CHAPTER 1

Dean

Grace 24, Dean 32

My head was spinning. Sweat assembled around my forehead was another annoying sign the situation was slipping out of my control. 

I had been too close, but now, it appeared the sky split me from the ground beneath me, which I was currently pacing like some lunatic.

How did I end up here?

My restless heart pounded with one particular question even though the answer was clear. I picked up my phone and dialed the number of my second in command, also my childhood buddy Vincenzo, who was currently in the middle of a meeting.

I should have waited thirty more minutes to give him the space he needed to close the deal we had been working on for the past three weeks. But I was restless. More than I liked to. And he was the only one who could calm the hell out of me.

“I am in the meeting, Dean.” He whispered after picking up his phone on the third ring. “Can’t you wait a little longer?”

“I am aware since I am the one who sent you to this meeting, Enzo.” I snapped. “How long do you need?”

“Thirty minutes.” 

“Wrap it in fifteen and call me immediately.” I hissed.

“Where are you?” He sighed.

“New York. Central Park, to be precise.”

“When are you coming back?” He asked. “Rocco is getting bolder with each passing day. I don't think I can keep him on a leash much longer. This time he is moving forward with little gentleness and more noises. It's like he wants us to know he is making a move, which is ridiculous, by the way.”

“What does he want?”

“Your empire.”

Right now, Rocco was the least of my worries. That bastard needed to hold off until I dealt with the others, which were more significant and threatening to my kingdom. 

The FBI killed two of my men, captured my weapon shipment, and planted a rat on my team.

Over the last few months, things took a fierce turn, and before I comprehended the mess, it was too late.

One of my loyal soldiers was found dead near our warehouse, while another was shot while he was reporting the latest shipment to Enzo over the phone. Two days later, one of my largest shipments was seized by the cops in the Pacific Ocean, and I was fucking damn sure it was anything but a coincidence. 

Either the authorities gained a superpower to read my mind, or someone from inside was helping them. The latter part made more sense and was more credible. 

Rocco was after my empire; he could have that if I successfully protected it from the vultures roaming all over to demolish whatever I inherited from my father.

So, yeah, fucking Rocco ought to wait to have my attention on whatever tantrums he was throwing. 

“Does he know the current situation?” I kicked the pebble ahead of me to veil my annoyance.

“I don't think so.” Another sigh followed.

“Good. Make sure he knows how great we are doing. A few whispered words in his wife's ear would do the work.” I looked around, which was a mistake, as the happy faces of people were the last thing I desired to see right now.

“The next thing he would say will ruin you, Dean. He will accuse you of not marrying the Russian mafia princess. You know that too.”

“I fucking hate Russians. Those bastards are missing the word “moral” from their dictionary, and I'm not doing business with someone like them.”

“Rocco shares a wonderful friendship with them. He wanted this marriage more than anything.”

“Good for him. But I am not marrying his alliance. It is like digging my own grave. No, thank you, next.”

“Are you pacing around the park right now?” Enzo asked, and I could hear amusement in his voice.

“That is what I do when I am anxious.” I increased the velocity of my walk and now was competing with the fucking wind. “Right now, I am losing my mind, so yes, striding is all I am doing.”

My feet were frozen, my mind paused, and my eyes were unexpectedly incompetent to move from the human standing at least three feet from me. 

From head to toe she was covered in different shades of pink: a coral pink silk blouse, a salmon pink knee-length skirt, and a limited edition rose pink Adidas sneaker, and she finished her devotion for pink and her ludicrous look with a bubblegum pink jacket.

Honestly, I never saw a human wrapped in so many shades of pink before. It was like she was declaring how much she needed this annoying color in her life to stay alive. 

However, it wasn't her pink outfit that caught my attention; it was her eyes. The bluish-green one, which I was sure belonged to less than one percent of the population, yet it felt familiar. Like I saw them before. Like they comforted me when I was at my lowest.

And then she laughed. Not a smile but a laugh, and that single laugh with the head bent back brought out only one thing she was missing. Her laugh somehow brightened this morning, which, by the way, was already shining due to the sun. Now, it was shimmering with a golden hue. All because of her.

Her long espresso hair lazily cascaded on her back like it was proud to be where it was. Under the sunlight, the sandy highlight of her hair glowed, and it entertained me more than anything.

She was undoubtedly the most exquisite woman I have ever seen in my life. She wasn’t just a woman; she was a goddess carefully enveloped in pink.

All my senses decided to halt their respective procedures and only centralize this unknown magnificence.

The corner of my lips tugged a little, blooming a smile. Something I didn't do for a while now. But this enigmatic creature was powerful enough to do it in just fifteen seconds of seeing her.

The smile dwelled until my eyes glimpsed at the person beside her. 

She wasn't alone, and the man standing with her and laughing was the one I loathed for almost my entire existence. 

Who was she to him?

Their interaction appeared smooth, as if they had been in each other's lives for a long, long time. The comfort, the laugh, and the way he was talking and she was laughing indicated an intimate bond between them. 

I was curious and envious all at the same time.

But then, a knot in my mind unfastened, a smile crept on my lips, and the envious blow all at once withered.

There was no point in fondling that useless feeling when I could simply change fate.

I checked her surroundings and found four CCTV cameras, all pointed at the spot she was standing. A perfect shot of her face would be in those videos.

“Dean, are you still here?” Enzo asked.

“Tell Romeo to check the CCTV of the sports bar across Central Park. There is a woman in the video. She has enveloped herself in different shades of pink. Find her and give me every little detail about this lady. You have twenty-four hours.” My eyes were still darting at the couple who were still enjoying the bright New York afternoon.

“Who is she?” Enzo asked.

“I don't know.”

“Did she do something to you?”

“No.”

“A threat to us?”

“I don't think so.”

“Does she owe us money?”

“No.”

“Possible trouble in the future?”

“That possibility is low.”

“Then why did you need to do a background check on her?”

“That is necessary. As crucial as finding the rat among us.”

“Why?”

“Because I am going to marry this woman.”