7

(PRESENT)

LORENZO RUSSO

There were two rules I always followed. Never leave the house without my .45. 

And never put myself in a position I knew I couldn't get out of. I'd only survived this long by following those two simple rules. I'd never been tempted to break them— up until I made a costly mistake by fucking her that night. And now I made another one by marrying the little vixen.

One bad decision was starting to fuck up my entire life.

I hadn't even known she was in any way related to Francis Strauss, even when he had proposed marriage to his stepdaughter. I couldn't care less. Even when I had discovered the family connection a few months ago when she had visited Las Vegas during Christmas. I still didn't give a fuck. I'd rather aim my bullets in Francis' head and get the debt over it. But everything changed in a second. A second and a fucking name was enough to change it all.

Soon I found out Francis was also involved with the Turkish Mafia. He owed them as much as he did me and had also offered Tiffany out. And unlike me, someone found his proposal inviting. It was a done deal, and even as she had no fucking clue, she had been sold off to him. Viktor Russo and now consigliere to Davano, the Turkish Don. Unlike Viktor, Father had been completely off the grid for years

I shut my eyes close under the cold shower. Just the name sent an indescribable rage pumping through my veins. If there was anything I'd regretted was not murdering that Russo bastard. I should have hunted him back then even after he fled unto the protective umbrella of the Turkish Mafia. That regret weighed on me just as much as still not being able to find Salvatore Russo weighed on Savio and me.

When we arrived in Reno, a part of our territory in Vegas, almost a year later after we had helped Dimitri hunt and kill his uncle and Slovakia don who murdered his family. I wasn't the same boy whose father tried to kill. Savio too. 

Salvatore and his bastard son had fled after being almost murdered. Our territory was in turmoil and had been taken over by the Bratva with a Russian fucker as Capo.

Together, Dimitri, Savio, and I, went and killed everyone who was against me until I reclaimed my territory.

Even after punishing myself with a long, cold shower, I couldn't sleep.

Sleep wasn't an option. There was no use when I was wound up. Instead, I grabbed my Mac, and slid into the couch, logging into the surveillance app to pull the feed from her room into view.

There were two angles, one from the front left corner and another from the back right. I could see every square inch of space and she was not in any of it.

She couldn't escape. All the windows were alarmed. My eyes narrowed on the screen as the adjoining door opened and walked into view, tousling her wet her with her towel while another was wrapped around her body.

Her skin shone with moisture. Her cheeks were flushed. She looked different. Less defensive. Fucking tempting.

She crouched before the suitcase on the floor, dropping the towel from her hair beside her before she shifted through clothes to pull out underwear then a gray shirt and shorts. Pajamas. 

She trekked to the bed, threw the clothes on the bed, and reclaimed her underwear.

I knew what was coming next, and I didn't bother to look away. I watched her as she dropped the towel, exposing her flawless body which had been imprinted in my mind. I was haunted by temptation. Her smooth legs, and flat stomach. Pert, delectable tits with dark beaded nipples had been a permanent memory in my head, one I couldn't do away with no matter how I tried.

That was the sole reason I'd been against accepting Francis' offer to marry her. I knew from that night together that Tiffany West was trouble. The little fox had clawed her way into my head and for the longest, I couldn't think about anything else but her.

I slammed the Mac close and shoved it on the table, pulling up from the chair. I got dressed and made a phone call to Stefano.

“Boss?” 

“I need you inside the mansion,” I grabbed my keys. “I’m heading out. I need you to keep a close eye on my little fox. She might try something stupid,” I knew she would, eventually. Even if she managed to escape the mansion, there was no way she could successfully escape my city. I'd easily find her, and bring her back.

I headed straight to Paradiso, one of my clubhouses downtown. I used the back door, strutting to the elevator on the right. I met Big Ricky at the other end of the hallway, taking guard of the elevator. He bowed as he saw me coming.

“Is Savio in?” I stepped into the elevator, pressing on the private floor.

He shook his head. “No. He left a few minutes ago,”

*Alone?”

“No, he left with Ronan,”

I cocked a brow, pulling out my phone. I was about to dial him in when his text popped up.

“Trying to remember why we need the fucker Fizz alive,”

“Take a breather, we need him to get more information. I want the Turkish fuckers out of my City,” I typed back.

After reclaiming our City, we expanded our territory, kicking out every influence the Bratva still has on Vegas as well as the Turkish Mafia. Well until today, the Turkish Mafia had begun to grow some balls. They were starting to infiltrate my territory. We'd always sorted the problem out, easily, not until the disappearance began. Women were getting abducted all around the city. It was the fucking Turkish at work. They still dealt in sex slavery and kidnapping, besides the usual business of drugs, casinos, and prostitution.

Savio and Ronan had started to infiltrate the Turkish Mafia under false identities. It was risky but there was no other way to find out the depths of the organization. We could have easily gone after Davano and Viktor, taking out the don and consigliere, but that wouldn't do the women any good. They would just suffer a far worse fate. We had to shut the operation from the inside before killing the Turkish fuckers, along with the Russo bastard.