LOGIN158RaffaekI need to get out of here.I thrashed again, the steel of the handcuffs biting into my wrist, reminding me with every cold spark of pain that I was a prisoner in my own recovery.”Sir, stop. You’re going to tear your skin,” The nurse on duty pleaded, her voice thick with that annoying, sisterly pity.The irony was a bitter pill to swallow. I’d spent my life building a fortress around my family, and now, the walls were the very things keeping me from them.“I order you to let me go, now!” I yelled at the guard standing in the corner.The man flinched, his shoulders hunching as he stared at the floor. ”W-we were given strict orders, sir,” he stammered, refusing to meet my gaze.He was the only one left in the room while the rest of the unit stood post in the hallway.It was a strategic skeleton crew. Ronan or Emilia must have hand-picked him for his ability to follow directions, even when his Don was snarling like a cornered wolf.“Orders, my foot!” I shouted.Immediately, t
157Gustavo"Oh, these amateurs."I leaned back in the leather chair of my darkened study, the blue light of the monitors reflecting in my glasses.On the screen, the grainy feed from the university’s perimeter cameras showed exactly what I expected.Black SUVs parked a block too close, men in cheap suits trying and failing to look like students, and Ronan, looking like he’d aged a decade in a single night.They think they are hunters. It’s a charming, almost tragic delusion.I adjusted my tie in the mirror, smoothing out the persona of Professor Coleman.They were all just variables in an equation I had already solved.I watched as Emilia stepped out of her vehicle. Even through the low-resolution lens, I could see the tension in her jaw.She thinks she’s coming here to trap me. She thinks that by playing "business as usual," she can catch me off guard at the end of the day.She doesn't realize that I’m the one who wrote the syllabus.I reached out and picked up a small, silver remo
156RaffaelI was right.I was so fucking right."I told you so," was sitting right on the tip of my tongue.I wanted to say it, to stick my tongue out just to see her reach that peak level of irritation I knew so well.But then I looked at her. Her knuckles were white, her grip on the envelope so tight the paper began to groan under the pressure as she stared at the face of her professor.A.K.A Gustavo.I decided to reign it in. There would be plenty of time to be petty later.”You’re sure about this?” she asked Ronan.He looked like he needed a week of sleep, not just a night.“My men and I scouted the apartment building all night. Mostly me,the bastards were asleep half the time. But yes, Emilia, I’m sure,” he said, rubbing at his eyes as he fought back a yawn.”Did he see your cars?” I asked.Ronan shook his head frantically. ”We barely used them. I took the initiative and rented the apartment directly opposite his so we’d look like just another set of neighbors.”I nodded, genuin
155EmiliaThere are days that feel like a stray bullet.Today was one of them."Emi—""Not now, Raf." I sniffed, refusing to look at him while the doctor laid out every secret my husband had been buried under.I had already texted Doctor Olsen for the details Raffael wouldn't disclose, but it seemed the universe had a more violent way of catching me up.Now, everything made sense.The watch.His sudden detachment from the business.The way he stayed on the sidelines.What if the accident hadn't happened? Would he have kept lying to me until his heart just...stopped?"Thank you, doctor. That will be all," I said. My voice was a ghost of itself. I gripped the wall, the cold plaster the only thing keeping my legs from giving out as the news sank in.My husband was a mortal man. If we weren't careful, the love of my life was going to be taken from me by a failing rhythm in his chest."I was going to tell you, Tempesta," he said, his voice smaller than I’d ever heard it.I scoffed, rippin
154NoraThere are no heroes in this world, just villains with better disguise.It starts with my father. He’s the Mafia’s most trusted lawyer, the man who saves monsters from cages for a fee.He buys protection with technicalities, and I used to think that was the height of deception.Then there’s me.I’m supposed to be the one who breaks the "tough nuts" for Emilia until they cough up every secret they’re hiding.But as I descended the basement stairs, the heavy weight of the weapon in my hand felt like a prop in a play I was tired of performing.I was keeping him alive longer than I should. Because even in this darkness, I knew the truth.I wanted him alive. He had grown on me, like a beautiful, poisonous vine."Hi, baby," I smiled at Luca, the lights overhead flickering against the sweat on his brow.He was strapped to the chair, his eyes wide and tracking the steel blade in my hand. He looked at me with a mixture of terror and something raw and honest that I didn't find anywhere
153EmiliaRaffael wouldn't let go of me. I mean that literally.Not that I was complaining. After the weeks of distance and the sterile walls of the hospital, I craved the weight of him."Raf," I hissed as his fingers found my nipples again. He twisted and tugged, the sharp sting melting into waves of heat that crashed straight into my core."Can we go again, baby? Please?" he whispered against my skin. His breath was a hot against my neck as he rocked his hips, the hard, familiar length of his cock pressing into the small of my back.We had fallen asleep less than three hours ago with him still buried deep inside me, and yet here he was."Raf, I have to be up early," I moaned, my protest dying in my throat as his hand slipped under the covers. His fingers found my wetness, circling my clit in slow, torturous ways that made my toes curl.I needed my sleep. I was so close to breaking Luca, finally forcing him to cough up Gustavo’s main coordinates.The kid was a tough nut to crack and
26 Enzo (Emilia’s brother) I shot the dummy in front of me repeatedly, imagining Rafaelle’s face until the gun clicked dry and my hands were shaking. “Motherfucker!” I yelled, smashing the beer bottle beside me onto the floor the moment I realized I had no spare bullets left. My temper was my
21RaffaeleI let her ride me after she tried to kill me.I know how insane that sounds.Yes, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.“How about this one, Aurora?” she asked, holding out a purple doll to my baby sister.Aurora shook her head and snuggled closer into her arms.The next time I saw Bianca, I
22 Emilia “You rode his dick?" I slammed the volume button as every head in the cafeteria turned toward me. “You’re so loud,” I hissed into the phone at Nora who was laughing her ass off on the other end of the line. She had betrayed me by skipping school today, leaving me to navigate the co
23 Rafaelle I never hesitate. I hesitated the moment I pressed my Gun into her palm. Emilia was becoming a rot, and I’d sooner cut my own hand off than let it spread. I pushed the gun closer to her. “Take it.” She stared at me, and I couldn’t tell where the hesitation ended and the pull beg







