BellaGod, it couldn't get more embarrassing than this.First, the net in the woods, and now the fucking bathroom in the house.Ugh!And the fact that she was helping me change now.I wanted to bury myself under the ground.Ding ding.We both paused and glanced at each other when a phone sounded around her.She took it out of her pocket."What is it?" She glanced up from the screen of the burner phone, then stood up."He's here."He?"Who?""The person you'll have to decide if you're happy to see or not."Okay, what did that mean?I sat up properly on the bed and tried to put both legs on the floor.The pain from the twisted leg made me wince.I didn't even have a chance of escaping now, even if they did end up being the bad guys, so I might as well accept my fate.My captor headed to the window and stared outside for a bit before turning back to me."Stay here; I'll be right back."She opened the door, "And I mean it when I say stay here. You might end up blowing yourself up if you d
Quinn"You didn't tell her." I said when we got to his car outside the perimeters of the cabin."Yes... I didn't.""Why?""It wouldn't have changed anything." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair that was already balding."That was the whole point of the operation, though. To tell her you're her father and convince her to take over the organization. We don't have much time. You... don't have much time."He sighed again. "But doing things rashly would only make things go awry. You know that. So don't worry; I'll tell her, and things will go according to plan. Just... just take care of the Umbras, okay?"It took me a minute to respond, but I nodded after a while."Fine.""Okay then. I'll see you back at the house."I watched as Blade, his bodyguard, drove out of the place and turned back to the trail.Things were just about to get more complicated now. I just knew it.I found my way back to the cabin and raised my brows in surprise when I still saw her seated on the bed. "Wasn't ex
Quinn"What is going on?" Bella asked as the cops got closer.I didn't reply, just cocked my gun, and waited for the cops to get to our car.They had uniform caps that were covering their faces and one gun each tucked in their holster.I could take both of them out before they even grabbed their gun.Knock knock.I rolled down my window when they knocked on it."Miss Quinn?"I cocked my eyebrows when the tall officer called my name.How does he...My eyes widened when he removed his cap."Gary!"He chuckled and bent over while laughing. "You bastard!""Gotcha!"He raised his head and kept laughing until I got out to smack him over the head."How could you?""Bet you were scared, huh?"I rolled my eyes and took in the other officer, who was smiling too."Mike." He was one of the chief commissioners in the police department."Quinn.""Why are you guys here?"Gary finally stopped laughing. He wasn't a sergeant like Mike. More like a colleague who has made it his life mission to trigger
BellaJust an inch away.That was how close our faces were."Want me to find out what you're afraid of?"I felt a gulp go down my throat as I glanced down at her lips.That was by mistake.Totally a mistake.But how was I meant to maintain eye contact when...She relaxed back in her seat and grabbed the glass of champagne the air hostess brought her now.Fuck.I grabbed my drink too and took a deep breath.She was intense."So, care to tell me what we're going to do in Sicily, Quinn?"I had heard the cheerful guy call her that.Quinn.It sounded normal and light, unlike the grumpiness that was her personality."Might as well wait till we get there. It's just an hour ride."I glanced at her when she relaxed against the headrest again to close her eyes and took her in.Black hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail behind her head with a few strands falling out and her sharp features that could cut through space.Okay, that was an exaggeration, but she did look pleasing to the eyes, u
QuinnThe club was lively as always when I stepped into the space an hour later, the DJ blasting some music while some ladies danced on a pole in the middle of the room."Password?"I stood by the door leading to the private rooms in the bar and waited for one of the guards to check my pockets and pat me down."Phantom.""Code?""5991."It was the date their gang had been established but flipped back."This way then."The guard, who was obviously the head, led the way into the dimly lit hallway where a few other guards passed and glanced at me, and he knocked on a door when we got to the end of the hallway."Come in." A voice replied after a moment, and I stepped in after the guard.Ugh!I groaned inwardly when I saw the other guards gathered around the lady in the middle.Aria.Black hair, grey eyes, and the right-hand woman of the Umbras leader.She glanced up when I walked in. "You're here.""Yes." I nodded and raised the bag the laptop was wrapped in."Leave us." The guards, inclu
BellaI stood in front of the house hours later once I got down from the cab.Ring ring.I waited patiently by the gate while the bell announced my presence to the owners.It wasn't long before a hand was pulling me into the compound and holding me against the wall."Who are you?"I glanced up at the guy when he pointed a light at my face and grunted out, "Bella. Tell Adrian that it's Bella.""Bella?"Both I and the guy turned when a voice repeated my name behind him.As it was dark, I couldn't really see the person's face until he moved closer to me.It was Adrian, and he looked pissed."Did you break out of prison?"The first guy took it as his cue to leave and disappeared into the shadows."It's a long story.""Long story?"I winced and groaned when my back hit the wall again suddenly with his face in my space, "You steal from a dangerous gang, escape from prison, and call it a long story? You literally just brought trouble to my house and family."Right."I know that, and I'm sorr
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
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 Three months later,The plane came to a stop in New York exactly twelve hours after I boarded it from our private airstrip in Sicily, and I got out of the plane with one of our agents when we got the go-ahead from the pilot to stand up.I headed straight for the car that was waiting for us a few feet away from the plane with the doors open.He started the engine once we both got in and drove away."Is everyone in position?""Yes ma'am." I took out my tab to view some critical information."And the location?""Secure. Target hasn't arrived yet."It was another agent from the parameter that replied through the devices in our ears.I pulled back my sleeve to check the time only to realize that both of us were actually late.I had said 7 pm, but it was already five minutes past.At least I had a reason; I wondered what his would be."Target has arrived." I heard an agent say a few minutes before we arrived at our location, and the guy with me, Lucas, came over to my side to help me
BellaThe guilt for the next few days kept killing me as Matteo and Quinn arranged the ceremony week for his burial, and I tried to get past it to function in some way.The visitors kept pouring in after that.The associates and intimate clients of the business. The family and friends that I didn't quite know about and my grandparents, who had made it known that they had a grudge against him, even though they denied that. Then there were my friends and Adrian.I collapsed into Lyra's arms when she pulled me in for a hug."I'm so sorry, dear."Greg did the same, patting my back like he did sometimes and I did my best not to start crying again.Yes, I had known him for such a short time, but that time had impacted me so much; it felt like I had known him forever.I pulled away from their hugs and sniffed when they had squeezed me long and hard enough.They led me to my room upstairs."It just happened, you know." I still couldn't believe it.There hadn't been any warning. No sign that h
BellaThe first place we stopped at was Teatro Massimo, an opera house in Palermo that holds performances every once in a while.It had this huge historical structure that stretched over a space of land with pillars and statues that accentuated its history.I handed over the ticket Elisabetta had given me after that awkward silence to the officer that checked it.He checked Giovanni and Elisabetta's tickets too and let us through after that.She beamed for the first time after that conversation, "I'm so happy that we get to view a performance today. Your mom used to love these things."I pondered that statement.According to what Jose had told me about my mom, this felt very different from what she might have liked.We sat down at the front row seats, settling in just in time before the first performance started, and clapped with everyone when the lady finished.I wouldn't say it was bad or uninteresting; I actually felt myself getting interested as more performers came on stage to pr
BellaIt wasn't until the sun shone brightly on my face the next morning that I woke up, and I first got startled at how close Quinn was on the bed to me before remembering everything that had happened last night.Her story of how she had met Jose, then the kiss.I raised my hand to my lips slowly as if in remembrance of how hot the kiss had been and closed my eyes without thinking when she tossed slightly on the bed.Fuck.Why did I close my eyes?It's not like I had done anything wrong or was checking her out. I had just been...Totally checking her out.I paused the thoughts in my head when I heard nothing a second later. The bed was perfectly still too, and there was no sound from Quinn at all.Is she still asleep?I popped open to check that out and saw her staring at me, wide eyes open with a smile on her face."Did you really think I wouldn't notice you checking me out?"I stuttered, trying to get a hold of a sentence that wouldn't totally give me away.She pulled me back onto
Quinn I made my way to Jose's room straight when I got back to the house to find him still in the vegetative state I left him in while Riley took a nap beside him.Her body was bent at an abnormal angle as she must have tried to rest her head on the bed while still holding his hand, but at least she was fast asleep.I took a step further into the room and stared at both of them for a while.Well, Riley, to be honest.She just looked so... Stunning and peaceful, she looked right now with the moon shining across her features through the window outside.She moved her head slightly when I bent down beside her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.She didn't wake up, though, thankfully, or I would have had to explain why I was so close to her face, staring into her eyes.I sighed and moved back, going to Jose's side to kiss his forehead, and I came back to his daughter's side to carry her up, bridal style, to her room.She immediately turned and gasped when she woke up in my arms."Ril
Quinn We got out of the car when we got to the entrance of Adrian's beautiful home, Gary handing the car key over to one of the valets that was outside the house, and they led us inside to a similar ballroom to that where Jose had held the handover for the function.It was slightly bigger, though, and had this large hanging tool—I'm guessing they use it to dangle traitors from the ceiling—but Juan wasn't there, so I had my doubts.I collected the glass of champagne that Gary passed to me from a waitress when we were fully in and took a sip of the place."Everyone is here. Even the fucking prime minister." I glanced around in the direction Gary signaled me in after a moment."Quinn..."We both turned surprised when a lady came to meet us.She shook my hand, "Flora Moretti. I saw you at the handover party."Right.I nodded, bending my head slightly to place a kiss on her palm.Gary was nowhere to be seen by the time I looked up."Nice to meet you properly.""Yeah. Word on the street sa
Quinn The doctor called me to the side the next day after checking Jose and made sure he was out of harm's way for now, and he sat opposite me in one of the private living rooms once we were alone."The treatments aren't doing much anymore. It's likely he might deteriorate badly once he wakes up.""How badly are we speaking of?""Memory loss. Leg and hand function. It's a miracle that all these haven't happened before."I felt my heart sink.He had said that before and anticipated this, but I still wasn't ready."Now, you can only stay by his side till the last day he takes his breath. I'm sorry."I shook my head, staring at nothing as he left, and I went back to his room, where he was in with Riley, after a few more minutes."What did the doctor say?"I didn't answer for a minute, pondering if I should break it all to her, but she already knew he was on his deathbed; I might as well tell her about the memory loss to prepare her for when it actually happens."He has deteriorated badl
Bella"So you were in the foster system, right?"I nodded at Elisabetta's question, grabbing a drink from the variety on the table to pour, and I shook my head at the maid that moved forward to help me pour it."It's okay. I can manage that myself."She nodded and moved back."How was it?"I pondered if I should tell them the truth or just let it all out, "Okay, but..."I felt Lyra and Greg's stares on me.They in fact knew how not-okay the system was to me."...abusive." I later completed my sentence, ignoring their stares."They abused you?"I glanced up startled when Elisabetta raised her voice."I mean, it happens to almost every child, except you're lucky. I've been known to not have such great luck, but it all turned out well. I took control of my life once I was eighteen and ended up going to college, where I met these two."They relaxed in their seats.Phew!You would think they were about to go murder every foster parent that ever raised their hands at me as a kid with the wa
BellaI popped my head into Jose's study two days later after the handover to see him huddled over his desk with Quinn.She averted her gaze when I stepped in properly."Riley..."I put on a smile that hid my awkwardness and nervousness around Quinn."I'm headed to Giovanni and Elisabetta's house now. Just wanted to inform you in case you would like to join us.""Nah..." He smiled, "...they wouldn't want to have me there anyway."Right, he had mentioned their beef with him because they blamed him for their daughter's death.I nodded and headed towards the door again, "Okay then. I'll be on my way.""Sure. Send my greetings to them.""Bye."I couldn't get out of there fast enough after that and sighed in my seat beside Lyra and Greg when we got into our car.It was a limo my parents had sent us."What is it?""Nothing." I replied immediately, grabbing a bottle of champagne from the minibar there, and I poured each of us a glass.Might as well get the dinner started before we got there.