I sat beside Vince on the edge of the bed, my hands loosely folded in my lap, just watching him breathe. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, the bruises on his face looking a little less angry in the soft glow of the afternoon sun.I reached out carefully to brush back a stray lock of his dark hair. His skin felt warmer now; he'd been cold all through last night. He stirred slightly under my touch, then his lashes fluttered open, revealing those deep blue eyes that made my heart flutter fast."Morning," he murmured with a smile, his voice still thick with sleep.A breath of relief escaped me. "It's past twelve, baby. You slept long.""I haven't slept this good in a while, cara," he said, stretching out slowly. I could tell his sides hurt by the way his jaw clenched. But he didn’t complain. He never did."I made you breakfast—now lunch," I said with a soft giggle, nodding toward the nightstand. A plate with toast, scrambled eggs, and a cup of coffee sat there, a little cold by
~~LUCA~~My eyes fluttered open to a smoky room. I inhaled sharply, and the metallic taste of blood filled my tongue.I looked down to see my ankles were bound. My hands, too, were tied behind my back.Again?Just how many times in a week was I going to get tied to a fucking chair?I exhaled, wondering who my abductor was now.The last thing I remembered was getting hit in the head with a gun.I'd taken down almost all the bad guys with a little help, but I guess I didn't finish the job well.There was no sound except for the slow drip of water and the scurry of rats around.Whoever this was, they didn't have a good hideout spot. That meant unprofessional—new in the game.The door creaked open, and heavy boots marched in. A sliver of light spilled in, framing the silhouette of a man with broad shoulders and red tattoos.Franco.One of Bondago's men.He was more muscle than common sense, so I began to wonder how he’d masterminded my abduction.“I told you we'd meet again like this, Luc
Vince's arm was bleeding badly by the time we reached the dirt road, and Bianca made some calls, barking orders to whoever was on the other end. Sometimes her pretty face and classy nature made me forget she was actually born into the world of the mafia.The safehouse wasn’t as I had expected. Just a weathered cabin tucked deep in the heaves of mountains. There were no gates nor guards. Just the chirping of birds and the whirling of the cool wind.As soon as the van stopped, we threw the back doors open. Bianca and I pulled Vince out with care; his weight felt heavier now, and I felt even weaker. He groaned with every shift of his body, trying not to fall completely on Bianca and me.We went inside the cabin; it was cold and dimly lit. The smell of something arsenic was thick.We brought Vince into a small back room with a bed covered in white sheets and clean towels. An aged man in a medical vest was already setting out supplies.“Lay him down,” he instructed, without even looking at
Luca and I left the creepy building. We'd tailed a truck to a Corinthian building. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but now didn't seem like the right time. Luca was carefully leading us through the back. We were headed for a tunnel-like passage. "This way," he whispered, turning into a narrow corridor lined with ancient stone. I stayed close, my fingers brushing the wall for balance. "How much further out?" I asked, trying to steady my voice. Luca glanced back, looking behind me like someone was following us. "Almost there," he told me. "But once we cross the threshold into the holding rooms, there are cameras. Sensors. We won’t have long.” “Is that where Vince is?” I asked, gripping Vince’s bloody watch tighter in my pocket. We turned a final corner, and there it was—a steel door, set into the wall like a vault. Strange symbols were carved around its frame, and just above it, a blinking red light. “I think so,” Luca muttered. “The moment we open it, we’ll h
My boots squelched against the wet leaves as I hurried after Bianca, the cold air freezing up my bare skin. I should have taken a coat. Every shadow felt like someone was watching. Every rustle of wind sounded like it carried a warning. The deeper we walked into the woods, the more scared I got because why did it feel like Bianca was setting me up?"This better not be a fucking trap," I muttered under my breath, but I knew she heard me.Bianca didn’t turn or reply to my statement. She just kept walking, weaving through the bushes as if she knew exactly where she was going, while I stumbled behind her, trying to keep my panic from swallowing me whole.“You keep talking to yourself like that,” she finally spoke after minutes, “and I’ll start thinking you want to die first.”“I thought you already wanted that,” I snapped.She chuckled and looked over her shoulder. “Not tonight. Don’t flatter yourself, princess. You're not the main character."I hated how she called me that. Princess. Lik
I stood by the broken window, eyes wide at the bloodied panes, my hands trembling as I gripped the edge of the sill. The cold wind licked my skin and I shivered like a wet chick. I couldn’t breathe... My chest felt too tight.He wasn't here.“Luca! Vince is missing!” I shouted again, barely able to catch my breath. I'd expected Luca's scared reaction, but instead, I heard an even more frightening chuckle at the other end of the call.It was deep and coarse, definitely not Luca's voice. It only meant one thing.Luca was being held hostage.“Jessica, or as Angelo would fondly call you, Cara,” the stranger drawled, his voice soaked in dark amusement. “Poor little bird. Always in the middle of the dark and dirty."I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat. "W-Who is this?” I stammered.The man didn’t answer. I strained my ear for a reply, and all I could hear in the background was a scuffle, something being dragged, and someone cursing in Italian. Then the line went dead.I stared at my pho