LyraFuckMy head was killing me.Ugh!Just what the fuck are they putting in their drugs?!I sat up, or tried to, feeling the restraints tighten around my legs and hands."You're awake." I opened my eyes this time to see that I thankfully wasn't blindfolded.In front of me instead was the person I had come to realize was the enemy. Alfredo."Why?""Oh. You're not really the target. Just the pawn."He had the sleeves of his white shirt folded to his elbow and its edges tucked into his pants like he hadn't just kidnapped me and my father, and he sipped a glass of liquid that was in his hand.I scowled. "So you've been on their side since the beginning?""Not since the beginning. Just a few years ago. The thing I've done from the beginning was hate that motherfucker, though.""Who?""Adrian."I strained my hands against the rope, trying to find a loophole but to no avail."Why?""Because..." He chuckled, "do you really need a reason to hate someone?"I cocked my eyebrows. "So you don't
AdrianI felt my heart skip a beat as the word filled the air."Hey.""No, no, please, don't do anything rash." I said in my mind, but right before us was Lyra, who fell right to her feet after getting up.Her hands were free, though, and my bro... No, Alfredo chuckled."Oh my God, isn't she so cute? It's why I like her."He stepped towards Lyra, who was trying to sit up, and trailed his finger down her face. "Pity it had to end like this, though."I felt my fists clench at the sight of him touching her."Tie her up." He said to one of the many guys in the room, and I turned to Jack, the leader of the Bellinis."Are you really just going to let go of your territories just to take over ours? Because believe me, if he can betray me, he will betray you."Alfredo walked over to him. "At least..."We all paused when we heard a commotion in the background.Lyra.My God, no!I groaned inwardly when I saw Lyra scuffling on the floor with one of the men.She had his head in between her thighs,
LyraMy brain was foggy, my sight tainted God knows how many hours later when I woke up, and the first thing that came to my mind was the fact that Adrian had come for me.He had risked everything for me and said he did feel something for me.The thought of that made my heart warm, and I blinked my eyes multiple times in order to see clearly."Lyra." I turned my head to the side to see my dad seated beside me, and I winced when I tried to sit up."Easy. Easy. You just had a bullet removed from your arm."Damn, that must be why it hurts so much.I sat up on the bed with his help and turned to him with a smile."Are you okay?"He scoffed, "You're the one who just went through surgery."I shrugged. "You were still hurt either way.""How about you?"I shrugged too, or tried to, until the pain pierced through my arm. "Okay..."The door opened to reveal some nurses and a doctor who came in to check me, and I glanced at the door, disappointed when they closed the door on their way out."Adri
AdrianThe alcohol wasn't tasting any better after each night.It continued to taste worse and worse, and I continued to stalk each night."You should have kept your dick in your trousers!""How could you sleep with my daughter?!""You were meant to protect her!""Keep her hidden!""Yet you put her in danger!"I gulped the rest of my whiskey down, groaning at the words that went through my head.He was right.Elio was right.I should have kept that dick in my pants and protected her, yet I had put her in danger.I felt my chest tighten at the sight of her bleeding in my arms."Just go. We'll be going to Africa once she gets better."I couldn't blame him either.Who would want their daughter to be with a murderer and Mafia lord, especially when that was what he had been trying to keep her away from all his life?I knew that because I knew him.I poured out another glass of whiskey for myself and sighed when I shook the empty bottle.There was another thing I was stalling on.Him.Alfre
LyraThe house was quiet, the lights off and the moon shining on it, and I winced a little when I tried to ring the doorbell, forgetting to use my uninjured hand.Ding.Ding.No answer.Wasn't he here?"Ugh!"So much for going to the mountain.He was probably in Sicily.I tapped in the door code, deciding to go in for a drink or something before I left, and I tripped over something the minute I walked in.Like a line or something.I looked around for it once I stood up properly and turned on the lights for help only to see nothing.The fuck?!I went straight to the kitchen, pouring a glass of whiskey for myself even though the doctor had said I should abstain for a few more days, but you know what? Fuck it.No one knew when they might die, and I definitely didn't want to go to hell without having a taste of alcohol again.Ugh, I should have stopped Kael from leaving or at least getting Adrian's new number because his old one has been refusing to go.Did he intentionally cut me off?Be
Lyra"Five days after several establishments of Adrian Mancini, the CEO of the Mancini Group, exploded, police authorities have concluded on the case and confirmed the source to be a series of classified military bombs, which are obviously not open to the public. This brings about the question of..."Dad turned off the TV when he walked into my hospital room again, carrying some drugs, and he came to my side."You shouldn't be watching that.""Why?""Because... you need to rest, and that is not going to help."I rolled my eyes. "What of Adrian?"He had been around the whole five days of my stay at the hospital, but now that I was getting discharged, he was nowhere to be found."I don't know.""Dad..."It's either he knew from the way he was avoiding my eyes or he had done something."Dad!"He finally looked at me, "What?""What did you do?""Nothing. Just... I told him to leave for me to talk to you.""Okay..."He sat down on the bed beside me and held my hand. "You do know you're in
LyraIt wasn't until 4 am the next day that we slept off in each other's arms, exhausted from all the fucking and orgasms that we gave each other, and I tossed and turned, confused when I woke up to an empty bed beside me.Huh?Where was he?The delicious smell of coffee and bacon wafting through my nostrils immediately led me to where he was, and he dropped the spoon in his hand when I walked in."Fuck. Lyra."I glanced down at my body, which he was staring at, and tried not to blush."You're the one who tore my sweats yesterday."He chuckled and lifted me onto the counter, his lips claiming mine hungrily.I wrapped my hand around his neck and kissed him back just as hungrily.He pulled back when the bacon started to burn."Go put on some clothes, or I might just spread you for brunch instead of this bread and bacon."I felt my pussy pool at the thought."That doesn't sound so bad."He paused in his movements and stared at me like he might just go through with it until he turned arou
AdrianThe vacation sadly came to an end a few days later, because beautiful as the place might be, I had other things to do and important chapters to close, one of them being Alfredo.I helped Lyra into the car when we finished packing the little things that we hadn't even bought but met here, and I got into the driver's seat, nostalgic.I was going to miss this, her and this laughter on her face, because after the next thing I'm planning to do, I'm not sure she's going to want to look at me at all, no matter how much she might love me.I trailed my fingers down her face and tucked her honey brown hair behind her ears before kissing her lightly on the forehead."I'm going to miss you."She smiled, "Why do you sound like you're going away?"Her expression suddenly changed. "Are you?""No. No. I'm here... Just... I'll miss this place.She smiled again and shrugged, "We can always come back for another recovery session."I chuckled and put the car in gear, and I drove out of the propert
QuinnI couldn't believe the motherfucker.Really?I thought back to the moment I had gone to the organization's airfield for the private jet only to find out that Juan had taken it moments ago to New York for a little trip.The asshole.What could he possibly be looking for in New York?A new connection.I sighed and picked up a new glass of wine from the two that Adrian poured for us in his private jet.He had agreed to assist me after I ran to him since he was on his way to the city too, and I felt like we might actually become close acquaintances by the time I took over... if it's a success."Are you okay?"I glanced at his face and nodded, "Yes. Why?""You're tense.""Yeah. Not really a fan of airplanes or jets."The only other person that knew that was Jose and... Right, Riley. She had teased me about it right before I shut her up.The thought kind of calmed me down for some reason."You're smiling, though.""Huh?!" I turned to Adrian alarmed and gulped down the rest of my drink
BellaThe house was quiet after she left, not that it wasn't already quiet before that, but it suddenly felt empty.Like her presence was well felt before, but now it just wasn't there.Well, that was actually the case, but...I lay back on the bed and pondered a lot of things.My father."...Her."Juan, my estranged uncle, had mentioned that.Did he mean my mother?Of course, because who else would I look like?I turned around on the bed and stared out the window.Her.I wondered who she was.Why she left my father or if she actually left him.I really just wanted to know what the whole backstory was, but unfortunately the only person that could tell me that was in a deadly state and likely to die in a few weeks.I wasn't sure what to make of that."Hey." I turned around and glanced at Matteo, the bodyguard who peeked into my room after knocking."I just made dinner if you're interested."It has been a full day since Quinn left for New York for a delivery, as she called it, and Matte
QuinnWe all stood there for about a minute, each of us staying still as our guns remained aimed at each other, and I noticed the guard in the corner trying to decide who to aim at.It was quite pointless, though, I would say, because I could take them out in a second if I wanted to. I was that good, and he knew it."Fine." He lowered the gun and sighed."Let's call a truce. Luca." The guard dropped his gun and took out every other weapon that was on him after another glance from me.Okay.I dropped my gun too and signaled to Riley to do the same.She did the same after a moment of hesitation and came to my side without any invitation.I pushed her behind me. "So when were you planning to tell me that I have a niece?"I didn't show my surprise at his knowledge because it was pretty obvious anyway if you knew a lot about Jose, like his brother probably knew.They had been in this business before I even came into the picture."Uhm... Never, because I or Jose don't owe you any explanat
QuinnSix hours ago."As you know, the tumor has spread to other parts of Mr. Lopez's brain, including certain tissues in his spine that control movement. It's a miracle that he was able to move around these past few days even though it was without my permission. Now that stunt might just have worsened things."I felt my heart sink.I knew we were taking a great risk when we carried him out on those visits so soon, but he had insisted because he knew he didn't have time."What is it?""We'll have to wait till he wakes up for me to conclude, but he might not be able to walk again by the time he wakes up. He might experience some memory loss, if not all, and there is the possibility of speech impediment. It's inevitable in the long run, but it might just happen sooner."I felt my heart sink even though he had mentioned this when we first found out."Okay."I wasn't sure what else to say."That would be all then."I nodded to Matteo, who stood outside Jose's room opposite the study, and
Bella"It's a type of cancer that is quite deadly, and it has spread to important parts of his brain, including his spine, which gives him only a few weeks to live. It'll be a total miracle if he lives past that."I couldn't close my mouth because I was genuinely surprised."How many weeks?""Three."I placed the glass of water I had basically choked on on the island and ran a hand through my short hair—thanks to the lady opposite me."So you're telling me I have just three weeks to get to know the man that abandoned me as a child even though I just met him."Well, maybe not met him as a person but as my father.She nodded slowly, looking concerned, or should I say empathetic, for once.Then what is the point?I might as well just ignore the fact that today happened and live the rest of my life without remembering that I actually met my father."I don't think he abandoned you or meant to..."I glanced up at her.She seemed so different from the Quinn I had first met.This Quinn was em
BellaI sat opposite the old man, quite curious as to whatever conversation he might want to have with me.The failed mission?My stunt with the code earlier?Whatever it was, I would like to get it over with and find something else to do. But if I were to think about it deeply, what am I meant to do with my life now?I mean, I'm a fugitive. A criminal. A wanted thief to the military. I was on a lot of people's radar and couldn't possibly think of going back to a normal life.I wasn't sure what this group or organization had in store for me either. I just didn't feel so useful right now."So..."Jose cleared his throat."Your necklace. May I ask where you got it?"I raised my hand to hold the necklace unconsciously.I did that at times when I thought about my non-existent parents or felt nervous."Why?""Just curious. It looks quite familiar."I raised my eyebrow and dropped my arm."I don't know. I've always had it on me since I was a child. Maybe it was my parents or something."I h
QuinnTwo days laterI came down from the black sedan, dressed in a suit shirt and pants because I prefer that to dresses anyway, and I went to the other side of the car to assist Jose as he got out.This was the last visit before the meeting."Adrian..." Jose said as he came out to greet us."I heard you were fighting for your life. How are you feeling now?""Better."I told him about my conversation with Adrian, and that's why we were here last."So... To what do I owe this visit?" He asked as he picked out a bottle of whiskey from his cabinet."Are you able to drink or...""I'd rather not." He nodded as he poured both himself and me a drink.I sat beside Jose by the minibar as he slipped the drink to me."Thanks.""Sure. So..."Jose sighed and stared directly into Adrian's eyes. "I don't have much time."The silence was loud until he continued."I'm likely to die in a few weeks or days. These things are unpredictable.""Hmm...""And as much as we leaders love to leave the family b
QuinnThe sun was already up by the time I made it back to the base, my body exhausted and my arm bleeding, and I collapsed on the couch in the empty room after I had locked the door.Juan.I couldn't believe he had set me up.Like yes, I should have expected it knowing how sly and cunning he was, but I hadn't expected that Leonardo would go with it either.Ugh!The motherfucker.I was so fucking pissed.More at myself for even going there with the little belief that the transaction could be genuine.At this point, Jose wasn't safe in that house either.I tore off a piece of my shirt to tie around my arm to stop the bleeding, then pulled up my hair into a messy bun in an attempt to calm myself down.First off, I should go back to the house.For all I know, he could have killed Jose off, but I feel like what was keeping him back from doing that was Jose's connection to other gangs and organizations, so he was probably going to get those people over to his side first.Adrian excluded, t
Bella"No, no, no, no," Lyra immediately said as I started to glance around for any weapon I could use. "It's Greg.""Greg?""Yes."We moved to the door together, where the person outside rang the bell again, and it did indeed turn out to be Greg when we opened the door."Bella." He pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me tight, and his boyfriend, Kael, stood awkwardly behind him."Kael?" I heard Lyra say while I squeezed Greg just as tight too.It's crazy how long we've spent together considering the following years after we met. We've always found the time to see each other.And there was my arrest and everything; I'm sure he has a lot of questions."You know you have a lot of explaining to do?"I nodded when he pulled back."I'm sorry about how everything went.""Yeah..."He led me into the living room where Lyra was already seated with Kael. They were bantering over something."You...""What? Bitch? Adrian is going to kill you."She hurried away before he could catch her."Wait, thou