CHAPTER SIXTY – FIVEROSE AMARA POVA week later, when I wake up alone, a thousand dark thoughts flood my mind. My hands shake as I reach for my phone, each second feeling like an eternity. When I finally manage to grab it, the message waiting for me soothes my anxiety.Ethan: Morning, Princess. I'm off with Laye for business with the Italians. Don't forget to eat breakfast. Come home early so I can make up for not fvcking you first thing in the morning. P.S. Wear that red thing from the other time.I smile, imagining his exact tone as if he were speaking those words aloud. Ever since that night when he burst into my room, bloodied and bruised, and declared he was staying, it feels like I'm living in an alternate reality, one cloaked in fog. I know the mist will eventually lift, and he’ll realize staying is dangerous. But Ethan isn’t afRosed of danger. If anything, his life has made him addicted to it.Every night, after he makes me scream in ecstasy, he holds me close and answers my
CHAPTER SIXTY – SIX ROSE AMARA POVI needed to keep track of their conversation. Pharaoah is clearly planning something. First, he got his octopus hands on Laye, and now he's going after Pakstan—whom I at least thought couldn't be swayed.My phone vibrates, and I swiftly pull away to check the text.Hades: Uncle River wants you in his office.With a groan, I go back upstairs. Pharaoah and Pakstan will leave after they are called by Uncle River. I need to figure out what they're plotting, or at least Pakstan's fixation. If I can get him away from Pharaoah, I can convince him to switch to my side.I knock on Uncle River’s door before stepping inside. Hades and Igor are sitting with him in the lounge area. I nod at my supposed father-in-law, and he nods back before focusing on the paperwork splayed in front of him.Hades doesn't spare me a glance. His jaw is tight, and his beard appears thicker today, casting an ominous shadow on his face. He's been in a foul mood since I released Ethan
CHAPTER SIXTY - SEVENROSE AMARA POVI curse inwardly, but I pause when Abe laughs, wrinkles forming around his eyes, then speaks in a subtle Japanese accent. “Always a black sheep, Pakstan.”"I will drink to that." He swallows another gulp of his vodka, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "Now, spare us the suspense, and let us know why we're here."“Patience, young man.” Abe sits beside Pakstan, and the asshole doesn’t even attempt to give him room.Kai smiles at me in greeting before he kneels beside me in an upright posture that somehow appears reverent. He places a hand on my thigh. “Have you been well?”“Yes,” I murmur as I remove his hand. “And that question doesn’t need to be asked while you touch me, does it?”He chuckles softly. “I didn’t expect anything less from you.”After the food arrives, a mixture of soups, noodles, and an exquisite fish dish, Abe and Kai unhurriedly dig into their meals. Pharaoah and I join, mimicking their pace. Uncle River taught me how
CHAPTER SIXTY – EIGHT ETHAN'S POVThis isn’t exactly where I want to be. It's not where I should be, either. Who gives a fvck about the Italians' business? Certainly not me.The only things I would rather be doing right now are either shooting the fvcker Rolan in the face or eating my wife out. There's no in-between.The first part is out for now. I asked Flame to stay on standby—an option he wasn't thrilled about since the lack of action bores him. That makes two of us. Flame and I are the types who will only accept a mission if we deem it exciting enough. The adrenaline wave is our bitch, and we ride it every chance we get. Now, the only one I want to ride me is Rose.I like how adorable she looks when she thinks she has the upper hand before I flip her onto her back and tease her while—"Focus," Laye speaks low enough so only I can hear. "Or try to appear as if you're focusing."We’re sitting in one of the Bratva’s empty clubs downtown with the Lucianos’ underboss, Nicolo. He brou
CHAPTER SIXTY- NINEROSE AMARA POV"This won’t do." Pakstan checks his gun, then curses in Russian. He's down to a few bullets. I’m not any better off.My gaze trails to Pharaoah, who’s firing over the car's hood. The three of us are huddled behind the vehicle, caught in a gunfight that has lasted only a few minutes but feels like an eternity.I had expected the British, but it's worse. Their Albanian allies have joined the fray and seem to have no fear. They readily step into gunfire as long as it means taking out their targets. Uncle River once told me that if a soldier dies, the Albanian leader honors him and ensures his name goes down in the organization’s history with reverence.The ambush was smart. They managed to catch Pakstan, Pharaoah, and me together with only a few guards. Outnumbered, it's easier for them to try and take us out now.We’ve been trying to stall until backup arrives.“How much do you have left?” I ask Pharaoah.“Five.” He fires a shot, hitting an Albanian in
CHAPTER SEVENTY ETHAN POVNicolo’s earlier words about what they did to his grandmother tighten a noose around my throat, suffocating me with each gruesome detail. I stormed in front of Pakstan and grab him by the throat.“How the fvck did you let them take her? Where the fvck were you?”His guard moves to intervene, but Pakstan dismisses him with a wave. “Not that I have to fvcking answer to you. They wouldn’t have taken her if I were there. I was fighting one off, and when I turned around, they were carrying her and Aleksander into a van.”“Aleksander was taken too?” Laye’s suspicious gaze shifted to Pharaoah and back to Pakstan. “Why would they take a guard?”“Fvck if I know.” Pakstan brushes off the soldier fussing over his bleeding arm.“In Pharaoah’s place,” Pharaoah pants, gripping the Albanian tightly. “They took Sasha into my place.”Sasha? Ah, right. The Italians and their nicknames—how they associate Sasha with Aleksander is a mystery.“It still doesn’t make sense why they
CHAPTER SEVENTY – ONEROSE AMARA’S POVA funny taste lingers at the back of my throat as I slowly open my eyes. My surroundings gradually come into focus. I'm lying on a dark floor resembling old, abandoned asphalt. A rotten smell, like a public toilet in a forgotten gas station, nearly causes me to gag.I sit up, and the world starts spinning like it did this morning. The gray stone walls have some industrialized red numbers on them, but they're faded, washed away by the merciless hands of time. The few cracks invading the solid surface and a metal bed in the corner are the only things in sight. Its white sheets are yellowish and appear not to have been washed in an eternity.How did I end up here? I don't remember anything after the bag was thrown over my head. Back then, my only thought was that I was dying and couldn't just die.The sense of relief at being alive doesn’t hit me as strongly as it should. I might not be dead now, but that could change. Besides, it’s worse if they ta
CHAPTER SEVENTY – TWOROSE AMARA’S POV I swallow the clog in my throat and open my mouth. Ever since that day I first gave Ethan a blowjob, I swore to never do it to any other man after him. Ever since that moment, I felt like every part of me belonged to him and him alone. Now that I'm in this situation, I can only think of him and how much I wish he were here because if he were, no one would ever touch me. But since he’s not, I need to get this done myself.As soon as the bald guy's dick is inside my mouth, I bite it as hard as possible. A metallic taste explodes on my tongue. The guard by my side kicks me in the stomach, so I release his boss. I grunt as I push away from him. The bald man wails, and I back up, using their distraction with their leader to reach Aleksander.They're too busy to notice me, one imprisoning her and the other trying to shove his dick inside her. I use all my energy to kick the one holding her down and steal his gun. Aleksander kicks the other one, then h
CHAPTER NINETYETHAN’S POVHe really didn’t follow.I stand on the balcony for several minutes in case he shows up, but there’s no trace of him.None at all. No call. No text.I stare at the letter he left me that I tucked in my bag. Is that the last I’ll see of him? Really?I ought to kick his ass for everything he made me go through. I gave him all the reasons to come back and at least talk to me. I went to him. I didn’t remove the wedding ring. I didn’t tell him he was an idiot for thinking that leaving is the solution.I did it all, but he didn’t even follow.Fvck him.I’m about to go take a shower when commotion comes from outside my room.My heartbeat skyrockets and I nearly trip over my feet as I swing the door open.It’s not Ethan ’s face that greets me. Instead, it’s Zeth and Eya arguing with Lia, telling her she can’t go inside.“What’s going on?” I try to hide the disappointment in my tone.“You said not to disturb you, miss,” Zeth says, “but Mrs. Volkov insists on seeing y
CHAPTER EIGHTY- NINEETHAN’S POV“Fvck!”I kick Rolan’s lifeless body. Even the arsehole’s death doesn’t feel as victorious as I thought it would.Rose disappeared down the hall with that fvcker Vladimir. He’ll have even more of an opening to be beside her now that I’m not there, which has been his purpose all along.Motherfvcker.“She has you by the balls. I’m disappointed.” Fire leans against the doorframe and places a cigarette in his mouth, but instead of lighting it, he keeps flipping his lighter on and off. His Beware of Fire Hazard tattoo peeks out from underneath his sleeve with the movement.“Shut the fvck up, Fire. He almost clipped my nails from my sniper hand, Godfather!”“It didn’t happen.” Fire pauses flipping his lighter.I narrow my eyes. “You wanted to do it.”“But I didn’t. And stop moaning to Ghost like a little kid.”“I’m going to—”“Enough.” Godfather sighs, staring down at me. “Do you have the time to bicker with Fire right now? Shouldn’t you go after your wife?”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT ROSE AMARA ’S POVI did it.I’m in the Irish’s club, which Rolan has a back office in.It hasn’t been an individual effort. Thanks to Julian and his acquaintance with Ethan ’s insider with the Irish, we were able to figure out the location.While River was completely against handing over territories, he said he’d turn a blind eye if I took his men and came here.I had to beg Vlad to help, and it wasn’t easy since he doesn’t like Ethan . The growly mountain of a man only softened when I mentioned the baby and that I don’t want him to grow up fatherless.Damien agreed to help because, in his words, “It should be fun.”I asked Kirill for his intel help because he has the best spies. He was the hardest to crack, and only agreed when I gave him an oath in front of Sasha that no one except for the three of us will know of her true gender. Well, Ethan already knows somehow, but I’m not the one who told him.Igor sent men, too, but Adrian has been MIA today. Even his clo
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN ETHAN’S POVMum’s words from the nightmare slam back to me. Could it be a warning about the truth?“Who is he?” I ask Rolan. “Who’s my father?”He releases a long laugh that echoes in the space around us. “Ah. Isn’t this grand? Ye lived with the Russians for years and still didn’t recognize yer father? A bastard is a bastard, after all.”“Who the fvck is he?”“Don’t ye worry, my lad. I already called him and gave him evidence that ye’re his boy, so if he does want ye, he’ll show up. Though, I doubt anyone wants a filthy bastard whose only use is killing from the shadows.”“Was he the one from that night? The one who came when my mother tried to escape?”“Probably. Yer mother was smart, but not fast enough. My idiot brother promised to protect her and ye, but she knew I’d kill ye both the first chance I got, so she decided to leave. But that didn’t turn out grand for her, did it?”“I’m going to kill you,” I mutter through clenched teeth. “I don’t care how or when,
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIXETHAN’S POV“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”Mam? Where are you?The place is pitch-black like a cave. It smells rotten too, as if a dead animal is decomposing inside it. My legs get lost in something sticky underneath, but I can’t see it.I can’t see anything except for darkness.The sound of weeping gets louder the more I walk. It’s my mother. I’d recognize the sound anywhere, even though it’s been thirty years.“Mam? Where are ye?” I don’t know why I’m speaking in a Northern Irish accent, but all of a sudden, it feels as if I’m back to being that small boy. The only difference is that I’m trapped in a grown-up’s body. “Mam!”The only answer is the sound of weeping. It’s long and wretched as if her grief is clawing out from the grave.“Mam, come out. I can protect ye now. No one will hurt ye.”The weeping ceases and a rustle comes from right in front of me. I halt, the sound of the sticky mud under my feet stopping too.The darkness slowly dissipates like fo
CHAPTER EIGHTY - FIVEROSE AMARA'S POVAfter knocking on the office’s door, I open it and step inside. I pause when I find an unknown man sitting across from my granduncle.“Rose. Come in.” Uncle River motions at me to join him, so I close the door and do just that, bluntly watching the new man.He appears to be in his mid to late forties. His large frame dwarfs his dark suit. His brown hair is styled back, and he's sitting nonchalantly. It's not so threatening as to attract attention, but it's not slack either, like he's ready to jump up any second. It's so similar to… Ethan's.Tattoos cover the backs of his hands, and they don’t appear like the ones I recognize from the Bratva, the Triads, or the Yakuza.He's watching me as intently as I'm watching him, like we're two predators before a fight over who owns a territory.“This is Rose.” Uncle River introduced me.“So she’s the one Ethan married.” the stranger observes quietly. British accent. Wait, could he be…“Are you…Ethan’s…”“God
CHAPTER EIGHTY - FOURETHAN'S POVMiss Amber,I know you hate it when I call you that, but I need the distance right now to write this.The first time I met you, I thought you were just another spoilt mafia princess, but I found you to be a strict bean. You didn't let anyone tell you what to do and stood up for yourself. You didn't stop there and made it your mission to help those weaker than you, even if it meant going against people with more influence than you.Here's the thing—I didn't plan to get close or to learn about you as much as I have. My sole mission then was to use Nikolai's intel to watch my uncle's movements from afar.At one point, that mission started to blur. At one point, the only reason I looked forward to new days wasn't my grand revenge plan but you.The more time I spent with you, the harder you tore at my armor and engraved yourself deeper. The more I saw, the blurrier my purpose became, the more insignificant I felt. Watching you go after your goals without h
CHAPTER EIGHTY - THREEETHAN'S POVthe splitting headache is the least of my problems when I stare at the woman lying on her stomach on the bed.A galaxy of bruises covers her hips, arms, thighs, arse, and even around the snake tattoo on her spine.Fvck.I spring awake as memories of last night trickle back in. What the fvck have I done? If it weren't for her back's steady rise and fall, I would think I'd killed her or something.Bloody hell.I shouldn't have touched her when I was drunk. The reason I don't get drunk isn't only because I lose my inhibitions but also because I can't control myself. There's no stop or even pause button in that state.Not that I've ever had those buttons when it comes to Rose. Whenever I recalled my decision, I fvcked her more, owned her more, and was nothing short of a madman.I can’t believe I took her on the floor over and over like a fvcking animal. She’s already too fragile and easily bruises by a simple touch. How could I let my beast side take com
CHAPTER EIGHTY - TWOROSE AMARA’S POVI'm lying completely flat on the carpet with my back to him. I stare back at him as he yanks open his drawer. He'll bring out a toy, but I should've known better. Ethan might like to torture me with them, but he doesn't want them involved during sex. I prefer him to them, anyway.He retrieves a bottle of lube and a condom and doesn't bother to close the drawer. Wait. A condom? Ethan never used them, so I didn't even know he had one.Besides, what’s the use of a condom when he’s already gotten me pregnant?He removes his shirt, revealing his stiff muscles and the tattoos rippling on his abs. I don't dare look away or move. I'll be missing something crucial if I do.Ethan throws his shirt away and stalks behind me like a hungry predator about to devour his prey. I follow him with my gaze until he kneels between my parted legs.He places a hand under my stomach and lifts me up so I'm slightly bent over on my knees. The position differs from anything