SOFIAThe second Ariana got into the car, she tossed her sunglasses into the cup holder and threw her arms around me. And just like that, I knew we were going to be okay. "God, you have no idea how good it feels to be back," she said, flashing me that grin I hadn't seen in months. "I’ve missed the way this city feels."I laughed as I pulled away from the DeLuca estate as I said, "You're such a drama queen.""Says the mafia princess," she shot back, elbowing me lightly. "So, tell me everything. How's it feel being one of the big bad Capi now?""Terrifying," I admitted. "And extremely overwhelming and confusing. It feels like I'm wearing someone else's shoes and hoping nobody notices they don't fit. And to be honest, I lowkey hate your brother for doing this to me. You know he didn’t even tell me about his decision, right? I just found out with the rest of the crew. “That sounds about right,” Ariana said. “The man thinks with his pinkie. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even know he wanted y
SOFIAI woke up to the annoying sound of my phone buzzing against the pillow beside me. For a second, I wasn't even sure where I was. Then I blinked and rolled over, and I realized that I was back in my room. The sheets were twisted around my legs, the sun was way too high in the sky, and my phone screen was glowing bright with notifications.There were three missed calls from Tony, and one from Leo. And there was a text from Tony that just said:"Call me when you're up. It’s important."I didn't even bother brushing my teeth first. I called him immediately, dragging myself out of bed as it rang."Hey," I croaked."Good morning," Tony's voice came through, calm and composed as ever. "Adrian told us to start bringing you up to speed today. Me and Leo are meeting you at the warehouse you'll be running. Do you think you can get to Brooklyn in an hour? I’ll send you the location.""Sure,” I replied. “I'll be there.""Good,” he said. “And please don't be late. Leo's already being a bitch a
MARCOThe thing about winning is that nobody ever bothered to ask what it took out of you. They just saw the power, the control, the confidence in your walk, and they assume it has always been that way. But they never saw the hours you spend planing out the perfect strategy, or the dozens of knives you got stabbed with in your back. They didn't know the nights you spent lying awake because couldn't sleep because some piece on the chessboard had moved without your permission.Which is why when a plan finally comes together, it feels so fucking great. I lit a cigarette as I stepped out of the car and flicked the ash into the wind with a slight chuckle escaping before I could stop it. The warehouse loomed in front of me, and it was an ugly, grey, and plain building. bBut for now, it was home to something very beautiful. I'd only recently turned it into a safe house, and I didn't even know if I would end up using it. But now, it was exactly what I needed. Two of my men flanked the door,
SOFIAThe hardest part about watching the video was having to sit there and pretend that I did not recognize the man I was looking at. My blood was boiling at the mere sight of him, and I felt my knees start to wobble as I tried so hard to stay calm. Marco Giordano, the bastard who had taken everything from me. The son of a bitch who had ruined my entire life, and now he was actively trying to ruin my plans as well. How did he find out about Hector? How did he know exactly when to hit the transport? And more importantly, what exactly was he plotting?I looked up to find Adrian staring intently at me, and for a split second I imagined I had absentmindedly given myself away. What if he realized that I knew who Marco was?But no, that couldn't be possible. I'd been extremely careful. My expression was completely blank the entire time, and there was no way he could have figured out the truth just by looking at me. Now, it was time to sell my role even better. "Who is he?" I asked, hand
SOFIAThe ride to the DeLuca estate was quiet, but it wasn't peaceful. I was too busy drowning in my own thoughts, replaying every interaction I'd ever had with Melissa DeLuca like a slow-motion car crash I couldn't look away from. The woman absolutely terrified me, and not in the way Adrian did, with his cold rage and his unpredictable sense of justice. Melissa didn't need a gun or a threat to send someone running. She just had to look at you, and her silence said more than most people's shouting ever could.And now she wanted to talk to me."What does she want?" I asked for the third time, staring out the window even though there wasn't much to see. Just rows of trees and the occasional stone wall fencing off land that probably belonged to some other old-money criminal family."She wants to see us," Adrian said casually, like this wasn't a full-on summons from a woman who could make or break a person with a single word. "She heard about the appointment .""Oh," I muttered, as my t
SOFIAI hadn't stopped clenching and unclenching my fists since we left the house. My palms were sticky with sweat, and I didn't know if it was because I was about to meet three men who'd spent the last few years running with Enzo Maresca, or because for the first time in my life, I wasn't just playing pretend in this world. I wasn't hiding behind a pretty face and a sharp tongue anymore. I was deep in it now, and that thought alone was terrifying. Adrian drove us himself, which was nice. He didn't say much during the ride, but I noticed the way his hand never left my thigh, with his thumb slowly brushing back and forth like he was trying to make me relax. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “This will be over before you even know it.”“I hope so,” I replied nervously. “What if they hate me?”“Then I’ll rip out their tongues and make them swallow it,” he said, and I smiled nervously as we finally pulled up at the apartment in Brooklyn. The building was really old, with a few windows boarde