LOGINMichael’s POVThe curtains barely moved beneath my fingers as I checked them again and again.Every passing car outside made my stomach tighten, every distant sound forced my attention toward the window and I hated this feeling.The living room was dim despite the morning sunlight outside because we had kept every curtain in the house closed.I stood near the front window silently watching the faint movement of shadows beyond the curtains while pain throbbed dully through my healing shoulder.A soft clink of ceramic pulled my attention away from the window.Ashley placed two mugs of coffee on the table before sitting beside Nick on the couch.“You’re doing it again,” she said quietly.I glanced at her.“Doing what?”“Watching the curtains every thirty seconds.”Nick sighed tiredly and rubbed his face.“She’s right.”“I’m being careful.”“You’re being paranoid,” Ashley corrected gently.I almost laughed at that but paranoia had kept Henry alive this long.I finally stepped away from th
Theo’s POVI couldn’t breathe. The photograph trembled slightly in Mortis’ hand, though I couldn’t tell if it was because of him or because my entire world had just been ripped apart.Michael, Don Fernando and Henry had been a real family. Henry looked almost exactly the same, just smaller. The resemblance was undeniable now that I allowed myself to see it fully.My stomach twisted violently because suddenly every strange thing made sense.Michael’s fear whenever the Ramirez family appeared and Ashley and Nick protecting him desperately.My chest tightened painfully. A strange mix of betrayal and rage burned through me so intensely it almost made me dizzy.“He knew,” I whispered.Marlo leaned back slightly in his chair, watching me carefully.“Knew what?”I dragged my eyes away from the photograph slowly, my throat dry.“He knew I was searching for him.”Anabelle’s eyes narrowed instantly and the atmosphere at the table shifted immediately.Marlo studied me more carefully now.“You’v
Theo’s POVI barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Michael standing in my living room with fury burning in his eyes.I stared at the hotel ceiling in the darkness, unable to relax despite how exhausted my body felt.Beside me, Kim slept peacefully beneath the blankets, completely unaware of the storm slowly swallowing all of us whole.The faint light from the city outside slipped through the curtains, painting soft shadows across the room.It was still early but sleep was impossible now.I sat up slowly on the edge of the bed and rubbed a tired hand over my face.I quietly stood and grabbed my shirt from the chair nearby. I dressed silently, careful not to wake Kim.I stopd by the door for a bit and watched her sleep peacefully. Before I convince myself not to go through with the plan, I slipped out of the room.The hallway outside was quiet.The expensive carpet muffled my footsteps as I walked toward the elevator.My mind was already racing again.The elevator doors slid o
Michael’s POVTheo stood in the living room, breathing hard, staring toward the doorway Marlo had disappeared through liike he was still mentally following him.I ripped the mask off my face angrily.“This is your fault" I said.My voice came out harsher than I intended and Theo looked at me immediately, his expression hardened.“My fault?”“Yes, your fault. You followed them” I snapped.“And you decided to start shooting in my house.”“They saw me!”“You weren’t supposed to be here in the first place!”“Oh, really? You dragged me into this” I laughed bitterly. Theo stepped toward me.“I dragged you into this?” he repeated incredulously. “Michael, you’ve been lying to me for months!”“I lied because people like Marlo Ramirez kill for less!”“And yet somehow they know you!”“That’s exactly why you should’ve stayed out of it!”My shoulder throbbed painfully from the earlier fight, but the anger flooding through me dulled it enough for me not to care.Theo ran a frustrated hand through
Theo’s POVMy body reacted before my mind fully caught up. I was already on my feet, heart slamming hard against my ribs as the sound echoed through the house like a warning bell.That wasn’t just any noise, that was a fight and I knew exactly who caused it.Of course it was Michael.My jaw tightened instantly, something sharp and conflicted rising in my chest.“Check it,” Marlo ordered calmly, though his voice carried an unmistakable edge beneath the smoothness.Several of his men moved immediately, weapons drawn, rushing toward the direction of the sound.My eyes flicked in that direction briefly, tension coiling tightly in my muscles.Anabelle’s head snapped toward the hallway, her expression sharpening immediately just as more shots were fired and a battle began.“There’s someone else in the house,” she said coldly.Marlo’s gaze shifted slowly, calculating.“I assumed as much,” he replied.That made my stomach drop but as his men disappeared down the hallway and the chaos pulled a
Michael’s POVI stood in the dim hallway upstairs, pressed slightly against the wall, my breathing slow but heavy in my chest as voices drifted clearly from below.I could hear Marlo, Theo and Anabelle.If I had just stayed home, If I had ignored Theo, If I hadn’t let my anger drag me here, I wouldn’t be trapped inside a house currently occupied by the most dangerous man I had spent years running from.I clenched my jaw tightly.“Focus,” I muttered under my breath.Panic wouldn’t help.I moved slowly toward the edge of the staircase, careful not to let my footsteps creak against the wood. From this angle, I couldn’t see them but I could hear everything.“I believe… that you know something.”It was Marlo’s voice.Theo responded, his tone still steady despite the pressure.“I already told you—”“I don’t like being lied to.”Silence followed that and I exhaled slowly through my nose, pressing my back against the wall again.So Theo had followed them.Of course he did. He couldn’t just st
Ashley’s POVI adjusted my jacket as the cool breeze of the English countryside whipped against my face. The small town was quiet and every house looked like it had been built in another century. The map I had copied from Andrew’s phone glared up at me from my phone screen — a digital beacon guid
Ashley’s POV The steady hum of the ceiling fan above me did little to drown out the gnawing ache in my chest. Another day gone, another restless night ahead. I sat on the edge of my couch, my phone resting on my lap, its screen black but heavy with unsent messages. Messages I had drafted a hund
Michael’s POV I didn’t want to leave the mansion.Not tonight. Not with everything happening. Not with Fernando lying unconscious in the safe room and Marlo looking like he was one bad mood away from snapping someone's neck. But Damian had shown up, unannounced, loud as hell, and desperate for my
Andrew's POVI jerked awake with a violent shudder, my head spinning in circles. For a split second, I thought I had died, and the world that greeted me looked like some twisted version of reality. Everything around me was a mess of twisted metal, cracked glass, and the smell of gasoline clinging







