LOGINLuigiMy brother was furious. Understandably so.Stefano paced like a caged tiger, dragging his hands through his hair, disbelief and rage tearing through him in equal measure. I didn’t interrupt it. I let it burn out enough so he could hear me.Because I knew that storm. I had lived it myself… not even hours ago. My own reaction had been worse.“Stefano…” I called, voice firm, steady.“What?” he snapped, turning on me, eyes blazing.I held his gaze. “We have another problem,” I said evenly. “More immediate than Liam.”He barked a harsh laugh, sharp and disbelieving. “You must be kidding me,” he shot back. “What could possibly trump this?”I didn’t rise to it. His reaction was expected. Instead, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small drive from the camera. Without another word, I inserted it into my laptop and turned it toward him.He watched me, suspicion replacing some of the anger. “Do you remember,” I said quietly, “when Adriano swore to Liam that he would make him pay
StefanoI knew something was off the moment I saw Luigi’s message.He never called for me this early unless it mattered. And I was already awake. Truth be told… I hadn’t slept much at all.Yvette had been restless through the night. Tossing, turning… clinging to me like if she let go, something would take her again. Every time she shifted, I tightened my hold, whispering against her hair that she was home… that she was safe.But even as I said it… I knew how close we had come. Too close. The thought of losing her—of someone daring to touch what was mine, what was *ours*—it sat in my chest like a loaded gun.That family meeting? It had better come with a plan for ending that Irish filth. A real one. As quickly and painfully as possible. Because if it didn’t… I would handle it myself.Showered, dressed, and still carrying that edge, I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Yvette’s temple. She didn’t wake, just breathed deeper, her hand still curled where I had been.“I’ve got you. You'
RemiIt was Friday. And on the surface…everything said I was fine.The operation had gone well. No rejection. No infection. Vitals holding and steady. Strong. *Textbook recovery*, they said.If things held like this…I’d be outta this joint by next week. Free. And I could back to Arianna…where I belonged.But something didn’t sit right. The feeling persisted all day. It lingered under my skin…quiet, insistent. Like a wrong note in a perfect song.Maybe it was because it was the longest I’d gone without seeing Arianna’s sweet face. Maybe it was because of the dreams…or the flashes.Her as a kid. Small. Fragile. Crying out in the night and refusing to let go of me. I used to think she would outgrow it.She didn’t. Neither did I.People would probably call it unhealthy. To close. Too attached. Too dependent.I didn’t care. It was us. And together…we were stronger.But damn…I missed her. The beautiful expressive face. Those ridiculous blue eyes that saw too much. That laugh when she go
Luca We sat there in the kitchen… but nothing about it felt the same anymore. My father had claimed Liam. And in my own way… I suppose I had too. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t spoken. But it was there. I had one brother taken from me before I even knew him. And now… another had been dropped into my life without warning. No time to prepare. No time to adjust. Just truth—heavy and undeniable. And as much as Liam had been a rival… as much as things between us had been complicated…He was blood. Marked the same as me. That meant something. Whether I liked it or not… I had a younger brother. And somewhere out there… a baby sister. My jaw tightened slightly. I wasn’t losing them. Not like we had lost Aramis. Especially not now that we knew. My father pushed back his chair, the scrape loud in the quiet kitchen. “I think this has been a long day for all of us,” he said. No one argued. “Let’s get some sleep.” He looked at Liam then. “I’m calling a meeting with the rest of the family in a fe
Adriano How? How the hell had I been so blind? A broken laugh clawed its way out of my chest, turning into another sob. How had she told Denton everything…But not me? The answer came immediately. Because I never gave her the chance. Because I never *listened*. My head dropped back against the fridge with a dull thud as memories started flooding in—Unrelenting. Merciless. Her in the park. My head in her lap. Her stroking my head, feeding me. Soft smile. Bright eyes. Her in my kitchen, humming under her breath while she cooked like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her in my bed…Warm. Soft. Safe. Always giving. Always caring. Always *loving me*. The day she ran me a bath. The way she took care of my friends like they were her own. How she doted on Remi…Clung to Luca…Trusted Denton…But with me—God…With me, she gave everything. Hugs. Cuddles. Kisses. That open, unguarded adoration that I didn’t deserve then—And sure as hell didn’t deserve now. And how did I repay her?
Adriano The silence after Denton left—It wasn’t silence. It was punishment. It pressed in on me from every side, thick and suffocating, filling my ears until it roared. The kind of quiet that doesn’t let you breathe… that forces you to hear everything you’ve been trying to outrun. Every word. Every truth. Every scream. I stayed where I was, my back against the counter, hands braced on the edge like it was the only thing keeping me upright. He was gone. Just like that. Not just out the door—Out of my life. A man who had bled beside me… trusted me… stood with me— Five years, and he hadn’t hesitated, he had just walked. Because he was too principled to stay. He had left because of *what I had become*. Because of what I had done to *her*. My stomach churned violently, bile rising up my throat as the reality of it settled in deeper, sharper. This house—a safehouse—felt anything but... Empty. Cold. Like it knew. Like the walls themselves were turning on me, reflecting back every mo
AdrianoThings between us are stiff, not completely broken, but fractured. Everything feels different, no longer easy, not like it used to be.There’s a carefulness now. A quiet awareness in every glance, every word. Like both of us are afraid to step wrong and shatter something fragile that hasn
I am still at the door trying to process what I have overheard.Two Doctors pass to enter probably to brief them on the transfer. I nod in greeting and steps away from the doorway, pulling out my phone. I dial Mason’s number. I have my own guy normally and have only needed him for rivals, never
Adriano Luca and Dev were adjusting the table to accommodate an extra person and pulling her up a chair, seating her between Lemar and Luca.Lemar was staring at her like he’d just discovered gold. “How,” he said slowly, “are you not signed?” “Every fuckin gendre nailed. I have never heard anythi
Liana I had just finished making take-away bags for all the guys and putting away the balance of the food. I entered the Den and it was already humming with anticipation, laughter and cigar smoke in the air. Cards were being shuffled, chips stacked with ritualistic precision, voices overlapping







