ADRIANI glared at my reflection in the mirror, fury and hurt etched on my face. My hands clenched into tight fists as I gazed down at the damage the wine had done to my shirt. The crimson stains spread across the fabric like a map of chaos, a constant reminder of my life at Great Fisher.A wave of loathing washed over me. I hated this city, its suffocating grip choking the life out of me. My own life was a sham, a never-ending cycle of disappointment. My family, a constant source of frustration. And this job... I hated every minute spent at the Great Fisher, the pretentious boss, the backstabbing colleagues, the suffocating routine and the damned horny bastards that patronise this place.I hated how every client in this bar only see me as a means of entertainment. To them, I was nothing more than a distraction, a plaything to be used for their amusement. My role as a server was constantly diminished, reduced to mere eye candy.It wasn't their fault, it was my damn family's fault for
ADRIAN It took me a minute to remember breathing was a thing people were supposed to be doing. I stood still, mouth parted open in shock as I stared into his eyes. Piercing silver eyes, ones I vowed never to gaze upon again, locked onto mine with piercing intensity. Their burning stare sent a shiver down my spine, and my throat constricted, making swallowing an impossible task. Giovanni Marino, the boss and the leader of the Marino's family was right here in the bathroom stall with me, gazing at me with a dangerous grin on his face. My heart skipped a beat and my mind went blank, unable to think of why Giovanni Marino would be in Great Fisher. My workplace. As the police chief's son, what would people think if they saw me in the same room with the leader of New York City's most notorious Italian Mafia family, the same organisation my father was working to take down? I had tried it once, hooking up with this same man just to get back at my father for disowning me because I was gay
ADRIAN When I suggested the idea, I half-expected Giovanni to dismiss it. To call me out on my shit. Instead, he shocked me by forcefully hauling the bastard to the bar, beating him while vociferously declaring that I belonged to him and threatening severe consequences to anyone who dared to bother me again. I watched as Giovanni grabbed the back of the man’s neck and slammed his face into the bar. Everyone cleared out, moving away as quickly as possible as he babbled and tried to speak. I should be happy that someone was finally putting a stop to this, but instead, guilt washed over me like a blanket as I watched from the corner of the now-empty bar, which had once been full of customers. My chest tightened until I could barely draw in a breath. What was I supposed to do now? Every time I raised my head to look in the direction of my boss, he would plead with me with his eyes that I should put a stop to this. I straightened up before I walked down the bar, to the man who was caus
GIOVANNI The sound of my baseball bat cracking against the skull was loud. Bones broke, and bits of brain and blood stuck to my weapon, my favorite one. I turned it around towards me and wrinkled my nose at the sight of the mess of hair and skull fragments clumped onto the metal. My phone's ringtone pierced the air, drowning out the groans and grunts of the man at my feet. I paused to take a look at the mess of bodies that littered the floor, and I couldn't be more proud of myself for knowing it was all my doing. I was fucking proud of myself. “You stay right here,” I said to the man at my feet with a groan. Walking over him to pick up the call. There was no point telling the man to wait, he couldn't get up even if he wanted to. I had already separated both his legs from his body and his body was already a mess. Walking over to the window on the third floor of the uncompleted building, I propped my elbow on the windowsill, staring down at my bloodied hand as I fetched my phone
ADRIANAfter the phone call with my brother, I felt increasingly restless, unable to shake off the unease that kept me awake and made bedtime impossible.Aston's disturbing revelation about the Marinos' near-miss shooting had already unsettled me, but his hasty goodbye without elaborating on the cryptic 'something happened' comment sent my imagination racing. Now, the deafening silence from my brother had me sick with worry. When I left home three years ago, my sole concern was avoiding any actions that might worry my family.Ironically, I now find myself consumed by worries about their well-being.As I stood frozen in the middle of my living room, phone clutched in my hand, my mind raced with a flurry of questions while I awaited my brother's call, my gaze drifting blankly into space.One question I kept asking myself was, "what have I done?"A sudden knock at the door sent me recoiling in terror, my heart racing and eyes wide with alarm. I froze, paralyzed by fear, my gaze fixed on
GIOVANNI "It's definitely his place," Dominic confirmed, his voice booming from the other end. I nodded my head, with the phone still pressed gently against my ear. I brought the cigarette closer to my lips and took a long drag before blowing the smoke out of the window. "Good. Leave the Russell's boy to me and just keep your eyes on the fed." I ordered, my voice was as husky as ever. "Yes, boss." I ended the call and tossed my phone on the stack of papers on my passenger seat. With the internal threats neutralized and the turncoats held accountable, the calm that followed left me feeling uncharacteristically idle. I craved action, my instincts itching for the next adrenaline rush. I had to change order of everything overnight. I had wanted this shit with Price Russell to be over with, but dealing with paper works after that made me want to drag this out for however long I want. I could have fun with this while I shove that bastard fed in his place. That was what bro
ADRIAN A low grunt rumbled through my chest as Giovanni Marino shoved me into the passenger seat of his lousy car.I curled my fingers into a tight ball as I glared hard at him. Giovanni inched closer, his neck hovering over my face and I held my breath so I won't be able to inhale him. "The fuck you think you're doing?"Giovanni chuckled, I could tell he did because I saw his chest vibrated against my arm as he tugged my seat forward, fastening my seatbelt for me. He moved back a little so I could see the smirk on his face. "Driving my boyfriend to work.""This is literally kidnapping." I flared up, throwing my head back against the headrest and let out a harsh groan. "And please stop calling me your boyfriend.""Why? Aren't we, like, boyfriends?" He said, eyebrows drew together as if he was surprised by my remark."We are no boyfriends, okay? Just please stop already." I hissed, watching him as he shut the passenger door and rounded the car.He got into the driver's seat and turne
GIOVANNIThere are two types of people I hate in this life: those who think they can fuck with my business, and people like Adrian.I hated myself more for admiring the stupid mole under his eyes, and his stupid freckles. I hated the fact that I found his big brown eyes fascinating, and the way the corner of his eyes wrinkled up whenever he attempted a smile that he would never let out.I hated the fact that I was drawn to the way his nose crinkled when he was frustrated, and even more, I hated that I couldn't help but notice these insignificant details about him.I watched Adrian disappear into the smoothie shop, and I had to physically hold back from clenching my fists in frustration, tempted to punch my own jaw in exasperation."What the fuck is wrong with me?" I groaned out in frustration, slipping quietly back into the car. I let my eyes dropped to my crotch and I snickered when I saw the tent in my pants. "Fucking hell!"I groaned out, letting my head dropped to the headrest of
GIOVANNI I hate coming here. But what I hate most is driving Adrian here. Dad must not know about him, but what can I do when that bastard keeps finding every opportunity to run away? I could have dropped him off at my apartment first, but what if he had already left before I got back from Dad's?I tightened my grip on the briefcase's handle as I walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. It felt as if an invisible thread had been tied around my neck, cutting off my airflow as I entered the elevator and watched the doors close.Today, I'm going to meet my brother after he's been imprisoned for the past year and some months. He's going to be freed, and I wonder how he'll feel when he sees me. As for me, I'm kind of nervous, and I couldn't help but stretch my neck to help me stay focused.I had done something outrageous for Dad, just to get my brother out of prison, and I wondered if he would even keep his end of the bargain in the end. That old geezer was a damn sly bastard; h
ADRIAN I was in my fucking head.The entire drive I felt agitation flowing through my body. Every flicker of Giovanni's gaze that came my way, every little smirk he pulled, felt like he was holding some inside joke that I was on the outside of. The sleek leather seat of his car was cool, and it was the only thing that prevented me from melting into a goddamn puddle.I wished I had the courage to talk to him because we had a lot to talk about. I wanted to know exactly what I was to him. He needed to define our relationship so I wouldn't mistake it for another.I needed to know why he got so angry when I said he wasn't even my boyfriend. Did he want me like I wanted him?Was he under the impression that he was my boyfriend, and did he wish it to be true, just like I did?Fuck!I am so confused!Taking a quick glance at Giovanni, I felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw the fire in his eyes. Fuck, it turned me on even more.The rush, the danger, and not to mention the hot as fuck
ADRIAN In my head, I knew I was exactly where I didn't want to be. An hour earlier, I would have jumped at the chance to follow Giovanni wherever he led me, because that was how much I missed having him around. But now my heart was set on being somewhere else entirely. The only place I wanted to be right now was in the comfort of my apartment, with Carlos by my side. I felt a pang of guilt for not being there to support him through his withdrawal. He was counting on me, and I hated that I had abandoned him when he needed me most. This was the one time I was supposed to repay him for all he had done for me in the past, but instead, I had left him to face his struggles alone. I could tell Giovanni was furious seeing me like that, I would too if the situation was reversed. But if I'm being honest, I wouldn't change a thing even if I could turn back the clock. Given the chance to relive the past ten minutes, I would make the same choices all over again. I would still choose t
GIOVANNI "That little shit." I chuckled, dropping the phone next to me on the couch after ending the call with Adrian.My erection pressing roughly against the zipper of my pants. I still couldn't believe he had actually dressed up just for me.Or maybe he hadn't gone through all that trouble just for me, but my flawed, egotistical self refused to accept that it was merely a coincidence."Fuck! I need to see Adrian. I can't stay another second without having him in my arms." I said, groaning out in pain as I tried sitting up on the couch but it was damn near impossible.I looked down at the ugly looking bandage on my stomach. So far, it was clean. No more bleeding through the white shirt. Thankfully, the damage the bullet had done on my stomach hadn’t been deep, but it still ached. I was on my third ibuprofen, and the pain was still there like it was part of me. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe it was all psychological throbbing instead of actual, physical pain.No one in the fami
ADRIAN The taxi came to a stop in front of a modest house thirty minutes later. I let out a deep breath, double-checking the address Lizzy had sent me to confirm I was at the right location. I had envisioned Lizzy's home to be more like everyone of us, but this one seemed surprisingly shocking.This should be the biggest house in Nexus Point. It reminded me of Dad's house in Solaris, but then I shook my head gently.Not today. I'm not going to think about dad today.Walking over to the front door, I placed a light knock on the door. I knew I should have just called Lizzy, but my brain wasn't functioning well at the moment.After the third knock, the door opened from the inside and Lizzy's face came into view. A warm smile spread across her face the moment she saw me."Hi, Adrian." She said, waving awkwardly at me."Hi, Lizzy." I greeted back, waving at her. Didn't know exactly what to say or what do do."You're here early." She said, smiling, opening the door wide for me to enter."
ADRIAN"Hey, Gracie. I have to go." I called out, walking out of the kitchen, wiping my hands with a small towel I had picked up from the counter.I had offered to do the dishes after everyone else had done eating. Honestly, I actually offered to do it just to escape Marcelo and his heated gaze at me.Grace walked over to me and handed me a hand cream. "Told you to let me do the dishes. You're just too stubborn.""It's alright. Since I didn't help out with the cooking the least I could do is help with the dishes." I smiled, applying the hand cream that smelled just like honey and was smooth on my skin like a butter.I handed Grace the small towel and the hand cream. She opened her mouth to talk but closed it back when we heard giggles from the living room."Are you sure that guy is not into you? I swear he likes you." Grace smirked, looking in the direction of where Marcelo and Tobi were playing video game in the living room.Marcelo was winning, and he wouldn't stop giving Tobi shit
ADRIAN My feet hurt so damn bad I wanted to cut them off and toss them into the nearest dumpster. I trudged up the walk to Grace's apartment from the food court where I had stopped to get us some cupcakes, brownies, ice cream sundaes, nachos and wings. For our gossip Sunday breakfast.If I had known five minutes walk on a Sunday morning would make me feel like an expired chicken, I wouldn't have dropped out of Marcelo's car to get desserts.Speaking of Marcelo, I heard a car honk right next to me and I almost jumped out of my skin."Fucking hell? Dude!" I grunted, glaring at the familiar car I had come to recognise against my own will.The car window rolled down, and Marcelo poked his head out, staring at the desserts bag in my hand. "Is it edible?"He gazed up at me with an irresistibly innocent expression that was just too cute to resist, his slow blink making me want to hand over the entire dessert bag to him.But no. This bastard is far from being innocent and cute, and he doesn'
ADRIAN "Hey, are you coming over for breakfast? Tobias is already here, we are waiting for you." Grace asked, the sound of plates hitting against kitchen counter was so loud in the background that I almost didn't hear what she said."Jesus, G. I'm just waking up now." I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I tossed and turned on my bed, stretching my arm."That doesn't answer my question, baby D." She huffed, and I imagined her rolling her eyes. "Are you coming? Or what?"Of course Grace would be the first person to call me on a Sunday morning. Both Grace and Tobi always have breakfast together every Sunday and they always wanted me there."I'm not sure." I grumbled, sitting up on my bed and tossed the blanket away. It landed on the floor. "I'm tired."Looking around my room, it was a little messy in here and I wondered what Giovanni would say about the situation of my room if he should be here. That neat freak.The thought brought a warm smile to my face that I almost forgot about Grace who
GIOVANNI"Do you think you will be able to get inside the main building just by killing me?" The bastard coughed out blood, looking up at me with his messed up face.I shrugged, pulling out my gloves and put them on. "That's my problem to worry about."I hadn't really expected it to be this easy to sneaked into Volkov Bratva's mansion, but his guys were unexpectedly sloppy.I would have easily made my way into the main building where the blueprint was kept, if it didn't require I used a fucking thumbprint to enter.Only three people has access to the main building. Volkov Bratva, his right hand man and his dear cousin.I wouldn't have resorted to killing Volkov Bratva's right hand man if the bastard had just given me his fucking thumb without putting up a fight."Fuck!" The bastard coughed again, spitting out blood on the marble floor. "You are so going to regret this. Volkov won't let it slide if you kill me.""You think I give a shit about that?" I scoffed, crouching to his level an