Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into thin air
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need. Bu
BiancaThings are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind.I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now.Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who?So, I defer. I accused her of cheating des
Continued:My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile.I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me.The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand."Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably won't believe m
NikoSven and I meticulously strip what little clothing Alexandra had on, but we find nothing that could account for a tracking device.Even so, we check every crevice of her body and still come up empty-handed before replacing the clothing to give her some sense of decency. If I'm honest, I tackle the task with indifference, but in honesty, I feel sick to my stomach doing such a task. At first, she shook like a leaf, but her true identity showed itself when her quivering lip turned into a malicious smile when we realised she didn't have an evident tracking device."Perhaps you should look elsewhere," she sneered at me with enough malice to prove she's gone entirely fucking rogue. This is not the woman I remember; she sure isn't the loved-up woman who followed Mitchels every word. "I should kill you now, leave your dead body for them to find. Perhaps that would leave the message that I'm not to be played with," I hiss back with equal fervour, but I knew I was only playing into her g
Continued:"No, I'm here. Right where I should be. I'm here for you, Bianca. Only you.""You can't heal these ugly parts of me," she tells me desperately, but I hear more than her telling me something. I listen to her convincing herself she can't be healed. She's so wrong."I don't care; I accept them. I accept all of you, Bee.""Why?" she asks in a quiet and frightened tone. Her disbelief is flavoursome, and I hate it. I think long and hard about my answer, but it comes down to one thing. "Because I can," I tell her with a look that I hope transpires everything I'm not saying.Because I love you should have been the words that left my mouth, but it's the wrong time to say such things, especially when the feeling is so new and appeared so quickly that even I'm tripping over this emotion I've run from all my life."I'm ugly, horribly ugly inside, Niko.""And I'll love those ugly parts just the same; now, do you want to talk about it or save that conversation for later?"She looks ast
BiancaSo we're in hiding, great, except for the fact that there's no food or much water and only one bedroom come living area, leaving us with the only option but to share space with one another.That first hour was filled with tense silence. We sat in a circle, staring at one another as we judged each other.I guess none of us had a clue of what to say, leaving the only sounds coming from Alexandra as she hissed annoyance at being tied to another chair while simultaneously trying to release herself. She couldn't, of course. Sven ensured she wasn't able to breathe, let alone escape. Soon, though, the trivia of being trapped down here had me wandering around the space as I paced back and forth in an attempt to kill my anxiety. And my movement had first Sven agitated and then Alexandra."You'll have to surface at some point; they'll be waiting," she tells me. Or at least she looks to me as she speaks. It's as if she's solely talking to me, yet she never actually addressed me. Anxiet
Continued: "We're going outside," he tells me quietly, almost as if he's speaking numbly. It's as if he knows I'm going to object, yethe's not going tochange his mind. "You won't change your mind, will you?" "We have no choice. I need to make a plan, and I need information before we make any decisions." "Then you should know she was here with Benji. I don't know why, but he was here for her," I reveal, reaching inside my bra to bring the piece of paper out. I slip it into his hand, and he frowns. "You won't be long?" I ask. "I'll be as quick as I can, Bee." With that, he kissed me tenderly before passing me one of his guns, and then he encouraged me back to the sofa, which was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on in my life. And then he and Sven left through the door we entered through. I watched Alexandra with keen interest as she shook herself and the chair she sat on when the door showed her the route to freedom. "Are you in a relationship with him?" I asked,
Bianca This is my fight, and I'll be damned if either of these two takes my bullet when it's me who knew I always belonged to them."Bee! BEE!" Niko hisses at me as tears stream down my face. The wet, hot hurt that he wants to die for little old me makes my internal hate turn with apprehension. "No," he finally says into my ear, his hands around my waist as I'm lifted from the floor. "You must act accordingly; how else will I get you out of here?""You're not," I almost but shout."Shh! You will get out of here. We need time, and I need to bargain with him.""There's no room for negotiation with the Densels, Niko. They are a savage, and they think they own me. The simplest course of action may be to walk out there and surrender. It will end this now, and you won't get hurt, Niko.""You're my wife, not his," he declares with unwavering conviction, his voice charged with a fierce jealousy that cannot be ignored. "I won't stand idly by and let anyone take what is rightfully mine.""But
BiancaMy breath hitches violently in my chest as an unexpected wave of panic crashes over me, dragging me down into its suffocating depths. It isn't just the shadows of impending doom or the reality of my most likely capture that grips me in icy terror; it's the realisation that Niko has willingly thrust himself into danger, taking risks that I can't comprehend, all in a desperate bid to protect me, even after I attempted to warn him about the ominous red dot of doom that hovered like a harbinger of death, he brushed off my concern with stubborn resolve, telling me to accept the possibility of his demise.I couldn't. Oh, God, I couldn't bear the weight of his sacrifice. The thought of allowing him to die for me is a suffocating knot in my throat, a visceral fear that churns in my stomach. I... when I... damn it."Bee," he cautions, his voice low and steady as he strides back toward me despite the chaos outside this room. He and Sven have scribbled maps across multiple sheets of paper
Continued:Sven turns back to rejoin Bianca and me by the bed, and as I stand, I peep out the small window to my right. My heart races as my eyes dart across the street below, searching frantically for a way to get Bianca down and into another building safely, away from the danger lurking just beyond that door. Each hotel looks inviting, but just as with this one, its buildings are tall and overtly open."Not going to answer the door, Niko?" Densel's voice booms, dripping with mockery. I can almost envision the twisted grin on his face as he twirls his gun, the metallic glint reflecting the darkness of his intentions. The threat is unmistakable, hanging in the air like a storm cloud, and I brace myself for what comes next.Laying on the floor, hoping to crawl out of sight to the balcony door, I move precariously. Climbing the wall, with my back flat against it, I extend my hand toward the door, carefully unlatching it to avoid making a sound that might alert anyone nearby. As the door
Niko A profound sense of connection envelops us, and a look of mutual respect passes between our eyes. We've worked together long enough to know how each other thinks, which can only be helpful for the pair of us.In the background, I hear Bianca let out a soft sigh, drawing my attention back to her. She remains frozen in place, her expression a mix of tension and confusion. What is troubling her so profoundly that she feels compelled to stay anchored there, motionless?"I need a favour," I whisper."What is it?""I need you to go down to the Western to collect whatever Luca has just sent over." I showed him the phone, and a one-word message from Luca remarked, 'Done.'"You owe me," Sven chuckles dryly before picking his weapons out of the bag, ensuring they are full before he turns to the door, his hands on the chain, it hanging open between him and the door when suddenly, a sharp knock echoes through the room, jolting Bianca out of her reverie. She springs up, darting to my s
Continued: "Do you have money?" Sven barrages me with questions. "Yes," I nod, but in the same instance, I frown. It's all fucking digital, every last penny. "What?" they both mirror my horror. "Applepay, it's traceable," I mumble. "May I?" Bianca asks for my main phone, and I pass it to her without question. Only a second later, she turns it back to my face. She's downloading a banking app, and I'm not sure where she's going with this. "Use that," she stipulates with indifference as I glance down at the phone, reading her father's name on the card now residing in my wallet. I nod, but I'm not sure I will use it. There has to be another way; I think to myself as we walk in unison to the counter, Sven standing on our six until I ask him to step closer. "Do you have any cash at all?" I request eagerly. "No," he shakes his head. Swearing softly to myself, a profound sense of unease settles in as I contemplate the idea of using Bianca's father's money. The truth is, it feels li
NikoThis morning, an unsettling instinct crept into my mind—a gut feeling or perhaps a sixth sense—that today was poised to take a dark turn. With this foreboding hovering over me, I pulled Sven aside before Bianca even woke up. The weight of unpreparedness settled heavily on my shoulders. I had nothing that I usually had at my fingertips, and I couldn't shake the echo of Alexandra's words: living without permission but forever at the forefront of my thoughts.When I arrived on this isolated island, I came armed with the weapons that had adorned me on my wedding day—two knives and two guns with only one round in each, reminders of a day when I was meant to be the groom, not the protector. It wasn't until just a few days ago that I finally reclaimed my phone, another lifeline to reality.A wave of unease washed over me as I stepped off the boat. It felt as if I was walking into my impending fate. I turned to Sven, my voice low and steady, asking him to gather everything we needed to e
Continued: As I sat there, my mind wandered to Alexandra. Would she be joining us on the flight home? The mere idea of enduring her incessant chatter for an entire journey left me feeling uneasy. I could already imagine her animated and unrelenting voice filling the cabin as we soared through the clouds, unable to escape one another.My thoughts then drifted to Niko and how the familiarity of home might alter our dynamic. Would the ease we shared during this honeymoon transform back into the more complex opposition we had previously experienced? It would be disingenuous to say these questions didn't preoccupy me. However, Niko kept his silence, and I found myself caught in the web of my own musings, choosing not to voice my uncertainties. The air around us was thick with unspoken words, and I remained wrapped in quiet contemplation as we readied ourselves with Sven on his boat.The journey to the mainland was tumultuous, with the ocean raging against the boat's sides as we travelled
BiancaI hate to admit the days pass with blinding speed, but we fit as much sex and physical touch into them as we possibly can, and in the times between, we do a lot of talking, exploring one another and our future and how that might look upon leaving this island. We fuck in the hot tub, on the kitchen counter, with hushed giggles at the thrill of potentially being caught, fucking against the window I can't help but stare out of when I'm standing in the bedroom. Soft sensual sex in bed, hard fucking from behind when I tease him about something, and he just can't keep his hands off of me. That has got to be my favourite, but I've not voiced that to him.My sexual appetite has doubled, if not tripled, in such little time that I wonder where my need has arisen from. But similarly, our need to explore what one another wants to uncover itself.As our conversations flowed seamlessly from one topic to the next, we found ourselves wrapped in a captivating exchange that lasted two days. It
Continued:My previous thoughts of not forcing this on her and making her happy in our forced marriage chose this exact time to crop up, my teeth grinding in annoyance as I looked at her thoughtfully."Niko," she breathes my name, making me move to sit up further. Our chests come together as I reach to kiss her neck.I reach around her waist and pluck the bottoms bows just as she had the tops so they float off in the water as the bubbling swirl that's them under their wings."You're beautiful," I murmur against the skin of her neck."Please," she begs. Fuck the beg is almost my undoing; in fact, my cock pulsates at that one word, and yet I find myself exercising complete control to elongate this as far as I can.Instead, I kiss along her collarbone before moving down her breast, sucking her nipple into my mouth to pebble it. I rhythmically lavish it with attention before I release it with a pop so I can move on to its twin."Bianca." I grin when I pop the second one from my mouth. Her