Novels by Maduka Chidera

“You coming… or not?”For a brief moment, I considered saying no.Staying on the yacht.Walking away.Then reality settled in.I didn’t know where I was.I didn’t speak the language.With a sigh, I climbed into the SUV.The door shut behind me.A moment later, the cars pulled away from the dock.Silence filled the cabin.The city blurred past the tinted windows while Luciano remained focused on the road ahead, one arm resting against the door.Several minutes passed before he finally spoke.“I’m quite surprised.”I turned toward him.“Why?”“I wanted you to refuse.”“You did?”He nodded once.“Yes.”“Then why bother to ask me?”The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.“It was the polite thing to do.”I blinked.“Polite?”“It has another name.”He glanced at me.“Chivalry.”I couldn’t help letting out a small laugh.“You?”“What?”“Talking about chivalry after everything you’ve done?”His expression remained unreadable.“You just looked uncomfortable.”“So you gave me a choice?

“Put him on the phone now!”I turned toward the endless stretch of blue water.Luciano was several meters from the yacht, floating on his back as though he hadn’t a single concern in the world.The image irritated me.Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had ordered three men thrown into the ocean.Now he was swimming in it.I stepped closer to the railing.“Luciano!”The wind carried my voice away.He didn’t react.I sighed before raising his phone above my head.“Luciano!”This time I waved it.“Your phone!”His head turned almost immediately.Even from that distance, I watched his gaze settle on the device in my hand.I lifted it higher.“A woman wants to speak with you!”The relaxed look vanished.Without hesitation, he rolled over and began swimming toward the yacht with long, powerful strokes.He reached the ladder within seconds.One of his men moved to help him aboard, but Luciano ignored the outstretched hand, climbing the last few steps. Another man appeared beside him with

“What happens when I stop serving your purpose?” The question hung between us. The wind carried it across the deck. Luciano stood perfectly still. For one impossible moment, I thought he might answer. Instead… He walked away. Without a single word. The door closed behind him. I remained where I was. Alone. The yacht continued cutting through the darkness. And for the first time since stepping aboard… I wondered if the most dangerous man on this ship wasn’t the one hunting me. But the one who had saved me. I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them. The three bounty hunters. Their desperate pleas. I sat upright with a sharp breath. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, spilling across the cabin as though nothing had happened. For a long moment, I simply stared ahead. Had last night really happened? I pushed the blanket aside and stepped out of bed. The yacht swayed gently beneath my feet. When I opened the door, I stopped.

“I told you to leave.”The words had barely settled between us when another attacker lunged from Luciano’s blind side, a knife flashing beneath the moonlight.My heart stopped.“Behind you!”Luciano moved before I finished speaking. The attacker’s knife sliced through empty air.Luciano caught the man’s wrist, twisted sharply, and a sickening crack echoed across the deck.The knife clattered to the floor.Before the man could scream, Luciano drove his elbow into his throat.The attacker staggered backward, gasping.A single gunshot rang out.The man dropped.Luciano never looked at the body.“Stay down,” he ordered without turning toward me.Then he walked straight into the fight.I had never seen anything like it.Men twice his size charged him without hesitation.None lasted more than a few seconds.One swung a crowbar.Luciano stepped inside the strike, drove a knife beneath the man’s ribs, pulled it free, and shoved him into another attacker.A second rushed him from the left.Lu

“Prepare for boarding.”The calm silence of the ocean disappeared.The crew moved with purpose.No panic.No hesitation.Just preparation.Men who had looked like ordinary staff moments ago opened hidden compartments beneath the deck.Weapons were pulled out.Magazines were loaded.Knives were secured.Every movement was quick and practiced.I stood frozen, watching the transformation.Luciano noticed me still standing there.His eyes moved to mine.“Head below deck.”“No.”The answer came so quickly that I even surprised myself.His expression hardened.“Seraphina.”“I’m not going to hide while people are risking their lives out here.”“This has nothing to do with bravery.”His voice was low.“It has to do with survival.”“I can survive.”“You have a habit of making dangerous situations worse.”My jaw tightened.“And you have a habit of deciding everything for everyone.”For a second, something flashed in his eyes.Annoyance.Maybe even disbelief.A few of his men glanced our way but

“I have something you might be interested in.”Luciano’s voice was calm, almost too calm.His eyes remained fixed on me as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.For a moment, I wondered if this was another one of his carefully calculated games.With Luciano, it was difficult to tell.Everything he did had a purpose.Every word.Every silence.Every look.He crossed the small distance between us and held the screen out.I stared at it.Then my breath caught.The woman on the screen was impossible to mistake.The waitress.The same woman who had smiled at me, the same woman who had leaned close enough to whisper that everything would be fine, the same woman who had pulled a gun and shot me without hesitation.My fingers tightened around the wineglass in my hand.“Where did you get this?”“One of my men sent it.”I looked up sharply. “They found her?”Luciano’s expression didn’t change.“They found out who she was.”My brows pulled together.“That’s not the same thing.”“N