登入When her father’s gambling debt skyrockets beyond repayment, Zack De Santis the city’s most feared mafia king makes one demand: Emma. No negotiation. No refusal. Zack doesn’t ask; he takes. And no one says no to him. No one! Cold, calculating, and lethally possessive, Zack has one unbreakable rule: never fall in love. Emma is meant to be payment, a possession, nothing more. But Emma isn’t the docile prize he expected. Defiant and sharp-witted despite her fears, she meets his ice with fire, chipping away his carefully built walls around a heart long frozen by betrayal and violence. As their forced arrangement ignites into something dangerously addictive, a rival family closes in, hungry for Zack’s throne and ready to use Emma as the perfect leverage to break him. Now Zack faces the choice he swore he’d never make. To either keep his heart locked away and let the rules stand, or unleash every ounce of his ruthless power to protect the woman who has become his obsession, his weakness, his everything.
查看更多[Emma]
“I win.” I grinned as I flipped my cards next to my father's while another small pot slid my way. My dad’s shoulders slumped in that exaggerated way they do when he’s pretending to be crushed. “You should be grateful I let you win,” he said, forcing a smile. I knew he was jokingly trying to protect his pride so I rolled my eyes and said nothing. “How do you even do it?” He asked again “Easy. I assume you’ve got the nuts every time, so I play tighter.” I shrugged. He used to crush me at this table. But that was before the debts piled up, and he became so easily distracted, and often absentminded. I wished I could fix it. I wished my poker winnings were real money instead of backyard bragging rights. He stared past the cards, his forehead creased in that permanent worry line. I hated how often I saw it now. “Come on, one more,” I teased, nudging the deck. “Let me humiliate you properly before the day’s over.” That got a real laugh out of him, small but genuine. Pride flickered behind the fake pout. “Can’t believe you beat me with the same tricks I taught you.” “I refined them a little.” I started shuffling. Then, half-joking, half-hoping, I said without warning, “Maybe I should take on Zack. Clean him out, and pay everything off.” The name landed like ice. For a few seconds, dad froze. When he broke out, his eyes darted to the locked gate, then back to me. Quick, sharp, like someone might be listening or lurking even in our fenced yard. “Don’t.” His voice dropped low, urgent. “Never say that name. Not here. Not ever.” His knuckles went white on the table edge. Breathing uneven. I saw the fear raw for a second before he tried to hide it. “Sorry,” I muttered. Not because I meant it, but because it always calmed him down. He studied me, eyes searching. “I don’t want you anywhere near that… that monster. I’ll find a way. A way that keeps you out of it.” I looked down at the cards instead of answering. He reached out like he might touch my cheek, then let his hand fall. “I shouldn’t have snapped.” “How about one more round?” he said, voice lighter now, trying to pull us back. “I’ll even let you win.” I snorted. “We both know you can’t help yourself.” While I dealt, I tried again, extra careful this time. “I read about the Milan Poker Championship.” He sighed, heavy. “Emma…” “Only Milan college students can enter, right? So if I—” “We’ve been over this.” His tone turned gentle, almost pleading. “Here in Rome, girls don’t go past high school. Milan’s different, sure. More open. But it’s not our world.” “Milan is not just different. It is…receptive.” My voice was low, as if in prayer. His gaze flicked to the gate again. “With what I owe… if I run, they would hunt me like a rogue animal. You know that.” My throat tightened. I looked away so he wouldn’t see my eyes sting. “I’ll fix it,” he said quietly. “Then maybe… we would move, not to Milan but somewhere as quiet.” I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. Relief washed through me, although thin. The cards sat dealt between us. He barely glanced at his hole cards before sliding one back, distracted. We shook hands like always. Our little ritual. His grip lingered, tight, almost desperate, before he let go. “Let’s see if you can beat me this time,” I said, trying for light. It came out thin. He played poorly, mind elsewhere. I won fast. “Got you again,” I said, softer this time but he barely heard. His mind was far away. A hard knock rattled the gate before any of us could say anything. Not polite. His face drained as recognition struck. Friday. “I have to go.” His voice trembled just enough to notice. He grabbed his keys, and stood up quickly. I shut my eyes for a second, just before but he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I'll be back as soon as I can. Don’t bother to wait up.” “Try not to bet,” I called after him even though it was pointless. He had no choice at all. He pulled the gate open. Through the gap I caught the man waiting. Black suit, dark shades, gun slung under his arm like it weighed nothing. Face carved from stone. Dad looked back once. He flashed a fake smile at me then stepped through before pulling the gate shut. I watched the shadows swallow him. I recalled the man’s hand closed on Dad’s elbow, in an unfriendly manner. Dad didn’t resist. He didn’t look back this time. A cold shiver crawled down my spine. For the first time, the thought that he might walk out that gate one Friday and never walk back in hit me, and it felt real.[Emma] I was only a few inches from getting the box while the door was only a push from pulling open and revealing whoever was by it. If it was Zack, there was every chance that he would notice the box, and take it. I made a swift decision. In one quick, calculative movement, I reached for the box, and hid it underneath my dress just as the door swung open. I quickly straightened up to get rid of every suspicion while a lady stepped into the room. Relief washed over me seeing that it wasn't Zack who had come in. I faced her, ready to strike a friendly conversation with her. A part of me wanted to push past her, and shut the door which she had left slightly opened, and hold her tightly in a hug. I didn't realize how much I needed one until I saw her. So far, today had been nothing but hell, and until right now, I haven't had time to process all of it. But I noticed that she wouldn't meet my eyes, or even show reception with her body language, so I looked away from her. My eye
[Emma]My heart didn't stop thumping hard against my chest even after the monster let go of my ass and stepped inside the room. I was beginning to get a clear understanding of what he might want with me. The very thought caused my whole body to quiver, and made me sick in the stomach.I didn't step into the room after him, not when I had begun to question my entire existence, and thinking of the worst. What had just happened wasn't leaving my head in a hurry or ever.I stood by the door with my heart thumping still. My legs were numb now, and so was every part of my body. But my mind wouldn't stop racing as different thoughts went through it. Maybe I should head back to my room, and damn the consequences.But I didn't dare move an inch. My numb feet wouldn't move even if I dared. Going back to my room without Zack's permission was suicidal, and as awful as I felt, it was the last thing I would think of. I couldn't go in either, I had no idea what awaited me there. Maybe staying by th
[Zack]I had Emma in mind when I sat on the deck and played poker with Micah for the first time. I had her in mind when I made him play with me every Friday, and when I raised the stakes everytime we played, knowing well that I would win, and he would owe me.I had Emma in mind while Micah's debt piled up, way more than he could ever pay. I had her in mind when I shot William, instilling fear on the others, but mostly on Micah. I have had her in my mind since I could remember, and now, she's not just in my mind anymore, she's now in my house.But I couldn't come up with an answer to the question that kept echoing and re-echoing in my head, or even get the thought out of my head. What now?I had my men go to Micah's house way before they were expected, not just because I wanted to show my authority, but because I couldn't get the thought of Emma's arrival off my mind, or the thought that her father could run away with her. But she had arrived at my mansion, still dressed in her nighti
[Emma]For a long time, I was tongue-tied. I couldn't think, I couldn't focus, I couldn't get the image of the letter from my head. When my tongue was released eventually, only incoherent mumbles escaped my quivering lips.“No no no no, it was right here. It should be right here.”I did not stop turning the nighties over even though it was obvious that the letter was not there, and I did not stop hoping to see it either. I held the clothes to my face, and buried my face in them. Even though I had reasons to doubt the trueness of the letter, I needed it with me still. Who knows what was contained in the part of the letter I didn't get to read, or what it would help me to find out about my mother.But now it was gone, and I couldn't help but feel bad. I felt like I let my mother down by failing to keep the letter safe. I got up, and headed for the bedroom where I had taken off the clothes. It must have fallen off somewhere in the bedroom.I didn't check for long before I realized that









![The Alpha's Dhampirica [Mafia Games XII]](https://www.goodnovel.com/pcdist/src/assets/images/book/43949cad-default_cover.png)


Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.