Novels by Z. Langsley

~Alessio~"Save your questions for later. Let's get out of here first," I motioned for her to follow me.Dimitri gave me a rough layout of the place. But they noticed her missing and alerted Fabio. Footsteps and the sound of heavy weapons echo across the shipping yard.Now his men are searching for us. And I took a fucking bullet in my side, covering for Jeanne. I feel the blood leaving my body faster than my strength.How deep is it? I can't die or faint before getting her out. I need to have the last laugh, even in the face of death.I gesture to Jeanne. She inches forward, crouching behind the crates and moving ahead. If Giulio were here, he would comment and call it a duck walk.Bullets ricochet off the beams and pipes above. It stops and hissing sounds burst from those pipes. I lift a hand. Jeanne stops."They aren't here. Stop shooting at everything!" A stern voice bellows. I strain my ears, willing myself to pick

~Alessio~I have to be careful not to start a war. I choose peace over blood, though I don't mind flooding the streets with blood and organs. It gives me delight and gets me high, shooting my adrenaline right up. But I'm not here to upset the peace. I could run over to the Irish mob and the Bratva but I won't. That would be foolish.I need to plan. Devise. Think. Then I'll take down and exterminate any threats, potential or not. Success and results matter. Everything else doesn't.I take the helicopter all the way to Paris. Occupying the landing pad meant for medics, I jump off the chopper and head to the university. People, staff and students shuffle in the hallways, filing out of classrooms.It's a sea of people. Where the hell is Jeanne? I break into a run, looking for her classroom and the principal's office.If I have to point a gun at the principal, I wouldn't hesitate. If Jeanne's in danger, Cassius will be too.What's the

~Cassius~I'll have no peace until that motherfucking dickhead is dead.He could have taken Jeanne when he forced me to sign over the shares. It doesn't match with his actions."Where are you going? We need to find Jeanne. I should—" Pamela looks on the verge of fainting."Pamela, get help from Killian or dad. Try to be as discreet as possible," I cut her off, holding her hand. I want to stay and comfort her but I don't have time."Okay. Okay," Pamela turns and scrolls through her phone.On the way to the airport, Killian shows up, blocking my way with his motorbike."What the hell? I don't have time to lose," slapping the steering wheel, I yell at him.Killian rolls his eyes. "Same here. You're not the only one who wants his sister back. Let's take the jet.""Jet?""Follow me," he gestures with his chin. I follow him to one side of the airport where there are fewer people. He points to a jet and wa

~Cassius~It should have been easy, but it's not. Here I am, drinking more alcohol than usual. I think I'm only making my alcohol tolerance go up.My fingers are flying across the laptop. It's been days since I last saw Alessio and cried like a fool. Why the fuck am I so vulnerable and weak when I'm in front of him? I tell myself over and over again to forget. I let Pamela and dad arrange dates for me, male and female, but none catches my eye.My phone rings. Pamela again. She arranged this date with some guy and is nagging me nonstop.I sigh, hitting the green button. "Yes?""Where are you? Go on your date.""I'm fine. The heartache is over," I lie."I don't believe that. Heartaches don't heal that fast. Come on. Don't stay cooped up at home. It's unhealthy," Pamela is all about health and lifestyle balance. I can never argue with her so I agree.A few minutes later, I'm standing in front of a fancy restaurant.

~Alessio~My brothers are clearly dealing with problems in their lives but they don't want me to interfere. As the eldest brother and their boss, I should eliminate any problem or confusion.And Cassius is a problem. One I can't erase from my system. So what the fuck am I supposed to do with him?Things aren't going as smoothly as I'd hoped.Giuseppe seems on edge, or like he's running from something. It's the same feeling I got when he was at the safehouse. What made him run and hide all the way there? I'm starting to worry that someone is out to take his life.Marcello is surprisingly fast and efficient, just the way I like people to work. He's one of my specialist hackers. I had to scout and bribe him with favorable terms to make him work for me."We've got eyes on Fabio. Location sending over to you now," Marcello says."Good work. The other half will be transferred to your account," I hang up."It might be

~Alessio~My head snaps up, my senses throbbing. We're being watched. Someone is keeping tabs on either Cassius or me. I have to go. I can't encourage this or give him a proper, truthful explanation. He'll get hurt. I don't want him hurt. He doesn't deserve this. So I tell him to forget about everything. He laughs like he doesn't believe me. For a moment, I thought he almost went crazy.I need to cut this off. I school my expression, stand up and laugh like I don't care. Cassius seems very angry and offended.He presses his knife against my chest, his emotions exploding. I let him, my heart aching. If cutting a hole in me makes him feel better, I'll gladly let him. I can't forget him just as he can't forget me.But I see it. No, them. Tears. Is he crying? What did I do? What the fuck did I do?!I hurt him so badly that he cried. I wanted to reach out and wipe away the tears but I stop. My hand refuses to move, not because I don't want to