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98. A Gamble

Penulis: Erika Lana Bell
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-06-26 19:57:09

The words you look lethal are still echoing in my head when he extends his hand.

I slide my fingers into his and let him lead me down the grand staircase like I’ve always belonged at his side. The staff in the hallway lower their eyes as we pass, dressed in black, matching the sleek opulence of the car waiting just beyond the estate gates.

The driver doesn’t speak when he opens the back door. I settle in first, smoothing the folds of the silk dress across my legs, then glance up to watch Hale slide in beside me. He’s no longer Hale. He’s Mateo now. Cold. Calculated. Untouchable.

And I’m not Cali anymore either.

I feel it in my spine, in the slow way I cross my legs, in the silence I keep. I’ve worn masks before. This one fits better than any of them. We don’t speak on the drive. We don’t need to. Every brush of his fingers against mine, every measured glance in my direction, is a silent reinforcement of our story: we are a couple who rules in shadows. We are here to buy. We are not to
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  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   106. The Wait

    Hale’s pov.The house is too quiet when we return.Not in the calming way. Not the kind of quiet that offers peace or privacy or rest. This silence scratches the walls. Lingers under the baseboards. It feels like static behind my eyes.Cali hasn’t said a word since we stepped out of the car. Not since she whispered Killian’s name like a curse before we pulled away from the estate. I watch her now from across the living room—barefoot, arms crossed tight, pacing the length of the marble floor like a tiger behind invisible bars.The disguise is gone. Wig, lashes, colored contacts—all stripped away. But she’s still not herself. She hasn’t fully returned yet. I can see it in the tension of her jaw, the fixed stare she keeps giving the far wall, like if she blinks she’ll miss the moment everything falls apart.She’s scared.Which makes me angry.Not at her.At everything else.Killian.Burke.The world that did this to her.She’s stronger than any soldier I’ve trained. Sharper than most of

  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   105. Sold To The Highest Bidder

    Belle’s pov.They close the curtain.And everything stops.The lights. The voices. The warmth.It all dies behind me as they pull me off stage like a broken puppet no one wants to look at anymore.The man gripping my arm doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to. The silver cuff bites into my wrist when I resist, and that’s enough reminder to keep moving. I don’t look at him. I don’t look at anyone. I keep my eyes locked on the floor as I’m marched down a corridor that smells like bleach and expensive cologne. The click of my shoes echoes—too loud, too slow.I’m not shaking.I’m too cold for that now.They take me to a white room with no windows. Just walls. Smooth, soundproof, gleaming like everything’s been wiped clean one too many times.There’s a chair in the center.A camera in the corner.And nothing else.They leave me there. No words. No threats. No comfort.Just silence.I stand in the middle of the room long after the door closes.Then I sit.Slowly.My knees ache. My shoulders burn

  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   104. Run

    Cali’s pov.At first, I don’t realize what I’m looking at.I’m walking toward Hale through the velvet-draped corridor, the sharp click of my heels muffled by carpet that costs more than I ever made on a contract. My hand is curled into a loose fist against my thigh, my shoulders back, head high. My skin itches beneath the glamour they painted onto me earlier—fake lashes, sculpted cheekbones, the dye in my hair still smells like chemicals under the perfume. I hate it.But I keep walking.I spot him near the far end of the corridor.I exhale, the breath shaky but relief-tinged. I just want to get to him. I need to feel his hand on my back, to know this nightmare is still under control.And then I see who he’s talking to.My feet halt mid-step.My heart stops.No.He’s standing face to face with someone I’d hoped was a ghost.But ghosts don’t smirk like that.Ghosts don’t wear Italian suits and sip scotch and tilt their heads like they’re already bored of whatever girl they’ll be buying

  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   103. Ghost Follow

    There’s a hum in the air I’ve learned not to ignore. Not a sound, exactly—more like pressure. The kind that coils in the base of your spine, too subtle to name but too loud to mistake. It’s the warning before a predator enters the room. The low static before a bullet leaves a chamber.And I feel it now.It tightens the back of my neck. Pricks the edge of my nerves.I turn my head, already knowing what I’ll see.Killian Vale.The moment my eyes land on him, it feels like a blade against my ribs.He’s dressed like he wants to be envied—tailored navy suit, platinum watch, cuffs rolled just enough to show off a black ink tattoo curling under his sleeve. It’s for show. He always overcompensates, always performs for the audience. But the smile on his face—that grin carved from cruelty and unchecked indulgence—it’s real. That’s him. Down to the bone.I haven’t seen him in years.But there’s not a damn thing about him that’s changed.He’s leaning casually near a tall crystal sculpture at the

  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   102. Unmasked

    The bid has barely settled before the consequences start crawling toward me.Seventeen million. For a girl that was never supposed to be for sale. For the daughter of the man who tried to carve his legacy into every drop of her blood. For the last shred of leverage Burke has over Cali. And now—she’s mine.And that puts a fucking target on my back.The second Belle disappears off the stage, two attendants approach, both dressed in black and grey, crisp suits that don’t wrinkle, faces scrubbed of expression. One of them leans in and murmurs something polite about “finalizing the acquisition.” His mouth may as well be coated in oil. He motions toward a long hallway to the right of the auction chamber. No one needs to tell me what’s down there.Paperwork. Payment. Signatures and scans. Processed like cattle. That’s how they move product in this place—transaction first, humanity never.I glance sideways at Cali.She hasn’t blinked.She’s still staring at the stage like Belle might somehow

  • Burn For Me : Bound By The Mafia King   101. The Ford Name

    Hale’s pov.I know she’s about to walk out before the curtain even moves. The shift in energy gives it away—the silence that tightens like a noose, the way some of the guests suddenly lean forward in their seats with new hunger in their eyes. Final lot. Something special. Something exclusive. I feel Cali tense beside me. Her hand’s still wrapped around mine, fingers tight, her pulse a frantic thrum under her skin. But I don’t look at her. Not yet. Not when every ounce of my attention has to be locked onto what comes next.The announcer clears his throat. “Our final lot this evening comes from a most prestigious lineage. An exclusive offering. Virgin. Seventeen. Untouched. An heir of the Ford name.”Cali’s nails dig into my hand.Then the curtain parts.And Belle walks out.The room doesn’t breathe.She’s dressed in a pale blue slip of silk that hangs off her like she’s a doll someone forgot to finish. Her hair is braided in that careful, glossy way girls wear when they’re being parade

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