Alessandra Valderrama POV I felt like such an asshole. His cheek was already starting to swell up and I could only imagine what his balls were feeling like right now. I’d nailed him with every bit of strength that I had in me. I hope this didn’t affect my grade…. At the last thought, I couldn’t help but giggle. That was such an inconsiderate and asshole thing to think when the poor man before me was in pain due to my paranoia. I’d been trained to sense being watched and take note of my surroundings and I’d been getting some eerie feelings that I just couldn’t shake lately. I didn’t think it was a coincidence, although I knew Zandro wasn’t the one who’d been following me lately. I could call the family, but then what? Either they’d send my brother and his goons here to deal with it or force me to return to Italy. I was enjoying it too much here to risk Papa sending me home. Chances are if there was someone following me then it was one of Papa’s men anyhow. I should have known better t
Alessandra Valderrama POVI tossed and turned all night barely getting a moment of sleep, my mind wouldn’t turn off and it was all because of Zandro. It shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t be this obsessed after all this time. We should have slid into a normal teacher and student routine by now and I had thought that we had – until last night. Maybe I’d been fooling myself. If anything, the past couple of months seemed to solidify the bond we were both trying to convince ourselves didn’t exist. Throwing the blankets from my body, I slid out of bed and took a quick, cold shower hoping to wake myself up while hoping the shower wouldn’t wake Editha. At least it was the weekend and I didn’t have classes today or I’d have been a walking zombie. Toweling myself off, I got dressed in the bathroom and then went back into the bedroom where my roommate was still loudly snoring. She’d come home shortly after I had, stumbling into the room and knocking over the lamp next to her bed before fallin
Alessandra Valderrama POV My heart was thumping rapidly in my chest as I waited for him to respond. Admitting that I had been thinking of him was a gamble. I didn’t want to be rejected, but what else could I do? I had to be true to myself and my feelings. If I didn’t take that chance, then I’d never know. Branching out and trying to make it on my own was all about taking chances and finding out who I was. That wasn’t going to happen if I didn’t go and get what I wanted. God knew my father and brothers went after what they wanted with everything they had in them. That’s why they were all so successful. I was a Valderrama while that may be bad in many ways, it also meant I had balls. I needed to take chances to achieve my goals and right now my goal was the man sitting across from me. No one had to know, at least not for a while. Not until it was safe. “Alessandra…”“Look. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel what I felt last night. There was a spark left over from when we had that nigh
Zandro Bernardino POV Watching her eat, I found I was at odds with myself. She was twenty-one. My student. There were so many things wrong with this situation, but I was having a hard time listening to my brain. It was my dick that was taking the wheel on this situation and to a lesser degree my heart, but I wanted to know her more intimately. Not just the sex, the sex was a given as I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about our night together. But I also wanted to know everything about how she became who she was today. From my current perception of her, she came off as an intelligent, witty, caring, and fucking bombshell of a hot woman. She was perfect in my eyes. With breakfast finished, I began clearing the table. “Okay, so let’s just say we take a chance on us seeing each other romantically. How in your mind would that work?” Finished cleaning up, I leaned back against the kitchen counter and watched as she rose from the chair and came over to me. As she drew closer the smell
Zandro POV Her body was so soft, so perfect. The way her sweet pussy gripped onto my dick milking me of every drop of my cum felt like heaven. She felt like heaven. I hadn’t been lying. There hadn’t been many nights that had gone by that I hadn’t thought of her. She was like a disease that had invaded my body and refused to leave. And God forgive me, but I didn’t want her to. As my dick depleted itself inside of her, I slowly pulled myself from her welcoming moist core. “You drive me crazy woman.” I chuckled as I pulled out completely. Kicking off my jeans, I removed my shirt and tossed it onto the floor with my jeans. Spinning her around, I grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, the bra coming off quickly after. “Shouldn’t we have gotten naked before we had sex,” she teased. My eyes moved up her body, over her shaved mound, her perky breasts that were just the perfect size to fit in my hands, and then to her face which was flushed as she panted softly
Zandro POV I’d been smiling all day. I knew I couldn’t pull her after every class, but once and a while wouldn’t hurt. The kids were so invested in what they were doing they’d hardly notice her sneaking off with me after class from time to time. Pulling into the parking lot behind my apartment building, I shut off the engine and sighed. There would be dozens of papers for me to mark. I had the students keep them relatively short, just a few thousand words and my assistant helped go through the papers that I wouldn’t have time for.Generally, I read the ones who had the highest marks in my class and the lowest marks, my assistant would get the vast majority of the ones in the middle. Getting out of the car, I made my way into the building, which was securely locked, and to my floor. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I pulled up Alessandra’s name. Zandro: Hey beautiful, how were your classes? There was a beep sound followed by a woman’s voice. “Why text me when you can just ask in pe
Alessandra Valderrama POV Zandro gave my hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance that made my heart swell. I had to be the luckiest girl on earth. I needed to tell him the full truth about my family. Our feelings for each other were growing by leaps and bounds each day and I was beginning to think that it wasn’t just lust, but that I was falling in love with him. So there had to be a point where I finally pulled the trigger and confessed, but the problem was that the longer I waited the harder it was going to be to confess everything. I just needed to ensure that he wasn’t going to bail the moment he found out who my family really was. “You know that I think you have a sharp and inquisitive mind. The sky is the limit for you here and I know that you’ll achieve anything you want regardless of what it is. And I’ll be there with you every step of the way. I promise. For as long as you’ll allow me to be.” My heart swelled. How could I have gotten so lucky as to have met him? That was one o
Alessandra Valderrama POV I was on cloud nine as I stepped into my dorm room after midnight. The past couple of weeks with Zandro have been incredible. He was everything I’d dreamed a man to be. I just wished that we didn’t have to sneak around in order to see each other. I didn’t want us to be a secret, I wanted to be able to scream out to the world how happy I was. Each day, each date brought me closer to the big “L.” He didn’t play games, he wore his heart on his sleeve and I knew he was starting to get those feelings as well. You never knew what the future held, but at this moment it felt bright. I was expecting to see Editha sound asleep and snoring by now, but instead, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed reading from her psychology textbook. Guilt hit me, I kept canceling plans with her and that wasn’t fair. She’d been my first friend when I’d arrived and she’d stood by my side no matter how many times I blew her off. I’d have to make it a point to do something nice for h
Cassandra Valderrama Gallardo POVI never wanted a big wedding. Growing up, I wasn’t the type of girl who dreamed about flowing white dresses, enough flowers to open a florist shop, or exorbitantly expensive multi-tier cakes. I’m perfectly content with what I have—my family in attendance and my man standing proudly at the altar.We’re in a small chapel, tucked away in one of the quieter, more peaceful corners of the city. I’m dressed in the same wedding dress Mom wore when she married Dad, the very same veil on my head. There are no words to describe how honored I am to wear it. I hope one day, I get to pass it on to my own daughter to wear at her wedding, and perhaps even my granddaughter after her. Little things like these, full of sentiment and love, are how traditions are born.Dad and I stand just in front of the main entrance to the chapel. Everyone’s taken their seats, and the music is beginning to swell. I know he had his reservations when I first agreed to marry Thorton, but
Thorton Gallardo POVOne Month LaterSeparately, the Valderrama and Gallardo Mafias are capable of incredible things. They both rule with iron fists and awe-inspiring efficiency. Where the Valderrama commands the respect of their peers, my brothers and I are tenaciously ambitious. Combined—we’re a force to be reckoned with.We’re only a month into our merger, but all of Italy works like a well-oiled machine. With the Valderramas’ connections and my transportation network, we’re virtually unstoppable. I don’t think the criminal underworld has ever seen a more impressive organization. With Leo running the numbers, Samuel enforcing our laws, Roman negotiating our deals, and Damien keeping his ear to the ground for any whispers of dissent, we have the entire city under our thumbs. But right now, the last thing I want to think about is work. Zandra, unfortunately, has other plans.“Remind me to ask Samuel to pay the Southern Administrative District a visit. A couple of businesses haven’t
Zandra Valderrama POVI only have so much time. Before long, my baby bump will begin to show, and then the jig is up. I need to figure out how to break the news to Dad without sending him into full-on cardiac arrest. My decision is final, though, no matter what he or the rest of my family has to say. I’m keeping this baby, and I’m going to protect him or her with every fiber of my being.Do I think Dad might disown me when he learns the truth? Probably not. He’s always been a level-headed guy. I doubt he’d do anything so drastic… But that doesn’t stop me from coming up with a Plan B, C, and D—just in case.I’m just about to pull out my phone to look up some rudimentary information on what mothers should expect when I hear a strange sound coming from outside. The screech of car tires, angry shouting. My heart automatically leaps into my throat and lodges there. Oh, God. Are we under attack? All this excitement and paranoia can’t possibly be good for the baby.My little brother comes ho
Thorton Gallardo POVHalf of Italy belongs to the Gallardo Mafia.I should be over the moon.I’m anything but.“We’re seeing staggering profits,” Leo tells me from the other side of my desk. One of his detailed spreadsheets is pulled up on his tablet. “We’ve had next to no resistance from the remaining Valderrama in the area. They’ve all but fled to the north of the city. The raid left them scrambled, but I don’t think now is the time to keep pushing. There’s still a heavy police presence in the area.”“Sure,” I mumble. I’m only half listening, partially because I know Leo’s got everything under control, and partially because I can’t bring myself to care. It’s almost cruel how we have everything we want, yet I have nothing I need.“The taxi business practically runs itself at this point,” Leo goes on. “Since Detective Rossi, uh, passed, there’s been no reason for the police to keep sniffing around. He was the only one who could link us to our criminal interests, and it doesn’t look l
Zandra Valderrama POVI’m bedridden for what feels like an eternity.Aunt Natalya keeps telling me it’s frankly a miracle I survived. Very few can take a bullet through the chest and live to tell the tale. It’s nothing short of divine intervention. But even if I did have the energy to get out of bed, I wouldn’t. A heavy fog clouds my mind, and it has nothing to do with the pain meds I’m on.I can’t stop thinking about Thorton. I can barely even think of his name without pins and needles stinging my eyes. No matter what I do, no matter how much time has passed, I can’t bring myself to accept he’s dead. The lives we lead are dangerous ones. Death and injury is an accepted workplace hazard. I just didn’t think it would actually happen.“Come on, Zandy,” Alessandra whispers at my bedside. There’s a bowl of chicken noodle soup on her lap. It’s all I’ve been able to stomach lately. Everything else makes me feel barfy.“You should eat something,” Mom adds softly. She’s seated on the other si
Thorton Gallardo POVIf obsession is a disease, then I’m sick and suffering.My waking thoughts bounce back and forth between Zandra and Rossi, trapping me in a never-ending cycle of cause and effect. I can’t stop thinking about her, about how cold and small she was in my arms as the lights faded from her eyes. My chest tightens at the realization that I’ll never get to kiss her again or speak to her again. Rossi has to pay—he has to.Tracking the man down this time is a whole lot easier. He’s paraded around like a damn war hero, showing up for interviews and public award ceremonies. I lie in wait, watching from the back of the crowd, dressed in an unassuming pair of jeans, a black sweatshirt, and a baseball cap. The hood’s drawn over to obscure my face. A whole line of TV cameras is here, along with nosy reporters and a handful of uniformed cops. I can’t just approach him. I may want vengeance, but I’m not suicidal. This place is too public, too many witnesses. I need to bide my time
Thorton Gallardo POVPulling up to the Valderrama’s private residence is practically begging for immediate execution, but I have no other options. I need to see Zandra, need to know she’s okay—even if it kills me.The place is swarming with armed guards, all of them training their weapons on us as the car screeches to a halt in front of the house. The moment I jump out, at least four of them barrel toward me. I came fully prepared for the beating of my life, but what happens next is so much worse.“Stand down!” Manfred Valderrama shouts at his men. They do so, snapping to attention as he trudges down the front path, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles are white. I see so much of Zandra in him.And that’s why I don’t react when he winds back and punches me in the jaw. I stumble to the ground, my ear ringing and my face throbbing. I deserved it. I deserve all of it. I will accept it.I see no point in fighting back. Even if I wanted to, Manfred Valderrama is almost three times my ag
Zandra Valderrama POVI awake with a start.There’s a blinding, throbbing pain in my chest, just below my left shoulder. I can’t make sense of my surroundings. Everything’s too loud, too bright. Confusion makes the room spin and fear makes my blood run cold. What just happened? How did I get here?“Easy, Zandy,” Aunt Natalya says as she hooks me up to a blood bag. O-positive, according to the sticker slapped on the front. “It was a high caliber round, so the bullet went right through you. You lost a lot of blood, but you’re lucky it missed all your important organs. Four inches lower and it would have pierced your heart.”Aunt Natalya is speaking perfectly clearly, but I don’t understand a word coming out of her mouth. Is it because of the shock? The pain? Probably both.I groan. “What happened?”“Relax, sweetheart,” Dad says. He’s at my bedside, his brows steepled together in grave concern.My uncles are here. So are Mom Amara, Alessandra, and Jovito. It’s a miracle my room is big en
Thorton Gallardo POVI don’t need to be an expert in reading body language to know tensions are running high. This is a public meeting—as is the tradition—hosted in a restaurant that’s been completely booked out.The lighting is dim. Armed men are everywhere. They don’t just belong to the Valderrama, but to the other families I’ve managed to piss off, as well. Why couldn’t we have done this in the back of some dingy room? Because this is a show of good faith, of honor, an unspoken code of conduct. There is nowhere to hide here, no secrets to be kept…which is exactly how I know everyone in this room hates my guts and they’re itching to reach for their guns and show it.Zandra—gorgeous, beautiful, fierce Zandra—sits at the head of the table. Her father and her uncles stand behind her like silent stone sentries. Around the table, the other Mafia heads sit. Some faces are familiar. Others are not. They all have one thing in common, though, and it’s the way they all stare daggers at me and