THURSDAY- 19TH

 

CHAPTER ONE

THALIA POV - THURSDAY, 7 PM

 

I shoot him in the exact spot I stabbed him seconds ago.

“For my parents.”

The sound of my pistol reverberates through the lounge as Carlos’s blood pools on the tiled floor. The same way he decorated the walls of my home six years ago.

His lifeless body splatters blood on my Cesare Paciotti heels, the ones I’ve been saving for this exact moment.

When I finally murder the Don of Viper Lane.

Not yet. But soon.

 

OUT OF DAYDREAM

“Thalia!”

Henry’s voice crackles through my earpiece. I blink, refocusing on the rooftop ledge where I’m positioned. Below, Carlos stands in front of an equally tall man while his men load sacks from Swallow Now lounge into a waiting vehicle.

“I’m here.”

I snap a photo of the man exchanging money and goods with Carlos, then send it to Henry, my teammate. His mission is the same as mine: kill the Don of Viper Lane.

 

“That’s Sebrine clan’s top client.” Static punctuates his words as I zoom in, capturing two more shots of the transaction.

“I know. A reason to fuel his anger when he finds out Carlos stole his top client.”

Defeating Viper Lane isn’t an easy task. The bastard has fame, power, and domination across the entire underworld. So I aim to stir rifts among other powerful mafias- people capable enough to challenge him.

 

I take one more shot of them exchanging money and of the van. Finally, the courtyard empties and I lower myself from the roof.

“I can’t believe you’re playing chess with Damien today,” Henry says with awe.

I smile as I walk toward my car, staying perfectly hidden in the dark.

 

My equipment goes into the trunk. I spray cologne and check my reflection in the car window, clearing dust and loosening my hair from its bun.

“Don’t die today,” Henry jokes as I move closer to Swallow Now’s entrance.

Cold wind and loud noise wash over me as I open the door to the one place Carlos has been visiting for a while now.

 

“THALIA!”

The crowd erupts as I step inside. Someone’s already claiming the seat across from me.

“Let’s see how good you are.” Rain, one of Carlos’s men, flashes a wide grin that contradicts his tattoos and piercings. He drops his stakes on the table while a staff member positions a chair behind him.

 

The lounge goes dead silent. Every hair on my body stands at attention as the silhouette of a man appears behind Rain.

My gaze stays locked on the figure as he sits, and my chest tightens instantly.

“Make your move,” Rain says, but his words fade like a whisper.

I came for him, trained for him, live for him, but I wasn’t expecting him to come to me. Not so soon.

 

The plan was to defeat his men, then Damien:his second-in-command, before facing him.

Finally realizing, Rain stands on shaky legs, his chair clattering to the floor. Still, it doesn’t fill the silence in the lounge. It’s like everyone stopped existing.

 

Carlos’s gaze burns straight at me, so I stare back. Legs wide apart, back against the cushions of a two-seater sofa, occupying space like he owns it. Cigarette smoke circles him like incense burned around an idol.

Venom rises in my throat and my skin crawls. All I can see is him. All I can feel is the weight of the knife in my purse, the gun at my ankle, the six years of training drilled into me for exactly this moment.

As if reading my murderous thoughts, he puffs smoke my way.

 

Before I can react, or fail to, a massive man appears beside me. Orio: Carlos’s enforcer. High on muscle, low on brainpower.

I stand, making my hands shake as I look away from Carlos.

“Ummmm. I… I’ll leave,” I stammer, selling the act of a girl scared of facing a man quadruple her size.

But Orio pins me back down with a hard push on my shoulder.

 

“My boss wants to play with you.”

His voice scrapes like gravel. I roll my eyes before standing up. Carlos tracks my movement, which makes everything somehow harder.

“Don’t look too eager,” Henry warns. “And I still prefer you piss him off a little. You’re bad at seduction.”

I exhale, then look up at Orio.

 

“Play? You should’ve said so earlier!” I hiss.

Orio moves until...

“Play with me.”

His voice is deep and smooth like honeyed whiskey, laced with boredom and authority. Just three words. A direct command with no elaboration, no asking. Just the absolute expectation of obedience.

The smoke clears, and the trailing light of the lounge shines down on him. I lift my head slowly, pulse pounding in my ears as I face him.

Carlos Terrius. Don of Viper Lane.

My heart slams against my ribs, trying to escape. Or warn me.

 

“You are?” I force myself to meet Carlos’s eyes. He remains still, like stone.

“That’s my boss!” Orio barks.

Carlos takes a long drag of his cigarette, still looking at me. I ignore Orio’s outburst and mimic Carlos’s scrutiny.

 

He’s more commanding in person than through my camera lenses. Six-foot-three of lean muscle. Tattooed trunk branches wind up his neck, disappearing beneath his collar. On the back of his palm is a skull tattoo- that same hand that fired shots at my parents and brother.

Twice at my father.

 

“So you’re the incapable boss who sends others to do his work?”

The lounge sucks in a collective gasp. I realize my mistake. The words escaped before I could stop them: sharp, edged with the bitterness I couldn’t suppress.

“Exactly what I forewarned,” Henry mutters.

“Excuse me?” Carlos’s eyes narrow.

“I don’t play with beginners,” I say softly to rectify my mistake.

 

A dry chuckle escapes Carlos, making my throat go dry.

He doesn’t explode as expected. Instead, he bows his head with a smirk, twirling the skull silver ring on his index finger. Like fog, I watch the smile fade from him as he drops his hands.

When he looks back up, his eyes are pure darkness.

“I was hoping you’d repeat yourself.” His voice is rough and piercing.

There’s nothing pretty about him. He looks dangerous. Murderous. Amusement has vanished from his expression.

If the tattooed branches winding up his neck aren’t warning enough, his piercing eyes are enough to make anyone run.

 

“That you’re an incapable boss or a beginner?”

“I’ll monitor where he takes you,” Henry says with resignation as two of Carlos’s men approach with steps that promise bloodshed.

His dungeon it is then... Or not.

 

They drag me up and force me to my knees in front of Carlos, restraining my hands behind me. I’ll kill them first when I leave here.

Carlos grabs my neck forcing me to look straight into his eyes.

In my quest to end Carlos, I've killed. I've almost been killed.

The first two years spent training in boxing, combat, jujitsu. The remaining four spent learning Krav Maga, more fighting and tech skills while hunting and scraping together information on a man who exists nowhere online.

None of those camera shots prepared me for how dark his eyes are. Utterly empty, like he killed his own soul long before he killed my family and the rage returns

 

“Repeat what you said” he grit out.

“And have you kill me?” I grit back louder. Can't believe I'm harmonizing with the bastard. Mozart will be proud.

 I should keep quiet but I can't. Seeing him is far sickening than therapy said.

A flicker passes through his face and he draws his gun. I shift back instinctively and my earpiece fall. Fucking great—no one will find me if he takes or kills me now.

 

“Interesting.” He says then releases me.

I pick my purse and head towards the door. I'll meet him another day when my team have me covered

 

“Leave.”

Carlos’s lethal voice halts me, then he turns me to face him.

One stupid information my nose decide to catalogue is his smell. He smells like raspberry melted in cinnamon. Like something you'd want to inhale despite knowing it would poison you.

 

“Leave and you’ll find out why people disappear in my presence.”

 He concludes then walk away with the unwavering gait of a man in total control.

The people in the lounge avert their gazes like they’ve seen nothing. Those in his path move aside immediately.

 

“Get her to the table.” He says, sealing my fate without looking back.

Orio’s hand clamps onto my arm. Another man pushes my shoulder.

 

“I’ll walk!”

I shake free and they let me.

 

Author's Note: Please what's your take on Thalia? Too much or rightly okay?

PS: This is the beginning. Thank you for picking up this book