Lemonte This motherfucking lord was greedy. He was losing his patience. If only he had the luxury to bargain. But he didn't.They were at a posh restaurant he could hardly afford. He was low on finances. His bank accounts were frozen.And he was still scheming on how to extract money from El Patrón or the tzar. With his bargaining chip, Rafael Montero would surely pay."I need money," he murmured while he sipped his wine.The earl smirked, and he cut into his steak. "Money is hard to come by these days, Monsieur Fauvre."Fighting the urge to correct the man, his eyes narrowed. "Want do you want in exchange?" He had an idea however he was also running low on suppliers. The group of young lords he had dealings with the previous year had laid low."A gentle breed this time. I'm sure you have one in your stables?" The Leader of the House was as cruel as they come. He likes them young. Helpless. That's why they're friends."The last one you rode died." Lemonte reminded."Ah. She was too w
Dinara Her turn came to be by his side while he lay prone in the hospital bed. She had often thought of his larger-than-life persona. Invisible. Unbreakable. To see him thus, monitors of every kind connected to him, her stomach churned. Rafael lost a lot of blood, he needed a transfusion, and he was sent to the operating room as soon as they landed. He came out of surgery, pale, unconscious, and heavily drugged by pain meds and antibiotics. No. She couldn't lose him. He had pledged his life to her. To Radina. Clean once more, her baby girl in her arms, they watched over him. Waiting. Praying. Days went by and nothing changed. "Why isn't he waking up?" She asked Lizzie and EJ. "The surgery went well. Thankfully none of his major organs were hit. The damage was minimal but he lost a lot of blood." Doc Liz talked to her soothingly. "His body will heal naturally with the help of medicine. Have faith, sis." "He may now be suffering an infection. We will increase his antibiotics." E
Rafael "Why did it happen, EJ? Liz?" His angel, he thought. "A blood clot has formed three inches above his nape. It may have happened when he was hit in the head. The thrombectomy was successful and the blood vessel has been repaired. This helps the blood flow normally again. All is good, Dinara." She sobbed in relief at Liz's words. "Hey, Arie. It's gonna be okay. Shhhh. We will be with you every step of the way." Her pain made him mad at himself. He was hurting her again, instead of taking care of her. He needed to wake up, let her know he was not going anywhere. Willing his toes to move, he concentrated. The digits twitched. A success! Now, his fingers. Yes! That's it. Rafael had to see her. It has been a long time since he saw her angelic face. His eyes quivered. Light pierced through his eyelids and together his lips move. "Angel..." He croaked. "Don't be sad." He managed to say. His voice raspy. Unused. "Oh, baby!" He was in her arms in a heartbeat. Her warmth and scent e
Dinara Of all the days the professors had to call her in, it had to be today. Friday. Reigning in her impatience. She had left Radina with her father at the hospital. They were getting ready to be discharged. She huffed her irritation. She was supposed to be there, with her family. Why the lecturer had insisted she hand over her fifty pages of research in person when she could have sent it via email, the mafia princess had no idea. She was surprised to see Sinclair and Louise waiting for her as she stepped out of her car, raising her brow in a question, she waited for one of them to speak. "What? We miss you." It was Louise who answered first. "The lockdown was shitty. I was sent home to our estate. I just got back this morning." She hooked her arm on Dinara's elbow. Sinclair giggled, hugging her side. "Well, I was a good girl so I remained at the townhouse with my little prince but I was not allowed to get out without tails following me." Dinara rolled her eyes. She could rel
RafaelTwo Weeks Later One last dinner party before the Mafia tzar and his family were set to go back to San Francisco. Women laughing, children ran around the banquet table while aunts and nannies they could finally trust followed their charges with fond smiles. The evening was perfect. He and Maman, his angel's mother finally had that conversation. He shuddered. Finally knowing who she was. A deadly woman that had settled down with the previous mafia king. It made sense when Dinara's father commiserated with El Patrón. Trusting his wife to do the talking. "Are you okay, baby?" Dinara asked in concern. Her mother left him stunned. "Si. God, maman is something else." His dark gaze followed his mother-in-law's refreshing form. "So, she told you about..." His fiancee leaned in to whisper. "God, yes!" He croaked. The details alone could give him nightmares. "And you thought you, Dominic, and Marcus are intense." She laughed. Shaking her head, she pecked his lean cheek and then w
AngelinaSonora, Mexico "Fuck! This is not happening." Another waste of perfectly good ingredients. No matter how much training she had undergone, she just couldn't cook to save her life. She had been practicing for months. "Language, mi hija," a beautiful lady beside her clucked her tongue in a motherly fashion. Angelina grinned. "Sorry." She mumbled. "In Spanish, Angelina." The woman beside her kept reminding her every damn time she switched to English. Yeah. Right. "Lo siento, tia." (I'm sorry, aunt.) She nodded in approval. "Bueno." (Good.) "Hacer otro lote de tortillas, por pabor." Okay. -Make another batch of tortillas.- "Si." She had to make sure to repeat the words in her head several times to interpret them in English for her to understand. The breezy air surrounding her made her shiver. It was early morning and she was up, ready to assist Juanita, a woman who took her in at her lowest point. She and her husband, Tio, were the trusted caretaker of a vast hacienda. The
Palermo, Mexico CityTwenty-four Hours Earlier At twenty-seven, he was ready to die. Revenge was bittersweet yet he had accomplished what he had set out to do, his one goal when he found out he was among the living. For years, he had suffered in torment. The dreams. Their cries. His father's dead eyes blurred by tears and blood. He carried them all. Sanity was a privilege. Long had his been gone. The demons crave blood. Plaguing him. Whispering. Tempting. He had served his purpose. He had killed them all. No regrets. No remorse. He didn't know why they had to save him. Dying would have given him peace. "Urg!" His loud growl reverberated in the four corners of his room. He was alone. So alone. Months had passed since he almost died from saving a friend and it was getting harder and harder to recover. He wished the
Angelina This was the kind of peace she was looking for. The tranquil waters, sunlight creating sparkling jewels like diamonds made her inner turmoil vanished. But not her curiosity. People around the compound were busy the whole day. Juanita referred to it as organized chaos. Even Ramon was up at dawn supervising the ranch hands. Odd to see them in vigorous exercise and training. Like on a military drill. And gunshots resounded in the air. Her pulse throb with the sound. Exciting her. She had wanted to join the group but she didn't trust anyone to show this side of her personality. Better for them to get used to her sweet persona. Not the frenetic one urging her to fight or train or go on an adventure somewhere. She just felt so antsy lately. How to pass the time until it was safe for her to go back to the villa? Tia Juanita had wa