Kat POV“Sofia is too soft on you girls,” he roared as he pulled his belt from his pants, cracking it like a whip. “I’m going to teach you your place, once and for all. No one betrays me!” I felt the buckle of the belt hit my cheek, causing me to cry out as my vision blurred from the pain. He raised the belt again and I shielded my face with my hands, only to have the buckle slam into my forearm. “I am your master, you worthless bitch,” he screamed, pulling me away from the wall to kiss me hard, his lips bruising mine as he grabbed my breast painfully. His hands grabbed at my shirt, tearing it down the front as his eyes devoured my chest hungrily. Milano licked his lips pushing me back against the wall, my head slamming back against the bare bricks as he undid the button of his pants. He was going to rape me. That was almost certain, and then he was probably going to kill me for my betrayal. My scream was cut off by his fist as it connected with my cheek, and the tears pricked at
Enzo POVKat fell asleep within fifteen minutes after we left the city, her head pressed against the window of my car. She looked so peaceful that I didn’t have the heart to wake her up, even though she would probably wake up with a sore neck if I left her like that. “She probably didn’t sleep either,” Amarok grumbled, obviously feeling sorry for the woman. The moment I had seen her standing in the hallway, blood splattered across her pale face, I knew that something bad had happened. I initially wondered if it had something to do with the envelope I had given her - the threat inside meant for the consigliere of Milano. Milano wouldn’t have taken the threat on his advisor well, the older man being his number one support in the family of cut throats. I hadn’t suspected that Kat would take the fall for Guilia’s disappearance, nor that she would be expected to take the older woman’s place. But my thought returned to what Eli had told me about Milano preferring younger women, and I imm
Kat POVI pressed my ear to the door of the suite on the third floor of the Palazzo Hotel, hearing the steady breathing of the occupant inside. He must be fast asleep - just how I wanted him.“This should be easy,” I whispered to myself as I pulled the lock picks from where I had hidden them in my hair.The hotel had been deserted as I had made my way through the foyer and hallways, as it should be at 3am. Only a sleepy looking desk clerk had possibly seen me, but I think the man was too busy scrolling through reels on his phone to even realise that I had snuck in.Not exactly the kind of service you would expect to find at a five star hotel, but I was glad for it. Within a few seconds, I had the door unlocked. With a slightly proud smile, I slipped off my shoes and pushed the door quietly open before I snuck inside. The room was lavishly decorated and my bare feet sunk into the thick carpet. Exquisite paintings hung on almost every wall and I had to stop myself from pulling one off
Enzo POVFour months. It had taken four months to track down the necklace and now it was gone. Well, half of it. I stared down at the box which held the broken strand of diamonds, and let the growl rip from my throat. “Fuck!” “It’s not a complete loss,” I heard Elijah say as he propped his feet up on the decorative coffee table.“Fuck you and your ‘glass half full’ philosophy,” I grunted, stalking to the brandy decanter and pouring myself a generous amount. Eli laughed and stood up casually, straightening his pants back over his prosthetic leg before he swooped in and stole my brandy. I grunted, but didn’t fight him for it, pouring myself another glass instead. Eli - my sister-in-law’s twin brother - was probably the only person in the world who had truly understood me when I had returned from my failed mission to rescue the werewolf princess. My wounds had been deep, cutting through my flesh as well as my heart. He knew what it was like, having experienced being a captive of a g
Kat POVI was drowning. The water flooded my lungs as I tried to scream, my clothing dragging me down into the dark depths as shadows hovered above the water. Bright lights flashed across my vision like fireworks as my lungs burned, and then it all went black.“Wake up, Kat, it’s just a nightmare.” I felt a hand press against my mouth and my arms flew out to ward off my attacker. “Stop screaming before you wake up the others!”Giulia’s face was barely visible in the dark room, her warm brown eyes filled with sisterly concern.I nodded my head and she removed her hand, brushing my hair from my face just like a real big sister would do. “Was it the same nightmare again?” she whispered, careful not to wake up the four children who slept on mattresses on the floor.“Yeah,” I whispered back, shivering as the cool night air cut through my pyjamas which were drenched with my own sweat. Giulia tugged the thin blanket up under my chin, looking after me just as she had done ever since that fi
Kat POVI collapsed into bed beside Giulia, utterly exhausted from the day of picking pockets in one of my favourite tourist spots. “What a day,” I groaned, knowing that I needed to go and bathe but I just didn’t have the energy to do so.Giulia nodded sadly, waves of depression seeming to waft from her general direction. “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up abruptly to look my friend directly in her eyes. She sniffed and seemed downright pathetic as she said softly, “I can’t see Fabio for the next few weeks. His boss has just come into town and he’s in one hell of a mood.”Enzo Castello, Boss of the Castello family, and the Dark Prince. Even his name sounded as vicious as his reputation. “He took over from his older brother as the Boss a few years ago,” Giulia whispered to me as we lay in our shared bed, “but no one really knows the reason why his brother gave up the position. Fabio did say that it happened shortly after Enzo went missing for a period of time and came back horribly
Kat POV “It’s just down this alley,” Giulia gleamed as she took my hand, guiding me toward the costume shop she knew. Giulia had taken it upon herself to help me find the perfect dress for the fundraiser, and while I was grateful for her help, my sense of style was less dramatic than her own. I guess I was just overly used to wearing neutral colours, whereas Giulia always picked out the bold colours which looked amazing against her dark skin. “Are you sure we are going to find a dress classy enough for me to wear to the fundraiser?” I asked her, unable to keep the doubt from my voice as the costume shop came into view, a few gaudy dresses in the display window. Giulia smiled brightly and tugged me closer as I became more and more certain that I would likely walk out of the shop with a clown costume. “The owner is a friend of mine,” she said, emphasising the ‘friend’ part so that it left no doubt that the man was a client of hers. “I told him about you needing to find a dress an
Enzo POV“I really hate these fundraiser events,” I muttered to Eli as he passed me a drink which I accepted gratefully. Eli chuckled and joined me, pressing his back to the wall which I leaned against. “Would you rather have had your mother attend instead? Valenti would have loved to have attended.” I cringed at the thought. “My mother would have spent my entire budget within the first two minutes walking through the door. You know how gentle her heart is. The images of the children would have been all the motivation needed.”My mother was, in complete contrast to me, an utter angel. “Well, we’re here so we may as well have some fun,” Eli drawled. “I feel like screwing with some of these prissy bitches.” I chuckled as I watched him stride casually to a woman whose mask barely covered the look of disdain at being approached by someone who she felt was below her social standing. “Good luck,” I whispered into my glass as I took another sip of the alcohol. My eyes scanned the rest