Rook POV
Harlow is still relaxed against me.
“You having fun, princess?” I murmur, resting my chin on top of her head.
She nods against me. “I like it here. It’s quiet, and you and Rose aren’t talking about boring grown-up stuff.”
Rose chuckles from where she’s sitting nearby. “I’ll have you know I’m very fun, Harlow.”
Harlow tilts her head back, grinning. “You’re fun, but you still say boring stuff sometimes.”
I laugh, squeezing her a little. “Well, you got me there.”
She sits up a little, looking at me seriously. “Can we stay here forever?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Forever is a long time, princess.”
She sighs, playing with the edge of my sleeve. “I know, but I like when it’s just us. No busy stuff, no people being mad about things, just us.”
Damn. I feel that. I know exactly what
Rook POV“Find him!” I shout, turning back toward the others, fury and fear bleeding into every word.“We’re working on it,” Damon says quickly. “But his phone was found out the back of the restaurant. Smashed.”No. No, no, no. That phone was the only way to find him.“Track my phone,” I demand. “Whoever it is has my phone. Track it!”“We already tried when you didn’t answer my calls,” one of the men mutters. “It’s not giving off a signal.”My head shakes violently. “Nothing? You’ve had nothing? Not a single fucking thing to give you a hint of what they want?”Damon hesitates.I step toward him. “What is it?”His jaw clenches before he finally speaks. “Lorenzo dug into it and he mentioned there were three targets. Kade, you… and Harlow.”Everything inside me stills.
Kade POVLorenzo is weird. Not in a bad way, just… he’s always had that tone in his voice that says he’s not right in the head, and sitting here, talking to him, I know he’s far from right.I glance at my phone again. I know it’s disrespectful, but I want to stay on time and prove to Rook that I won’t mess up.“You keep looking at it,” Lorenzo taps the phone.“Sorry, I just want to stay on schedule.”He nods. “I understand that, which is why, as soon as the hour is up, my watch will vibrate to remind me,” he laughs, and I nod.Maybe that’s what I need to do—rather than constantly checking my phone.I go back to focusing on our conversation, making sure he knows exactly who I am and the kind of person I am. He talks a bit about Nikolai and the time they spent together when he had just started taking over here. He respects Nikolai&mdash
Kade POVHer nostrils flare as she presses the blade harder, drawing a thin line of blood. “You don’t hold the power here.”“Don’t I?” I whisper, locking eyes with her. “Then why are you the one trying to prove something?”Her grip tightens on the knife, but she hesitates. That’s her biggest fucking problem. She doesn’t commit. She doesn’t know how to follow through.“Let me tell you how this plays out,” I continue, voice smooth despite the sting on my cheek. “You keep me here, keep trying to break me, but it doesn’t work. Eventually, you get frustrated, you get sloppy, and then my men find me. And when they do, you don’t walk away from this.”Her eyes narrow. “You sound pretty fucking confident for someone tied up right now.”“Because I know how this ends.” I smirk. “And so do you.”Danielle exhale
Kade POVI hiss through my teeth, more from the annoyance than the pain. “There you go. That’s a little better.”She glares, dragging the blade in a shallow cut across my side, but she’s still holding back. Testing me. I shake my head, sighing.“See, this is why you’re not going to win,” I say, my voice steady despite the sting. “You don’t actually know how to do this.”Danielle scoffs. “Oh, I don’t?”I tilt my head. “No. If you did, you wouldn’t be wasting time with this weak shit.”She presses the knife in harder, and I grin, feeling her frustration build. “You want to break someone? You don’t start here,” I say, nodding toward my ribs. “You start small. Fingers. Knees. Maybe a little nerve damage if you want to get creative.”She stills, something flickering across her face. Disgust. Uncertainty.&ldq
Kade POVDanielle watches, waiting, maybe hoping that I’ll finally break. I don’t. I inhale slowly, shaking the blood from my lips, and laugh.“How long do you think you’ve got left?” I ask, my voice rough but still steady. “Every minute you waste here? That’s more time my men have to find me. And when they do? You’ll be fucking wishing you killed me the second I walked through that door.”The guy in front of me hesitates, glancing back at her, waiting for an order.“Keep going,” she snaps, her voice sharper now.He does. Another punch to my ribs, another to my jaw, but I don’t stop grinning. The pain is sharp, burning through my body, but I don’t let it show. They want me to break. They want me to plead. That’s never going to happen.Danielle steps closer, her eyes locked onto mine. “You think you’re so fucking smart, don’t you?” she
Kade POVThe bass from the music vibrates through the floor beneath my feet, the heat of so many bodies pressing into me from every direction. The club is electric, alive with the high that comes after a championship win. Most of the noise is coming from people who are shouting, then there's drinks getting spilt, as I walk through hands grab at me, pulling me deeper into the chaos.I should be celebrating. I should be drunk off my ass, soaking up the attention, riding this high for as long as it lasts, but instead, I can’t stop looking up. Sure I'm drunk, but not enough, yet.“Mercer!”A hard slap lands between my shoulder blades, making me stumble forward. Turning, I see Tyler grinning at me, his blond hair damp with sweat, his eyes already glazed over from too many shots. He's wasted already.“Come on, man! We fucking won! You should be wasted by now,” he shouts over the music, shaking his drink at me like I’m supposed to grab it.Forcing a smirk, I look at him. “I’m working on it
Kade POVHis hand presses firmer against my thigh. “How do you usually celebrate a win, Mercer?”I swallow, my throat feels dry, which is impossible considering how much I've drank. I push down the nerves and respond anyway. “That depends.”“On?”My gaze flickers up and I focus on him. “On how far you’re willing to take it.” My shoulder shrugs slightly, purely to try and make it seem like I'm indifferent right now when I'm not.Darren watches me for a long moment, then exhales slowly. He leans back, his hand moves off my leg and I watch as he reaches into his jacket pocket. A second later, he presses a key card into my hand.“Room 714,” he says. “Give me five minutes.”My eyes go down, and I stare at the card, my skin tingles where his fingers brush against mine. I don't say anything else, I just stand and leave while clutching the card.The night air is sharp as I step out of the club, but it does nothing to clear my head. I move quickly, weaving through the crowd outside, gripping t
Kade POVI don't know why I'm hesitating, I came here because I wanted this. Pushing away the doubts, I reach up, grabbing the back of his neck and dragging him down until our mouths meet, and the second my lips crash against his, Darren takes control, his hand fists into my shirt. He yanks me closer, his body heat pressing into mine. The whiskey on his breath mixes with mine, and the taste of it is sharp between us. I expect him to ease into it, to test the waters, but he doesn’t, he isn't waiting around for any other sign of confirmation, he has everything he wants.He devours me. His teeth scrape my bottom lip, tugging just enough to make my breath stutter my body reacts instantly and his tongue flicks against mine, demanding more and consuming me.I don’t hesitate, I meet him with the same intensity. My body pushes his back against the bar while my hands grip the front of his shirt, dragging him closer to me.Darren exhales a quiet chuckle against my mouth, like he’s amused by my
Kade POVDanielle watches, waiting, maybe hoping that I’ll finally break. I don’t. I inhale slowly, shaking the blood from my lips, and laugh.“How long do you think you’ve got left?” I ask, my voice rough but still steady. “Every minute you waste here? That’s more time my men have to find me. And when they do? You’ll be fucking wishing you killed me the second I walked through that door.”The guy in front of me hesitates, glancing back at her, waiting for an order.“Keep going,” she snaps, her voice sharper now.He does. Another punch to my ribs, another to my jaw, but I don’t stop grinning. The pain is sharp, burning through my body, but I don’t let it show. They want me to break. They want me to plead. That’s never going to happen.Danielle steps closer, her eyes locked onto mine. “You think you’re so fucking smart, don’t you?” she
Kade POVI hiss through my teeth, more from the annoyance than the pain. “There you go. That’s a little better.”She glares, dragging the blade in a shallow cut across my side, but she’s still holding back. Testing me. I shake my head, sighing.“See, this is why you’re not going to win,” I say, my voice steady despite the sting. “You don’t actually know how to do this.”Danielle scoffs. “Oh, I don’t?”I tilt my head. “No. If you did, you wouldn’t be wasting time with this weak shit.”She presses the knife in harder, and I grin, feeling her frustration build. “You want to break someone? You don’t start here,” I say, nodding toward my ribs. “You start small. Fingers. Knees. Maybe a little nerve damage if you want to get creative.”She stills, something flickering across her face. Disgust. Uncertainty.&ldq
Kade POVHer nostrils flare as she presses the blade harder, drawing a thin line of blood. “You don’t hold the power here.”“Don’t I?” I whisper, locking eyes with her. “Then why are you the one trying to prove something?”Her grip tightens on the knife, but she hesitates. That’s her biggest fucking problem. She doesn’t commit. She doesn’t know how to follow through.“Let me tell you how this plays out,” I continue, voice smooth despite the sting on my cheek. “You keep me here, keep trying to break me, but it doesn’t work. Eventually, you get frustrated, you get sloppy, and then my men find me. And when they do, you don’t walk away from this.”Her eyes narrow. “You sound pretty fucking confident for someone tied up right now.”“Because I know how this ends.” I smirk. “And so do you.”Danielle exhale
Kade POVLorenzo is weird. Not in a bad way, just… he’s always had that tone in his voice that says he’s not right in the head, and sitting here, talking to him, I know he’s far from right.I glance at my phone again. I know it’s disrespectful, but I want to stay on time and prove to Rook that I won’t mess up.“You keep looking at it,” Lorenzo taps the phone.“Sorry, I just want to stay on schedule.”He nods. “I understand that, which is why, as soon as the hour is up, my watch will vibrate to remind me,” he laughs, and I nod.Maybe that’s what I need to do—rather than constantly checking my phone.I go back to focusing on our conversation, making sure he knows exactly who I am and the kind of person I am. He talks a bit about Nikolai and the time they spent together when he had just started taking over here. He respects Nikolai&mdash
Rook POV“Find him!” I shout, turning back toward the others, fury and fear bleeding into every word.“We’re working on it,” Damon says quickly. “But his phone was found out the back of the restaurant. Smashed.”No. No, no, no. That phone was the only way to find him.“Track my phone,” I demand. “Whoever it is has my phone. Track it!”“We already tried when you didn’t answer my calls,” one of the men mutters. “It’s not giving off a signal.”My head shakes violently. “Nothing? You’ve had nothing? Not a single fucking thing to give you a hint of what they want?”Damon hesitates.I step toward him. “What is it?”His jaw clenches before he finally speaks. “Lorenzo dug into it and he mentioned there were three targets. Kade, you… and Harlow.”Everything inside me stills.
Rook POVHarlow is still relaxed against me.“You having fun, princess?” I murmur, resting my chin on top of her head.She nods against me. “I like it here. It’s quiet, and you and Rose aren’t talking about boring grown-up stuff.”Rose chuckles from where she’s sitting nearby. “I’ll have you know I’m very fun, Harlow.”Harlow tilts her head back, grinning. “You’re fun, but you still say boring stuff sometimes.”I laugh, squeezing her a little. “Well, you got me there.”She sits up a little, looking at me seriously. “Can we stay here forever?”I raise an eyebrow. “Forever is a long time, princess.”She sighs, playing with the edge of my sleeve. “I know, but I like when it’s just us. No busy stuff, no people being mad about things, just us.”Damn. I feel that. I know exactly what
Rook POVFor the first time in a long time, I feel myself fully relax, knowing that he won’t be stretching himself thin anymore. He won’t be trying to do too much, won’t be running himself into the ground trying to be in three places at once.He made the decision, and I know he won’t go back on it.“You okay with it?” he asks, like my opinion actually matters in this.I press a kiss against his forehead. “Yeah. I am.”Kade lets out a quiet breath, his body sinking into mine again. I feel the way his hand tightens around mine, the way he clings to me just a little bit more.For once, he’s letting go of something that doesn’t serve him anymore. And for once, he’s choosing himself. Choosing us.This week has been amazing. It’s weird, I didn’t know what I was missing, I just knew things weren’t right. The more of this week that passed, the more time
Rook POVThe house is simple, almost too simple. The walls are bare stone, the furniture minimal, just enough to make it livable. It’s not extravagant, not dripping in wealth like the places we usually stay, but somehow, that makes it better. There’s nothing here to distract us. No reminders of the world we left behind for the week, no ringing phones, no people demanding our attention. Just us.I walk further in, dragging my fingers along the edge of the wooden table in the center of the room. Kade doesn’t say anything, just watches me with that unreadable look on his face. I know what he’s thinking. This place isn’t like us. But maybe that’s why he chose it.He disappears into the bedroom, and I follow, finding him already stripping off his clothes. He tosses his shirt onto the chair by the window before moving onto his pants. I smirk. “Eager?”He doesn’t bother looking up as he kicks
Kade POVThe meal continues with Rottami di Pollo in Padella, a rustic dish of pan-fried chicken finished in a wood oven. The skin is golden and crisp, the aroma rich and inviting.Rook picks up a piece, biting into it with an appreciative groan. “Okay, I’ll admit, this is really good. But no pasta? No pizza? What kind of Italian meal is this?”I chuckle. “Authentic, traditional. Not the tourist menu.”His lips quirk up as he leans back. “Still think pizza would’ve been a nice touch.”A wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano is placed on the table, the waiter cutting thick slices straight from the wheel. Rook stares at it, his eyes widening slightly.“That is an excessive amount of cheese,” he mutters.“Think you can handle it?” I tease.He grins, taking a generous piece. “Watch me.”When we finally finish that, the final course arrives, Arance all