LOGINJason’s POV“Melissa, come with me.”She blinked. “What?”“Please come with me.” I stepped forward again, my hands outstretched but not touching her, I needed her to be comfortable with me . “You aren’t safe and I want you to come with me.”“What do you mean I’m not safe?”I ran my hands through my hair. Once. Twice. Like I was running mad. Maybe I was. Everything about this was fucked up. I should not even be doing this because it counts as betrayal. But what can I do? I’m totally lost in her hazel eyes. I’mA freaking lost man and I couldn’t watch her die. I just couldn’t.“I can’t explain but I don’t want to see you hurt. You can choose me now and end all this.”Her eyes widened. Then narrowed. “It’s the Five Families, isn’t it? Is that why Gavin has been so busy? They’re finally retaliating.”Fuck. She was too smart for her own good.“Melissa, you don’t know how fucked up and scary they can be.” I grabbed her shoulders. “Why do you insist on being so goddamn stubborn? Please.”She
Jason’s POVI stood on the balcony, cigarette burning between my fingers, watching the city wake up. From here I could watch my father's car drive off to whatever demanded his attention early this morning.I took a long drag and watched until the car disappeared around the corner.The penthouse was quiet now that it was just me and her. The thought made something dangerous coil in my chest.I crushed the cigarette against the railing and flicked it over the edge. I watched it fall twenty stories before disappearing.Then I turned and walked inside.My feet carried me through the living room, down the hallway, straight to her door. I stood there for a moment. With my hands raised and my knuckles inches away from the wood.This was insane. Since when did a girl make me go crazy? Since when? I am the son of Gavin. Grand son of Zeus. No woman on this earth should make me feel like this. If she wanted to fuck an old man instead of me the new upgraded version, that that is her fucking fucke
Kane’s POVThe drive home felt longer than usual. My knuckles ached. And Christian’s blood…stained the leather of my gloves. I stripped them off at a red light and tossed them in the bag I kept in the back seat. The city lights blurred past my windows. Sirens wailed somewhere behind me, getting fainter as I put distance between myself and that parking garage. Christian was finished.The feds would have him in custody within minutes. And he deserved every second of what was coming.I flexed my hands on the steering wheel, as the penthouse came into view. I pulled into the private garage and killed the engine.I took the elevator up. Aria was standing in the living room, arranging something on the table.The moment she saw me, she ran, wrapping her arms around my waist, with her face buried in my chest. She held on so tight I could feel her trembling.“Hey,” I said softly, my arms coming around her. “I’m here. I’m okay.”She didn’t speak. Just held on tighter.That’s when I noticed her
Christian’s POVI yanked the wheel but it was just too late.The other car slammed into my driver’s side with a sound like the world ending. Metal screamed, a lot of glass shattered. My head cracked against something hard.The Porsche spun. Once. Twice. Slammed into the concrete barrier with another sickening crunch.And after a while everything stopped, going completely quiet.I sat there, dazed, tasting blood in my mouth. The airbag had deployed, pressing against my chest. My ears were ringing.“Fuck,” I gasped. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”I shoved the airbag away and tried to open my door. It was crushed. Wouldn’t budge.The passenger side then.I crawled across the seats, glass cutting my hands, my head spinning.I managed to get the door open and fell out onto the concrete.“Who is that?” I shouted, my voice echoing. “Who the fuck…”A figure emerged from the other car.He was tall, with broad shoulders. He moved with the kind of calm that meant he’d done this on purpose.“You hit me!” I scr
Christian’s POVPain exploded in my chest. I clutched at my shirt, gasping, my other hand scrambling for my phone on the nightstand. The screen was already lit up with a lot of notifications flooding in, hundreds of them, the phone was vibrating so hard it nearly fell off the edge.My vision blurred. Sweat poured down my face.What the fuck was happening?I grabbed the phone with shaking hands and stared at the screen. It was filled with news alerts. Every single one of them.ASHFORD HEIR LINKED TO INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING RINGFEDERAL AGENTS RAID ASHFORD SHIPPING FACILITIESCHRISTIAN ASHFORD ACCUSED OF PURCHASING MINORSNo.No, no, no, no, no.I scrolled frantically. Every major outlet. CNN. Fox. BBC. The New York Times. Wall Street Journal.My face was everywhere. Photos from charity galas. Society events. Me in my tailored suits, smiling at cameras, shaking hands with politicians and businessmen.And beneath every photo: Monster. Predator. Criminal.“No!” I threw the phone across
Gavin’s POVPolice vehicles lined the dock…marked and unmarked, local and federal. Officers swarmed the warehouses like ants on a carcass.I stood at the edge of the chaos, far enough back to stay out of the way but close enough to watch it all unfold.Men in handcuffs were being dragged out of the buildings. Some went quietly, with their heads down, defeated. Others fought and screamed, hurling threats and curses that meant nothing now. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The smoke tasted harsh in the cold air.Kane appeared beside me, his own cigarette already lit. We stood there in silence for a moment, just watching.“So what’s your plan?” Kane asked, exhaling smoke into the night.I took a long drag. Let the heat settle in my lungs before answering him.“Well, right now?” I flicked ash onto the concrete. “I just want to go home and eat popcorn.”Kane’s head turned sharply toward me. Then he burst out laughing till his shoulders started shaking.“You’re serious.”“Completely seri







