LOGIN~CAKE~Elianna stood beside the black SUV with her arms folded tightly across her chest while Javier loaded the last bags into the trunk. The engine was already running, a low rumble that matched the tension in the air. She looked at me like she was waiting for me to change my mind.“You can still come with us.”I looked away, staring at the dark lawn instead. “No.”“Cake.”“No.”Javier wisely kept his mouth shut and continued securing the bags. He moved with the efficiency of someone who had done this kind of thing many times before. I appreciated that he didn’t try to convince me. At least one person understood that pushing me right now was pointless.Elianna blew out a frustrated breath. “You are being impossible.”I snorted. “You only noticed that now?”She wasn’t amused. Neither was I, if I was being honest. The difference was that sarcasm was cheaper than therapy, and right now I needed every cheap defense I could get. My stomach still ached from the surgery, and I wasn’t about
~NICO~The explosion ripped through the side of the mansion before any of us could react. I saw Enzo shout something and dive for cover, but the blast hit too fast. The force slammed into me like a wall, throwing me backward. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine that drowned out everything else. Muffled screams and gunshots filtered through the haze, distant and warped, like I was underwater.Someone grabbed me under the arms and dragged me behind a half-collapsed wall. Hands slapped my cheeks urgently. “Nico! Nico!”The voice sounded far away at first. Then it sharpened. Enzo. He kept calling my name, slapping me again until my vision cleared. I blinked hard, tasting blood in my mouth. Raffaele crouched beside us, rifle ready, eyes scanning the smoke-filled corridor.“What happened?” Raffaele asked.Enzo helped me sit up straighter. “He hit his head. It’s taking a while for him to come around.”I pushed myself up, ignoring the dizziness. “Bianca? Any sign of her?”“No,” Raffaele sa
~NICO~Tomaso had finally made his move.Russell’s living room was packed wall to wall with men. Some sat on couches cleaning weapons. Others stood in small groups talking through routes, exits, and contingencies. Valentino’s men occupied one side of the room while Russell’s people mixed with my own. The noise never rose above conversation, but there was enough of it to remind me that every person here understood exactly what tonight could cost.My eyes moved across the room automatically, taking stock of who was present and who wasn’t.Adriano should have been here.If he hadn’t switched sides, he would have been standing beside me right now, arguing with Enzo about something stupid or trying to prove he was smarter than everyone else in the room.Instead, he was dead.Russell had been against burying a traitor anywhere on his property. Enzo had wanted to dump the body into the sea and let the fish deal with him.Raffaele disagreed.So this morning, the three of us dug a grave deep i
~CAKE~The fountain in the Russell garden was quiet tonight, water spilling softly over the stone edges. I sat on the bench with my legs tucked under me, letting the cool night air brush over my skin. The surgery cut still pulled when I moved too fast, but the pain had dulled to a manageable ache. For once my mind wasn’t looping through guilt or loss. I just sat there, breathing, watching the water catch the lights from the house behind me.Footsteps approached on the grass I didn’t turn. I already knew who it was.Nico sat at the far end of the bench, leaving space between us. He didn’t speak right away. Neither did I. “How are you doing?” he asked finally. “Gustavo said you’re healing up well.”I nodded, smacking my lips once. “Yes. I’m fine.”He reached into his jacket and placed a thick envelope on the bench between us. “This is for you.”I glanced at it, then back at him. “What is it?”“A list of properties I’ve transferred into your name.” He kept his voice even, but I caught t
~NICO~Enzo stood in the dim basement light, arms crossed, staring at the covered figure tied to the chair. “Do you know why she sent it?”I didn’t answer right away. The burner message from Bianca had come hours earlier, with a wink emoji. Russell’s men had intercepted it at the gate — a large bag thrown from a moving vehicle. Inside was Adriano, beaten but alive, delivered like a gift. Bianca was playing her own game now.I pulled the cover off Adriano’s head. He blinked against the light, face already bruised, eyes wide with fear and defiance. I looked at him for a long moment and laughed. “They really sent you back to me. Must have pissed them off that badly.”Enzo moved fast. His fist connected with Adriano’s face with a sick crack. Adriano’s head snapped to the side. Raffaele grabbed Enzo from behind and pulled him back before he could do it again. “If you keep going, you’ll kill him too quick,” Raffaele said quietly. “We need answers first.”Adriano spat blood onto the floor an
~BIANCA~The meeting room reeked of cigar smoke and cheap cologne. Tomaso’s men sat around the long table like dogs waiting for scraps, their voices overlapping in useless noise about sightings and dead ends. I stood near the window, arms crossed, watching them with the patience that came from knowing I was the smartest person in the room. Tomaso paced at the head of the table, face flushed with anger as he slammed a fist down.“We had him,” he growled. “We had that bastard in our grasp and you let him slip away. Again.”I kept my expression neutral, lips painted the deep red I favored. The color always made men stare a little too long. It reminded them I was beautiful. It reminded them I was dangerous. Tomaso turned his glare on me.“And you,” he said, voice dripping with contempt. “You were supposed to stay until the job was finished. You were supposed to watch him die. Instead you ran like a frightened little girl. Now he’s out there somewhere, alive, and who knows what he’s planni
~NICO~Rome at night had a particular rhythm to it. The city never really slept; it only slowed down slightly, like a man loosening his tie after a long day but refusing to leave the office.From the back seat of the car, I watched the streets glide past through the tinted window while Enzo sat bes
~NICO~Three days away from the club felt like three weeks.The place was alive the moment Enzo and I walked back in tonight. Normally that sound meant business was good. Tonight it only reminded me how much had happened in seventy-two hours.Raffaele had nearly died twice.The first time was when
~CAKE~By the third time Elianna rejected a dress and threw it back onto the bed, I started wondering if celebrating my winning streak had been a mistake.Not because I didn’t want to go out. I did. I really did. Three nights of fights, three wins, and enough adrenaline still running through my bod
~NICO~By the time we reached Via Veneto, traffic had collapsed into disorder. Cars were angled across two lanes, and a small crowd had already begun forming at a distance. Enzo slowed as we approached the wreckage.Raffaele’s car was upside down in the middle of the street.Two other vehicles were







