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Chapter 55 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ Sleep eluded me, and by morning, I was exhausted and irritable. A knock on my door revealed Stacy, already dressed in a flowing sundress that accommodated her pregnant belly. "Rise and shine!" she chirped, far too cheerful for the early hour. "We're going shopping. You need some beach clothes." I looked down at my borrowed t-shirt and jeans. "I'm fine with what I have." Stacy laughed. "Honey, it's 85 degrees outside and you're dressed for a New England fall. Come on, I need the company." Somehow, two hours later, I found myself lying on a beach chair under a giant umbrella, wearing a modest black bikini that still showed more skin than I'd exposed in years. Beside me, Stacy lounged in a red two-piece, her pregnant belly gleaming with sunscreen. "This is the life, isn't it?" she sighed contentedly, sipping a virgin piña colada. "Sun, sand, and no FBI agents in sight." I couldn't help but smile at her irreverence. "Is this how you normally live? Runnin
Chapter 56 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Entering the convent felt so wrong. A girl in a flowing white habit met me at the entrance, her face drawn with worry. "Mr. Gianni," She whispered urgently. "The FBI was here. They've been questioning everyone." "About Sylvia?" Her eyes darted nervously. "About you, too." Of course. "Mother Beatrice insisted on seeing you despite their... concerns," she continued, leading me through a side corridor. "She's quite distressed." She stopped outside Mother Beatrice’s office, crossing herself before opening the door. "Please be gentle with her. She's not been herself since—" She cut herself off, but I caught the implication. Since Sylvia disappeared. Since Maria disappeared. Both my doing, in different ways. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She shot me a look over her shoulder. “Are you?” I didn’t answer. What could I say? That I’d kidnapped their novice, seduced her, and now had her stashed on my private island while the FBI combed the city for her? That
Chapter 57 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Travo and Sergei’s funeral was held in a cemetery. And just as expected, Chen was there, pretending to pay respects while watching me through dark sunglasses. The woman was convinced I was involved in Sylvia's disappearance. She wasn't wrong, but she'd never be able to prove it. "She's still on you," Viktor murmured, nodding subtly in her direction. "Let her look," I replied, adjusting my tie. "That's all she'll ever do." After making a sufficient appearance and leaving Vincenzo and Luigi to handle Sergei’s widow, Manuel and the rest, Viktor drove us to Leandro's shop in the older part of town, wedged between a pawn shop and a fortune teller's parlor. "I'll wait here," Viktor said as I exited the car. He hated Leandro, called him a charlatan. Maybe he was, but after what happened at Eclipse, the man knew better than anyone that he owed me his loyalty—and his life. "Gianni," Leandro's accented voice called from the back. "I knew you would
Chapter 58 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai and Vincenzo did not return that day. Or the three days after. Neither did Luigi come. Stacy and I had fallen into a pattern. If there was one thing you didn't have to guess about Stacy, it was the fact that she liked to talk. A lot. After learning she was an only child of a filthy rich widower, raised in the harsh reality of the mafia world, I understood why. Kegan worked on his laptop for most of the time, avoiding us both as much as he could but never being too far away should we need anything. I traced the rim of my glass with my finger, watching ripples form across the surface of the super-cold liquid. I missed my life, as boring as it was. I missed Maeve. I missed Mother Beatrice. I missed not having a lot to be guilty about. Yet, I also missed Nikolai. The phone he gave me lay silent on the table beside me. I'd stopped checking it obsessively yesterday, tired of being disappointed each time the screen remained dark. No messages. No
Chapter 59 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ "Change of plans," she said calmly. "Bathroom. Now." She shoved me toward the en-suite bathroom as another blow hit the door, splintering the frame. "Lock yourself in and don't come out until I call for you." "Stacy—" "Go!" “I can’t! You’re pregnant and that guy looks dangerous!” “Sylvia,” she snapped, “get inside. Now.” “Lord, no,” I wailed. “I can’t let you die! You’ve got a whole baby in there! I’ve only got trauma and unresolved guilt!” She gripped my shoulder and yanked my chin up with surprising strength for someone in her third trimester. “Look at me, Sylvia.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Nope. If I don’t see the danger, it’s not real.” “Sylvia!” she barked. “We’re both going to die if you don’t quit acting like a Disney princess with a martyr complex, God damn it!” I whimpered. “Holy Mary Mother of—” “She’s not here,” She cut me off, “But you can help us both by letting me live long enough to become one.” “Stacy please,
Chapter 60 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Rage is a cold thing when you know how to harness it. I learned that lesson at twelve, when my father caught me crying after I'd been beaten by three older boys. He didn't comfort me, nor did he let my mother. Instead, he tied the boys down and forced me to brand their foreheads with a curling iron. "Anger is a luxury for fools and children," he'd said. "Power comes from control." Right now, I felt that familiar frost crystallizing in my veins. My feet tapped the floor repeatedly, the only outward sign of the amount of rage I actually felt inside, so much that it had developed a tune by now. "ETA three minutes," Manuel announced. He’d insisted on coming back with us and getting back to work now that Travo was buried. The earlier we found and took care of our enemies, the better. Vincenzo hadn't spoken since we'd received Kegan's call. His silence was more telling than any tirade. His pregnant wife had been shot. If I hadn't insisted on bringing Syl
Chapter 61 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ She was changing before my eyes, becoming bolder, less churchy, even more curious. I wasn’t sure if I should mourn that transformation or celebrate it. I needed a drink. I made my way to the bar, poured two fingers of whiskey, and downed it in one burning swallow. The liquor did nothing to thaw the ice in my veins. I poured another and stared at the amber liquid with a deep frown. My father’s words slowly came to mind. “Power comes from control.” Control was slipping through my fingers like water. I’d brought Sylvia here to keep her safe, to protect her from threats I didn’t fully understand. Now even more threats had followed us, had penetrated the very walls I thought were enough to keep her hidden. Another gulp and I dumped the glass with a thud. I had a lot of work. I headed for the boathouse, deciding it was time to have a conversation with the man who thought he could waltz in here, take or hurt something of mine and walk out with his hea
Chapter 62 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ Two days had passed since the attack. Two days of hushed conversations between Nikolai, Vincenzo and Kegan, of men in dark suits coming and going at all hours. Two days of Nikolai being everywhere but with me. We'd moved to a different safehouse—a modernist glass and concrete structure perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. It was more remote than the last place, with security systems that made Fort Knox look like a child's piggy bank. It was beautiful in a cold, imposing way, much like the man who owned it. I stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and watched seagulls dive and soar over the crashing waves below. Despite the breathtaking view, I felt hollow and empty. "Penny for your thoughts?" Stacy's voice came from behind me. I turned to find her approaching slowly, one arm in a sling. She looked better than she had two days ago. Color had returned to her face, and her movements were more fluid, less pained. "
Chapter 86 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Consciousness returned to me like a sledgehammer to the face. The first thing I noticed was the dryness in my mouth, like someone had stuffed it with cotton balls soaked in battery acid. The second thing was the throbbing in my shoulder—duller now, more of a persistent ache than the searing pain I remembered. The third thing was Sinatra playing softly in the background, which meant I was either in my bedroom or had died and gone to a very specific kind of hell. I pried my eyelids open against their vehement protests. Sunlight streamed through partially opened curtains, painting golden stripes across unfamiliar bedsheets. Not my bedroom, then. The medical suite. Recalibrating my expectations accordingly, I attempted to sit up. My body responded with all the enthusiasm of a cat being dragged to a bath. "Fuck," I muttered, falling back against the pillows. My voice sounded like it had been dragged behind a truck through a gravel quarry. "Ah, sleepi
Chapter 85 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I could feel Sylvia's eyes burning into my back as I left the medical suite, but there was no time for further arguments. The situation had escalated beyond what I'd anticipated, and so had my headache. I pulled out my phone and dialed Viktor’s number as soon as I entered my study and closed the door behind me. He answered on the first ring. "I heard there were complications." "Word travels fast," I remarked dryly, pouring myself a glass of whiskey. It was too early for a drink, but fuck it. "The girl nearly died." "Is that why you're calling at four in the morning?" "No." I took a sip and let the burn steady my thoughts against the better judgment of my headache. "I need you to bring Maria over." A long pause. "Over there, like there?” “Yes.” I replied. “Here.” “Are you being serious?" "What do you think?” I scoffed. "What does this have to do with the girl?" Viktor's voice was cautious, probing. "Everything." I moved to the window and distr
Chapter 84 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ The shrill ring of my phone yanked me from a dreamless sleep. Fuck. "What is it?" I hissed, voice rough with sleep as I fumbled for the device on the nightstand. Beside me, Sylvia stirred but didn't wake. "Thank God you’re up." Luigi's voice was tight with barely controlled panic, something I barely heard from the unflappable man. I was instantly alert, sliding from the bed and moving to the window, I kept my voice low. "I thought I told you not to disturb me until—" "It's the girl," he cut me off. "She's convulsing. The doctors can't stabilize her." Every trace of slumber fell off my eyes. "What the hell happened? Kade said she had no serious complications." "They missed something. Cerebral edema, they're saying now. Pressure building in her skull." "Where is she?" I demanded, already pulling on yesterday's pants. "Medical suite, east wing. Dr. Weiss says if we don't get her to a hospital—" "No hospitals," I snapped. "Too exposed
Chapter 83 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai rewarded me by thrusting forward in one powerful stroke, filling me completely to the hilt. I cried out, both in blissful pain and pleasure, then braced myself against the tiles as he pulled out and thrusted in again. “Oh, God—it hurts so fucking…!” His response was to push my head down and jut my hip up to meet the next thrust, then he set a punishing rhythm, each thrust pushing me slightly up the wall before his grip on my hips pulled me back to meet the next one. "You feel so good," he growled, one hand slid around to massage my breast, pinching the nipple just hard enough to make me gasp. "So fucking tight." That was accompanied by a single slap to my ass cheeks. Then he squeezed roughly. Three more slaps followed. Rest assured his palm would be marked there, but the vibration. Fuck—the sensation made me want to combust. "You deserve this," he hissed. “You sound so good, so fucking good, Sister." His words, crude as they
Chapter 82⟿❂⟾Sylvia⟿❂⟾“Oh—fuck!”My back arched off the bed as pleasure shot through me. My hands fisted in the sheets, then in his hair, unsure whether to pull him closer or push him away from the overwhelming sensation.Nikolai groaned against me, the vibration adding another layer to the pleasure building low in my abdomen. His hands gripped my thighs to hold them apart as he worked me with his mouth, alternating between broad strokes of his tongue and focused attention to the spot that made me see stars."Nikolai, please," I gasped, not even sure what I was begging for.He seemed to understand, though. He slipped one finger inside me, then another, curling them upward as his mouth continued its relentless attention. The dual sensation was too much—I shattered with a cry, my thighs closing involuntarily around his fingers as waves of pleasure exploded my senses.Before I could fully recover, Nikolai was moving up my body, shedding his underwear as he went. "I need to be inside
Chapter 81 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ I'd been sitting on the same plush sofa for over three hours, Fur's heavy head resting on my lap as I absently stroked behind his ears. The dog had been my only constant companion since we returned from the clinic. Luigi had barely spoken two words to me before disappearing into his makeshift workstation, hunched over his laptop with such intense focus that I hadn't dared interrupt. Whatever ‘a lot’ entailed had transformed the normally composed man into a bundle of tense energy. And Nikolai... he hadn't come home at all. "He said he'd be back yesterday," I whispered to Fur, who looked up at me with soulful eyes. "What do you think happened?" The dog whined softly, like he understood my concern. My arm still ached dully where the implant had been inserted, a small reality check to how thoroughly I'd committed to this new life. I'd chosen long-term contraception because I believed in a long-term future with Nikolai. The irony of that. Fur’s head
Chapter 80 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Three seconds of freefall was all she had left. Three seconds between life and death. I lunged forward, firing twice more as I did. That was the only way to leave without taking a shot myself, taking down the biggest threat. One bullet caught the pockmarked bastard in the throat, the other missing Kaine as he scrambled for cover. The pockmarked man collapsed, gurgling blood onto the concrete floor. But I wasn't focused on him. I rushed to the window, my mind calculating possibilities in cold, rapid-fire succession. "Oren!" I roared into my comm. "South side! Deploy the net! NOW!" I'd planned for this. Not specifically this, but something like it. When you've been in this business as long as I have, you learn to anticipate the worst-case scenarios. Fifteen floors. Terminal velocity in approximately 3 seconds. From the roof of the building across the street, four of my men were already activating the pneumatic launchers. The high-tension ne
Chapter 79 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ For some reason, I was very nervous today. Luigi had driven me here in relative silence, his eyes occasionally flicking to mine in the rearview mirror with an expression I couldn't quite read. Concern? Fear? Whatever it was, he kept it to himself. "I'll wait outside," Luigi said as we approached the entrance to the women's health clinic. "Nikolai instructed me to stay close, but..." he trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with the nature of my appointment. "It's fine," I assured him. "I shouldn't be long." The waiting room was half-full, women of various ages flipping through outdated magazines or staring at their phones. I approached the reception desk and gave my name in a low voice. "Ah, yes, Miss Sylvia," the receptionist said, typing something into her computer. "First time visit for contraceptive consultation, correct?" I nodded, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. This whole situation was weirdly embarrassing—discussing birth control options when I
Trigger Warning⚠️ Chapter 78 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Inside the building was a ghost town of half-demolished office spaces. Exposed wiring hung from the ceiling like dead vines. The floor was littered with construction debris, and plastic sheeting waved gently in the air from the building's struggling ventilation system. I moved silently up the stairs, with the tactical gear Russel provided making me practically invisible. The signal jammer was active in my pocket, blocking any remote detonations within range. My earpiece remained silent. I'd instructed Oren and his team to maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. According to thermal imaging, there should have been twelve bodies on this floor. So far, I'd counted none. Of course, I wasn’t expecting them to be completely stupid and let everything go according to my plan, so I knew something was off. The silence was too complete, the emptiness too perfect. I rounded a corner into what had once been a conference room and