Sierra’s POVMy alarm rang at 4am later that morning. When I dashed towards our bedroom, I met Jordan standing at the door. Did the man ever sleep? “What do we have here?” Jordan asked, with a tired smile on his face.“You weren’t supposed to see this! At least, not yet.” I retorted.Jordan waited until I got to where he was standing. “Now, how do I get in?” He asked, playfully.“You aren’t supposed to,” I laughed. “Happy birthday, baby.” Jordan pulled me by my shoulders and kissed my hair. “Thank you, angel.” He cleared his throat, “But where are they supposed to go?” He asked with a small laugh.“We could just move them to another room. I just wanted to do something really special for you. So, for the next couple of months, your exclusive shopping mall is in this very house!” I announced excitedly.“That’s beautiful. I actually forget to shop for myself. You’re a lifesaver.”“Of courseee, you’re always away, trying to save the world and putting the bad guys in their place. Someon
Jordan’s POVSierra was going to be the death of me. I wondered how she was able to do so much in so little time. The first was our bedroom. I was actually surprised but I kept my cool and pretended like the stunt Sierra pulled was very normal. There were male items everywhere, from clothes to shoes to colognes to wristwatches. And they weren’t just any kind of products, they were all from designer brands. Some, from my frequently patronized brands, which were quite expensive, if I might add.I gave the woman an unrestricted card to use for herself, and she went and doused it all on me. I made a mental note to send more money to the account. After dressing me up that morning, Sierra forced me to eat some cake. Apparently, she had talked the chef into baking me a cake with forty-five layers. How in god’s name were we going to preserve that? When I asked her about it at breakfast, she said to me, “I was hoping to throw a little party for you, but I know you wouldn’t want that.”“And y
Sierra’s POVAmelia was in on the plan. Jordan had no idea that she was at the auction. She texted me shortly after we arrived to tell me she was backstage, so I got up and went to look for her. However, when I told Jordan I was going to the ladies room, he had Andrew escort me. That meant I had to find a way to lose Andrew first. While he followed closely behind, my brain got to work. Everybody knew auctions were events that didn’t take too long.And I didn’t have all the time in the world.When I got into the ladies room, I waited for a few minutes. Then, a lady who had her face covered in a hijab came inside. I asked her if she saw a bulky guy standing by the door of the bathroom and she said yes.“Please, I am being followed by that guy. My life is in danger and I really need your help.” I lied. “ How can I help?” the woman asked.Since we were the same height and also had a similar body build, I asked if we could switch outfits. She hesitated a bit but eventually agreed. So
Sierra’s POV I didn’t want to leave. “The deal was to have you for twenty-four hours,” Jordan reminded me the night we were supposed to leave. I grumpily sat on the box I packed, refusing to get up. Venice was so beautiful, especially with a man like Jordan holding you and taking you around. There were no guards around, it was just us, and I loved every bit of it. Asking Jordan if we could continue leaving our lives like that would be a stretch, so I simply basked in the moment while I had it. However, when I realized it was all coming to an end, I began to get emotional. “Didn’t you love it, Jordan? It felt surreal.” I said to Jordan. “Yes, baby. We can always come again.” “Just us?” “Just us.” If there was one thing I would be taking out of Venice, it was that my husband was a perfect gentleman! Underneath the cold exterior with which he handles business, lives a sweet man. I watched Jordan help an older lady get her bag, pull out a young child’s seat, and als
Sierra’s POV“I didn’t know you knew.”“You’ve always been so good at hiding your emotions, but for some reason, you couldn’t hide that you liked my friend. Maybe you did try, but not hard enough.” I chuckled.Andrew chuckled too. If I knew Charlotte’s pictures were all it would take this guy to be more human around me, I would have sent them a long time ago.“Can I be honest?” Andrew asked.“Sure, go ahead.”“At first, I blamed you for her death. I blamed you because if she didn’t get mixed up with you in the first place, Dominic would have had no reason to kill her the way he did.”“I’m sorry,” I replied, knowing that Andrew was right.“But I had no right to do that. I knew you loved her like a sister. I was envious of the relationship you both had.”“Did you ever tell her?”“That I liked her?” I nodded.“I didn’t, but she knew. Somehow, you ladies always figure that out. She knew I did like her, but we never really got the chance to talk about it. The one time we did, I told her t
Sierra’s POVLuca’s story was pretty sad.However, I still believed he was struggling with other things he wasn’t sharing. I couldn’t imagine how a boy at the age of seventeen could look so unapproachable and guarded. His defenses were high up there.Brandon said Luca had joined college in his sophomore year. He was a good kid. He took his grades seriously and was also a part of the basketball team. When he got to his finals though, he became a different person. Nobody knew what had happened. Brandon was suspicious it had something to do with his mother. The school had lost all forms of communication with her. When they asked Luca about it, he simply told them that she left. Nothing more was said about her. I walked out of Brandon’s office to meet Luca, still waiting by the door, with his ears plucked in. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting,” I apologized.He didn’t say a word, he simply started walking ahead of me. Whenever we got to a place he wanted to show me, he'd point to th
Jordan’s POVNews had gotten to me that Carlos Moretti was beginning to speak to former allies of his brother Lorenzo. In addition to that, he was also causing a lot of trouble. As a means to call me out, bodies had been turning up in alleys and backstreets. I had done my findings and Carlos was responsible. He was pissed that I wasn’t giving him any attention. I didn’t know what he expected of me, but I wasn’t going prance around in uneasiness simply because some guy thought the mafiasco was family business. When the time came, he would have me to contend with.Luckily for him, the bodies that had been turning up were those of drug addicts and street criminals. Carlos knew the game he was playing. He wanted to cause trouble without causing trouble. Meanwhile, Gabriel Draven had been making his own moves as well. Still smarting from what happened at the auction, he had declared me his rival, a challenge I was willing to go unanswered as long as he never stood before me again.If he
Sierra’s POVAs I walked into the office, I couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation. I had expected things to be a bit awkward after Jordan's visit the previous day, but to my surprise, Brandon greeted me with his usual charm."Good morning, Sierra! How are you today?" he asked, smiling brightly at me."I'm good, thanks." I replied, trying to sound casual. "Just getting some coffee before our first class."Brandon nodded, falling into step beside me. "I'll join you. I could use a caffeine boost myself."As we walked to the break room, Brandon chatted with me about everything from the weather to our shared love of literature. It was as if Jordan's warning had never happened.However, when we got to the coffee machine, Brandon's tone shifted, becoming more flirtatious. "You know, Sierra, I've been thinking. We should grab lunch together sometime this week. Just the two of us."Who the hell was this guy? Did he ever learn? "I don't think that's a good idea, Brandon.” I replied, tr
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