MasukI motion for my men to hide behind the trees. Matteo’s guards have no clue what’s coming. They’re just casually strolling around, and there aren’t many of them, probably so they wouldn’t draw too much attention.Excitement rushes through me. Is this really it? Is he here with my wife? I motion to my men, and they swiftly move forward.A few moments later, I see one of the guards fall to the ground. The other one is no longer in sight, but one of my men waves at me.I hurry forward, keeping my gun up in case more of Matteo’s men pop out from somewhere. Just because we can’t see them and couldn’t detect them earlier when Rocco was checking out the place doesn’t mean there isn’t a hidden exitsomewhere.I race through the open gate. My men are at the front door, which is wide open.“Sir, all the guards are down. The house is empty.”Empty? My heart sinks. She’s not here. My wife isn’t here.Fuck! I kick out at the empty air, cursing under my breath.“I think they were here recently,” one
AdrianoMeeting with Gennaro wasn’t on the list of things I ever planned to do again, but here I am. I’ll do anything to get Chiara back, and if that means I have to negotiate with my adoptive father, I’ll do it.He sits at one of the tables at the restaurant where we’ve agreed to meet. His guards are standing not too far away behind him, and mine are right behind me.It’s strange to see Gennaro after all this time. He looks the same, just older. His cold gray eyes regard me carefully as I take a seat at the table across from him.“It’s good to see you,” he says.“Is it?” I don’t think I can say the same.“Of course. You’ve done really well for yourself.”I raise an eyebrow at him. “I’m not here to chitchat.”“Then why are you here? What are you boys up tonow?” He waves over a waitress, who brings us a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.But I’m not here to drink, so I wait until the waitress steps away from the table.“Matteo and I aren’t boys anymore.” I glare at him. “Cut it out wit
ChiaraMy heart thuds louder in my chest as I see Matteo in the doorway. His grin only makes me more unnerved, just like the glint in his eyes.What is he up to? Is he going to kill me?Right behind him, I can see his men. They’re watching me carefully, their hands hovering over their weapons.I shift a little, but it’s impossible to get comfortable on this old, hard bed when I’m cuffed to the headboard. Even if I wasn’t, there’d be nowhere for me to go.The room doesn’t have any windows, and I can see another door that leads to a small bathroom, but I doubt I’d find a way to escape there either.“Do you know why you and them,” his gaze rakes over my stomach, “are still alive? Because I need you formy plan. So you better be useful, or I’m going to kill you.”I swallow hard. It’s a good thing that he needs me, even though I don’t really want to help him. But it’s not like I have a choice.Maybe I wouldn’t have cared about my life as much, but I’ll do anything to protect my babies. Anyt
MatteoA knock brings my attention to the door of my office.“Come in,” I say.If one of my men is willing to disturb me, then it has to be something important.“Sir, your father wants to speak with you. In person. He says it’s urgent.”I scoff. Someone must’ve told my father I wasn’t where he expected me to be, and now he wants to see me so he can control me. Well, I’m so fucking done with that.“Ignore him.” I focus my attention back on my computer screen.“Sir, he warned me you might say something like that. He’s threatening to disown you unless you—”“Come running to him?” I chuckle. “Tell him to fuck off.”“But sir—”“Which part of what I just said wasn’t clear enough?” I press my lips into a tight line.“I’ll tell him you’re not coming.” The guy swallows hard before bowing his head and leaving.I sigh. It’s pathetic. Everyone is terrified of my father, and it’s not a surprise. This guy and a few others had the misfortune of meeting him once and he flipped out on them because the
Someone grabs me. “Sir! There’s a bomb!”“What?” I stop and stare at the guy.“There’s a bomb on the body. If you go any closer, it could get triggered.”The body. I swallow hard as I take a look. Chiara’s clothes. Dark brown hair just like hers. She’s facedown on the ground.I can’t see.I can’t tell if it’s her.My mind screams that it is.My heart doesn’t want it to be true.Maybe she’s just unconscious. But why did Matteo put a bomb on her? I can see the wires tangled in her clothes. Does he think she’ll wake up and trigger the bomb? And I’ll watch her blow to pieces?I take a step toward her without thinking, but Rocco catches my arm.“You can’t,” he says.“Is she breathing?” I hate how scared my voice sounds.“I don’t know. We’re too far away.”“Then someone should go closer.”“Not until the right team shows up. We’re dealing with a bomb,” Rocco says, as if I don’t know all that already.But it’s hard to think because it feels like wading through quicksand. My heart pounds like
AdrianoThe pressure in my chest is growing stronger. Getting shot didn’t hurt this much.They kidnapped Chiara. Someone took her right from under my nose, and I don’t understand how it could’ve happened.Or maybe I do.I was an idiot. I should’ve upped all the protection without worrying about what the neighbors might think. We should’ve turned this house into a fortress. I should’ve known Gennaro and Matteo would figure it out anyway.But there’s nothing I can do now. It’s too late to change anything. Someone has Chiara. My men are looking everywhere for her, but I fear it’s all going to be for nothing.Gennaro and Matteo aren’t idiots. They’ll keep her somewhere safe, and they’ll try to get me to do whatever they want.And right now, I’d do anything. I’d agree to anything just to have her back. What’s the point of having all the money and power when I don’t have her? She’s not by my side, and I feel like half of me is missing.All of this should disturb me. The old Adriano would’ve







