AdrianGod, I am losing my mind.Crazy thoughts, most of them about Lyra, were killing me, and they shouldn't; I should be focused on the fact that Kael had likely betrayed me, but I just couldn't get her expression out of my mind.The way she had looked when I said she was nothing more than a fling.A great fuck.I sighed.I wasn't so sure about that anymore."Adrian."It was just..."Adrian!!" I jumped out of my reverie as Alfredo's voice finally got to me, and he glanced at me."What is wrong?""Nothing.""Is it Kael?""Yeah..." Partially "You couldn't have known that he was a traitor."Yes, I could have, should have even, but "he told me that the Bellinis are planning something.""Something. What?""A coup. Maybe with Kael.""A coup, and you think he'll tell you that if he was really part of them?"Exactly what I was thinking."Or it could be a ploy."I cocked my eyebrows, "maybe.""So what are you going to do?"I stared at the private jet he stopped beside in the airfield a minu
Lyra The sun shining through the blinds was what woke me up the next morning, and I cursed immediately as an intense headache went through my whole head. Fuck! I sat up on the bed. What happened? I went to the strip show. Danced to some foreign songs I couldn't recognize. Then there was the guy that met me in the kitchen. Alfredo. He took me to a room where... I held my head as memories of what I had done last night flooded my head. Oh God, no. I hadn't done that. Ugh! I tried to erase the memory of me practically begging Adrian to have sex with me from my head. How did that happen? Was I that desperate? My God. I stood up from the bed and tried to steady myself before I went out into the hallways. I needed some water or coffee, then... Oh my God, Greg. Where was he? He was the one who had accompanied me to the strip club because Bella had her shift that day, but I couldn't remember coming back home with him. Adrian or Alfredo must have done that. Then where was
LyraThe club was quite similar to other clubs I've been to.Loud music coming from the insides, bouncers at the front door, and a long line that wasn't so long outside.I wasn't sure why I had expected it to be different.I moved forward with a dark shadow behind me."Are you ready?" The shadow asked, and I nodded.I was.It was just to get in there, dance on the stage, and attract his attention, then I'm done."You sure?"I turned to Alfredo just as the person in front of me finished with the bouncers."Yes."I smiled tightly at me and turned to the bouncer, "Hi."I put on a seductive smile and handed him my ID."How is it going today?"No answer."Okay."I turned again to see if Alfredo was still behind me, but it was only a lady in a black dress and a gum that was making quite a pop in her mouth.I turned away and took a deep breath before walking in."Thank you."It was showtime.I removed the jacket I was wearing over the short red dress underneath with its halter neckline and m
Adrian"Get out." I said to Alfredo before either of them could say anything."What?""Get out of the car."I felt my fists clench in an attempt not to kill either of them."Oh yeah, sure." He scrambled out of the car and handed me the keys."Wait till I call you."I got behind the wheel and started the car, ignoring the stare that Lyra gave me."What are you doing?" No response."Adrian!!"No response.Instead, I zoomed off down the alleyway and drove onto the main road, my eyes laser-focused on the road.I didn't want to see her in that outfit.Think of what she had just done.It was infuriating.I came out of my reverie when her yell filled the car, and she glared at me, "Slow down! Are you trying to kill us?!"I still didn't answer as I stepped on the gas and zoomed past a traffic light before parking in the alleyway beside a casino.She got out and bent over the side, heaving profusely."The fuck! You asshole!" She hit my arm and glared when I got out of the car."Follow me.""W
AdrianI pushed away from her the minute her eyes fluttered open and sat up on the bed."What happened?"She stared at me for quite some time before realizing what I had just asked her.She glared at me. "What do you think? You showed up all drunk and made me carry you all the way here after blacking out."Oh, right. I had left the casino hours after our... argument—I'm not sure what else to call it—drunk and wasted and found myself here. But why do I feel like I'm missing something?"Well, you can leave now, since you're sober, or do you need to give me another lecture about how dangerous the world is?"I smiled at the glare she gave me when she turned away and got out of the bed just as she did so too."I think I passed the message yesterday."She scowled and walked out of the room, brushing her hand through her hair, and I followed, straightening my clothes that I thankfully still was in.She sat down on a stool once we got to the kitchen and turned to stare at me."What?" she aske
LyraI still couldn't forget the kiss. No matter how much I tried.The way he had leaned his forehead against mine, whispered sweet nonsense to me, and made me forget the anger I was supposed to feel against him."Just what have you done to me?"I scoffed.I should be asking him that.Just what has he done to me?He had literally shown me a man getting tortured with no emotions in his eyes and then showed up on my doorstep hours later—okay, scratch that; it was his house—his doorstep hours later to mess with my feelings like this.I ran my hand through my hair and tried not to dwell on the kiss again."Fuck!" I failed and thought about how sensual the kiss had been. The way he had pressed his hands against my nape and bit on my bottom lip after.God.I felt something flutter in my stomach and raised my head to the water to remind myself harshly that he had been drunk, though.Really drunk to the extent that he blacked out right after that, so I wasn't surprised that he hadn't remembe
AdrianElio was back.Alfredo had told me that a few hours ago when he arrived at the airfield, and now I was going back to Sicily to update the elders about my plans.It was better for them to know since a war might likely ensue, and I didn't want them to be caught unawares.As for Alfredo, he will meet me there with Elio after he has seen his daughter, and we'll send the assassin to Matteo once Lyra is taken to LA safely.I sat back in my seat in the airplane and tried not to think of the kiss that had been on my mind for quite a while now.The way it had felt, the way she had tasted, and the way she had looked back at me, it had felt very different from the disgust I had seen in her eyes in the underground room, but I couldn't tell which one was true.Probably the disgust since no lady would like to see what she had seen.I glanced up from my thoughts when the pilot announced, "Good afternoon, everyone. This is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard, and thank you for flying with us
LyraGod, my head was killing me.The darkness around me made it worse, and I acknowledged the movement of the floor under me.What the fuck?!Where am I?Where was my dad?We were just talking minutes ago about the Mafia and how he had got in, then we drank the coffee.Thankfully, none of the major happenings of my life were related to the Mafia. Actually, none of my life has been related to the Mafia until now.I tried to move on the ground, feeling the tight rope around my wrist, and I winced at the pain.Fuck!Was I kidnapped?How though?What of Alfredo?Dad?I managed to sit down on whatever it was I was on and noticed the tightness around my ankle too.Fuck!If I wasn't sure before, I was sure now.I have been kidnapped.By Matteo?Maybe, but how?God, I hope they don't cut my fingers or my dad's.What of Alfredo?!I went still when the movements suddenly stopped.God, what now?There were sounds, some crunch under feet, and then, boom, the sound of a door opening.I'm guessing
Quinn"What was that?!" Gary asked as we made it to the ground where I detached my body from the rope I had tied to the table in the study. Riley let go of me.It had literally gone sideways.Everything.The guy, the kiss in the hallway, and now, a fucking alarm I didn't know about.I was pissed, to say the least."Come on!" I held Riley's hand and ran off in the direction of a gate I knew was hidden behind tall trees and flowers at the back of the house.It was kind of like an emergency exit for the general and his family, but I had used my disguise as a guard to unlock its safety in case of a moment like this."Guys!" I shouted above the gun sounds while trying to keep my head down."Come to the back gate I told you about. They found us out.""Shit!"Yeah, shit! It was annoying.I pulled on Riley's hand once we got to the gate that thankfully opened once I gave it a push, and I felt a slight sting on my arm right before making it outside with Riley.It wasn't so painful, I would say
Bella"My God, I'm so sorry." I immediately glanced around for a napkin or something.He brought one out of his pocket."No, it's fine. I actually forgot you speak English too."Okay, seems like I'm meant to know him.Fuck!"Sorry for startling you.""No, it's fine."Thankfully the stain reduced, but it was still evident to my eyes that I spilled my drink on this dude."So..."I put on a smile and accepted his kiss on both of my cheeks before stepping back again."Nice to see you again.""Yeah..."I nodded, trying desperately to keep my smile as bright as I could."Dance?"I glanced at the dancing floor he pointed to and accepted his offer after seeing him now politely with his hand stretched forward.Oh fuck me!"Do you know him?" I jumped yet again, this time more subtly, as Gary's voice filled my ear, and I glanced at my new partner to see if he noticed or heard that."Shut the fuck up, Gary. How is she meant to answer you?I know, right?For once, we were on the same page."So...
BellaGod, I am so nervous.The party was today, and Quinn telling me now that I'm actually to meet her at the party and not go together today was making it even worse."So that's that, okay?""What?" I glanced up at her confused, the last few sentences she heard completely in the air because I didn't hear any of it."I'm asking if you remember the plan.""Yes, yes, I do.""Great." She picked up a bag of tools and devices she had packed together before heading to the door, and as if on cue, a car pulled up in front of the door outside."Baby girl!" I stood up to glance outside when I heard the voice.Oh, it's that guy.The guy from the borderline who had come with another police officer or commissioner or something.Gary.He was wearing a simple shirt and pants now."Don't call me that."I watched as the guy gave her a hug or tried to until she jabbed him in the ribs."Fuck! Really?"She strapped the large bag over her shoulders and turned back to face me before looking at him."Don'
Bella"Why are you closing your eyes?"I popped them open when her voice asked that question."N-nothing. The water was getting into my eyes."I pushed her back and stood under the water properly to wash the bleach off.I could feel her eyes on me.Fuck.I was wet and hot and bothered, and her staring at me like this was not going to make it any better.We headed back to the mirror, both drenched when I finished with the wash.Now it was time for the dye.Thankfully, I was wearing a sports bra underneath my shirt, so she wouldn't know how hard my nipples were; besides, it seemed like she was nonchalant enough.Like she hadn't felt that.That tension.I washed and blow-dried my hair after the dye had sat a while in my hair, then we were done.Or so I thought until..."We're going to give you a little haircut too."To say the least, at the end of everything, about two hours later, I stared at a different face in the mirror.Short hair, wolf edges, and bangs.It was crazy how talented sh
BellaThe next few days were uneventful.Just me, lying around and watching some TV while my captor paced around and did some workouts. She had this gym/workout room in the basement and never had the nightmare episode again.I wonder what could have made me have such an intense nightmare the other night.By day six of staying after my running away episode, I could say my leg was feeling better.It was still painful if I put too much pressure on the injured leg, but not enough for me to yelp or scream.It was definitely getting better."Let me see."I jumped, startled, when my captor suddenly appeared in front of me while I was testing out the level of pain my leg could accept the next afternoon.It was even better than yesterday and less painful now.I flinched when her hands wrapped around it."What? Is it still painful?""No." I averted my gaze.Just... Her hand felt cold against my—I would say warm—leg.I tried to remain still and not have any other reaction as she pressed on parti
QuinnI took out my phone to call Jose once I finished washing the dishes."Quinn." He coughed repeatedly and sighed when the episode ended."Are you okay?""Just managing as much as I can."Which isn't a lot.It's crazy how much the sickness had taken its toll on him."And Riley?""She's okay. She hasn't run away in the past few hours, so we can be grateful for that, but I still don't think the operation is a good idea. She seems like she isn't ready for this world at all.""No one is ever ready.""But don't you think you should tell her everything first?"I just felt like she deserves to know, even though I don't normally deal with stuff like this, but there was also the possibility of her crashing out on Jose, which I didn't want.To say the least, I just don't have a good feeling about this, and it was making me anxious."After the operation, I'll tell her.""You're sure."He gave a hum, which we both knew wasn't certain, and cut the call after a few moments.It is dynamic, the re
Bella"Here is the plan...""Alessio is as much a party-thrower as he is a general. Father to two children, a beautiful wife..." She pointed to the woman's picture under the guy's picture, "Yet he loves to fuck around.""He has various houses across the states, thanks to his connections and corruption, I'll say, but this..." She sorted out the document to bring on too the blueprint I had mentioned earlier."...is where he would be holding the next party. His birthday party."This was still ridiculous to me, but as long as it's just hacking... right? I could do that remotely but something was telling me that that is not going to be the case.Ugh!"This is the ballroom where the party will be held." She pointed to a section on the paper, "Then this is the passageway that leads to the main living room.""Here, we have his bedroom and study, and that is where our prize is. The study."I glanced at the many rooms and floors sitting in between the main living room and study.This wasn't al
Bella"Uhm... A party is the mission?" I made an incredulous face that portrayed just exactly what I thought about that."Yes. A party.""What am I meant to do there? Hack into the DJ's playlist.""And that's the thing about having a short-circuit brain. You just can't seem to think outside the box.""Haaa..." I gasped, flabbergasted. "Did you just call me short-circuit?""No. Your brain."She dipped her hand into the water to test the temperature and turned back to me."Your leg.""Huh?"I yelped and winced when she held my badly injured leg.It felt shattered, which it should, considering how hard that bitch had stepped on it."Fuck!""This is so going to set us back.""Um... You already said that like a million times, and it isn't even my fault.""Oh, you think so? You're the one who decided it was a good idea to run away, yet again!"She laid so much emphasis on that "yet again.""Ugh, whatever!"She removed the shoes on my leg quite aggressively until I yelped again; then she pla
Quinn I felt the relief in her composure even before she showed it. She laid her head back on the ground and sighed. Uh-oh. She couldn't be more wrong. I felt angry and betrayed. Who would have thought she would run away after being so complacent and cooperative? I had actually thought we were on the same page, but I guess not. So... I nodded to Aria. She needed to be taught a lesson. "Okay. We have the go-ahead and can start the party." "Wait, what? Quinn!" Her eyes widened in panic as two guys pulled her up, and I cocked my eyebrows. "What? You're the one who chose to do this the hard way." "Quinn!" She had no time to protest before her mouth was gagged with some ropes tied around her feet and leg, and I stood to the side with my arms folded while Aria and her men strapped her to a chair. "Mmm! Mmm!" She protested through the tape even though it sounded muffled. "And... here we go." I watched as the two men brought her chair to a basin of water t