"You were sent to betray me, Reina. Did you really think I wouldn’t make you mine instead?" She was supposed to be his downfall. A spy in his house. A pawn in a game she never agreed to play. But from the moment Reina Vale steps into Cassian Morelli’s world, the rules shatter. He isn’t the crippled king the world believes him to be. And she isn’t the innocent nurse he hired. Now, caught in a web of lies, obsession, and deadly desire, Reina has two choices—run from the monster hunting her… or let him consume her whole.
Lihat lebih banyakReina’s POVThe car sat waiting, black and beat up like it had been through the toughest storms. Its trunk was already open. As if it had been waiting for me. My heart sank.“No,” I choked, voice hoarse.He didn’t respond. Just pulled me forward with renewed strength. My knees buckled and scraped the gravel. Still, I dug my heels into the ground, struggling against him with every last ounce of energy I had.That was when he struck me.A sharp backhand to the face that sent stars exploding behind my eyes. The taste of blood filled my mouth. My lip split open. Before I could cry out again, he yanked a cloth from his pocket—already tied in a knot—and shoved it between my lips.“Shut the fuck up,” he hissed. “Or I’ll cut you open right here.”I screamed anyway, or tried to. The gag silenced me. My head thrashed. Tears spilled down my face.Then he grabbed the back of my neck and shoved me forward—hard.My torso slammed into the edge of the trunk. My ribs burned with the impact. In one bru
Reina’s POVHe didn’t come again.Not that night. Not even to yell or rattle the door or throw something at the wall just to remind me he was still there. Silence wrapped around me like a noose—tightening with every hour that passed. I didn’t sleep. Not really. When my eyes did close, the nightmares came—fast and dark.Andrew’s face. His face. Their faces morphing. Their voices blending into one monstrous echo.‘Give me a son.’‘You’re just a vessel.’‘You’ll come crawling back, just like you always do.’My limbs locked in my dreams, the same way they had in reality. I couldn’t run. Couldn’t scream loud enough. I’d wake up gasping, soaked in sweat, only to slip back under—and the nightmares would start all over again. It was endless. Torturous. Like drowning in memories I never wanted, stitched into new horrors I couldn’t escape.Then—A hand creeping up my breast snapped me upright. A scream clung to my throat but didn’t make it out.My eyes flew open——and landed right on his fa
Cassian’s POVElias?The same incident that made me cut ties with Vasili? I gripped the arm of my chair tighter as a wave of pain gripped my legs, real enough to make me see stars.The incident that changed my life. My first mistake in the game.I barely remembered his name before now. It was a job gone sideways. A child turned into a ghost. I thought he’d died with the fire I lit to erase my failure.But ghosts don’t burn, do they? They wait.The crimson thread pulled tighter across my chest. I felt an invisible hand grip my throat and loosened my tie. I couldn't breathe.“He wears a new face now. The fire you set peeled the old one off,” Vasili added, as he continued working on his art.“Where is he?” I asked, after steadying my breathing.“Closer than you think, brother Cassian. Much closer.”Closer than I think? Who could it be?Is he among my men? The organization? A rival gang?I didn’t wait after that. Because I knew he wasn't going to spill more.As I turned my chair to leave,
Cassian’s POVThe rain started before dawn.Not the kind that sings against windows, soft and rhythmic—but the kind that claws at glass like it’s trying to get in. Like it knows something is about to happen and wants a front-row seat.That message I got during the meeting set the pace for new discoveries. I haven't made much progress in capturing the monster that crippled my world.Until yesterday.I stared at the monitor in front of me, watching the surveillance feed from yesterday's gathering on loop.Marcello hadn’t touched his wine after I left. He didn’t even flinch when he opened the envelope. Just stared at the word like it was a verdict he’d known was coming.‘Soon.’He didn’t panic. Didn’t blink. That was what intrigued me.Because if he wasn’t afraid… it meant he had already made peace with something. Or someone.That thought alone had me eager to have blood on my hands.Men like Marcello don’t make peace unless they’re sure they’ve already won.Lucas walked into my study af
Cassian’s POV“We burn them to the ground,” I growled.“All of them.”I didn’t need to explain further. The answer was loud and clear.The sea of faces blurred behind the smoke curling from the aged cigars and vintage whiskey glasses that decorated the long table. The meeting had shifted from the aggressive tones of invasion plans to hollow camaraderie and clinking glasses. It was all meaningless noise now. Laughter bouncing off walls thick with secrets. They called it tradition—these “family” gatherings. I called it a charade. A necessary one. But a charade, nonetheless.I wheeled my chair forward slowly, the low hum of its motion swallowed by the ambiance. My fingers tapped the polished armrest, steady, composed. No one here could suspect the storm boiling beneath my skin.They thought I was weakened. A cripple held together by steel rods and vengeance. And they were right—except for the weakened part.The night that stole my legs took more than bone and muscle. It ripped out my so
Cassian’s POV “What do you mean she’s gone?!” My voice split the air like a whip, raw and laced with fury. The room went dead silent. Even the low hum of the ventilation seemed to retreat as every man in the room shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my stare. Ethan stood stiff, jaw clenched, eyes locked on the polished marble floor like it could save him. He knew better than to stutter, but I could see the fear prickling just beneath the surface of his usually composed demeanor. “I gave an order! Her face—first thing I see when I wake up. So why am I seeing your faces instead?!” I barked. “We're sorry boss. We tracked them down just like you ordered,” he said carefully. “Got there just after dawn. Everything looked normal outside the trailer, but—” “But what?” I snapped, stepping forward. He exhaled slowly. “The man she was with at the cafe, was inside. Unconscious. Bleeding out on the floor.” “And Reina?” I demanded, my blood already boiling, heat rushing to my ea
Reina's POVI watched the smile on his face widen as he looked down at me.He knelt in front of me again, unmasking—his face now seared into my memory like a brand. And worse… when I looked at him, it wasn't just his face anymore. It blurred with Andrew’s. The same darkness. The same sick hunger.“I can’t be cheated out of life. I must take my own pound of flesh,” he barked with a crazy look in his eyes.I thrashed. Hard. My shoulder twisted painfully, but I didn’t care. I had to move. Had to stop what I knew was coming.He lunged forward—fingers clawing at the waistband of my shorts. The rope around my ankles burned as I kicked out wildly, but he gripped my legs and yanked them down hard, slamming my spine against the cold cement. Pain shot up my back as my breath hitched.My heart slammed so hard I thought it might give out.Stall him.Make him think he’s winning.Play the game.“Wait,” I gasped, forcing my voice to tremble—not just from fear, but desire. I hated myself for it, but
Reina’s POVMy consciousness returned in pieces. A shrill pulse behind my eyes. Pins and needles prickling down my limbs. My mouth tasted of metal and something bitter. The air was thick—damp, suffocating.When I opened my eyes, darkness swallowed me whole.No window. No moonlight. Just the dim, flickering hum of a single bulb above. My arms ached—burning, twisted behind my back. Ropes dug into my wrists. My ankles were bound too, something coarse slicing into my skin every time I moved.Then I remembered. Joshua storming in. The gunshot. “Ohmygod,” I cried. What if…No. I shouldn’t think that way. But what if? And where the fuck am I? Who took me? Andrew? Mr Morelli?Panic surged up my throat like bile.“Help!” I screamed. “Somebody—please!”My voice cracked, raw from disuse or screaming—I couldn’t tell. I tried again, louder, until my lungs were burning.Then— A low chuckle answered from the shadows.Mocking. Cruel.“Shut up,” a voice said coldly. “You don’t get to scream.”A fig
Reina’s POV“Joshua,” I whispered, my voice like sandpaper.He was in the kitchenette, pulling two mugs from the cabinet like we were just any couple settling in for a quiet night. But my feet wouldn’t move. My pulse was trapped in my throat, thudding wildly.He looked up immediately. “What is it?”“I—I saw something.” I gestured toward the window, backing away. “Outside. Just past the porch light. It moved.”Joshua’s face shifted—his usual softness replaced with quiet alertness. He didn’t laugh it off. Didn’t call me crazy. Instead, he crossed the room in three long strides and peered out the window.The glass was smudged, but clear enough. The porch bulb buzzed faintly, illuminating nothing but weeds and shifting shadows.Still, he watched.“I don’t see anything,” he murmured.I didn’t breathe.But then his shoulders squared. He looked a little too long. Like he was pretending to see nothing so I wouldn’t panic.“Could’ve been a deer,” he said carefully, still staring. “Or a raccoon
Reina’s POVThe nightmare always began the same way. The sound of footsteps in the hallway. The creak of a door opening. A shadow stretching across the floor, swallowing me whole. I curled into myself, pressing my little fingers against my ears, trying to block out the hushed voices outside my bedroom. But nothing could stop the sickly sweetness of alcohol and cologne from seeping under the door, wrapping around my throat like a noose. “Be a good girl, Reina.” The words slithered into my mind, the same way they had that night. The sheets tangled around my legs, my body frozen as the dark figure loomed over me, a hand brushing over my cheek. Then the pressure. The searing pain. The muffled scream. I jerked awake with a sharp gasp, my chest rising and falling in panicked, shallow breaths. Sweat dampened my forehead, my nightshirt clinging to my skin. I pressed the heel of my palms against my eyes, willing the images away. It wasn’t real. Not anymore. But my body st...
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