{Edmondo's POV}**I toss her chin away like she’s nothing more than a plague, refusing to let her see the conflict brewing inside me. Her defiance is amusing, even enticing, but it’s also dangerous. I have to keep her in line, keep her beneath me, or risk her discovering truths that could ruin everything.“Prepare yourself,” I say sharply. My voice is cold, calculated. “Wash yourself. If you need assistance, let Madame Margarita know. She’s just an intercom away.”I point to the sleek device on the wall, ensuring she sees it before I add, “I need you clean and sparkly before tonight. That’s why I haven’t shot you yet. Or,” I pause deliberately, letting my gaze linger on her trembling lips, “fucked your brains out, just yet.”The way her breath catches makes something inside me twist. Satisfaction or shame, I’m not sure. I don’t wait for her response. I can’t.I turn on my heel and leave, slamming the door behind me.The hallway stretches before me, dim and endless. My steps echo ag
{CARA'S POV}**I stare at myself in the mirror and the sight of myself is disgusting to me. I mean, what the hell is this?My skin feels like it's suffocating under the tight, barely-there leather that's supposed to be clothes. The boots. So high. They make me feel taller, but they also make me feel like I'm walking on sharp glasses.My legs are exposed. Too exposed. I can barely breathe under this constricting outfit; these leather straps that digging to my skin, leaving marks I'll never be able to erase. This isn't me. This can't be me. I've never worn anything like this in my life. Hell, I've never wanted to wear anything like this. Papa would never want this. He wouldn't even let me look at something like this, let alone where it. But here I am, dressing in... this.They weren't clothes. They were... strings. Like something of a dirty street corner. I'd seen girls like this before, the ones papa used sometimes to distract men. They weren't even real women. They were whores,
{EDMONDO'S POV}**I don’t recognize faces. Never have for the past six years, never will. It’s a curse, really. It makes things harder. People blend together for me. But you know what? I don’t need faces to read a room. I’ve got other ways. I can smell the tension in the air, feel it in the way people move. I hear things that most don’t even notice — the click of a shoe against the floor, the shift of someone’s weight, the breath they take before they speak. I can see things that aren’t obvious, catch the flicker in their eyes, the slight shift in their posture, the way they hold themselves. It’s all I’ve got, but it works. I trained myself to for six fucking terrible years and it's become a weapon.And when we walk into Bruce’s place, I can feel it immediately. It smells of smoke, too much cologne, and something sour — like desperation. The kind of scent a man gets when he’s drowning in his own lies. I don’t need to see Bruce’s face to know who he is. The air is thick with his
{CARA'S POV}**Edmondo’s grip yanks me through the chaos. Gunfire cracks the air, sharp and violent, but I feel him more than hear it. His body is a steady pulse of rage, a force cutting through the storm like a predator with purpose. I don’t even know what’s happening. Not really; bodies falling, voices screaming.. but all I can focus on is him, dragging me, pushing me along in this mess I can’t escape.“Stay close,” he orders, his voice low, rough, like the ground beneath us could swallow us whole.My mind races. Why am I here? What’s this even about? But I’m not in control anymore. Edmondo is. His presence is an anchor, a storm in a human form, and I’m tethered to him by force of will and something darker—something that makes my pulse spike."We’re splitting up," he says, like it’s nothing. "Giovanni, twelve o’clock. Luigi, a quarter past six. I’ve got a burden so I'd go at three o’clock."Burden? What the hell does that mean? What’s he talking about? What's with the time telli
{EDMONDO'S POV}**I’m not sure when it happens. One minute, I'm staring at her, watching her flinch. The other, we’re in the back of some van, the world spinning around us in ways I don’t even want to process.The gunshot's still echoing in my ears. The blood.. it's everywhere. And Cara's staring at me, like I'm some kind of beast. Like she doesn’t even know who I am anymore. Good. I don’t want her to know me.I slam the van door shut behind her. My fist is still clenched, the rage pulling at my insides like I'm about to rip through the fucking walls. The van jerks forward. I don’t even care where we’re going. But, I'm sure Luigi and Giovanni are at the front.I light the second cigarette. The flame flickers, and for a second, the dim glow is the only thing between us, between my storm and the world.Cara says something. Her voice, soft. Questioning. Weak.“Don’t you think that’s going to start a fire?” she asks. Her voice is cracking, like she’s not sure whether she should be ma
{CARA'S POV}**The van jerks to a stop, and I’m thrown forward. Yet I catch myself from falling onto the angry bird in front of me. My breath hitches as I glance out when the doors finally open.A black house. That's what I see next.It’s more of a fortress, really. Sharp edges, no windows, and a looming presence that makes the forest around it seem even darker. Though, it was late at night. The place looks like it was plucked straight out of someone’s worst nightmare.Edmondo is already moving, shoving the van door wider. Not like he was even fat or anything. He doesn’t even look at me as he hops down. He mutters something to Giovanni, who follows after him.They’re leaving me here.“Wait… Edmondo!” I call, but he doesn’t stop. He just disappears into the house, his silhouette swallowed by the shadows.The cold air bites at my skin, and I realize how ridiculous I must look. Barely covered, shivering even, with dirt smudged on my legs and arms. I wrap my arms around myself, glaring
{CARA'S POV}**Edmondo’s grip on my arm is unrelenting as he pulls me down the dim hallway. My thoughts are scrambled, the image of the man on that table burned into my mind. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to run. But my feet are glued to the ground, moving only because he’s dragging me along.“What now?” I manage to spit out, trying to keep my voice steady. It doesn’t work.He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t even look at me. His jaw is set, his movements sharp and mechanical.We stop in front of another door.It’s different from the others. Painted black still, with heavy metal hinges that look reinforced. My stomach churns as Edmondo pulls a key from his pocket and unlocks it.The door creaks open, and I’m hit with a wave of... something. It’s not a smell, exactly, but a sense… thick and charged. Like the air before a storm.“Go in,” he orders.I hesitate. “What is this?”He grabs my wrist and pulls me inside before I can resist.The room is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
{EDMONDO'S POV}**The door clicks shut behind me, and I don’t look back. I’ve left her inside, exactly where she would soon belong. Let her soak in the reality of what she’s stumbled into; a world built on blood, precision, and unrelenting control.I have bigger things to handle.Giovanni trails behind me like a shadow, his sharp gaze dissecting my every move. He’s waiting for me to crack, to give him a piece of my mind. But I don’t bite. Not yet.“She’s a wildcard,” Giovanni says finally, his voice smooth, calculated. “You sure bringing her here was the right call?”I glance at him. A humorless smile tug at my lips. “Do I ever make a wrong call?”“Not usually. But this one feels... personal.”I stop walking, turning to face him. Giovanni is taller, broader, but he knows better than to mistake that for an advantage.“She’s leverage,” I say coldly. “And you don’t get to question my moves.”He chuckles, low and dark. “Leverage, huh? That’s what we’re calling it now?”“Enough.” My voic
{LUIGI’S POV}**You don’t crawl back to Edmondo D’ Avi. Not after you’ve fucked up like I did. And definitely not unless you’ve got a death wish.I lurk in the shadows now, watching him from a distance like some pathetic ghost. I don’t deserve to stand in his light anymore, not after the shitstorm I brought down on him with Massimo. But I still love him. I’d still kill for him. Maybe one day I’ll even die for him. That’s all I’ve got left to offer; a loyalty he doesn’t even fucking know is still here.The tunnel’s cold and damp. This is the kind of place where rats thrive and bodies disappear. I blend into the dark like a goddamn phantom, watching Edmondo square off with the Irish Consigliere.Donnelly.I’ve heard his name whispered in back rooms and barrooms. The Irish Consigliere is a legend. A man with a silver tongue and an iron fist. He’s sharp as a switchblade and
{EDMONDO'S POV} * * The bastard’s trying to rile me up. And it’s working. My hand itches to reach for my knife. But I hold back. Not yet. Not here. He surely didn't come here to hug but to attack. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” I say, my voice is low and cutting. “But balls won’t save you when you’re six feet under.” “Ah, but I’ve no intention of being buried tonight,” he replies, his smile fading as his eyes harden. “I came here to talk.” Talk? “Talk?” I spit the word out like it tastes bad. “The Irish don’t talk. You threaten, you scheme, and you stab people in the back. So, cut the bullshit and tell me why you’re really here.” Donnelly shrugs. His movements are quite slow. Slow like a poison but delib
{EDMONDO’S POV} * * If there's anything I hate about myself, it's the lack of patience towards bastards. I hate chasing ghosts. The Irish Consigliere; a slippery bastard, is the kind of problem I like to solve immediately… with a bullet. Fast, simple, no bullshit. But here I am, trudging through this piss-soaked tunnel, hunting him down because my men couldn’t catch him outright. The underground reeks of rot, mildew, and something worse. Darkness. They all cling to my suit like a second skin. This isn’t where a man like me: The Don belongs, no, I should be sitting in the estate, drinking my scotch and celebrating the little blocks I've set for the empire I'm building. But ghosts don’t respect empires. They sneak in, lurk and poke around, and see how much they can steal before they vanish. And this ghost? I’ll make sure he vanis
{GIOVANNI’S POV}**So, I left her.It wasn’t like I didn’t have a choice. I could’ve stayed back with her. Hell, a part of me wanted to. But I just... I just walked away.She knew my name, but I didn’t bother learning hers. Why would I? She was just a kid. Well, legal, barely 18, so no problem there, right? That’s how it goes. First time, one time. No strings, no complications.She wasn’t special. To me, she was just another warm body in a long, forgettable list of bitches. Names? Faces? They didn’t matter when you lived a shitty life as mine. So, in summary, thanks to my shitty life, I took what I wanted. When I wanted. And moved on.But damn. There was something about her.Not love or anything stupid like that; let’s not get carried away. But there was this way she looked at me, like she saw past the bullshit. Like she could strip me down to nothing with just her eyes.It pissed me of
{INGRID'S POV} * * Sharp, threatening voices wake me up the next morning. I stir from my sleep, waking up in a heap on the floor. I must have rolled over from the mat. My bones are aching from the position I slept in still, and I realize I must have fallen asleep sometime during the night. Wait. Hold up. I feel somewhere else too. Oh…yeah. Uncle. Uncle and I had sex. What's that pain? I look up to my wrists. The bind. The bind have rubbed my skin raw and my sleeping arrangement made my whole body sore and tense the more. Why didn't he take off the bind? But the most important thing right now are the voices. I hear them out in the hallway, deep and unfamiliar. And I think they're coming towards… here. I crawl into the corner of the room and pull up Mr. Giovanni's leather coat. He must have left it here after we…, probabl
{INGRID'S POV}**“Put your hands above your head,” he tells me.I do, looking into his eyes as I obey.My mind turns to the first time I saw him when I awoke in here. I can practically feel his hands on me as he holds me down, the intense powerlessness I felt at their touch.I breathe deeply, calming the emotions that race through me at the thought.I feel his hands on my wrists, pushing them together. The tie slides around them, the same fabric as before caressing my sensitive skin. I feel as it begins to tighten and look up to watch.He binds my wrists tightly, securing them with practiced hands.I give them a tug, experimenting with the length. The constraint leaves me feeling utterly powerless, and I wonder at the spark that spreads through me at the thought of it.I turn to find his eyes. They pierce me in question.I answer with my own, my chest heaving in anticipation. I
{INGRID'S POV}**His touch sends fire racing through my skin. Sparks burn through me in a high blaze.Every touch of his fingers, every flick of his tongue, and I’m burning up and I can’t find it in me to care.I never knew that anything could be as intense as the pleasure racing through me now. One moment I’m unthinking, lost in it completely. The next I’m so overwhelmed, I feel the need to run away.How much can I possibly take?No one’s ever touched me the way Mr. Giovanni is now. No one has ever looked at me with the fire presently burning through his brown eyes. I feel ready to collapse under that gaze.This man is more than I ever thought a person capable of being. With every movement, with every touch, he’s showing me that I am not alone.Loneliness has always been my phobia, my hate.. but Mr. Giovanni.. no, Uncle is telling me, showing me that I'm not alone now.I scream ‘Un
{GIOVANNI'S POV}**“That was a stupid move, bambina (little girl). A bloody stupid move,” I say, not knowing what else to say or how to just get her in there and pull away and end this cat and mouse rubbish.Though, I want to be with her. That's why I left Edmondo and came here.I want to finish what we’ve just started too.She looks at me with rage and fear all over her face and demeanor. “Just let me go. I owe you nothing and all you want to do is take advantage of me.”She looks at me, daring me to say the truth. She knows it, and I know it. We’re walking the faint line between lust and abomination. I knew from the moment I set eyes on her, loosing her cool and yelling for someone to save her sister, that she was going to be different and nice to own.This is lust. Compared to love… this… lust… It’s a lot more complicated than I ever would’ve thought. I pull
{INGRID'S POV}**The tension in the air is really palpable. The atmosphere is electric. I want him to touch me. I want him to do bad things to me. And I know it's so damn wrong, but I just can't resist. He's done something to me, definitely. He has messed with my head and played with my heart. All on the first day.It's like I'm the puppet and he's pulling on every one of my strings.He's breathing heavily, and he gently pushes down my panties until my hip bones poke out. I hiss as the air hits my skin. Mr. Giovanni groans when his fingers connect with my feverish body. "God," he says. "So fucking delicious. So damn wrong. I can't resist. I'm sorry, bambina, but I'm not even going to try to resist."With that, his fingers push off my white lacy panties and I arch my back, helping him along. What the hell am I doing? I don't even know him!Alarm bells are going off in my