DAX'S POVI was pacing the clinic corridor up and down, my mind racing and not knowing what to do. It scared me to my core that Lana had to be admitted to the ICU. The very thought of her not making it terrified me. I felt so helpless and didn't know what to do to help her, except to wait for the doctor who was taking care of her. As my mind raced and the walls started to feel thin around me, a call came through in my phone. I quickly reached for it in my pocket and picked it up. "Yes?" "Boss, she's been screaming since morning. What do I do with her?" James asked on the line. I totally forgot that I held Sasha hostage and didn't get back to deal with her after assigning James to keep an eye on her. The situation with Lana couldn't allow me to leave her and take care of business when I didn't even know that she was going to wake up or not. I needed to be here until she woke up. She had to see me when she had gained her consciousness. "Distract her, James, do anything, please. I ca
LANA'S POVI felt a terrible headache as I slowly opened my eyes, groaning with pain as I tried to take in my surroundings. I saw Doctor Miles writing on his pad. He was very oblivious to my sudden gain of consciousness. And when he finally heard me groaning, he turned towards me and tried to help me sit on the bed. "You're finally awake, thank God!" He squealed with joy. "49 hours had been a long time waiting for you to open those eyes.""Doctor Miles, hi," I tried to ignore the fact that I just saw him rejoicing to see me waking up. There was no doubt that he felt like I'd be lost. "You scared us all. How do you feel?" He put down his pad and started to check my vitals. I turned my head to see if Dax or Xavier weren't there. My heart started aching thinking that maybe they didn't even bother to come and were too busy to wait for me to wake up. To make things even worse, Xavier probably wasn't aware of my current situation since his father threw him out of the house. I sighed and
DAX'S POV20 YEARS AGO…Before dawn, Father came into my room and brother's and woke me up. When I flattered my eyes open and saw him, I say up on the bed and looked at him, yawning. “Father, is there anything wrong?” I asked, looking at Carlos sleeping. “You have to listen to me carefully, Miguel,” he pointed a finger at me, whispering. “We are leaving Italy and going to America. And remember, when we get there, don’t ever mention that you are a Russo. That will be as good as asking for death.” I gasped. “Father, why are we leaving?” He sighed. “You’re just a little boy. There are things that you won’t understand.” “Oh,” I said with disappointment. My father didn’t know that I spied on him whenever he was doing businesses with shady people in the living room. I was old enough to realize that he was making money in dangerous ways. I thought that maybe someday he would want my brother and I to follow in his footsteps and do whatever it took to survive, even if it meant illegally m
LANA'S POVAfter Xavier left, I fell asleep again. And when I woke up, Doctor Miles was by my side, taking me off the drip. I looked at the clock on the wall and realized that it was morning. Xavier and Dax did not come back last night or this morning. "Good morning, Lana. How are you feeling?" Doctor Miles looked down at me and smiled. "I feel great, thank you," I smiled back. "Dax is in my office signing your discharge papers," I could have sworn he rolled his eyes at me. I scoffed. "What was that?" "What was what?" He busied himself with his writing pad. "You rolled your eyes at me!" I chuckled."You were so grumpy that neither of the brothers were here and didn't even bother to ask how I was!" He protested. Wait, how did he know I was dating the two of them?"I wasn't grumpy," I defended myself. "Never mind. You're discharged," he declared as he turned off the TV too. I smiled very widely. "Thank God. This place is terrible." Doctor Miles laughed. "I'm glad to see you bac
DAX'S POV"Let me go, Dax!" Sasha shouted as I came inside the room, she was locked in. It was in my old apartment that my father's company was still paying the rent for. And it was the only place where no one was going to suspect she was kept in. But that was no problem because no one reported her as missing. I turned to James and gave him the money that was due to him for staying and watching over Sasha. I imagined how exhausting it must have been for him to tolerate her day and night for 5 days when I could not come. He deserved the bonus I added to the initial money that we agreed on. "I hope she didn't cause you too much distress," I stretched my hand and offered him a handshake. "It was nothing that I can't handle," he sounded confident as he stretched his hand and gave me a handshake."That's perfect. I can't imagine what you could have been through if she complained and shouted at you all day," I tried to lighten up the mood with the James dude."You're a coward, Dax! A Cow
LANA'S I was in one of those dreams again, running to save my life. I didn't know what I was running away from, but I knew that it had to do with saving my life. But the more I ran, the more my feet started to slow me down, and I felt like I was running on the same spot. When I looked down on my feet and saw that I wasn't getting anywhere, I screamed my lungs out and woke up panting on the bed. "Lana, is it another bad dream?" Dax asked next to me. He was so perfect. He'd always reminded that they were all just dreams and then made me lie down on his chest. I nodded. "I don't even know what I'm running away from." Yet, I knew. The thought of being so close to losing my life in less than three months never left my mind. I kept thinking of that day when my heart gave up on me, and death came for me. It was an inevitable fate. "It's just a dream, and you're stressing a lot these days. Are you okay? Is it about Charles Leonard?" He asked. "Maybe. I don't know," a tear slipped from my
XAVIER'S POVAfter Lana left, I paced up and down the room. I had put Lana's and my brother's life in danger. He could have killed all of us today because of me. It was a waking call that I never thought I'd get in front of my family. If it wasn't for the fact that he saw Lana and somehow thought he recognized her as someone else, he would have pressed pulled gun trigger. "We need to do something before Costa comes back for revenge," Dax said behind me. "What are we going to do?" I turned and looked at him. "She could have died because of me." "If only you didn't act so irrational at that bar, nobody could have been in danger to die today!" Dax snapped at me as if I didn't know that. "Don't you think I know that?! This is going to hunt me for as long as I'm with her! I don't want her to not be safe around me..." I exhaled and dragged a chair from the table to sit down. "We agreed that there won't be no more bloodshed, Xavier. I don't want to lose you too," he took a chair and sat
LANA'S POV"Why did you let him back here?!" I snapped at Dax as he came towards me. "He wanted to talk to you, baby. He loves -" "He killed a man and thought that he could get away with it!" I said after cutting him off. "We all do things we are not proud of when we are angry, Lana. What he did was a terrible mistake," Dax reached me and looked down at me. "What do you think could have happened if Costa shot him? Or any of us?!" I was on the verge of crying. "But he didn't, okay? We just have to be grateful that nothing happened that could have happened." Dax was right. I knew that he was right. But I was shaken by the fact that Costa knew me and sent Xavier to tell me how he knew me. I should have listened to him, but that was going to reveal to them that I was not who I claimed to be to them. Besides, Amalah James was in my past, and it didn't feel right to confront anything from my past. I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I just wish that this was a perfect day.
OCTOBER 2022LANA'S POVThe next morning, I woke up from my cell phone ringing inside my bag. I got up and took it out of the handbag and answered it. "Hello?""Is this Amalah James?" I hesitated for a second, closed my eyes, and exhaled. "Yes?""You're talking with Din Flemmings, I am Paolo Costa's lawyer. I am calling regarding your father's estate." "Oh." I sat down on the couch in the bedroom and looked at Dax and Xavier as they got up and looked at me with confused expressions on their faces. It was a bit weird that Costa already listed me as one of the beneficiaries of his estate when we only reunited shortly before his death. "Can I come and see you to talk in person, Miss James?" "Oh, I'm- That will be okay, I guess." I was hesitant."Perfect. You can send a location of your choosing," Din replied enthusiastically. "I will send you my house address," I answered. "That will be perfect. I hope to see you soon."I hung up the call and felt like there was a big lump in my
LANA'S POVI rushed out of the house and went to my car, and when I got inside, I cried against the steering wheel. I wanted to feel nothing when I saw JJ and killed him, but the thought that his blood was on my hands, tortured me. Dax couldn't even help without making me feel worse than I already felt. I sniffled and lifted my head off the steering wheel, pushed the key inside the ignition, and drove away. I went straight to the nearest bar that I could find. I ordered five shots of vodka and gulped them as if they didn't make me feel as if my tongue was being burned. I wanted to forget everything that happened and wake up to a whole new chapter of my life. I was tired of how miserable I felt every day since I lost my parents. I needed a break..."Lana, we need to go home." A familiar voice spoke as I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. My head was heavy as I lifted my head from the table and looked at the person. "Dax?" "Can we go home?""I don't want to go home. I don't want to go
DAX'S POV "She's been sitting in that exact position on the couch for hours now. She refuses to eat anything or even drink anything. I don't know what we should do," I vented to Xavier as we watched Lana from the upstairs balcony. "JJ is in the garage, so maybe she should see him before I kill him." Xavier's response sounded as if he didn't think before talking. I quickly turned and looked at him and whispered. "Are you insane? She doesn't need to see that asshole after what he did to her, again." "It's the only way to get her out of the current state that she's in. She must face him," he still insisted. "No, Xavier. That's a stupid idea and it's not happening," I stood my ground. "Where is he?" We looked down when we heard Lana's voice. Xavier took the opportunity to give me a 'I told you so' look and I frowned. I took a deep breath and headed down the stairs to Lana. "You need to get something to eat and rest," I said when I got to her side. I wanted to see JJ pay for eve
XAVIER'S POVI kept counting the minutes that Lana was inside Suzy's apartment. I wondered if she remembered that we had to be somewhere and did not have time to waste here. I frowned because I saw this from a mile away, and if they had both listened to me, Dax and I wouldn't have found ourselves in this awkward situation. "We have to go in." I was infuriated and Rico was not even close to finding that asshole JJ. He was nowhere to be found and his bodyguards were back at Boliver, which was very unlikely that JJ could go anywhere without them."She's only been there for ten minutes, Xavier. Just calm down," Dax replied in a very relaxed tone. "She's been with her forever, Dax." "Can you trust her for a minute and give at least five more minutes? Suzy is her best friend, remember?""Fine," I huffed and dialed Rico's number. "Tell me you got some clues about where he could be," I said as soon as he picked up the phone. "He didn't leave Highwaters.""Are you sure he didn't go back t
LANA'S POVTo figure out where exactly we could find JJ, I started off by calling Suzy before Xavier's friend could help in finding him. We were in town and just around the corner from Suzy's apartment when I called her. Dax and Xavier were looking at me and trying to signal to me that I had to act as natural as possible so that she would not be suspicious of my call if she was with JJ. "Hey, Suzy. Are you home?""Yes, I am. What happened yesterday? You just left without saying a word to me or even picking up my calls when I called you. Did anything happen when you went to the toilet?"I was relieved when I heard that she was not convinced that I ran away because I saw her with JJ. "Yeah, I'm - I met an old friend in there and I was trying to get to her, but I already lost sight of her.""You could have said so, Lana. I was so worried about you. Where are you right now?"I looked at Dax and Xavier and stuttered. "I - I am at home. With Xavier and Dax."Suzy suddenly started crying on
LANA'S POVThe next morning, I woke up next to Xavier staring at me."Good morning," he smiled and kissed my forehead."Good morning baby," I looked at him and suspected that he might have been waiting for me to wake up so that we'd carry on where we left off last night. "You good?" "I'm good baby, and I slept like a baby. How are you feeling?" I got up and tied up my hair into a bun so that I'd prepare to take a shower."I'm good. I was watching you to make sure that you didn't run off on me."I looked at him and laughed. "You're unbelievable! Oh my gosh!" I took my pillow and threw it at him and got off the bed and dressed up so that I'd head out to the bathroom that was outside. He chuckled and got off the bed too. "Can I come with you?""Do you want to?" I looked at him and smirked while my hand was already at the doorknob. "Are you daring me?" He smirked and stood up with his dick hard as a rock.I couldn't help it but blush. "I dare you."I quickly turned the doorknob but bu
LANA'S POV As soon as I roared the engine to life and drove off, Suzy tried to call me but I didn't pick up. If I knew her 'Jay' was 'JJ', I would have tried to tell her why she was not supposed to be with him. And now that I had a picture of him sleeping with her in my mind, I felt like I was losing it. The very thought of his tongue on her repulsed me and I could not wait to get home and get Dax and Xavier to do something about this. "Lana, are you all right?" Xavier asked me when he saw me walking inside the living room. He was sitting on the couch with Dax, and it looked like they were having lunch."I saw JJ," I walked towards them. "What?" Dax exclaimed and got up from the couch. "He's Suzy's boyfriend, can you believe it?" I answered them, still unable to get the picture of them together off my mind. "I should have known when Suzy told me her boyfriend's name was Jay."It was as if I was there every time they made love and made each other cum. I wondered if he felt as good
SEPTEMBER 2022LANA'S POVSuzy and I finally had our lunch date. She was so happy when she saw me and we ordered our favorite food in our favorite lunch spot. It was everything that I wanted to do for months, but couldn't because I didn't know how to face her and continue lying on her face. She was the only person I was close to except Dax and Xavier. It made me happy to finally be able to be myself around her and not hide anything from her. It bothered me for months that I couldn't tell her about Dax and Xavier and the contract. "How are the brothers?" She winked. I giggled while trying to get a spoonful of my mashed potato gravy. "They are good boys.""I still wonder how it's like having two men all to yourself. You must tell me what it's like, Lana." "How about I leave you to wonder?" I laughed."No way, you will do no such thing! You must tell me about the sex!"I almost choked on my drink but I quickly had it under control and laughed. "Suzy, will you stop?"She leaned forwar
LANA'S POVAngry, I picked up my phone and called Xavier after ending the call with Costa's lawyer. It was no coincidence that Xavier sent me a voice message about how he wants me to know that he loves me in case he didn't make it. He was with Costa when he died, and I needed to know what happened."Lana?" He answered."What happened to Costa? I know that you were with him."He was quiet for a moment before he answered. "So, you know?""I know. Why didn't you tell me?" "Because it wasn't the right time to tell you that, Lana." "He was my father, Xavier. You don't have any right to decide when I should know about his death.""I understand, Lana. But I didn't want to tell you before you got out of the clinic.""That's no excuse, and you know it. Now, tell me what happened."He sighed. "Lana, we both need our rest.""Should I ask Dax?""Fine. JJ shot him, the guy who -""The guy who raped me, I know his name. So, he killed him?""Yes, but I will find him, I promise." "oh, he killed hi