LOGINAaron.*Five years ago*“He went this way,” one of my pursuers shouts, barking the order for the others to follow. Fortunately for me, they do.Fucking hell.My uncle says something over the earpiece but I can hardly make out the words through the immense throbbing at my side. I clamp my hand over the stab wound at my side, forcing myself to ignore the warm blood slipping between my fingers.Damnit. I’ve been stabbed before, but the memory of a blade piercing through my skin and tissues doesn’t live up to the reality of this. This pain slowly consumes me, like I’m close to the brink of death.I was fairly certain the blade had punctured something important, but since I wasn’t particularly good at biology, I couldn’t guess exactly what had been hit.Not only was being stabbed rare these days, but it also required me to be stupid enough to let someone get close enough to do the damage, which apparently I was. When I found out the Italians had intercepted our shipments I should’ve know
Elle.Shit. Fuck. Shit. I didn’t want it to come out like that.Aaron stops his exploration, his eyes drifting up to hold my gaze. “You what?”“I- well, that was…”“Say it again.” He rasps breathlessly. He nips lightly at my chin and a low almost desperate whimper slips from my throat. “Say it again.” He repeats when the words fail to be uttered once more. I remain quiet not because I don’t want to say the words again, but because a sick part of me liked the desperate twinkle I saw gleaming in his eyes.“Please, Angel.” He breathes, “Don’t make me beg. I’ll do it if that’s what you want just let me hear you say it again.”My heart is at the front and centre of a marching band. He’s bluffing. He can’t possibly beg me to say those words again, can he?“Do it then.”Fucking hell. I did not just say that.But it’s too late. The words are free and I now have to deal with the consequences of my stupid actions.For a second, the only sound in the room is the heavy, jagged rhythm of our br
Elle“Are you okay?”Aaron asks as he lazily drags the rough pads of his fingertips up and down the slope of my shoulder as we lie cuddled together in bed.Ava and Nikolai came to get the kids shortly after we came back from the park and after what turned out to be a surprisingly emotional farewell, it’s just us again. We’ve been like this for the past hour. Talking about literally anything that comes to mind and kissing mid-way through it.I don’t know what’s more frustrating, the fact that he won’t do anything beyond kissing or the fact that I actually don’t mind it because at the end of the day kissing him is also amazing.“Y-Yeah?” I say but it doesn’t sound all that convincing.I haven’t told him what happened between my mother and me yet, but I have a feeling he can sense that something is bothering me.His fingers move to cradle my cheek, lightly brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Angel, you know you can tell me anything right?”“Why, because we fucked?” I try to
Elle“I’m sorry.” I glance down at the twelve-year-old sitting beside me on the bench. Her eyes, once locked on her phone screen, are now fixed on me instead.“For?”We’re currently at the park. The twins are running around with their uncle and while I was previously part of them I decided to take a second to catch my breath. When I sat next to Kira, I expected her to ignore me the same way she’s been ignoring me all weekend but she surprised me by actually speaking to me and not just speaking but apologising also.“I haven’t exactly been nice to you this weekend.”“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she rolls her eyes but it isn’t in the irritated way she’s fond of.It feels playful somehow.“The truth is, sometimes I like to be alone. I don’t know if my uncle told you but I have a condition where I remember everything. I remember every touch, every sound, every taste and every person I’ve ever met. It gets too much sometimes and I just…” her voice trails like she’s searching for the right
Elle“What?” Kira pops out an earbud from her ear before slowly drifting her attention towards me as if noticing my presence for the very first time even though I’ve been sitting down here for more than five minutes“I asked if you’d like to come to the park with us later.”She weighs my words for a moment before casually throwing in a shrug and popping her earbuds back in. Today is supposed to be the last day we have with the kids and while the twins absolutely adore me, Kira…does not.I’ve tried everything to bind with her the way I have with the twins but so far, my attempts have only been met with disinterest or plain old contempt.To be honest, it felt like the harder I tried the more she was uninterested and I’d even gone as far as to Google conversation starters for a twelve-year-old as an adult but even that ended up being a bust.Sighing when I notice that she’s once again gone back to ignoring me, I stand and head over to the one place I’m sure the people in there won’t hat
Ivy’s POVGrowing up, I had everything. The perfect life. The perfect face. The perfect body. The perfect family.Like most women who were raised in the mob, I had everything handed to me by the men in my life. I’ve never had to work for anything in my life and truthfully I preferred it that way.My father made sure I went to the best schools and did everything I wanted without the fear of consequences and my uncle was no different.It’s why it was so easy to lean on him when my father got sick.Unlike my father, though, Uncle Neil was somewhat of an extremist. He didn’t shower me with presents or jewellery except during events or when he needed something. He didn’t spoil me with things that didn’t matter; instead, he made me realise that the world was my kingdom. And I was the fucking queen.I could simply do or be whoever I wanted to be and for a while it was thrilling.Truly riveting.And then it became boring.Nothing seemed interesting anymore. It didn’t matter that I could get
ElleTwo things cross my mind as I watch Ivy wipe the corner of her mouth with one perfectly manicured finger.The first is more tame, and doesn't involve the ninety-five ways I imagine murdering her in the second. I simply wonder why she chose that shade of lipstick to wear, and all the ways I can
AaronHere's a fun fact about me,Paperwork is my personal hell.Everyone thinks that just because I'm a mob boss, I don't have to do it, but that is a completely false narrative pushed on by shitty TV shows and The Godfather.The mob is an organised crime syndicate.Emphasis on organised.And like
ElleI'm falling in love with my husband. The realisation hits me as I lie in bed, staring at his features while he's peacefully asleep. I have no idea what the time is or how deep into the night we were, but it's dark both inside and outside, and yet somehow my heart still manages to light up at
Aaron"What do you mean you've already picked a new treasurer?"Elder Peter blinks at me before darting his gaze across every member of the intimate council currently seated at this table as if searching for help.Today makes it thirteen days since the hearing. The intimate council met some time du







