Novels by Shay Calestia

LuigiThe house settled into a quiet kind of calm after the boys went upstairs. Not peaceful… just a pause before the storm.I turned to Maria. I didn’t have to say a word.She crossed the space between us and stepped into my arms like she had done a thousand times before, her hands sliding around my back, holding me together when I felt like I might come apart. I closed my eyes and buried my face in her hair. This woman… she was my anchor. My home. We had been kids when it started—high school sweethearts with more stubbornness than sense. She had been the opposite of me. A good girl, raised right, old-school Italian family. Church every Sunday, respect, tradition… all the things I had pushed against back then.And me? Stefano and I had been trouble. Everyone knew it. But she chose me anyway. She always did, from the beginning.And when I left last night… when the call had come and things got dangerous and I had no choice…She hadn’t begged. Hadn’t cried. Just kissed me softly and

DentonThen I slowed. Because this part—This part mattered.“She didn’t know who you were,” I said quietly. “Not really. Not what your name meant. Not the history between the two families. She and Remi were never exposed to that part of Seamus' business...he left it to the eldest...Liam”I let that sink in. “So when Remi got sick,” I continued. “And when your offer came… she took it.” My jaw tightened. “She took it because she had no other choice and she would do anything for Remi.”Silence again. Thick. Heavy. But his eyes were wide, breathing laboured.Then I said it. The truth he needed to hear. “She wasn’t just innocent, Adriano…” My voice dropped. “She loved you.”The impact of that—It was visible. Clear. He flinched...held his chest, like something inside him cracked open.“She refused to sign that contract,” I went on, “not because she was playing you… but because she was protecting you.”His eyes snapped to mine. Confusion. Fear. “Today,” I said slowly, “is her eighteenth birt

Denton It took everything in me to step back. Everything. Because the sight of his blood—split lip, dazed eyes, the mark of my fist still fresh on his face—It didn’t touch the rage inside me. Didn’t even come close. If anything, it made it worse. Because it wasn’t enough. Not for what I had just seen. Not for what he had revealed and not said. My hands curled into fists at my sides, my chest rising and falling too fast, too hard. I knew Adriano. Knew exactly what he was capable of. In this line of business, we had fought side by side, against each other, bled in the same dirt more times than I could count. He could take me on. Stand toe to toe with me and not back down. And right now—The only thing stopping me from going further… Was that he wasn’t fighting back. He was just… standing there. Taking it. And somehow that made it worse. I dragged in a sharp breath, forcing control back into my limbs, into my mind. Because if I didn’t—I wouldn’t stop. And if I didn’t stop…I would

Adriano Years of training and conditioning kicked in. If you preceive a threat, you don't think, you react. The second I heard movement in the hallway, every instinct I had kicked in. I moved fast, silent, pressing myself behind the door, my 9mm already in my hand, safety off, finger steady along the trigger. Waiting. Breathing slow. Listening. Whoever it was… they were coming in. The footsteps got closer. Then—The door pushed opened. “Adriano? Arianna?” I let out a breath of relief. Denton. For a split second, I thought I’d imagined it. That my mind was playing tricks on me. But no—There he was. Stepping into the room like he belonged there. And I stepped out instinctively. “Denton, I—” I didn’t even get the words out. Because everything he was holding—Flowers. Gift bags. Slipped from his hands. One by one. Hitting the floor in dull, heavy thuds. He didn’t even notice. Couldn’t. His eyes were fixed on the room. Taking it in. Every broken shard of glass. Every torn piece of

Adriano I woke up with her voice still in my head. Not the words. The sound. That broken, desperate edge in her scream when she called my name—It echoed through me like it had carved itself into my bones. I squeezed my eyes shut, dragging a hand over my face as the pounding in my skull pulsed harder. The kind of hammering behind my eyes that made even breathing feel like effort. Too much alcohol. Too much of the drug. Too much rage. Too much… everything. But none of it drowned her out. Nothing could. I shouldn’t care. That’s what I told myself. That’s what I *needed* to believe. What I needed to hold on to. She had lied to me. Played me. Betrayed me. Whatever this thing between us had been—it had never stood a chance. And yet…My chest tightened painfully. Because beneath the anger, beneath the betrayal— I kept thinking that there had been something real. Something that could have been— I let out a rough breath, forcing myself upright. Whatever the hell it was—it had been a

Luca I slid down the wall beside him. I didn’t even remember deciding to. The second my legs gave out, I didn’t fight it.. One second I was standing— The next I was on the floor, the weight of it all crashing down. There was nothing left in me to hold upright. Not after seeing Liam like that. Not after hearing that sound come out of him. It was one thing to know someone was hurting. It was another to watch grief rip them open in real time. Liam was shattered. Completely. His body shook with it, raw, broken sounds tearing out of him like he didn’t even know how to stop. And seeing that—Seeing a man like him reduced to this—It hit something deep in my chest. Tears blurred my vision, hot and useless as they tracked down my cheeks. Because she had done that… Arianna…She had worked her way into my heart so quietly I hadn’t even noticed until it was too late. She’d called me brother without hesitation. Just like that. No permission needed. That sweet, stubborn, fierce girl—She had