The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was not alone. The next thing was that I was wrapped in someone's arms and finally, that the person was Luca.My rapid movement must have woken Luca up because in less than a minute, he stirred from his sleep and then unwrapped his arms from around me before standing up. He mumbled a greeting just before stepping out of the room.I ignored him, glancing down to see that I was naked except for Luca's shirt that was draped lazily around me. I saw that a reddish purple bruise had started forming on my breasts. Memories from last night flooded my head and I let out a squeal, pressing my burning face into the pillow.I stood up and looked at my reflection in the large mirror. My hair was in a disheveled mess, my lipstick was smeared and one earring of mine was no longer on my ear.My skin looked ruined, but in a beautiful way. Like a ruined artwork.The marks all over my body were now more highlighted under the natural light.“I'm leavin
“Fucking hell! Nazlynn, are you trying to kill me?” Luca asked as he walked in and took the gun out of my hands.“I told you to stay far from the door. You're right across from it,” he said, sounding exasperated.Luca noticed that I was shaking and that I hadn't responded to him. He took my face in his hands. “Hey, look at me. You're okay because I'm right here, okay?” he said, boring into my eyes with his.“Did you kill them?” I asked in a low voice. He ignored me. “Who were those people?” I asked again, looking towards the doorway where I could see the hand of a body stretched out on the floor.“I believe they were sent by Matteo but it's nothing to worry about. I'll deal with it.”“Grab your things together. I'll take you to a safe house for the rest of the afternoon and then we'll leave Italy in the evening.”I made a move to leave when his words struck me. “You said you'll take me, what does that mean?” I asked.“What?”“You said you'll take me, you didn't say we'll go to a safe
Luca's POV I was ignoring her, and I couldn't explain why.In all my years with every single person I have had an encounter with, I have never slept beside them on the bed.From flings to submissives once in a while to the few relationships I had been in. It was an unspoken rule for me. After sex, you leave or I leave, there was no way we would sleep in the same room.But with Nazlynn, I found myself drifting off after her pussy walls had milked me completely dry. Waking up with her beside me threw me off and I had to leave the room in a frenzy before I did something I would regret like kissing her good morning.“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked me when we were on the flight back home. “You're all nice and sweet one moment and the next moment you completely switch up!” she exclaimed in irritation.I brushed away the strong urge to turn around and hold her in my arms. To apologize and tell her that I was acting out for no reason but I didn't.She smacked the seatbelt from
I was taking a stroll in the compound when Luca came back that evening. Dropping the basket of flowers I had carefully picked to place in the vase on the kitchen island, I walked briskly to catch up with him.“Luca,” I called out but he strode into the house without as much as a backward glance. I had thought he would go wherever he was going and back with a clear mind but clearly I was wrong. Gone was the man who'd held me close that last night in Rome. In his place stood the stranger I was used to, a cold and distant stranger.All the men outside who had seen the brief encounter, or rather the lack of it, between me and Luca, avoided my gaze completely as I went back to pick my basket."I have work to do," Luca announced flatly, already heading towards his study when I entered the house. "Have dinner without me."I watched him take one step after the other, fighting back tears. "Fine," I muttered, more to myself than to him. Two could play this game.I fought the urge to have Gabri
I jerked my hand away from Mathias' instinctively, my heart racing. "Luca, I…" But Luca wasn't listening. His gaze was fixed on Mathias, who had risen to his feet, hands raised placatingly."We were just talking," Mathias began, but Luca cut him off with a sharp gesture."Save it," he spat. "Both of you. Inside. Now."As Luca turned on his heel, storming into the house with barely contained rage, I exchanged a confused look with Mathias. What had we done?The air was heavy with tension as we entered into a room at the far end of the hallway. I saw a confused looking Jenna and Elena staring at our retreating form until the door slammed shut behind us with an unmistakable finality.Luca paced like a caged animal, his jaw was clenched so tight, I thought he might lose a tooth. When he finally spoke up, his tone was deceptively calm. "Mathias, you're my friend and that's the only reason why I'm not standing here with your blood covering my fist."“Both of you, explain.”I opened my mout
Luca's conversation with the girl ended after that. She refused to speak any further, so Luca told his men to contain her and wait for further instructions.For a moment, no one in the room moved. Then Luca was on his feet, barking orders. "Marco, I want extra security on all our operations, especially the docks. Salvatore, get me everything we have on the Russo’s recent movements. And someone, find out how the fuck they knew where I was and got close enough to make an attempt on my wife's life!"The room erupted into a flurry of activity. I sat frozen, unable to speak or move. Luca turned to me, running a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body.I noticed he didn't say anything to Mathias when he was talking to the others but the last thing I would have done would have been to ask."I need to deal with this," he said. "Go home and stay in the house. Don't go anywhere at all. Is that understood?""Luca," I started, finally finding my voice. "What's going o
There was a deafening silence in the house as I waited for Jenna. I'm not sure if the silence came from my head or if the house was actually that quiet. A knock sounded at my door and Jenna slipped inside, her face was etched with worry. "Hey, is he home?" she asked.I shook my head. "No. What's happening out there, Jenna? The staff are whispering, the guards are clearly on high alert but no one will tell me anything."She sighed, pulling her chair closer to the bed and sinking into it. "It's bad, Nazlynn. Luca's territory has been completely breached, there's attacks on any member of his mafia in the streets. The Russos are making their move, and they're not being subtle about it."My stomach lurched. “Do you mean... Are people dying?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.Jenna's gaze was apologetic. "I wish I could say no. The attacks are so violent and it doesn't seem like they are stopping just yet."I pulled the comforter closer to myself, my head spinning. "I don't underst
Gabriel came bustling through the kitchen door, with smoke coming in after him. My eyes widened at the sight behind him, the small living room had gone up in flames. “We need to move, now!” He said, shooting through the open door at anything since he couldn't see. He was bleeding from his stomach but it looked like just a flesh wound.In desperation, Jenna grabbed a chopping board, smashing it against the large window. Glass shattered, ushering in the cool night air."Go!" she urged, helping me climb out the window and onto the strange surface that was beneath it. I heard Gabriel groan loudly in pain just as my feet hit the metal grating. Jenna was right behind me, her breath was in ragged gasps as the smoke had filled her nostrils."Get down, quickly!" she ordered.The occupants of other apartments had all come out to see the cause of the commotion. It was clear that they didn't see this kind of commotion around here.Gabriel followed behind us shortly and soon enough, he had guide
Luca's POV“We've been driving for quite some time. I think we would have found her SUV if it were here to see.” Gabriel said, taking the words right out of my intrusive thoughts. I've been forcing myself to ignore the fact that my wife's car was clearly not in sight. “I'll just drive around this street one more time then,” I said, stepping on the gas to increase my speed. “She's not here, boss,” Gabriel said, and I only hummed in response but showed no sign that I had heard him.“She's not here!” He said, louder this time, causing me to step on the brake so hard that our bodies lurched forward in the car. I glared at him so hard until he cowered. “I'm sorry, boss. You were driving at a speed that was going to get us pulled over by the police.”Scoffing, I shook my head in disdain. I was irritated with myself, with the fact that I couldn't even protect my own wife. “I can't have a repeat of what happened a year ago, Gabriel. I really cannot,” I said, feeling my tough facade slipp
Alice struggled against her restraints, gnashing her teeth at him. “Who are you, and what do you want with us?”The man's face came into view, and I frowned slightly. It was a boy actually, he didn't look a day over fifteen years old. His voice sounded a lot more mature, I would have guessed he was in his late twenties if I hadn't seen his face. “Please let her go. She has nothing to do with me, and she doesn't know anything,” I pleaded on my friend's behalf. Alice looked scared shitless, like she would piss her pants any time soon.“Way to go, Nazlynn. You meet your friend for the first time ever and get her kidnapped,” I said to myself mentally. I couldn't let them hurt her. Alice could already clearly see that she's missing something about my life.The boy just stood there and stared at me. “Do you know him or something?” Alice whispered to me.I shook my head, “I've never seen him before.”He stared at me for a long time without saying a word. His face was void of any facial exp
She scrunched up her nose, and her eyebrows pulled together in a manner that screamed confusion. “You mentioned it when you told me about your nightmares some time ago,” she said.I nodded. “I think you should do what you think is best for your child. You know it's not just yourself that you have to take care of or look out for,” she said, giving me a look that my mother would give me when she was trying to make me see a point that I am intentionally blind to.We talked some more, and I told her everything about everything, going into more details than I did when I sent that long text message. For some odd reason, I felt really calm around her, like I could tell her anything at all. Which was surprising considering how much I was freaking out when I got here.I had come to meet with her to get some advice on what I should do and how I should do it, but here she was telling me that the decision was all mine to make. Just sitting down and talking to her did help me feel better, thou
I agreed to meet up with Alice two days after she had sent that text. Coincidentally, we were in the same city, so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. She said it was important we met up, and I was curious as to why.“I already fed her, but in case she gets whiny again, give her water in her bottle,” I said to Tracy, crouching down so I could give Hailey a big kiss.The only thing I hated more than being away from my baby was being away from my baby.“I'm going out,” I said to Luca when I saw him in the hallway. He was speaking to some of the members of our security team. He frowned, giving me a once over. “Where are you off to?” “I'm going to meet with someone,” I responded briefly, checking my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Luca dismissed the small gathering of men before turning his attention to me. “Who? You don't have any friends. You're not exactly the most social person,” Luca pointed out. I froze. He had a point. Considering everything that has
Luca walked towards me in a predatory type of way. “Hi princess,” he greeted Hailey before taking her off of me. I stilled as he passed by me, keeping my eyes on Enzo at the other side of the room, who looked half as uncomfortable as I did. “Judging by the fact we've been married for almost two years, you should know that I know you better than yourself,” I heard Luca say from behind me before hearing the door shut and then the sound of a luck turning.I whipped around and was shocked to see an empty space behind me. “What just happened?” I asked Enzo, who was just staring at me.“Your husband just locked us in,” he stated simply.“Yes, I can see that. But why?” I asked as my panic level started rising. Enzo hopped off the chair he was sitting on and started walking towards me. “I asked him how I could get you to talk to me. He said you have a thing for eavesdropping on his conversations, so we decided to see if it'll work. We left the door open a bit, sprinkled your name into the
You're really not going to talk to me at all?” I heard Enzo ask, making me sigh.I had come down the staircase the next morning only to almost bump into him at the bottom. I increased my pace so I could disappear from him as quickly as possible, but Enzo just wouldn't let me be.“I thought I made that clear enough, but apparently I didn't, seeing how you're currently trying to talk to me,” I replied with a fake smile.“Nazlynn,” he called out softly, taking a step in my direction.My eyes searched his. I could still see fragments of the little boy who had left for Atlanta years back, but I could also see something darker. The kind of darkness that you are bound to be exposed to while working with the mafia.I was one to talk, considering how I'm married to a mafia don who is the rival to my biological father who is also a mafia don.“I'm not ready for the conversation you're trying to have, Enzo. I would like to get through one day without reminding myself of how I failed you as a si
I was going to respond to the message Alice sent, but then I got distracted by something that Gabriel said, and I kind of zoned out from everything until we got to the house.I knew when Enzo arrived because half of the staff went into a frenzy, trying to prepare a room for the guest. I wonder what he would be referred to as someone who works for the boss or the boss’ wife's brother. Either way, he's getting a wonderful welcome party.Once I got home, I picked up a sleepy Hailey from her nursery and headed to my room. I wanted to take a nap, and I always slept better when I was smothering Hailey in my arms.Some hours later, a knock woke me up. I saw that my girl was already up before me and was staring at me with her eyes that were an exact copy of mine.I swung the door open with a scowl on my face, ready to have a go at the person who has just interrupted my sleep and possibly, Hailey’s. I was certainly not expecting to be met with Luca's expectant face.My face softened visibly.
“Enzo,” I breathed out without turning back.“I'm home, sis. Not at the best of times, but I'm home,” he said, taking steps closer to me.I pressed a hand to my lips to conceal the sob that was threatening to break out. Slowly, I turned back to see a face that I had not seen physically in about eight years. Enzo was right there, standing in front of me.“How did you….?” I said, making a beeline for him, but then I stopped. Memories of the events from the past few weeks came flooding back into my head at once.“Nazi, please, don't turn away from me. I just want to give my big sister a hug after all these days,” he said, his eyes searching mine for any form of forgiveness. I made sure he wouldn't see any.He took a step closer to me, but I held a hand up to stop him. “How did you know where to find me?” I asked.“I called the boss when I landed at the airport. He told me you had just left the house and were headed here. Turns out, the trip from the airport here takes less time than fro
“Thrilling isn't it? To have found out that everybody had been lying to you,” the message read.“Who are you?” I typed in a frenzy. “Why are you doing this?”“Just a concerned citizen who doesn't like getting lied to. Something I figured you and I have in common.”My nostrils flared. Whoever this was, the person clearly knew a whole lot about me, and I didn't know anything about them. “I want to know who you are. Do you want to meet up?” I asked, biting down on my fingernails.“Making friends is not a part of my job description, sweet pea.”I kissed my teeth in irritation. “What job description?”“You.”That one word chilled me to the bone. I swiped away from the chat and quickly blocked the number from calling or texting me before I could allow myself to give it an extra thought. And that was the end of that chapter for me. I completely closed my mind to everything the person had said to me.It's been almost three weeks since Luca and I had the biggest and most emotional argument t