Jordan’s POV The only thing between me and the driver of the trailer was a barrier made out of glass. I couldn’t make out the number of people in the trailer, but I was sure it wouldn’t be more than two people. That is, the driver and someone else on the passenger side. The back of the trailer was consumed by darkness. No normal person would be able to move around or see anything in such pitch blackness. But I wasn’t normal. Nothing about me is normal. I’ve been trained to adapt to any situation. So, I wasn’t surprised when I got out of my car without the driver noticing. The trailer was going faster now. I reached for my gun and sighed in relief when I discovered I still had it on me. From where I was, I aimed for the driver’s head through the glass and fired as soon as I got a shot. The glass shattered into shards, such that there was nothing between us anymore. The driver died instantly, causing the man on the passenger side to start throwing fits of panic. Confused betwee
Sierra’s POV The day after Jordan stood me up, Dominic came over to check on me. No, he didn’t tell me he was coming, which was a classic Dominic move, but my bodyguards weren’t having it. When I got downstairs, I saw Dominic threatening to blow Andrew’s brains out if he didn’t let him into the house. It wasn’t until I signaled to Andrew that he let Dominic through. Intentionally, Dominic bumped into Andrew as he passed him and made his way towards me. “Aren’t you gentlemanly this morning?” I said sarcastically. Dominic half-smiled at me and revealed some flowers and bags he had been hiding behind him. That was when I noticed he actually came bringing gifts. I looked at him suspiciously before asking, “Are those for me?” “What do you think? Beautiful presents for a beautiful lady.” “I wonder what Jordan would think when he finds out that his brother is buying me gifts.” I eyed him playfully. “Oh, please. It’s nothing serious. I’ve come to apologize for my behaviour la
Sierra’s POVAfter the weird lady left, Dominic came back and dragged me with him to the dance floor, but that was after I slid the note into my bag. I decided to let loose and have some fun. As we danced together, we had more and more drinks until Andrew came and muttered something to Dominic, spoiling the fun.For the first time ever, Dominic listened to Andrew and allowed him to lead me outside to the car with Dominic trailing behind us. After fixing my seatbelt in place, I turned to wave at Dominic. He gave me a grin and kissed me on the cheek. The following morning, I woke up with a banging headache. Thank goodness I usually sleep with a bottle of water on my bedside. All I had to do was take out some painkillers from the drawer by the bed and chug them down with a bottle of water. Realizing I still wasn't aware of the content of the note, the weird lady, or should I say Charlotte, slipped into my palm, I reached for my bag in search of it. The handwriting splayed on the note w
Jordan’s POVI didn’t know what I was expecting, but I hadn’t factored a hard slap into my imaginations. “Ouch,” I said, rubbing my cheek. “A ‘welcome home’ would have been nicer, Sierra.” My poor attempt at easing the tension between us.“There’s nothing funny about any of this, Jordan. You left me in this big house all by myself for five days without a word of where you were or when you’ll be back. Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?!” Sierra charged in my direction.“I know, Sierra. I’m sorry.”“You say sorry? You’re sorry? Sorry for what exactly, Jordan? For abandoning me? For disrespecting me?” She began walking back and forth, breathing heavily, with tears lurking around her eyes. “Sierra, I—”“No, Jordan. You don’t get to do that. I won’t allow it. Don’t pull the sorry card on me. I went around, begging your bodyguard for any information he could give me on your whereabouts, and you know what he said?” She laughed hysterically, hands akimbo, she looked at me, “I’m su
Sierra’s POV Jordan turned to look at me with glassy eyes. No words were shared between us after that. I slammed the door shut and went back to bed. I didn’t fall asleep immediately. Scratch that. I couldn’t fall asleep. For a while, I mulled over the experience Jordan shared with me and I instantly felt sorry about what I said to him. But Jordan could be so overbearing. All he had to do was say yes and station some guards around Charlotte’s house. Now, I would have to walk on eggshells around the house. When my eyes finally decided to call it a day, I quickly sent a text to Andrew, requesting that he made arrangements so Jordan could have something to eat. I might be mad, but the man was still my husband. The following morning, I heard a knock on my door. I knew it was Jordan so I didn’t bother getting out of bed. He was going to let himself in. True to my words, my husband strolled in looking more glorious than I remembered. I wasn’t gonna lie, he did clean up nice. He didn
Jordan’s POVI heard Sierra’s phone beep and watched her reaction as she read the text that had just come in. Before I could get a word in, she passed out. I ordered Andrew to call the family doctor and placed Sierra properly on the bed. I pushed the tray of breakfast to the other end and began to roll my sleeves. I checked her pulse and breathed a sigh when I felt it.The room was air conditioned but Sierra was starting to sweat and I was starting to worry. I opened the curtains to let in some fresh air and tilted her head back a little. I took off the headband she was wearing and proceeded to remove other similar accessories. My feelings started to go from worry to anger. Why the hell was Andrew taking this long? The family doctor was just on the opposite wing. It was no news that people who worked for the mafia family had to be kept close to the family, in case of emergencies. Like this one.Everything I was doing was working. I glanced at Sierra and saw that she was starting to
Jordan’s POVI gathered my army in the underground basement. It was time to go to war and they had to be ready. I left Sierra in our room and told her to remain there until I got back. I wished I had time to explain to her, but that would have to wait. “Lorenzo has been acting like a bitch and it’s payback time. I need y’all to put your houses in order. We’re going to war,” I told themI had my tech guys give me the locations for Lorenzo’s warehouses, I planned to destroy about three of them that day. Depending on how Lorenzo reacted, I was going to destroy one warehouse every day until his business ran dry.I had another two find out the people who had been tailing Andrew earlier that day. They were going to be scapegoats for the others. I told the guards I had already stationed in different parts of the house to maintain their places. I couldn’t leave my house unaccounted for.When I got the locations, I created three groups of four people each and sent each group to each location.
Sierra’s POVJordan left me in our room, saying he had “business” to attend to. When I asked him what business he was talking about, he said something about having had enough of Lorenzo. I decided not to pry. I thought he was going to be away for a few hours, but it was getting darker and Jordan wasn’t back. Andrew wasn’t around either so Jordan had a different guard stationed outside our room. Whatever I needed, I simply had to ask him. When I asked him where Jordan was and what he was doing, he didn’t even look in my direction to acknowledge that I was, at least, saying something. I was upset, yet I was trying to be very understanding. At least, Jordan didn’t leave me stranded. He had told me earlier that he might be a while. He could have filled me in that it was going to be longer than a while though. I was getting irritable. I decided to take a moment and look back on how my day went.I had received a threat message from Lorenzo, the same man who wanted my husband dead, if I wa
Jordan’s POVThe war didn’t end overnight. It took us months of intentional planning, restructuring and rebuilding trust.Carlos and Lorenzo Moretti not only maintained control of their syndicate but did so under stricter rules. Enough with the senseless bloodshed.” No more betrayals.Alessandro emerged as the power broker but moved to settle relations among erstwhile opponents.What about Gabriel Dravamen? He continued to be a wild card but honoured the pact. It meant Sierra would never have to see him again. He slipped away into the shadows, leaving us in peace.***I should have known that peace was an illusion. The second we made a truce, I felt the claws of the past itch at my back, lying in wait for an opportunity. The life we had struggled to break free from wasn’t going to be free easily. When our fragile new beginning unravelled, it was the enemy without who tore it apart but it was one of our own. Night had descended, cloaking the safehouse in lulling tranquillity. Sierra
Jordan’s POVIt was a lengthy, ruthless and tumultuous struggle. Blood spotted the pavement, and the air was still tinged with gunpowder and sweat. Gabriel Dravamen’s cultists had shaken the very foundation of the city’s underworld when they turned against the men of Carlos Moretti. But now, looking at the rubble, I knew this battle would not last forever. I glanced at Sierra, her face smeared with dirt, her hair a wild tangle from their adventure, but the spark in her eyes was still bright with fierce determination. She had fought for me, she had risked everything, and I’d be damned if I was going to let her spend the rest of her life in constant fear. We had to put an end to this insane battle by hook or crook regardless of how weak I felt.“Jordan…Do you think this battle is worth it,” she asked but I looked at her and suddenly lost my words.“What do you suggest we do?” I asked her after taking time to think on her question for a few minutes.“End it. Reconcile with your enemies
Jordan’s POVThere was a palpable tension in the night air, a heavy mix of unvoiced threats. My fingers flexed at my sides, and every muscle in my body stood up, ready to pounce. The instant the door opened on the van I sensed it. Before us, lined up like a barricade, the fleet of cars stood, their headlights casting harsh beams into the dark, illuminating the figures waiting beyond. Dressed in shades of dark, masked under darkness, armed men stood at attention. Their postures screamed discipline, precision, and most importantly, prepared to unleash hell. From the outside looking in, it was evident these were not just hired guns. They were men trained for combat, their loyalty inextinguishable, and their mission palpable. Carlos Moretti moved like a man in command, rolling the cuffs of his pricey suit as though he wasn’t in the heart of a goddamn battlefield. He flourished on chaos; it had shaped him, and if nothing else, I knew he never walked into a fight he didn’t think he coul
Sierra’s POVSilence enveloped us for a heartbeat, the only noise the drone of the engine and the uneven gasps of our party. Inside the van, the air was thick with anticipation and something more, something dark.Then, as my eyes adjusted to the low-light interior, I froze in my throat. In the corner sat Carlos Moretti, wearing a sleek black suit, and dark glasses on the bridge of his nose. A cigar hung limply from one side of his mouth, a thin wisp of smoke curling up to the ceiling.“You all didn’t know I was here. Well, I accept that compliment you gave earlier,” he said, “Oh, you are welcome,” he barely echoed and pumped out more smoke into the air with reckless abandon.Still talking to himself and all, he chuckled, a slow and gruff laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. It went on too long, stretching that moment into something just disgusting, something grotesque and even annoying, that made my stomach flip.I felt like reaching out to him and smacking him in the face to keep
Sierra’s POVA sharp crack of gunfire pierced the night, and instinct kicked in. Jordan was tumbling down with me as a bullet whined past us and struck the concrete wall behind us.My pulse throbbed so violently that I feared it might rupture my ribs. Dominic was already shooting back, his responses quick and exact. Ethan drew his weapon too, well braced as he shot at the men surrounding us. “Go! Go! Go!” he shouted to his men and directed them with one hand in the air as he plunged them ahead whilst the other hand rested solidly on his gun. He looked in our direction as well and nodded his head for us to move to where the huge crates were stacked.I held Jordan and moved towards the crate whilst Ethan watched our fours ensuring we were behind the crates before going head into the battle that had been staged. I wondered where all the police vans had gone because such chaos and ceaseless firing should have bought them out of their cocoons except they had been bought over.Hiding behin
Sierra’s POVI wrapped my arms around Jordan when balance abandoned him and he walked with me like an old man slowly finding his step. He had just been through a serious coma, and I knew he needed time to get his strength back. His body had not fully recovered, but his spirit, his fighting spirit, was as full as a young man's spirit should be. Every step we took together led us onto shaky ground, but I was unwilling to drop the thread. I wasn’t about to let anything or anyone pull him away from me again. As I led him down the sterile corridor, I kept looking back at him, asking him over and over if he was in pain. "How do you feel? Is anything bothering you? Does anywhere hurt?”We had to put up a brave front, of course, but Jordan shot me a cheeky smile with twinkling eyes that had mischief reflected in them, even with that happening.“You’re babying me too much, Sierra. I'm fine," he pouted back with love in his eyes.I couldn’t help but chuckle, though every fibre of my being wa
Author’s POVCarlos stared blankly for a moment, trying to process the gravity of what had been revealed. But he also knew that in a game like this, someone was always behind the curtain, calling the shots. But this new player, this enigma, was the wild card he hadn’t counted on. He looked over at the door, his brain already working out the next few things. The stakes had never been higher. The fate of his family, even the power dynamic in Crystal Bay, it all was at stake and if this new player had been behind it all, the rules of the game would have changed and Carlos needed to adapt fast, or else lose it all.He walked around the room, the quietness in the area surrounding him was murky. The unknown player stuck in his mind and gnawed at him. Who were they? Why had they decided to make their move now? Because he knew all too well that everything was about power in this world, but the ones pulling the strings, those behind the scenes could make or destroy it all.His men had been
Author’s POVOnce Lorenzo and Alessandro were gone, Carlos settled into the same chair, fingertips tapping a gentle beat against his desk as he processed the contents of the file. There was an atmosphere of tension around, and the doubts he had been trying to suppress grew louder by the second. There was no telling the moves of a man who might be willing to betray his own brother.Dominic Pierce was a wild card. But that was something Carlos could not lose, not at stake. Carlos picked up the phone off the desk and dialled a number he recalled by heart with a soft sigh. It was one of his most trusted men, a loyal veteran beyond question. Moments later, there was a click on the phone, and a voice came through to the other end.“Did you knock, boss,” the voices said, low and steady. "What’s the situation?"“I want an update,” Carlos said. His tone was steady, but there was an undercurrent of urgency. “How is it along the outside of the facility where Jordan’s being held?”There was a b
Author’s POVAlessandro had his hands clasped behind his back, standing with a proud and confident posture, but there was a glimmer of awareness in his harsh features. He was expecting this conversation. He knew Carlos would bring up his concerns, it was his nature. No victory was ever too quickly celebrated, and no ally was ever completely trusted.After a long silence, Carlos released a breath. “You’ve done well, Alessandro,” he eventually said with a smoothness that had an edge of something sharper.“Getting Dominic Pierce to play our little game was no small task. You managed to do it, and for that, I salute you.”Carlos leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold, and warm applause echoed through the crowded room. The gentleness of his tone was just a preface to something colder.“But…” he said, letting the single word hang in the air like a dangerous pause. “A brother betraying his own blood?” He cocked his head a little, studying Alessandro’s face. “A man of this sort is not to be