Enjoy! I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your favorite part of this chapter. Pretty, please, don’t hold back your thoughts! 😘
Chapter 9 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ I should have told him then. That I was going to accept his offer. But Nikolai wasn’t giving me the chance. He was watching me like I was a snag in his perfect world that he needed to unwrap, one he needed to snatch. And whatever was in his eyes was pulling me in, making me forget why I’d gone out to look for him in the first place. Or anything at all. A slow, steady ache throbbed between my thighs, the heat spreading, my body betraying me in ways I refused to acknowledge. My nipples pebbled against the thin fabric of my dress, and God! The friction made the throb between my legs worse. I crossed my arms to hide it, but it was pointless. He had already noticed. His smirk was slow, so amused. “All this, and you’re going to waste it on a guy named Jesus?” My head snapped up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. “He’s not just a guy,” I bit out. “He’s the Messiah.” He nodded lazily, like I had just explained that water is wet. “Yeah, I
Chapter 10 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ The first thing I noticed was the light. Blinding. Violent. It stabbed me directly in the face like a mystic celestial interrogation lamp, forcing a pathetic groan from my lips. The second thing I noticed was the headache. It kind of felt like tiny construction workers were jackhammering away inside my skull. Not once, not twice, but repeatedly, just for fun. A dull ringing filled my ears, making everything else sound distant, like I was underwater. I tried to stretch, but my limbs felt like lead, my thoughts moved slower than a church service on a hot Sunday afternoon, and worst of all—my mouth was drier than the Sahara. Something was wrong. I turned over, intending to bury my face into my pillow, when…wait. Tucked. Under. The. Sheets. I never tucked myself in. Ever. In fact, I usually just collapsed onto my bed like a crime scene victim and let sleep do the rest. Panic started to creep in, slow and unsettling, like a spider crawling up the
Chapter 11 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I had spent the whole night watching a nun sleep. And now I had to work extra. I took the glass of scotch in my hand to my lips only to find it empty, I groaned in frustration. The bottle was somewhere on the floor where I had kicked it hours ago and I had no intention of going to retrieve it. I could barely take my eyes off my laptop, which was still open on the bed, the glow of the screen being the only lighting in my room. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and from the look of things, I won’t be getting any today either. My eyes went to the security footage on the other screen. Sylvia. I had planted cameras in her room even before she returned to the room last night, maximizing her absence. I didn’t need to, not when Manuel had already gone to pick them up this morning, not when everything went exactly according to my plan. I could have disabled them after putting her to sleep, but I didn’t. And now, even after spending an hour handli
Chapter 12⟿❂⟾Sylvia⟿❂⟾I fucking hate change. No matter how good it is.Three days since we moved, three days since Nikolai disappeared from my room like he’d never existed. Three days, and he was now just a ghost, a shadow haunting the corners of my thoughts. I barely knew him, hell, I didn’t know him, but somehow my life now practically revolved around him. He was in these walls, his hands were on me when I shut my eyes, and his lips were in my ears when I listened just enough, saying the dirtiest things. And that was really terrible, because I was cheating. On God, on my faith, and on my body. “Your body is the temple of God.” I felt so seen that sometimes I just cringe.It was that feeling of someone watching you. When your skin prickles, and the back of your neck feels cold, but no one’s there. Yeah, that. Only this time, I swear I could feel eyes on me—no matter how empty the space was.Maybe I should’ve expected it. I mean, you’d know that men like him don’t linger and ce
Chapter 13 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I needed something to do. So I came downstairs for coffee—something strong to burn the mess in my head. But as soon as I walked into the parlour, I realized I wasn’t alone. Hand on my gun, I quietly made my way to the sitting room. Sure enough, there they were. Manuel and the rest of the guys were sprawled out lazily. Feet up, vodka bottles scattered, cigarette smoke curling toward the ceiling in lazy spirals. Cards lay spread across the table, a game in progress, though from the looks of it, they were just killing time the only way they knew how. None of us wanted to be here, but no one was leaving unless I said so. I took a slow sip of my coffee, adjusted the gun at my waist, then cleared my throat. They all snapped their heads toward me. Then, almost by some unspoken command, they shot to their feet like schoolboys caught screwing around in class. The last time I caught them playing cards, Stacy had been in the mix—Vincenzo’s vixen, t
Chapter 14 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I hate the smell of new wood. Or new shit in general—except pussy. I leaned against the bar in the half-finished club, too tired to even reach for a drink. For the last week, I’d been inhaling fresh wood, sawdust, and lingering cigar smoke so much that I made a mental note to book an appointment with the family doctor to check if my lungs were still intact. We were setting up a base here in Albany, something solid. Permanent. A place to move product, handle meetings, and make money. If I was going to be stuck in this city for the next few months, I needed an actual reason—besides the more obvious one: pussy. The place wasn’t ready yet—far from it. No neon lights, no polished floors, and it still smelled like a fucking lumberyard. Another thing to handle. “Nacho,” I called out, flicking a glance at the broad-shouldered man standing near the entrance. “Get that guy to fix the damn stench of this place.” “Boss?” Nacho was our newly recruited
Chapter 15 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ “Can you just hold still for a second, sweetie?” I cooed in a very soft voice. I moved over and knelt beside a squirming little boy, his wide eyes full of panic. “It’s just for a minute.” “I don’t want it, Sylvia!” he whined, kicking his legs in protest. I sighed, then looked up at Sister Anne, who was standing a few feet away, watching me with a knowing expression. “How do you make it look so easy with them?” She chuckled, then pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s all about distraction. Kids don’t like needles, but they love sweets.” I raised an eyebrow. “Sweets? Are you bribing them with candy now?” Sister Anne winked. “If it works, I don’t see the problem. What do you think?” The little boy gave me a frantic look, still clutching his arm tightly. “Please, no vaccine!” “Alright, alright,” I let out a breath, then reached into my pocket and pulled out a lollipop, the colorful wrapper caught the light—and the boy’s eyes, apparently. I unw
Chapter 16 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ The soft hum of the heater filled the bathroom, but the chill still clung to my skin like a second layer. I rubbed my arms, standing in front of the big mirror nailed to the wall, and gave myself a long, hard look. My gaze landed on the woman staring back at me. I blinked. She blinked. I tilted my head. She did the same. But something felt… wrong. Off. Like the person in the glass was someone I was meeting for the first time. My fingers rose, brushing my cheek, tracing the hollow beneath my eyes, the curve of my lips. “Who the hell are you?” I whispered to the reflection. Silence. The question echoed inside me, hollow and unanswered. My skin felt too tight, my body unfamiliar. It was absurd—I was me. But… who was me? I pressed my palm against the cold glass, half-expecting it to ripple like water. “How do I not know you?” I said softly. The harder I tried to remember myself—myself—the more the memories slipped like sand through my fingers. There wa
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 net shot outward from
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 was supp
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 froze.A
Chapter 77⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾The kid looked up, and her eyes widened at the sight of me. There was surprise there, certainly, but not the relief I would expect from a child who had called me in terror just hours before."Mr. Gianni?" she said, her voice small but steady.I studied her carefully. No visible signs of distress or injury. Her hair was neatly braided, her clothes clean. She looked exactly like a child who had been sitting quietly, reading."Hello, Maeve," I said gently. "How are you?"She glanced at Mother Beatrice, then back to me. "I'm fine. Just doing my readings.""She has quite a bit of scripture to review," Mother Beatrice interjected. "Part of her penance."I crouched down to Maeve's eye level. "I got a call from you this morning. You sounded frightened."The girl's brow furrowed in what appeared to be genuine confusion. "I didn't call you, Mr. Gianni.""You can talk to me, Kid. Alright?"She shook her head. "We're not allowed phones here."I reached into my pocket a
Chapter 76⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾"Too late. Your dog is as demanding as you are.” Sylvia's text lit up my phone as I boarded the private jet.I stared at the message for a moment, fingers hovering over the keyboard. Every instinct told me to call her, to hear her voice. But if I did, she would hear something in mine—the fury, and I couldn't risk that. "She knows quality when she sees it." I typed back, keeping it brief and playful. “Like her master."She must have slept off after that. As the jet prepared for takeoff, I leaned my head back against the leather seat and closed my eyes. I replayed the last call with my latest enemy in my mind. His stupid cruel voice and the sound of Maeve in the background. The small, frightened whimper that told me she was alive. How the fuck could anyone be so cruel as to scare a kid that like that?I could have gone straight to Manhattan. That was what they expected. Me rushing blindly toward the coordinates they would inevitably send, walking right into
Chapter 75⟿❂⟾Sylvia⟿❂⟾Mrs. Alvarez turned out to be a godsend. By early afternoon, we'd ordered enough essentials to get me through a week—simple tops, two pairs of jeans, underwear, toiletries, and a pair of comfortable shoes. She didn't even blink when I gave her Nikolai's credit card information that I'd memorized from watching him use it."Mr. Gianni would have my head if I let his guest go without necessities," she said matter-of-factly when I expressed concern about the cost.We spent the day cooking, with Mrs. Alvarez sharing stories about her family—three grown children and five grandchildren—while carefully avoiding any mention of Nikolai beyond basic household preferences. Professional discretion, I realized. She knew her boundaries.As evening approached, she packaged half the lasagna in containers for the freezer."Luigi prefers protein shakes and grilled chicken," she explained. "But you should have proper food. Just heat this at 350 for twenty minutes when you're h
Chapter 74 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ I woke to sunlight and emptiness. For a moment, disorientation gripped me as I blinked at unfamiliar surroundings. This was certainly not the same room I slept in yesterday or the night before, and it sure as hell was nothing close to my room at the convent. Then memories of the night before and my life for the last three months rushed back: I left the convent, what we did at the club, the car, Nikolai... Heat flooded my cheeks as I remembered the way I'd behaved, the wanton abandon with which I'd given myself to him. The risks we'd taken. My hand drifted unconsciously to my stomach, though I knew it was too soon for any physical manifestation of our recklessness. The bed beside me was empty, the sheets cool to the touch. How long had I been alone? I pushed myself up against the headboard, wincing at the soreness between my thighs. That was a very pleasant reminder of our sins. A glass of water sat on the nightstand, alongside two small pills and a h
Chapter 73 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I woke before dawn, as I always did. Years of discipline had trained my body to need only five hours of sleep, and even with Sylvia warm against me, that hadn't changed. What had changed was my reluctance to leave the bed. She was curled against me like a cat, one hand splayed across my chest, her breathing deep and even. My t-shirt had ridden up during the night, exposing the curve of her hip and the length of her legs. In sleep, her face held none of the guarded wariness that sometimes crept into her expression when she thought I wasn't looking. My fingers caressed her back until they reached her neck, where the mark there burned against her skin like a brand. A crescent moon. The only thing I was very sure of right now after filtering the whole jargon of religious bullshit Luigi gathered was the fact that it was certainly not a birthmark, but a scar—deliberately placed. I allowed myself five more minutes of this strange peace before careful
Chapter 72 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ There was something surreal about watching her sleep against my shoulder. After the raw, primal sex in the back of my car, the way she'd given herself to me completely, without reservation, she now looked impossibly innocent again. Her face relaxed in slumber, she could have been a painting of a sleeping angel, if not for the purple marks blooming on her throat and the disheveled state of her hair. The contradiction she embodied continued to fascinate me. Virgin and temptress. Innocent and wanton. Sacred and profane. I'd had countless women over the years, but none had captivated me the way she did, none had made me break my own rules. Like tonight, with the condom. I ran a hand over my face, suppressing a groan. What the hell had I been thinking? I prided myself on control, on discipline, on never taking unnecessary risks. Yet one pleading look from those doe eyes, and I'd thrown caution to the wind. She stirred against me, mumbling something inco