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
Sierra’s POVThat explained why Andrew was nervous as hell. It was Charlotte! I felt like Albert Einstein. The first thing I got to know about Andrew was that he liked my friend! I almost giggled. The man never gave anything away. If he thought he was doing a good job at hiding it, then he was, of all of us, the most laughable. If the situation we were in wasn’t critical, I would have teased Charlotte.“You look awful,” I said to her. “Are you okay?” I probed further.“Gee, thanks, best friend.” Charlotte eyed me playfully, forcing me to laugh. Trust Charlotte to make you laugh in the middle of a war.“You haven’t answered me, lady.” I reminded her.“Nothing. I was just worried, that's all. Your bodyguard was already at my door when I heard gunshots. He dashed back into his car and the guys who were shooting at him followed suit. I watched everything happen and I started to panic.”I remember Charlotte telling me how she didn’t like violence because watching people being violent mad
Jordan’s POV When I got the intel that some of Lorenzo’s guys were spotted leaving Crystal Bay, I knew where they were headed. My villa. I called Andrew to change routes, but his number wasn’t going. Then, I called Sierra, hoping she’d answer as well. When she did, I wasn’t surprised at the tone with which she spoke to me. I owed her an explanation, one I promised myself I’d give her as soon as this whole Lorenzo situation boiled over. I dealt with Lorenzo so bad that he wouldn’t be able to get back up for a long time. I instructed Andrew to take the ladies to my safe house. The following morning, I texted Andrew to let him know it was safe for the ladies to return. Lorenzo’s guys were still outside the villa. I had my guys keep an eye on them, in case they decided to try something funny. Lorenzo had been blowing up my phone since the day I burned down his warehouses. I wasn’t ready to deal with his drama, so I didn’t let his relentless calls bother me. I needed Sierra brought
Sierra’s POV Jordan didn’t come after me. It wasn’t as if that would have changed anything, but maybe it would have made me feel more important. I gave Andrew the stink eye as I grabbed the car keys off his hand and got into the car. I knew Jordan had his guys tailing me, otherwise, why would he allow me to leave like that? At that moment, I was thankful that I learned how to drive when papa insisted. It had been a while since I had been behind the wheel, but I was too upset to mind. Thankfully, I got to Charlotte’s in one piece. I came out of the car and headed for the front door. It was slightly ajar. “Charlotte?” I called. Andrew had dropped her off not too long ago. Did she go somewhere? After calling out to her multiple times and not getting any response, I called her phone. I could hear her phone ring. It was in her living room, but she wasn’t there. I could hear splattering, but I didn’t know where it was coming from. When I turned to climb the staircase to the bedroo
Jordan’s POV“What do you mean by she’s gone?” I gripped my phone tightly in my hand. “The men lost her. They were right behind her, following her when she came out of Charlotte’s. They noticed some moments later that she had tricked them.” Andrew explained cautiously, knowing I was going to flip.“What the f**k do you mean by Sierra tricked them? How the f**k can one person trick several trained bodyguards?” I growled. That didn’t even make any sense.I opened my phone to see where Sierra was. Good thing she still had her phone with her. I could tell she was heading out of Crystal Bay. Where in the world was she going to?I got into my car and started following her. I was going to look for her personally. I didn’t want to hear cock and bull stories anymore. I called Andrew and told him to find out from Charlotte what must have caused Sierra to want to leave.As I passed by Charlotte’s house, I saw police men coming in and going out of her house. And it just clicked. Charlotte had be
Andrew’s POVOne of the guards called me to let me know that they couldn’t find Sierra. I didn’t know how I was supposed to tell that to Jordan, but I had to. Perks of the job. Obviously, he was mad. I would be too. The next thing I did was open up Sierra’s location on my phone. She was still in Crystal Bay which was a good thing, but according to the map, she was driving out of town.My bodyguard instincts kicked in. I was trained for moments like this. If Sierra was frightened out of Crystal Bay after visiting Charlotte’s, then something wasn’t adding up. Even if they had a disagreement, it wouldn’t have been that deep.I left Leila’s at the front of her parent’s house and started driving towards Charlotte’s. If I didn’t like the woman, trust me, I wouldn’t have been so bothered. There was just something about her. She was the second person I’d met who could easily read me.To many people, I was indecipherable. I knew Sierra thought the same thing too because I never really gave he
Jordan’s POVLeila was working with Dominic.I was livid. She even had to stoop to the point of dragging Jeremy into her dirty game. How could she use her father like that? I sprang forward in an attempt to hold her in place before she noticed me. My right foot hit a metal rod causing Leila to look up at me. I watched her face morph into horror, as if she had just seen a ghost.If she wasn’t careful though, she was going to be one too.Leila jumped out of the van, running away from me, scared that she had been caught. She was certainly no match for me, but I loved that she was playing the predator and his prey game. I enjoyed the thrill of having to hunt her down.When I thought I was in on her, she took a gun out of her back pocket and pointed it at me.“Bitch!” I snarled “You almost ruined my marriage. You’re going to regret lying to me and my wife.”We began to turn in circles, with Leila still pointing the gun in my face. I was getting tired of her drama already. My plan was to d
Jordan’s POVAmelia held Sierra close, her shaking hands absolutely revealing that her fear ran very deep. It was deeper than we thought possible.The two women broke out in small shivers and their eyes darted from each other to the lifeless corpse lying motionless on the floor. In the safe house, the room was dimly lit and the silence that had settled inside the room was almost unbearable. The whisper of the wind outside was the only sound amidst the gravity of the moment. Andrew’s body was lifeless, a chilling reminder of the chaos he had wrought in our lives. I gazed down at him, my breaths coming out in sharp bursts as the adrenaline from the scuffle started to wear off. Whatever sick game Andrew had been playing, I was very sure that I had aborted it before it had a chance to take root. Funnily enough, I felt no sense of empathy or remorse for his death yet. The only thing that bugged my mind were several questions whose answers I guessed the Moretti family would have answers
Jordan’s POVI turned away, unable to hold her stare anymore. I glanced back at Amelia, who was biting her lip to stop herself from speaking, yet no words came out. Her pain was visible, her hands gripping the edge of her seat as if preparing for a crash.The engine was silent now as the car came to a slow stop. I looked out the window, grateful for the short distraction. It was obvious that we had arrived at the safe house. The sun left its presence on us as we alighted. I stepped outside and took a deep breath, the cold air doing nothing to settle my own inner chaos. As Amelia’s whispered cry of Andrew’s name echoed in my ears, Sierra’s accusation that Andrew’s betrayal was not a choice but a result of desperation rattled through my body.Sierra stepped out of the car behind me, looking over the horizon. “You can hate him as much as you want,” she said softly, as if reading my mind. “But remember sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons. And sometimes they don’
Jordan’s POVWith Sierra’s head resting against my shoulder, the gravity of the moment began to sink in deeper than I expected it would. For a man who spent years training himself to extinguish every flame of emotion, this was something else. Her delicate but stubborn presence was a reminder of what I was actually battling for. But I didn’t dare show it. Not here, not now.The engine of the SUV sang as it rocked over the bumpy terrain and nothing but the occasional crackle of the radio broke what was otherwise an impenetrable silence. My team was too disciplined to pry or comment, but I sensed their watchful eyes in the rearview mirror.So, I kept my eyes out the window, pretending not to see how her breathing slowed as she moved in closer. Ignoring that faint catch in her voice as she started to mumble some incoherent words muffled by the sound of tyres on gravel.“What is it?” I whispered, my voice soft enough for her alone.Sierra did not reply right away. Her words were a jumble,
Jordan’s POVI was happy that my wristwatch was not hijacked from me like every other thing was. I looked at the time on my wrist and tapped my feet on the floor almost simultaneously like one who was too impatient to wait.Suddenly, I heard a loud noise. It came from outside and it was almost deafening. Following the noise were the numerous shouts of despair. Metal crashing on metal interrupted reverberating in the atmosphere. Everyone in the cell with me stood at attention. All I did was just allow myself to relish the chaos of the moment with a smirk stealing a spot on my face. Just then, a hand fiddled with the padlock of the door to the cell where we were kept. He was fully armed. He tried to force open the door to the cell. My heart rate sped up but my outward composure remained steady. Alessandro’s men were shouting over the bedlam of gunfire. From the corridor, I could hear them screaming at the top of their voices.“Cover the east entrance!” one voice barked, panicked. “Do
Jordan’s POVAlessandro basked in that moment of perceived victory while I was frozen with my hands secured and muscles rigid. His smug smile widened, his injured leg not quite being able to hold his weight as he barked orders to his men. The scene might have been laughable if the stakes weren’t so high.But that’s precisely how I wanted him to feel: powerful.And I let him keep a tight grip on the illusion of control, which only played into the delusion that he had me, Amelia, and Sierra completely and utterly in his power. Well, if only he knew. Perhaps, he wouldn’t have shown off himself this much. I stifled a chuckle as I looked at Sierra and Amelia, defiance etched on their features, even though we were in desperate straits. They also didn’t know the whole plan, but they trusted me completely. That trust was everything to me and I knew that in a matter of time, all would be laid bare.The cell door closed behind us with a cold metal groaning sound. The door lock was rusty in a
Sierra’s POVWe were in the pit for what seemed like forever and the darkness spread around us like a blanket. None of us was comfortable with the situation as we couldn’t sit nor could we even lay down. We simply stood all through. My muscles throbbed with such a tension that it felt like I was literally standing on my bones, I felt fatigue in the trap, and my mind whirled with queries and fears. My whole body felt like they weren’t my own. I hadn’t been this way in a long time. It wasn’t such a good feeling to have, believe me. And then, all of a sudden, the net under us shook vigorously and began to levitate slowly.“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice drowned out by the groan of the apparatus raising us.The net started to rise, dragging us slowly up, out of the bowels of the pit. It heaved with every step, the sensation churning my stomach, but I tried to steady my breath as I bit my lips. I shifted my body many times in a row to find balance.As we climbed higher, a dim spec
Sierra’s POVI released my grip from Andrew's hand immediately because I felt that I needed enough space to run off and hide as we fled the scene of Alessandro’s hideout. My breath was coming in gasps and it was unrhythmic. My chest ached and my legs burned but as I kept a high pace of flight, motivated by that inherent gut instinct for survival.As we bolted away, we heard Alessandro’s muffled profanities trailing behind us, then a definite thud almost as though his body had dropped to the floor.Jordan’s shot to his thigh had done its work. He wasn’t going to be chasing us anytime soon, but that didn’t mean we were out of the woods. We were still very much within his territory and that foretold danger.The night was uncomfortably still, except for the sound of gravel giving way beneath our panicked feet. My mind whirred with thoughts of Luca and what he might be possibly doing in the underground hidden safe place where he was stowed. I could imagine how blanched his face would be.
Jordan’s POV The room erupted into chaos. In a flurry of action, Andrew and I ran forward, guns drawn, footfalls in sync. The men surrounding Alessandro weren’t able to respond. I looked at their shocked faces, to find out we had taken them by surprise. They didn’t recognize us, but it didn’t matter. The element of surprise was on our side. The first shot broke the quiet, a loud jolt that ripped through the night. I had not thought, nor had I hesitated. I fired true, and bagged one of the men who had lunged for his weapon. Andrew was next to me, moving me quickly and efficiently. He took another man to the ground, disarming him before a second shot brought him down. Alessandro’s gaze caught mine from across the room, and for half a second all was still.’ I couldn’t afford to let the moment wash over me, but I felt it the rush of relief, of knowing he was alive, that he was here and we were taking him, taking him out. However, there was no time for relief. Not yet. Not until
Sierra’s POVWe kept driving until we reached a safe house far away from the just-blown-up new hideout. Shortly after we stepped in, Jordan barged into the house too. He looked so battered and unkempt.I was at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, trying to steady my nerves. The heat of the cup didn't soothe the storm raging in my veins. It wasn’t just the fear of Luca, or for Jordan, or even for me. It was this great unknown of what we were going to deal with. The stakes were higher than ever, and the cost of failure was unimaginable.In the next room, Amelia suited up and went over her equipment like a well-oiled machine, fluid and precise. She needed this moment when everything was on the line. I carefully tucked Lucas into an underground hide-out within the safe house with some snacks to quench the rage of hunger before we returned.Jordan, too, was quiet. He sat opposite me, his face taut with a slanting glare, his eyes dull from staring into a vacuum. He w