๋ก๊ทธ์ธ๊ณต์
Fight or Surrender
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๋ฐ์ดํธ:
2024-11-27 20:23:46
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All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Jeopardy
HUNTERLeaving New York again was against everything I had planned those weeks ago. Chasing after a snake-tattooed guy had taken away the time I needed to prepare Catherine for what was about to happen. I knew she could talk back if she had to, but that wouldn't be enough to face those who had been schooled on how to become first-class assholes all their lives.I might have played it all wrong. Certainly, I needed her unconditional trust and devotion, but those treats would be useless if she got herself killed. A part of me hoped that the wedding would somehow go smoothly, but nothing in my life ever had. It was wiser to prepare for the worst.As most of my men had been working to secure the estate, Rowan and I had gone to find the fucker responsible for killing the kid. Rowan had received another hint, and we went to Pittsburgh to check if it could lead us anywhere. It hadn't led us anywhere, though. It was another dead end. We couldn't afford not to check that lead, but this call ha
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-28All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Out of Control
CATHERINEโBaitโฆโ I breathed out as my mind tried to process everything Hunter had just said. My head began to spin, and a high-pitched tone rang in my ears. I drew a deep breath and then another one. Someone tried to kill me. Someone planted a bomb to kill me! How was I supposed to leave this room knowing all this?! I wasn't sure if I could even stand on my damn two feet!โFocus, Catherine.โ Hunter snapped his fingers, and I almost jumped in my seat. โYou need to calm down. Now.โโEasy forโฆ you to say,โ I choked out.He grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him. โYou can curse me later, but right now, you will listen and do as I say.โA shudder ran down my spine. He had never used such a cold, emotionless tone on me. Was this the true face of a man I was supposed to marry? Had I fallen for a fucking lie? Something within me snapped, and suddenly I couldn't determine whether I was scared, hurt, or pissed. Perhaps it was the combination of all three.โNormally, I would have prepared you
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-29All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Till Death Do Us Part
I was still trying to figure out what had happened in that room fifteen minutes ago. The special task Hunter had given me should have pushed me to the verge of panic. But panic was nowhere to be found. Instead, I felt strangely focused and calm. A blush formed each time I thought about the reason behind itโฆI couldn't have been more grateful that Fifi and Ace decided not to comment on my state when they returned to my room. Of course, Ace barely stifled a laugh as he helped me smooth all the delicate layers of my gown. Fifi fixed my makeup quickly, but we no longer had time to tie up my hair.โShouldn't your personal maid be here, helping us?โ Fifi raised her brows as she looked at me with a wry smile.โGianna took a few days off,โ I explained. Truthfully, I found it a little strange since it was Marcello who had told me about it. He'd said that Gianna was sick, but she'd looked fine the day before. I couldn't help but think it was yet another one of Marcello's ways to mess with me. Fo
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-29All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Mrs. Thorne
My face hurt from keeping my faint, polite smile plastered as the mercilessly long line of guests congratulated Hunter and me on our marriage. My back muscles burned from holding my posture as straight as possible. Not to mention that this little crown on my head was getting heavier by the second, and even lifting my chin had become a struggle.โYou're doing great,โ Hunter murmured between shaking hands and listening to insincere praises. โIt'll be over soon.โโI sure hope so,โ I grunted and saw him stifling a laugh.Thankfully, I was able to memorize the ridiculously long list of guests, the information about their families, and their connections. I even separated them into groups based on what I had learned. The first group was the less important families, mostly too weak to stand a threat. In the second group, I placed all the families that either openly supported Hunter or could have been called potential allies. The third group was where I put those with rather hostile attitudes
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-11-30All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Countdown
HUNTERI watched my firecracker in awe. She kept her expression blank and her chin high, calmly observing her father and his wife walk away with their heads low. Catherine might not have realized that yet, but more than a few people watched her interaction with the Duncans. They evaluated her strength, deciding whether or not she was someone easy to mess with. She passed the test flawlessly. She had proven she could use the authority she had been given. I knew that act cost her, but I would not let others see any cracks in her mask.I stepped closer just in time to pull her into my arms as she stumbled. โCareful, firecracker,โ I murmured against her ear. โI know you're tired. It'll be over soon.โShe turned to me, her chest heaving and falling at a fast pace. โIโฆ I humiliated them,โ she breathed out.I could see that righteous side of her crawl out to the surface, but I wouldn't let her feel any remorse. โYou did what you had to,โ I told her. โAnd you were fucking hot while doing it.โ
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-01All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Hostility
CATHERINEโGod, those Blandini bitches just sit there and glare at us.โ Bella Rossi clicked her tongue and folded her arms across her chest.She was one of many Mafia Princesses at the wedding, but so far, she was the only one who seemed genuinely friendly. Her family had been engaged in a few business projects with Hunter's father back in the day, and Hunter had been doing some business with Bella's father as well. Certainly, I would have never put my guard down around someone I had just met, but my instincts were telling me that this cute-looking girl with curly brown hair and large brown eyes was relatively safe. Besides, Fifi had known Bella before, and she liked her. Perhaps I was starting to like her tooโฆโThose idiots are just jealous,โ Fifi huffed, and Bella nodded in agreement.โSure they are.โ Then she not-so-discreetly pointed at the tall one with shoulder-length chestnut hair. โEspecially the oldest, the one in the middle. Her name is Daniela, and she used to brag that she
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-01All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Fighting Fear
My breath caught in my throat. What was Dante doing here? And where were the guards? If there was anyone Hunter's men would have immediately marked as a threat, it would have been him!โCousin?โ Daniela breathed, her eyes widening. โYou want to help HER?! You can't be serious!โI hated to admit it, but she took those words out of my mouth. There was no way Dante wanted to help me. He had no reason to. If anything, I could bet he wanted to use this situation to screw me over. Not to mention that his mother was Blandini. His cousins should have been the ones he sided with, right?Dante gave Daniela a cold smile, and she stumbled back. I had no idea what kind of game he was playing, but I sure as hell wanted no part in it. Then he grabbed Daniela's hand, rubbing the spot where the thorns protruded from her skin. She cried and jerked her hand away. โAre you crazy?! That hurt!โThe smile he gave her made my stomach churn. โI didn't think you're such a crybaby,โ he purred.โS-she's injured,
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-02All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Under Attack
HUNTERIt took Dante and his men twenty minutes to turn my wedding into a fucking war zone. We could have easily avoided it if it weren't for some fucked-up sentiment for the old times and the old rules. As the future Don Cartelli, I was supposed to respect those rules as if they were the utmost sacred lawโฆ or rather the only law that applied to us. But those rules didn't grant us peace. They brought bloodshed.No one in their right mind would invite enemies to their homes, but somehow it was expected of me to welcome all those at the top of the food chain. As if I needed their presence to sanction my marriage. As if I needed their approval to know my actual strength. As if I needed them to witness and acknowledge that I met all the conditions my grandfather had written in his will.We all knew what it was. This was a testโฆ and a chance for our enemies to defeat me on my own ground. Certainly, we could have prevented the attackโฆ to some extent. He had monitored the area, but we couldn
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2024-12-02
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All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Mr. and Mrs. Thorne
CATHERINEI had a dream. I was running through a dark tunnel. Shouts and rough grunts echoed behind me. I couldn't understand them. I only knew that if I stopped, I would die. So I kept running, even though my lungs burned and my muscles turned into stone. I was cold. I was hopeless. I was aloneโฆโYou can stop now, Catherine,โ someone's voice coaxed. โYou can go back.โThe voice sounded familiar, although it was etheric and breathy. It didn't seem to come from one place. It vibrated around me. It pierced through me. I wasn't even sure if it came from the tunnel or I heard it in my mind.โCatherine, stop.โ The sound was gentle, pleasant, and yet filled with strength and confidence.I slowed my pace, then dug my heels into the cold ground. โMom?โ I whispered, looking around as if the voice could somehow materialize.โGo back,โ she said. โHe's waiting for you.โHot tears gathered in my eyes. โHe?โ I croaked.โIt's over, Catherine.โ A warm smile filled every note. โGo there. Celebrate your
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Waiting
A hand on my shoulder jerked me awake. Wincing in discomfort, I straightened up in my seat and blinked, adjusting my vision. The sympathetic smile on Lazar's face told me I must have looked like shit. His eyes drifted to the side of the bed where I held Catherine's hand.โNo changes, I see,โ he muttered.I looked at his sleeping great-niece and shook my head. Then I turned to him and cleared my throat. โThe doctors say this might take a while before she wakes up.โThe night she had gotten shot, I'd nearly lost my mind. Luckily, Lazar's doctors had taken care of her immediately. Ironically, the shot might have been the thing that saved her. The massive blood loss had lessened the Pink Opium's effect, and after the blood transfusion, the poisonous drug had left her body.Lazar fixed his eyes on me. โButโฆ she will wake up.โ I wasn't sure whether it was a statement or a question, but I still nodded. A sliver of relief relaxed his features, but then he clenched his fists. โI should have pr
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย To Death
My finger turned heavier, curling on the trigger as I imagined his brain splattered all over this fucking corridor. But I wasn't the only one feeling bloodthirst. Dante wanted to kill me just as badly; I saw it in his rage-burning eyes. He tried to mask it with cold amusement, but I could nearly taste the fury radiating from him.โIs she inside?โ he purred, jerking his chin at the ajar-open door to the storage. โSuch a stubborn little thing, isn't she? She's dying because of that stubbornness.โEvery fiber within me filled with lethal calm. โYou did this to her? You gave her the Pink Opium?โThe fucker smiled, triggering a new urge. No. He wouldn't die from a single bullet. He deserved to be skinned alive and torn to fucking little pieces.He lifted his gun, aiming at my head. โShe will die within an hour. The latest booster works that way. Although, I have to admit she used it well. Did she tell you she killed five of ours until the initial effect wore off?โ Cold laughter slipped free
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Anything For Her
HUNTERโExplain to me again, why do we trust this guy?โ Rowan grunted as we marched through the tunnel.โWe don't trust him,โ I corrected. โWe're taking a necessary risk.โRowan glanced at Remo and Ferro as if hoping they would back him up. Luckily for them, they kept their mouth shut. Rowan, however, chose otherwise. โThis looks like a trap. Why would this guy, who's apparently Lagunov's general, help us get into their fortress through some backdoor? It doesn't make sense!โI gave him a wry smile but didn't slow my pace. โI don't get it either. Then again, he had a chance to kill me twice. He didn't even try. Maybe he actually wants to switch sides.โRowan gave me a look. โHe killed Arianna without remorse.โโPerhaps he can't work around every order Lagunov gives him,โ I reasoned. โOr maybe he simply hated Arianna.โโThat I can imagine,โ Remo commented dryly.Rowan lined up with me. โBasically, you dragged us into those tunnels because he wrote something about the documents signed by
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Survive
Twenty-four hours had passed without Dante showing up in my prison cell, but that hadn't made me relax even for a second. I had been on constant alert, listening to every sound coming from the corridor. My muscles tensed every time I heard someone approaching my door, but I knew that I finally had to get some sleepโฆI'd used Maxim's trick to block the handle, but even then I allowed myself to rest for merely three hours. Drifting into a deep sleep wasn't an option, although I realized my body would soon run on fumes.My anxieties threatened to devour me, but each time I was close to panic, Maxim's words appeared in my mind. โThey're coming, Catherine,โ I mumbled to myself. โJust hold on a little longer.โA few more hours had passed, and I was slowly losing the fight to keep my eyes open. I was on the verge of falling into unawareness when the sound of heavy footsteps made me jerk up to my feet. Barefoot, I rushed to unblock the door. A second later, the door slammed open, and three me
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Breaking the Leash
My whole body began to rattle, and a high-pitched tone rang in my ears. It was a struggle not to fall apart as I silently prayed Hunter was alive. But if they had attacked the estate in Scarsdale, how many people had they killed? What about Gianna, Ferro, Enzo, Remo, or Rowan?โThank you, Maxim.โ Aleks Lagunov's icy laugh tore me out of my frantic thoughts. โThat's great news,โ he crooned as his eyes shifted to me. โNot so great news for you, I'm afraid. You see, Catherine, I can assure you that no one will come for you. Tomorrow, we will attack the Fedorov's estate and crush Lazar's little army. We know more than a little about your plansโฆโ He pointed at one of the Italians sitting by the table. โMr. Messino was kind enough to share more than a few details.โMy hands fisted into tight balls. โFucking traitor,โ I strained through my teeth.Messino glared at me, but Lagunov laughed. โSuch feistinessโฆ Just like Katerina.โ Then he locked his eyes on me, a grim smile stretching his lips.
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย The Predators and the Prey
CATHERINEI couldn't sleep. Drifting into unawareness in this place was more terrifying than Dante's presence in my room. I was exhausted, but my adrenaline levels were high enough to keep me constantly awake.Nearly every sound coming from the corridor made me flinch. The heavy steps brought chills down my spine, and the deep, cold laughter caused my stomach to roil. Dante hadn't visited me again so far, but I knew he would come and demand my answer. As if he had given me a choiceโฆThree times a day someone walked into my room, bringing me foodโmostly a slice of bread and water, sometimes an apple. Those servants never looked at me or spoke except for barking out a few commands. They had uncuffed my hand twice. Only for a minute, and only so I could take care of my physiological needs. Then I was cuffed again.I began to think I might lose my mind should I stay in this room and in this bed another day. My whole body began to ache, and I spent hours trying to shift the chain to make m
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย The Siege
โWhere are the fucking darts?!โ Remo shouted through the communicator. โI've literally stuffed those fuckers with bullets, and they're still attacking the gates!โโGet a grip. You're not the only one pissed off by those zombie cunts,โ Rowan hissed as he released another empty clip.All my men had been trying to fend off the attack at our gates for over an hour now. So far, the defenses we had installed around the estate turned out to be unbreachable, but those drug-fueled soldiers were relentless in their attempts to bring our fences down.โEnzo said the darts are on the way,โ I said, aiming my gun at one of the bloodshot-eyed fuckers charging at the western gate. โIn the meantime, aim for the heads.โMost of my suit was coated with blood. I hadn't had the time to change, and those renegades didn't die easily. Blood formed a red mist around our borders, and countless bodies lined the ground. Their losses were far greater than ours, but they kept coming, kept attackingโฆโGuys, I'm runn
All Because I Kissed a Strangerย ย ย Desperate
HUNTERTwenty-six hours passed since Catherine had been abducted, and we still couldn't locate where she was kept. Potentially, she could have been in one of over thirty estates owned by Aleks Lagunov. So far, we were trying to narrow that list down, but excluding each location took too much timeโฆAfter more than a few hours of useless quarrels, Lazar and I had finally gathered all our allies under one roofโmy roof. Certainly, this agreement hadn't eliminated the mutual hostility, which currently satiated the air in the meeting room so densely, breathing had become a struggle. Well, at least none of them had chosen to resort to violenceโฆ so far.We all sat at the large oval table with Lazar and me on the opposite sides. We exchanged meaningful looks, then Lazar cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. โMy spies confirmed our previous suspicionsโฆ The Lagunov family's old estate was abandoned some time ago,โ he said. โThat means the renegades' main headquarters has to be elsewh
