تسجيل الدخولBut Aria can't seem to get her mind off him. Nico knows just how to get through her defenses and she sees past his scars and all the horrible stories they have to tell. But as secrets are uncovered, Aria realizes her fate is tied to a man who prefers to live in the shadows. And even as her father takes on a case involving a mysterious crime group Nico is tied to,
عرض المزيدA TALL, HORNY, STRANGER
ARIA "You know we have to leave, Aria." I frowned at my father. "No, we don't. You can, but I won't." He shook his head as if he had heard enough of what I had to say. "Well, I have made my decision, daughter." "Dad, we've only been in Stonehaven for a month and you want us to leave because you got another transfer letter? What about my new school? My friends? You just expect me to dump them and leave?" "That's how it has always been. We leave to where I'm transferred to." "No, dad. It's beginning to look like we're running." "From what?" he asked. "You tell me." We were in the dining room and my dad was getting ready to go to work. He as a cop, a detective to be precise. With the the First Division in Stonehaven, and the only one at that. He gulped down the remaining of his coffee and tossed some breed into his mouth. I watched him masticate. "I have nothing to say to you, Aria," my dad finally answered me. "Better go get your things packed. We leave tomorrow morning." I went to my room all right but I didn't lift a hand to pack my stuff. I left them where they were because I was sure I would stay. Why the hell did we always have to leave? I didn't want to, not yet at least. He could go wherever it was that wanted to claim him, but I would stay and complete high school in Stonehaven. Stonehaven was just a suburban town in the United States of America. We were used the summer in those parts. Nothing much happened, and we literally knew each other if one had the chance to peel off that antisocial skin. They way we moved from place to place, I lacked connection. I had no roots, no long time friends to call my own and he was okay with that? I needed to talk to someone at that point. My new best friend came to mind and I picked up my phone and called Emma. The background was noisy. Music was blaring off speakers. "Where the hell are you?" I sat up in bed and asked. She was someplace having fun while I was sulking at home? "At a party. I was just about to call you. We haven't started but we're kicking off soon. Where the hell are you?" Trust Emma to throw my questions back at me. "I'm at home." She chuckled. "Oh, you're going to miss out if you ground yourself in your room. Come to Beaver's Inn right now. I've got some friends I'd like to introduce you to." "I'm leaving tomorrow, Emma." "What?" "My dad got his transfer letter." She paused for a spell. Then said, "Okay. Come to the party and we'll talk about it, good?" "Good." "Call me when you get here, sweet. Jeez, that guy is handsome." If an handsome fellow was the last thing I would remember about Stonehaven, then I had a party to attend. *** "What kind of a place is this?" I raised my voice so as to be heard over the loud music. Emma was by my side wearing a tank top and bum shorts. As for me, I opted for black leather pants and body-hugging sleeves. "A clubhouse." "What's the party about?" I asked. "It's about catching fun. One of my friend threw it. You'll meet him soon." Emma always had numerous friends to introduce me to. I wondered if it was her way of playing matchmaker. The place was well packed with people. Some of them, I recognized from school. They smiled at me, nodded their heads to the music, and walked off. She took me to a red couch. There, we were alone, then she asked what I wanted. "We've got drinks, sweets, dessert, condoms if you like dicks, cakes and smokes too." "I'll take a light beer." "Smirnoff then," she chose for me. "I'll be right back." Just as she left the disc jockey changed the music and began playing by A Bar Song by Shaboozey. Everyone went apeshit. Everyone but one man. And that was because he had just stepped into the building. My jaw dropped. He was the most handsome man I had ever set my eyes on. He was tall and lean, had dark hair, and I noticed a tattoo at the side of his neck. He looked around the place with a cold dark stare then his eyes landed in my direction. I felt my stomach churn with need. Why did I suddenly need him at first sight? He took intentional strides towards my red couch. I wondered the amount of power he had in those hips and how they would sound against my ass if he happened to give me a doggy fuck. Emma brought me my bottle of Smirnoff and an opener, interrupting my train of thought. She looked at the man who had just stopped before us and said, "Thought you'd never show your face." "I didn't want to," he said, his voice loud dangerous. "Until I heard all the noise and thought there might be some lady here willing to fuck. Who is your friend?" His eyes studied me carefully as Emma said, "This is Aria. Aria, meet Nico." I got to my feet and offered my hand. "Hi." He took it and planted a kiss on my knuckles. I swear, my insides turned into jelly and I felt some residue escape to my pussy. No one needed to tell me that I was wet already. "Sexy," he drawled, which only seemed to worsen things for me. "Please don't ask her if she wants to fuck, Nico. She's off the charts. How long will you be staying?" "I'll leave once I get my... sex partner," he said, his eyes still on me, and he didn't even let my hand go. If Nico was the one putting all those sexual images in my brain just so that I could get interested, then he was doing a really good job. "Your friend seems ready for me, though," he said to Emma. "What?" I asked, wondering why he had said that. There was a smirk on his face as his eyes fell to my breasts. When I looked, I saw that my nipples were hard and visible through my outfit. "Fuck. Excuse me," I said, plucked my hand from his, and ran off.69AFTERMATHARIAThe silence after the gunfire felt heavier than the noise itself.For several seconds, I couldn’t move.Couldn’t breathe properly.Couldn’t think.My eyes remained locked on the monitors, watching as Luca and his men secured the area outside. One of the guards kicked the fallen weapon away from the nearest attacker while another checked for any sign of movement.There was none.Both men lay still.The reality of it hit me slowly.They were dead.Because of me.A sharp wave of nausea rose in my stomach.I stepped back from the console, my hand instinctively covering my mouth as I tried to steady my breathing.This wasn’t like the explosion.This wasn’t a warning shot.This was real.Final.Irreversible.Footsteps approached behind me.I turned.One of the guards stood at the doorway.“Miss, you should stay here.”His tone wasn’t harsh.But it wasn’t gentle either.It was practical.Controlled.Just like everything else in this house.“I need to see him,” I said.“He’l
68NO MORE WARNINGS ARIA But it didn’t break.The reinforced steel held.The car reversed slightly.Then—It rammed the gates again.Harder.The structure groaned under the pressure.“They’re trying to force entry,” I said, my voice tight.“Yes.”“Aren’t we stopping them?!”“We are,” Luca replied calmly.“Just not the way they expect.”The car pulled back once more.And then—The passenger door opened.Two men stepped out this time.Both armed.Both moving with purpose.My breath caught.“This isn’t like last night…”“No,” Luca said.“It isn’t.”One of the men raised his weapon and fired directly at the gate lock mechanism.Sparks flew.Metal cracked.Another shot.Another.The lock gave way with a sharp snap.The gates creaked open slightly.“They’re getting in!” I said.“Not for long.”Luca stepped forward, his entire presence shifting in a way I hadn’t seen before.This wasn’t the composed man from earlier.This was something else.Something colder.More dangerous. Like some deep
67CREATING PRESSUREARIALuca pushed away from the counter and stepped closer to me.“What would you suggest?”I hesitated.Then—“We stop reacting.”He tilted his head slightly.“Go on.”“We’re waiting for them to make moves,” I said. “We’re letting them set the pace.”“That’s how information is gathered.”“And it’s also how you lose control.”Luca watched me more closely now.“So what’s your alternative?”I took a breath.“We force them out.”His expression shifted—subtle, but noticeable.“That’s risky.”“So is waiting.”“Yes,” he admitted.“But at least this way we’re doing something.”Luca studied me in silence for a few seconds.Then—A faint, approving smile appeared.“Interesting.”“That’s not an answer.”“It means I’m considering it.”“Good.”He turned slightly, walking back toward the monitors.“Because you’re right about one thing.”“What?”“We can’t let them control the pace.”I followed him.“So what do we do?”Luca tapped a few controls, bringing up a different set of im
66THE NAME THAT CHANGES EVERYTHINGARIAThe name lingered in the air long after it was spoken.Viktor Sokolov.It didn’t mean anything to me—not yet—but the way Luca reacted to it made my chest tighten with unease. Names only carried that kind of weight when they came attached to power… or danger.And from the look on Luca’s face, this one carried both.“Tell me who he is,” I said.Luca didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he walked over to the bar area, poured himself a drink, and took a slow sip, as if organizing his thoughts carefully before speaking.“That depends,” he said finally.“On what?”“On how much you actually want to know.”I frowned.“Everything.”His eyes flickered toward me.“Be careful with that word.”“I’m serious.”“So am I.”The tension between us tightened slightly.I stepped closer.“You said this isn’t just about me anymore. That means I deserve to understand what I’m caught in.”Luca studied me for a long moment.Then he nodded once.“Fair.”He set the glass


















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