LOGINClyde’s povI stared at the screen of my laptop, but honestly, I hadn’t read a single word on it in the last ten minutes.Snow kept falling outside the glass windows of the office cabin, covering the island in white again. The fireplace burned softly behind me, the crackling sound filling the quiet room while I leaned back in my chair and rubbed a tired hand over my jaw.A Vacation. That was what this was supposed to be.But men like me never really stopped working, not completely.Jaleel had sent over reports earlier, and even though Alison kept trying to drag me away from work every five minutes, there were still things I had to handle before we returned home tomorrow.My phone rang suddenly against the desk. Diego. I picked up immediately.“Hello?”“He’s dead.”My fingers stilled, I leaned back slowly into the chair.“Confirmed?”Diego exhaled on the other side. “Confirmed enough. The car exploded on the bridge. Driver died instantly. Most of our men around got caught in the blast
Author’s povThe lullaby came first. Soft voice, almost like a memory fighting to stay alive.“Stay with me, my little girl… my darling baby… mama loves you so much…”The woman’s voice floated gently through the room while the little girl giggled beneath pink blankets, tiny fingers reaching for her mother’s face.Then— BANG!A violent knock slammed against the door.The little girl startled immediately, lower lip trembling before tears spilled from her eyes.Another bang echoed, louder this time.The woman turned sharply toward the door, panic flashing across her face, and Lax’s eyes snapped open.The memory disappeared instantly, darkness swallowed the room around him.For a second, he stayed still on the couch, chest rising heavily while sweat clung to his skin. His jaw tightened hard enough to hurt.The banging came again, real this time.Lax reached beneath the pillow beside him, fingers wrapping around the gun before he stood up carefully. Pain shot through his side immediately.
Clyde’s pov The world outside disappeared for almost an entire day. Snow kept falling beyond the windows of the cottage, thick and endless, but Allison barely let me breathe long enough to notice it. Not that I minded. From the moment we got back from the city after the proposal, she barely left my side. Somewhere between kisses, lazy conversations, tangled sheets, shared showers, and hours spent wrapped around each other near the fireplace, time stopped mattering. We made love every chance we got. It was the kind of peace I’d never known how to keep. And maybe that was why I held onto it so tightly. The ring stayed on her finger the entire time. Every single time it caught the light, something shifted inside my chest all over again. Not possession or ownership. Just… that she was mine. My future, my girl, my fiancée. That word alone still felt unreal. By the time night settled over the cottage again, Allison had fallen asleep against my chest near the fire downstairs,
Author’s PovThe harsh sound of fists slamming against the punching bag echoed violently through the room.Again. And again.And again.Sweat rolled down Lax’s body in thick drops, his breathing uneven as rage burned through him like wildfire. The chain holding the heavy bag rattled loudly each time he struck it, but it still wasn’t enough.Nothing was enough.With a furious growl, he threw one last punch before shoving the bag away violently.The table beside him crashed over a second later.Glass shattered across the floor.“Fuck!”His roar filled the underground room.Twenty-four hours.That was how long it had been since Alaric disappeared.The original plan had been simple. Meet Alaric, finalize the arrangement with the Mexicans. Move against Clyde, and I get what I came for forSimple plan but nothing was simple anymore.Because according to the few men who escaped, Diego had intercepted the entire operation.And now?Nobody knew where Alaric was.One of Lax’s men hurried into t
Diego’s Pov“We arrived boss.” The voice of my driver woke me up. I looked around and we had arrived at the concealed mansion. One of our hideouts in case of emergency, hidden behind the mountains off the Sicily coast.I place Scar in charge of the offloading while I ran inside for a drink, and I needed to sleep. I found the bar by the kitchen the moment I walked in. And soon I was drinking.The mansion was too quiet for my liking, except for the voices of my men setting things up.I sat behind the minibar, pouring another glass of whiskey while Sophia’s voice drifted softly through my phone now.“How did it go?” “Easy. We got him.” “That's great… But you sound tired,” she murmured.I chuckled under my breath. “That obvious?”“Yes.” She paused. “Did you sleep at all?”I leaned back against the counter, rubbing my jaw slowly.“No.”“Diego—”“I’m fine, baby.”“You say that every time.”A smile tugged at my mouth despite the exhaustion sitting in my bones.Outside, snow fell heavily
Diego’s PovTwenty Hours EarlierRain tapped softly against the roof of the warehouse, not heavy, just enough to make the night colder.I stood near the window with a cigarette between my fingers, watching the water slide down the glass while the man behind me struggled to breathe normally.Fear had a smell, and this room reeked of it.“You’re sweating too much for somebody telling the truth,” I finally said without turning around.Behind me, the Mexican cleared his throat shakily.“I already told you everything.”I took one last drag before crushing the cigarette into the tray beside me.Then I turned slowly.The warehouse light flickered above us, throwing shadows across the room.Scar leaned against the far wall silently, arms folded across his chest while two men stood by the exit.The Mexican sat at the table between us untouched, without bruises just like any other catch was supposed to be.Clyde always said pain wasn’t the only thing that made people talk.Sometimes fear worked
ClydeThe warehouse smelled like metal and oil and old blood. I could barely breathe. We had retreated to one of my hideouts.“How?” I roared, hurling the glass across the room. It shattered against the concrete wall and sprayed down like rain. “How does he move them out of the country and I don’t
AllisonThe guns were still pointed. No one had lowered anything.The air felt thick — like smoke had filled the room even though nothing was burning yet.Then Clyde’s phone buzzed, the sound was small. But in that silence, it was violent.His eyes flicked down for half a second. That was all. Just
AllisonThe clock on the wall wasn’t loud. But I could hear it.Tick. Tick. Tick.Each second scraped against my nerves like a blade. No one was speaking.No one was breathing normally. And then Alaric stood.Slowly.He looked at Clyde first. Not at me, not at the blood still drying on his lip but
ClydeThe study felt too small for my temper.Diego was talking, but I was barely listening. Papers were spread across my desk. Reports about shipments. About Rence. About the Rivero mess. Everything is moving at once, like a storm building from every direction.“Rence’s people are getting desperat







