A U R O R APast - 17years oldBy the time I came downstairs, donning expensive gymwear and shorts, Marco was standing by the kitchen isle. As soon as he noticed, he checked his watch. It wasn't needed actually; I was well within the time frame of 180 seconds.And of course, there's only so many times I'd dare to risk displeasing him in one day."Follow me," he said and started walking, expecting me to be on his heels.Surprisingly so, I was.I followed him silently through the door, towards another portion of the house. Since he gave me the tour the previous day itself, I knew where we were headed - the gym.His gymnasium wasn't some expensive workout place that a man of means could afford to build. It was beyond that. The entire space glowed with bright sunlight, enclosed by the ceiling-to-floor glass wall. Half the arena was a boxing ring, while the other half was crowded with equipment of all kinds.He led me to the space between the ring and treadmill, where a small pouch was sus
M A R C OPast"I think she fell asleep, Sir," Della informed over the phone."Good."Well, she had to.Had I not worn her out, the little hellion would have tried another escape plan and effectively ruined my night's sleep. But more than her, I was pissed with Viktor.Who the hell gave him the idea that I could be the baby-sitter-cum-trainer for her?I preferred dealing with petulant submissives, knowing I could redden their ass to my liking if they ever happen to annoy me.But a rebellious teenager? Hell fucking no. One month, I reminded myself. Once the month would be up, and Aurora would be officially Viktor Romano's problem and not mine.The only issue nagging my erratic mind was the fate she would incur after a month. Sure, I could take care of the assholes who tried to rape her and was still hunting her. Even wiping off her criminal record wouldn't be a problem. The Romano influence in this Windy City was much powerful than people have come to realize.But then there's Viktor.
A U R O R APastMarco's definition of 'run' was two miles out in the freezing weather. And if I whined about the cold too much, he would make me increase the pace. By the time we came back, I was a sweating mess—flushed and entirely out of breath. But it didn't seem to please Marco one bit.Half an hour later, he dragged me into the gym again for another endless session of workouts to add on to my misery. And with each passing day, he would push me further until he was satisfied. Every time I would get the hang of something, Marco would change the course. Just like that, one morning, he suddenly decided that all these kinds of torture were not good enough and made me do additional exercises as well, failing which I would have to work ten times more."Thirty laps," Marco instructed one day, reclining against the lounge chair.Swimming wasn't the part of the curriculum until then. Somewhere down the line, I realized that you couldn't impress this man no matter how hard you have tried.
"Life is a fight from the minute you take your first breath to the moment you exhale your last." ~ Ronda RouseyA U R O R ASitting behind the closed wooden door, I could hear the animalistic uproar along with the pounding of my heartbeat, drumming in my ears. Both the sounds were terrifying on its own."It's just a fight—a fair fight. Remember every move I taught you."Marco's words floated out of nowhere into my subconsciousness as I tried so hard to find my strength out of them. However, instincts never lie. Something in my gut told me that I have good reasons to be afraid."Let's go. It's time," someone clipped out. I looked up to find a beefy man with a bald head stood by my side.Unable to find my voice, I nodded and stood up on shaky legs.Several steps later, the wooden door thurst opened, the only thing that separated my mind from the horrible onslaught, and the collective roar of beasts deafened my ears. Despite the humid, testosterone-charged surrounding, my skin turned froz
"In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - when you least expect it - sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined." ~ Nicholas SparksM A R C OThe last time I held my breath for this long, Ralph was teaching me how to evade the waterboarding torture method. It was an exquisite torture plan by pouring water over a cloth covering the face and lets you experience the sensation of drowning.There were times when I had managed to hold my breath longer than usual. But there were occasions when I faltered, and the water would plunge straight into my lungs, burning up.It was an indescribable agony I had endured so far. No amount of bleeding wounds, broken bones, or dislocated shoulder equaled to the pain of burning lungs and lack of oxygen in the system.But when I saw Aurora, walking into the cage with panic-stricken eyes, sweat-sheened skin, and shaky legs, it surpassed every other suffering I had experienced before.Every time her eyes sought
D O M I N I CWhen I walked out of Marco's place, a black Aston Martin was waiting for me outside. That's funny—because if I correctly remembered, I drove a Ferrari in here an hour ago. And it could not magically morph into an Aston Martin—cars didn't possess such powers, at least not in this century.Frowning, I walked in that direction as a dark-suited man promptly opened the door for me, and I climbed in."One day this bad habit of yours is going to get you killed," I said, without making eye contact as I eased myself on the seat."I have so many that I lost count," said the smooth voice beside me. "But for the sake of the conversation, which one are you referring to?"Marco was ready to cut his dick off and he was joking?"The one where you intentionally piss off people to get a reaction out of them, Viktor," I sneered, turning to face him for the first time getting into the car.He didn't shift at all, and instead gazed out of the window of the moving car, and watched the faint fl
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of... We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart." ~ Blaise Pascal"M A R C OThree days had passed since I pulled Aurora out of the cage. But it seemed that I had put myself in one. I confined my thoughts to every nuance of her being—her strength, her weakness, her fears, her defiance. Every little thing about her affected me in ways I couldn't have imagined. My mind wandered to all possibilities of life I could have introduced to her if only she would be wise enough to learn and evolve.Aurora was a compound of wildflowers, raw flames, and a flowing river. Each component was fierce, untamed, and beautiful, and you have to appreciate the indigenousness in its natural form. Like these natural elements, she has a mind of her own, and the complexities were still mysterious.A month ago, I wouldn't have imagined putting myself through these great lengths to be the man of influence in her life. But now, I couldn't even
M A R C OOf all the experiences life taught me, there was a valuable lesson which I never forgot, and that was: when a Romano shows up at your door, unannounced, it means trouble. T-R-O-U-B-L-E in capital fucking letters.And right now I was staring at the epitome of trouble—Samantha Romano. Hurricanes and typhoons might as well be named after her.Beaming, she stepped up and raised her arms, revealing the takeout bags. "I brought Indian."I eyed her head-to-toe before frowning. "You also brought yourself.""Hmmphf!" Sammy, the shorter version of her name as we called her, pouted. "Where are your manners, Marco? Move please, and let me in!" As expected, she shouldered her way inside the house and trotted into the kitchen."I am not sure you care much for manners," I muttered before closing the door and followed her to the kitchen."Sammy, to what do I owe the pleasure of your surprise visit?" I asked her. Sammy busied herself with the food by taking out them. God knew how, but she wa
AURORAIt was not my first rodeo in a BDSM club. Hell, I had lived this life a few years ago, and yet it felt like ages. As I sat there, motionless and holding my breath, I watched Marco raise his arm at a certain degree and land a measured yet bone-chilling smack across the poor submissive’s bare ass, catching the sensitive skin where the thighs sloped down. He immediately arched, careful not to break his posture because whoever was watching the scene and knew Marco, knew the consequence of breaking his rhythm. Oh, yes. He was as vicious as articulate, and any deviation resulted in severe penalties. “God, please!” I heard the submissive moan into the cushion, the littlest complaint he could make without offending his master and the master whipping his ass. The second and third blows crisscrossed over the ass cheeks, while the fourth and fifth took his breath away. I followed how he cringed every time the soft swish of the belt rang in the air before it landed on his back. “Hmm,
AURORAI stormed into Viktor's office, the door slamming against the wall with a deafening bang. My anger surged as I spotted him behind his desk, casually sipping on a glass of whiskey as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell on me. He looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in my furious expression. “Aurora,” he greeted, his voice calm and collected. Too calm for my liking. “I’ve been expecting you.”I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “What the hell, Viktor? You decided behind my back that I’m going on this job with Marco? You know damn well I can handle this on my own.”Viktor sighed, setting his glass down with a soft clink. “Aurora, this isn’t about your capability. You’re one of the best enforcers I have, but this job is too important to risk anything less than perfection.” Fuck his perfection. I scoffed and my blood was boiling. “And you think Marco is the answer to that? That asshole, who you know I haven’t worked with in years?”“Yes, I do,” he replied firmly, lea
MARCO I had seen her hours ago, hiding behind the glass separator of the Romano mansion, and every bone in my body wanted to drag her out and kiss her lips blue and paint her ass red to make her feel every agonising hour I’d spent without her for these three years. Three fucking years. She took up and left, without so much of a goodbye. Not that I deserved it but I would have eventually given her the truth once the dust had settled. Aurora needed to know that there was another side of the story of what had really happened that night, and all I was doing was protecting her, but as always, she did not wait. I was so angry, so hurt and broken that I’d have taken her scorching rage and indifference any day rather than not seeing her at all. I knew she was hurt, too, for that night three years ago. And she deserved to know more than what the four-minute and seventeen-second video clip had shown, but she could have given me the time. Instead of doing something so brash and reckles
AURORAI have dealt with men far dirtier, more lethal and criminal than the whore I have been asked to capture and torture. It was like one of those warm-up matches you play before you get to the big one. Not that I minded playing the warm-up, but I was bored. “Will you fucking shut up?” I asked, kicking her chair before landing a punch against her jaw. There were black shadows around her eyes already that I had deepened with time, but what I hated the most was her crying all the time. I liked her for a brief second when she gave me the small chase but other than that, she was no fucking fun. And I really wanted to have that fun.But I also had to heed Viktor’s warning that she should not be so broken because he had plans for her and when Viktor Romano has plans for anyone, even the Devil would not interfere. And then when Viktor barged into her cell with his woman, I knew my job was done.XXXSammy, Mia and I chatted alongside the pool, making me realise how clueless Mia was rega
AURORA I didn’t know the name of the magic pill Sammy gave me the next morning but somehow, I felt fresh as a daisy. Considering the night we had, I wondered if I was going to lie in my own vomit the next day. Thankfully, it didn’t happen. I grabbed my phone, going through the messages Viktor had left me last night and also a bunch of files detailing some chick named Nora. Apparently, she slept with Dominic and got close to the family. I didn’t bother how she pissed Viktor off but given the way he wanted me to ‘take care’ of the problem, I was guessing that she had royally fucked with Viktor to incur his wrath. Strolling down to the office, I didn’t bother knocking and barged in. Dominic and Viktor were hunched over the table, frowning over something. As soon as they registered my presence, Dominic rolled his eyes. “Do you ever fucking knock?” He wasn’t least bit surprised to see, especially when he nagged me the entire time to come back probably because Viktor had already inf
A U R O R AI stepped out of the airport and stood out there for a long moment.When the cold wind touched my skin, I absorbed the familiarity of the feeling. This was Chicago. This was home, even when the haunting memories kept me away, I longed for it. I just didn’t realize until now. I hailed a cab and headed for the first destination I had planned. It would not be an easy one, I knew, but I had to. I searched for the right words all along the cab ride, coming up with nothing when the cab came to a halt. Grabbing the small duffle, I paid and got out. I thought of calling or dropping a text, I didn’t know how it would be received. Also, what would I say? What could I possibly say that would make three years worth of the mess go away? So I waited around, lounging on the chair of the small room and hoped for the best.I had almost dozed off when I heard the door unlatch and turned around. Sammy, too, paused at the threshold, surprise etched all over her features before she blinked it
A U R O R AThree years later.It was just one of those days in Mexico.The entire room was a mess and I did not make it a point to clean the same. Partly because I had never stayed in one place for far more than necessary and also that I never wanted any apartment to feel like home. I had pushed myself so far out of my comfort zone in the last three years that mundane life made me restless. I never wanted to be comfortable again or relaxed. Been there, done that. I’d fear that if I do, I’d end up shattered or dead. Three years ago, I chose to be sent to this country to eliminate the threat in Chicago and slowly, I did. After I had left Chicago, there were two more attacks and the third was taken care of by Marco, as I was informed. The setback send a rippling effect in Mexico as the Carillo Cartel set up new strategies. Unfortunately, they did not realize that their fucking villas were wired. I’d been employed as a maid, getting the easy access into their homes. I had a few years
A U R O R ATwo days laterThe phone rang incessantly as I drove through the streets of Chicago. It is from Viktor’s office. Since he was in no position to deal with the daily shit, Marco and I decided to take up the matters but individually. We divided the responsibilities geographically and took up the issues as and when required so that neither Viktor nor Dominic has to bother themselves. But, apparently, the idiots at Viktor’s office did not understand the difference between taking orders and executing them. They would call a hundred times a day, seeking instructions on frivolous things and would strum the last of my nerves until I would pick up a damn baseball bat and struck against their empty heads.I ignored the first few rings but when they did not stop calling for 10 minutes, I picked up.“What now?”“Ma’am,” came a stammering voice from the other end. “There has been a blast at the warehouse.” I slammed the brake so hard, my body jerked forward and the car came to a halt.
A U R O R A What is the definition of loss and suffering to people like us? A few weeks ago, my misery had peaked to a primed spot. I had mourned, raged and cried over the loss of a man whom I loved, marinated in grief and wallowed in self-pity. There were so many stages of my suffering that I had believed it to be real, but the one unfolding before my eyes transcended all the other horizons of loss and suffering. Before me, there were two parents, howling over their son’s body. Mrs. Romano cupped his boy’s face as if she were trying to coax him into waking up while Alessandro Romano, the man known to be invincible to Chicago, were bested down by Stefan’s death. He stood stoically, but it was his red, void eyes that spoke volumes. The sight was harrowing. I did not even have the strength to reach out to Sammy. She could barely stand or even breathe in the wake of her loss. Stefan was everything to her, to this family. The youngest, spoiled and beloved. She shook violently, cryi