Alessandro is not answering my texts or picking up his phone. My nerves are going through the roof with every second that passes that I don't hear from him. After what happened with Dario and the intruder in the apartment, I'm worried sick if he's okay or not. Enzo isn't saying a word. He just informed us he'll be staying the night and is now softly snoring on the couch. Sammy threw a blanket over his too-big-for-the-couch body. "Isn't the role of a bodyguard to guard us and not sleep?" Phoebe pours herself another glass of wine. "I still can't get a hold of anyone at the freaking club, I checked news sites, but there's nothing!" I check the time on my phone. It's now almost two am, and still no word from Alessandro. My knee jumps in anxiety. "Evan doesn't know anything either." Sammy holds her glass out to Phoebe. "I'm surprised you're even home." I raise my eyebrows at her. She blushes and pushes her glasses up her nose in a way that makes me know she's nervous. "I just thou
Alessandro Moretti has a lot of surprises up his sleeve. I've heard a lot of stories about men succumbing to weaknesses and how sex makes them lose focus. But not Alessandro Moretti. He must have the will of steel, because he's been torturing me in bed every single night without giving me what I want, satisfying me by making me come, but denying me the ultimate pleasure of himself. All so I can move in with him. He withholds to receive the ultimate prize. It's fucking brilliant because I'm ten seconds from throwing my meager belongings in a bag and begging him to move in with him. "Your sister hasn't texted me back." I almost offer Kevin my coffee just to cheer him up. Almost, but I don't, because I'm extremely sexually frustrated and in need of all the help I can get. "You texted her?" I ask dumbly. I know he texted her because she came running out of her bedroom screaming like a banshee, letting the whole house know. "Yeah, like Saturday morning already." He looks dumbfound
"You do realize this is the first time we're in an actual restaurant together, right?" Alessandro looks accusingly at me over the rim of his wine glass. "And yet you're pressurizing me to move in with you." I retort back. "A little backward, don't you think?" "I never liked normal things." He shrugs. He's looking especially handsome tonight, not because he's wearing a business suit, but because he's actually wearing a pair of dark-washed denim jeans and a black, knitted polo-neck which accentuates his insane muscle build. I almost stabbed the waitress in the eye for looking at him too long. Phoebe was right. I need to stake my claim. "I like living with the girls. Plus, you're never around, I'm going to be awfully lonely all by myself in that big, old apartment of yours." His eyes follow my lips as I take a sip of my wine. Phoebe painted it in that shade of red, the same one the night we first saw each other. "You should know I always get what I want." Good thing we're se
Sammy is in love. I should be over the moon for her, but I've got a gloomy feeling in my gut that doesn't want to go away. It's all Alessandro's fault. I was okay before I met him. Dead inside, but okay. I didn't care about sex and the male body or spending time with someone. I had Phoebe, and I had Sammy, and that was more than enough for me. But he just had to barrel his way into my life, make me want him, make me trust him. Now, all I'm getting is scraps of his time and attention. He just wants everything, but what is he giving in return? He can take all of this material stuff. What use is it if the person doesn't come with it? "And he's so funny!" Sammy gushes on. "I've never met someone like him!" I smile and nod at her, so I don't look like a jealous asshole, even though I am. Evan is a busy guy. He owns the biggest social media networks in the world, but he's making time to wine and dine Sammy and spend real time with her. Not dinners, all for show. I see Kevin waiting f
Calmness settles over me, that place my brain goes to when I'm in danger. I secretly love being in that headspace. When I get like this, I'm super focused, my brain thinks even more analytically than usual, and I see solutions clear as day. Right now I have limited options. The doors are locked and being controlled by the driver. I know for a fact the windows are bulletproof, so I can't smash it to get through. I can hit him from behind, but he's driving really fast, it might cause an accident. Right now an accident sounds like a good idea, especially if I might be on my way to my death. I might survive an accident, I might not survive what this guy has planned. I'm gonna have to take my chances, be smart, and act as if I'm really scared. "What are you going to do with me?" I hope I sound very petrified, when in fact I'm searching in my bag while I'm talking. "That's not up to me sweetheart." He looks at me in the rearview mirror. "I'm just doing my job." Is that regret I
"Wait for me in the car." Alessandro instructs, and I do as I'm told. I watch as he speaks to the men and gets my bag from the backseat. What the hell are they even going to tell the cops? There must be some evidence left behind. I was abducted, sure, but Alessandro did just kill two men, and so did I. This is where my calmness starts evaporating and panic sets in. I should've thought this through before I stabbed the guy in the neck. Alessandro's face looks grim as he approaches the Mustang. I think we might be in deep shit. "What happens now?" I ask as soon as he gets inside the car. "Are we going to wait for the police?" Something like this has to be reported, right? He starts the car and leaves with the same screeching tires he arrived with. "No, the clean-up crew is almost here. This isn't a matter for the police, those guys were from the Bratva." "The Bratva?" I frown. "Russian mafia. The question is, why the fuck would a member of the Bratva try to stall a business deal
"What are you doing?" I'm standing in the open doorway of Sammy's bedroom, watching as she's busy gathering her stuff, suitcases open on her bed. She's avoiding my gaze. "I'm moving out." "You're what!" I exclaim. "What the hell?" "I can't do this anymore, okay?" There's sorrow in her eyes when they eventually meet mine. "I love you, I do, but I almost died on Saturday thinking of what could have happened to you." I cross my arms over my chest in defense. "But nothing happened to me. I'm fine. Alessandro and his men got me out quickly." "That's not the point!" She cries out, throwing her arms in the air. "You were abducted right in front of my eyes. I can't willingly watch you go down this rabbit hole! I'm out!" I'm completely blindsided. "You're my best friend, there is no out!" "Yes, there is." She wipes a lone tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry, but I just can't be a part of this world with you. I'm not like you and Phoebe, you guys are hardcore and you've accepted this
It's only past ten at night when Alessandro walks through my bedroom door. Quite early compared to recent times. I put the book I was reading down on the nightstand. "Hey, everything okay?" He looks exhausted like he hasn't slept in days. And maybe he hasn't. I must really be a psycho because I haven't had any trouble falling asleep after Saturday. He takes off his jacket without looking at me. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He still sleeps beside me every night, but he's distant. I know he feels guilty for what happened to me, but I'm alive and unharmed. Why can't he just get over that? "Are you talking about Sammy?" I sigh. "I'll still see her around campus. She made the best choice for herself." "And you don't resent me for that?" He's still not looking at me while he's getting undressed, and it's unnerving me. "Why would I resent you?" I frown. "You didn't make her move out." "But yet she did move out because of me, no?" "Do you want me to blame you for Sammy moving out
I look down at my three babies, where they're all bundled in the same incubator. They were born on thirty-three weeks, but none of them had to be incubated. I'm so proud of them, all of them able to breathe on their own. I was so worried, but they did it. I've never cried so much as I've been crying in the last week. The pediatrician said they should stay in the incubator for at least two weeks, and they were each placed in their own one. But the nurses said when they're apart, they cry, and when they're together, they don't. It's the cutest thing ever. Alessandro can't tell them apart because they look exactly alike. I don't know how, but I know who is who. Their father proudly named them, and right now, Arcangelo's mouth cutely yawns, even though they're sleeping. One week until we can take them home. Right now, they've wearing onesies courtesy of their aunt saying Thing One, Thing Two, and Thing Three. I miss Phoebe in the house, but she has to follow her own path, and she
FARRAH "I'm so sorry, Thomas." My bodyguard is a lone figure at the grave of his wife. "Me too." He says softly with his head bowed. "I was so busy with..." He doesn't complete the sentence, so I take his hand in mine and squeeze his. "It's okay to say it." "I was so busy protecting others, I didn't take care of my own family." He completes the sentence on a sob. "You know that's not true." I tell him. "You were looking after all of us. You just didn't think her past would catch up to you." "But I should have!" He turns guilty eyes to mine where I'm sitting in a wheelchair next to him. "That's what I was trained to do, and I failed my own wife." He's going to feel guilty for a while, probably forever, so I don't say a word. Alma's killer was from a religious society who has been following her and Thomas's lives for a while now. They believe that she betrayed her country and her religion. She would have been stoned to death if she was in her own country. The government has tak
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Trey looks worriedly at me, his eyes darting back and forth in the dark street. "This ends tonight." I go over my body again, making sure for what seems like the hundredth time that I have all my guns and hand grenades in place. It seems like the fuckers are playing right into my hands. Thanks to Enzo's intel, I have the remaining four elders all under one roof in one night. By now, they must know that Fabiono is dead, but they still think I'm inside that jail. They probably know it was me, too, so they're most likely having a meeting to decide what they're doing next. Little do they know, I'm striking while the iron is still hot. Trey shakes his head, his eyes on the surveillance footage on his phone, all courtesy of Evan. Farrah was right, I did orchestrate Evan's bullying so I could be his savior. It was one of the best things I ever did, too, because I now have access to a satellite that gives me vision all over the world. And I have a gre
ALESSANDRO As soon as I stop in front of the quaint cottage, a shot gets fired from me from somewhere in the house, and I duck. I slowly get out of the driver's seat with my hands in the air. If this guy is as dangerous as Thomas said he is, I will be dead in the next second. "My name is Alessandro Moretti, I believe my wife is in there." I shout, hoping they can hear me. I take it as a good sign when I don't get shot at again. The front door opens, and a sight for sore eyes greets me. I run to that door as fast as I can, and then I scoop Farrah in my arms, her smell that is uniquely hers enveloping me. "What the fuck did you do, asshole." She sobs in my neck. "Are you okay? I thought you were in jail." I pull back so I can look at her. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks tired, but she's always the best thing I will ever see. "What are you doing on your feet?" I ask her. "You're not supposed to be walking around. You're supposed to be still." She hugs me ag
ALESSANDRO Dario is waiting for me when I walk out of jail the next morning. I don't like the look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" I want to know immediately. He holds the keys to his car out for me, and I grab it. I may be the younger of the two of us, but I've always been the one that was in control. He's never seemed to mind. It's just how our personalities work. "Farrah is gone." The earth drops from beneath my feet for a moment, but I take a deep breath. With Farrah, I've found that there's always an explanation. I get behind the wheel and wait for him to get in beside me. "What happened?" "One of her bodyguards was found with a single stab wound. Luckily, he's not dead." Dario sounds worried. "The hospital's cameras were conveniently out of order for about two hours, but both her and Phoebe are gone. And the other bodyguard." "What about Thomas?" "Still missing." I'm trying to keep my cool, but I bang on the steering wheel. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" Thomas has a few numbers I
FARRAH "Oh my God!" I scream. "T.J!" Damian doesn't even stay at the crash. He just swerves his car and goes around the wreck. "What are you doing?" Kevin shouts at him. "You have to stop, we have to help her!" "Are you okay? "Damian looks at me in the rearview mirror. "I'm fucking fine!" I'm about to lose it. We just left a kid there in a crashed car. "We have to go back and help her." Damian is still calm as he grabs his phone from the console and dials 911. He calmly tells the operator that there was a crash with the address, and then he disconnects before the operator can ask any questions. Phoebe is sobbing next to me, and I feel my own tears wetting my cheeks. We just left Alma there. What if she was badly hurt? Who was that behind the wheel of the truck, and why did he crash into her? The windows weren't even tinted of the car. If they were looking for me, they would've been able to see I wasn't in that car. "The three of you better listen to me and listen to me carefu
FARRAH "Is something going on here that I should know about?" Damian looks accusingly at me in Dr. Sanchez's office. "I've been calling Abe with no luck." Abe is the other bodyguard who's currently on shift. "I think that was my husband's uncle on the way to my room." I gulp, my heart rate skyrocketing. "I'm not sure, but with everything going on with my husband right now, I think he might be trying to hurt me." Hurt is a mild word, but Dr. Sanchez is in the room, and she already looks freaked out. I don't want to worry her any more than she already is. "And you were planning to do what exactly?" Damian wants to know. "I need to get out of here." "Against my advice!" Dr. Sanchez looks at me like I'm crazy. "What if you need blood? You do realize how serious your condition is, right? You are not just risking the lives of the babies, but yours, too." "I'm a sitting duck in the hospital." I shake my head at her. "And if someone kills me, there will be no babies or me anyway. Trus
ALESSANDRO Edward Whittle looks like I'm going to jump him any minute. But like I told him, I'm not here for him. He deserves to go to trial for what he's done, to be torn apart by the public and sentenced. Killing him would be a mercy he doesn't deserve. The asshole starts crying after I don't give him any attention, and I look at him in utter disgust. Those girls in that container were crying, too. I wonder how many girls he's smuggled in containers over the years. What has happened to those girls, were they still alive? Edward Whittle should get life in prison and become the bitch of a thousand men. And even that punishment won't be enough. He follows me around like a little puppy when it's dinner time. The dude jumps at the tiniest noise. That's what you get when you play on the wrong side of the law, and you don't think of the consequences. The inmates seem to know who I am and avoid me, so I get my food that looks like someone puked on it in peace, with my entourage of o
FARRAH "You can't leave the hospital." Phoebe drags both her hands through her hair. "We have to come up with something else. Plus, I think you're being paranoid." I don't know how to explain it to her. All I know is that my gut is never wrong, and I can feel that impending gloom. Nobody is hurting my babies, I would kill them first. Even if I have to do it kicking and bleeding. "I'm not paranoid." I sigh. I wish Alessandro would let me in on his damn plans and stop leaving me blindsided. "Call in one of the bodyguards." Phoebe looks at me skeptically, but do as I ask. The guy is well-built and looks like he belongs on a magazine cover and not outside my hospital room. He nods his head at me. "Mrs. Moretti." I'm still not used to being called that, but I do like the ring to it. "Do you know where Thomas is?" I ask. There's no way he just dropped off the face of the earth. "No ma'am. Thomas just gave us strict instructions that the door should be guarded at all times and that