted my desk and then sat down. I organized my draft designs while I booted up my computer. When I logged onto my email, I was surprised to see an email from Johnson. At first, a swell of hope gripped my heart. Was he reaching out to me? I quickly opened the email, hoping that maybe the email would let me know where he was and how he was doing. But then I realized that the email had been sent two months ago.I scanned the email. In it, he told me that he’d found a shop for me in New York. He’s also included some pics of the shop. The tone of the email was excited, optimistic. I slunk back in my chair.He’d sent it right before Hazel and I had decided to go on our European adventure. I’d been so busy right before we left that I hadn’t ch
Trista’s POVI woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming through my window. It was just Billy, Belle, Jules and I in the house now with Liam and Hazel gone. We asked Jules to stay under the ruse that we needed his help looking after the kids. The truth was, Jules had to stay with me for the time being so I could protect him, just in case. Liam and both felt Jules needed to be with me.Jules took his job as a pseudo nanny very seriously. He was already in the kitchen making the twins breakfast when I wandered in. He had one of my old aprons on and he was flipping pancakes like nobody’s business.“Uncle Jules is taking us to school,” Belle said happily.“After pancakes,” Billy added.“If that’s okay with you?” Jules asked. “I want to see their school and I thought you might like to rest.”That was really sweet. I didn’t have the heart to tell Jules that I wanted my car today while the kids were at kindergarten so I could go and check in on my office.“That’s great,” I told him. “I
Trista’s POV “What?” Liam asked. “Red Moon Pack? Are you sure?”“Of course I’m sure,” Hazel said. “I was surprised too. I thought our cooperation with Red Moon Pack only started in the past three years or so. But these contracts said otherwise. They were much, much older than that. I don’t understand though. I thought Blue Moon Crescent and Red Moon pack had a poor relationship until recently. So why do they have contracts from years and years ago? I assumed you probably didn’t know about this since you never mentioned it. I guess your parents must have signed those contracts and not told you about them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with those contracts, Liam. The whole thing just seems fishy to me. So, I came over here to tell you myself. Luckily, I came just in time for dinner.”Hazel winked at me while Liam sat in stunned silence. Apparently, Hazel had been right – Liam didn’t know about those old contracts with Red Moon Pack.“I don’t know what to s