I'm shaking, the image of the masked man replaying in my mind over and over again. "We should call the police!" Sammy exclaims to Phoebe, but it's as if her voice is a thousand miles away. "We are not calling the police yet." Phoebe tells her. "Let's just wait until Alessandro gets here, and listen to what he says." "How can you even trust that guy so much? You don't even really know him!" I didn't even do anything. I didn't even reach for my knife, what's wrong with me? I should've put up more of a fight. The door of the apartment flies open and Alessandro storms through, Enzo and Evil Eyes hot on his heels. "What the hell happened?" He barks out. I'm covered in a blanket that Phoebe threw over me, but the shaking won't stop. "Someone was in the apartment." Phoebe tells him. "He was in Farrah's room." Alessandro kneels in front of me and takes my face in his hands. "Baby, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I just shake my head, my eyes trying to focus on his face, but
"I know something is bothering you, so just spit it out." Sammy sighs and puts the textbook she was holding down on the kitchen counter. "I'm worried about you, okay?" She says softly. I can't exactly blame her for feeling the way she does. I'm worried about myself. If whoever can run Dario off the road, gets into the apartment to get a message across, what else are they not capable of doing? What if someone hurts Phoebe or Sammy? All for some stupid business deal? I don't know if I should be mad or impressed with Alessandro right now. He knows what he wants and goes after it. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." Yeah, I don't know how much I believe those words after my freak-out last night. It had nothing to do with the guy either, but everything about me not having control over the situation. I've been asking myself if all of this is worth it just to be with Alessandro. And the answer is yes. Damn him! I would rather feel alive and in danger than go back t
I'm dancing and laughing with Sammy, and I'm slightly tipsy. The type of tipsy where you would make bad decisions like Phoebe would say. The latter is working the room as if she's already an employee at The Phoenix, being her charming self. Maybe Sammy and I should have done this a long time ago. The mix of alcohol, music, and bodies gyrating to the beat is oddly stress-relieving. Those nights we were so holed up in our tiny apartment should have been spent club-hopping and dancing our worries away. Or it's just a great remedy for running away. I feel him before I see him, that electrifying shiver that runs up my spine when he looks at me is present. I don't bother looking where he is because I know he will find me. He finds me even if I don't want to be found. I'm pissed off at him, too. Not even a fucking text message to make sure I'm okay. After he just spoke some bullshit about us getting married. I know nothing about relationships, but I know that is not how you would treat
Tame me! What the fuck am I? A horse? I'm out of the car before it even stops properly and I go for the garage door, but I'm too late to escape as the door rolls close faster than my heels can carry me. I stomp towards the elevator and press the button angrily. I'll just go up and then leave through the front door instead. I may want Alessandro more than I crave my next breath, but I'm tired of playing his stupid games. Maybe he thought he could change me into a docile little lady that waits for her man to get home from whatever adventure he's been on. Maybe he should have rather stuck with Raquel then because I'm certainly never going to do that. It's not too late to change his mind either. Any fool with two eyes can see that Raquel is completely smitten with him, I'm sure she'd drop Dario with a click of Alessandro's fingers. Not that Dario is even remotely interested in her either. Poor girl doesn't know what the hell she's getting herself into with these Moretti men.
I don't know how long Alessandro and I lay like that afterward, with him still inside me, still pulsating and me still quivering. I've probably torn some of his hair from his scalp. I cry out when he eventually withdraws from me, but he hushes me and kisses me slow, soft butterfly kisses down my neck and collarbone, over my shoulder to my upper arm. "I'm sorry it had to hurt." He whispers in my ear. "Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna do that again." It was both brilliant and petrifying. He lifts his head to look down at me with a playful smirk. "Oh, we're definitely doing that again." He kisses me on the nose. "And again." Then a soft kiss on my lips. "And again." An endearing kiss on my forehead. "And again." He pushes himself up on his arms and then pulls me up too, a meek protest leaving me. "I made you all dirty, now I have to clean you up." I am dirty indeed, my thighs are completely wet, so I let him carry me into the bathroom and straight into the shower, dozens of
"Hi, stranger!" Kevin smiles warmly down at me where I'm sitting on a bench, catching the last rays of the fall sun. "I haven't seen you in a while!" He takes the empty seat next to me and I smile, wondering if I'll receive a text from Alessandro warning me again. "Yeah, I had some things going on." He frowns. "Everything okay?" I don't exactly know the answer to that. First of all, I'm not a virgin anymore, and even five days later, I'm still feeling the effects of that. Alessandro seems to always be busy, I don't really see him apart from him getting into bed with me way after I fell asleep, only for him to leave early morning again. Sammy is completely smitten with Evan, he is all she talks about, she got the internship so she's never around either. And Phoebe started working in the club, so in the afternoons she goes to meetings and then to work in the evening. She's sleeping the rest of the time, so I've been left to my own devices, which is okay because I can focus on
I look like a certified fucking cheerleader. There's a ribbon in my hair, I'm pretty sure I didn't even wear a ribbon when I was a toddler. "This is so exciting!" Phoebe is practically jumping with energy as we're standing in line at the ticket box. "I haven't been to a game since high school." That makes me feel slightly better for wearing the stupid outfit I'm sporting. This was the goal, to make Phoebe feel better, although her life seems pretty great nowadays. We get our tickets and Phoebe makes us stand in the concession line to get snacks. Now I know why I don't like fucking sports, the stadiums are always crowded, I wonder if these people go to their classes with the same vigor. "Oh my god, sissy! We've got the best seats in the house!" Phoebe beams when we make our way to our seats. "Did you give this guy a blowjob when you tutored him?" I hope nobody heard that. I have to say the atmosphere is electric in the stadium, our side is covered in red and white, and people are
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
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