SARAHThe cold woke me before the pain did. My body was already curled tight, but it didn’t help. The chill still found its way into my bones, into my stomach, into everything. I tried to stretch, just a little, but my back screamed and my legs cramped. My head throbbed with that dull pressure that never really left. I didn’t even open my eyes right away. I just laid there, breathing through it, waiting for the nausea to pass.I was starving. And still, the idea of food made my stomach twist. It wasn’t just the baby. It was the food they brought. Cold, bland, rough like they’d scraped it off the bottom of a pan and tossed it at me out of pity. Or worse, duty. I’d thrown it up more than once. Now I just took small bites and held it down as long as I could. My throat stayed dry. My mouth too. I’d started cutting what little food I got into pieces, counting the bites like that somehow helped. It didn’t. But it gave me something to do, something to control.I turned onto my side slowly. T
ISABELLAI sat near the window with a half-full glass of wine, legs crossed, posture easy. Outside, the yard stretched quiet under soft light, the fences glowing under the dim wash of security lamps. The wind barely moved. Even the trees felt too still. It looked like peace, but it wasn’t. It was something else. Something pretending to be calm.Behind me, Marcel was laughing, his voice bouncing off the walls like this place was some damn hotel and not the cage it really was. Two of his men stood with him, drinking, cracking jokes like they didn’t have a care in the world. That’s what bothered me. They weren’t tense like they used to be. There was no edge in the air. No clipped words or extra rounds being loaded. Just pride. Stupid, loud pride.Marcel turned a bit, speaking louder now, wanting me to hear. “You know what I think?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He never does. “I think Marco’s done. Crawled into whatever hole he came out of, dragging his tail behind him. Wallowing in that
MARCOThe safehouse stank of sweat and gun oil. It had been a day now. One long, heavy day. I stood over the table, arms braced against the wood, staring down at the maps, the grainy photos, the scribbled notes we had piled together. Every street, every guard rotation, every weak spot Marcel thought he hid. It was all laid out in front of me like a body waiting for burial.The guys were scattered around the room, geared up. Tony sat sharpening a knife that didn’t need sharpening. Gio leaned against the wall, checking his pistol again and again. Petrov stood by the window, looking out like he expected hell to pull up in a car. Denis was at the far end of the table, hands flat, answering the last of our questions like a man who knew his life depended on it. It did.“Alright,” I said, my voice steady even if everything inside me was screaming. “One more time.”I tapped the map with the tip of my finger. “We roll in here. Two SUVs. No fancy shit. We stay fast, clean. Denis says the east f
MARCOAs we moved closer to the warehouse, the world around us shifted. No more breathing room. No more second chances. I lifted my hand, fingers moving in sharp signals the team knew by heart. Petrov and Gio broke off fast, slipping into the tree line to handle the chaos. Their job was simple: create enough noise, enough blood, to keep Marcel’s eyes off me. My job was simpler. Get to Sarah. Bring her home.I moved ahead, leading my half of the team. Tony and Denis stayed tight behind me, heading toward the wing where Denis swore they kept her. The woods around us swallowed the sound of our boots, every step careful, every move sharp. The cold night clung to my skin, biting a little, but I welcomed it. It kept me awake. It kept me locked in.Up ahead, a small light flickered behind a tree line. I crouched low, holding my fist up to stop the others. Two guards patrolled near the inner fence, walking lazy, rifles slung low, no care in their step.I looked at Tony and jerked my chin towa
MARCELI kicked back in my chair, boots up on the desk, glass of whiskey hanging loose in my hand. The oak groaned under me, but I didn’t give a damn. I earned this seat. I earned everything. Sarah was mine now. Marco? That bastard was a ghost, a scared little whisper hiding in the dark, too broken to come for her.I took a slow sip, letting the burn roll down my throat, and smiled to myself. All the noise, all the fight she had when we first grabbed her… it was fading. Day by day. I saw it in her eyes. Less spark. Less bite. She was still holding on to Marco, sure. But that wouldn’t last. It never did. Not when you had no one left to believe in. Not when all the walls closed in.All I needed was time. Time and a little patience. Women like her, they didn’t fall easy — but when they did, they fell hard. I’d treat her good once she saw it. Once she stopped looking at me like I was the enemy. She didn’t get it yet, but she would. I’d give her everything. New clothes, good food, no more
MARCOThe door clicked shut behind us as we got into the warehouse, the sound barely louder than a breath, but it made my shoulders tighten anyway. No turning back now.Inside, the hallway stretched ahead, cold and narrow, concrete walls sweating under dim, buzzing lights. Shadows shifted along the floors, long and slow like they were alive. We kept close to the edges, moving low and tight, every step thought out. No wasted moves. No wasted noise.Denis was right behind me, eyes glued to the small handheld device strapped to his wrist. The screen flickered every couple of seconds, showing black and white camera feeds from inside the compound. He tapped the screen twice, then waved me over with a sharp flick of his fingers.“Straight two halls, take a left,” he whispered, voice so low it barely stirred the air. “One guard at the station. He’s sitting, not moving.”I gave a tight nod. Lifted my hand and gave the signal. Two fingers. Tony and Gio caught it instantly, adjusting their posi
MARCOWe moved slow down the corridor, shadows thick around us, every step tight and careful. The walls felt like they were closing in more with every turn. My gun was warm in my hand, not from use, but from how long I’d been gripping it. I didn’t loosen my fingers. Couldn’t. Not now.Denis came up beside me, pressing closer to the wall, breathing heavy but steady. His sleeve was darker than before — the blood still hadn’t stopped. But he kept moving. That’s the kind of man he was.“Its clear now Marcel knows,” Denis said, voice low.“I know that, Marcel right?” I responded, even though I already knew the answer.He nodded. “Maybe he thinks its not you. But he knows someone’s here. He’s spooked. Movement in the north wing, checkpoints locking up tighter.”I looked ahead, eyes narrowing at the half-lit hall we were creeping down. “What where Sarah is being kept?”“That’s the thing,” Denis said. “Still no extra traffic to the east side. Either Damien doesn’t believe it’s you, or he’s wa
MARCOSmoke swallowed everything. Thick, sour, crawling down my throat. I couldn’t see five feet in front of me. Couldn’t hear anything but that damn ringing — sharp and endless like it was coming from inside my brain. Felt like the world cracked in half, and I was standing right at the center of it.My knees buckled as I took a few shaky steps. My hand went straight to my head, gripping tight like that’d make the noise stop. But it didn’t. It only got worse. I couldn’t even tell if I was walking forward or in circles.“Gio?” My voice came out broken. Dry. Weak.“Petrov?”Nothing.“Tony?” I tried louder. “Denis!”Still nothing.My heartbeat was the only real sound now. That, and the crunch of debris under my boots as I stumbled ahead. My eyes burned — from smoke, from panic, I didn’t know. I blinked hard, over and over, until the haze started to shift.Then I saw them.My heart dropped. I mean really dropped — like the floor disappeared underneath me.All four of them were down. Flat
SARAHI woke up to the smell of espresso. Rich, warm, strong. It filled the room before my eyes even opened.“Morning, sleepyhead,” Marco’s voice came through with a smile. “Guess who brought breakfast in bed?”I blinked up at him, messy hair and all. He stood there, holding a tray with two mugs and a small plate of toast and eggs. He looked too proud for a man holding food like that.“You trying to spoil me?” I yawned, stretching carefully. My side still ached a little if I moved too fast.“Nah,” he said, placing the tray gently on my lap. “You’re just turning into a spoiled little princess. Next thing I know, you’ll be ringing a bell for grapes.”I smirked. “Only if you feed them to me one at a time.”He raised a brow, pulled up a chair beside the bed. “I’m not above that. I got butler skills.”“Marco, the last time you made toast, the kitchen almost caught fire.”“That’s slander.”“That’s facts.”He laughed, handing me the mug. “Eat. Doctor’s orders. You need the strength.”“Why? Y
SARAHIt’s been a week.I blinked up at the ceiling, still half-asleep. My body felt heavy, like I’d just come out of a long swim. My limbs ached a little, the kind of ache that didn’t scare me anymore. Just the reminder that I was healing. Still here.I turned my head slowly and saw Marco beside me, sleeping. His breathing was soft, steady. One hand rested over his chest, the other draped halfway off the bed. His face looked calm—less tense than usual. Less burdened. I smiled, dragging the tip of my finger across his jaw, down to his lips. He didn’t flinch.I leaned closer and kissed his forehead, careful not to wake him. He deserved rest. God knows he hadn’t had much of it lately.Slipping out of bed, I moved slowly. My legs weren’t what they used to be. My body still felt like it was figuring itself out again. But I was up, and I was moving, and that was enough.I looked around the room. It was the same space, the same walls, same scent—but it hit different now. After everything. A
MARCOThe office was a mess.Stacks of paper all over the place. Unread letters. Open files. Phone numbers scribbled on napkins and matchbooks. My desk looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks, because it hadn’t. Everything after the warehouse, after Sarah, after the hospital, none of this mattered until now.I sat behind the desk and just stared at the mess for a minute. Sighed. Pulled the closest pile toward me.Shipment logs, missing crates, unsigned wire transfers, lists of guys needing greenlights for pickups, some bullshit about territory numbers. We’d let it all pile up while I was at war with the Rossis. And then when Aisha pulled out, it just made it worse. Like the whole left side of our operation stopped breathing.I leaned back in the chair, ran a hand over my face, then started digging in.One paper at a time.I signed off a few delayed shipments first—some in Queens, some in Jersey. Then went over the list of crews still active. Tony kept them moving while I was out,
MARCOI woke up as the nurse came in quiet that morning, like she didn’t wanna wake the dead.She had a soft look on her face, not the usual kind you see on shift changes. She stood by the door for a second, then said, “Doctor’s signing the discharge. You’re going home today.”Sarah didn’t speak. She just gave a small nod, slow, like her neck hurt to move. Her hands were curled in the blanket, pale and still. I looked at her for a beat, then nodded back to the nurse. She gave a faint smile, the kind that tries to mean well, then left us alone again.I helped Sarah sit up. She winced, but didn’t complain. My arm was behind her back, firm but careful. She felt small, light—like the hospital bed had drained whatever weight she had left.“You okay?” I asked.She didn’t answer right away. Just sat there, breathing shallow. Then she nodded, not looking at me.I walked over to the sink and ran some water. Got her toothbrush ready. She moved slow, like each motion was a decision. I held her u
SARAHThe first thing I heard was the soft beep of machines. Slow, steady. My head felt heavy, like I was coming out of a long tunnel. My throat burned, and my body ached in places I couldn’t name.I opened my eyes, just a little. White ceiling. Bright lights. Hospital.I blinked slowly and turned my head. The room was quiet. No voices. No Marco.My chest tightened.I looked toward the chair beside the bed. Empty.Where is he?I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my side. I stopped, breathing through it. My hand reached for the blanket. My fingers were weak, shaky.The door creaked open, and a nurse walked in. She had soft eyes, a calm face. Her steps were quiet. She glanced at the machines, then at me.“Oh, you’re awake,” she said, walking over. Her voice was gentle. “Take it slow, okay?”I nodded faintly. My lips moved, but no sound came out. I had to swallow twice before I could speak.“Where’s Marco?” I whispered.She smiled a little. “Your husband hasn’t left the hospital. He
MARCOThe doctor looked at me and paused. His face was calm, too calm. My heart dropped right there.Then he said it.“We lost the baby.. It was a boy...”I didn’t move. I didn’t blink. I just stood there, stuck in that moment.“What?”My voice came out hoarse. I wasn’t sure I said it right.The doctor sighed, slow.“There was too much trauma. Too much blood loss. We had to make a split-second decision, Mr Marco. It was either Sarah… or the baby.”I stepped forward, shaking my head. “No, no—don’t say that. Don’t fuckin’ say that to me.”He raised his hands a bit, like he was trying to calm me. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But we had to act fast. There was no time to—”“You could’ve saved both!” I barked. My voice cracked. “You didn’t try hard enough!”“There wasn’t enough time,” he repeated. “Her pulse dropped. She flatlined for a moment. We brought her back. If we hesitated, you’d have lost them both.”“No,” I muttered. I couldn’t breathe right. “No, you’re supposed to be the fuckin’ expe
BANG.BANG.BANG.I heard the shots before I even realized what was happening. And then I saw her fall.“Sarah!”Everything froze.Her body hit the floor like something snapped in me. Blood poured out too fast. Too red. My heart dropped straight out of my chest.I didn’t even look at Marcel. I knew Petrov and Tony had hit him. I saw him slump to the ground in my peripheral. But all I could focus on was her. Sarah. My wife. My everything. Lying there in a puddle of blood, her stomach bleeding out.“No… no, no, no…”I dropped to my knees, my hands trembling as I reached for her.Her blood was everywhere. It soaked into her shirt, into the carpet, onto my hands.“Sarah—hey, baby. Hey.”Her eyes blinked, slow and weak. She looked like she was slipping. She reached out and grabbed my jacket with what little strength she had left.“I’m here,” I said, holding her hand. “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”Shots rang out behind me again—Petrov and Tony going after Isabella as she r
MARCOI knew I had a second, maybe two. That was all it would take. I just needed the right opening. If I could shift my hand just a little, maybe fake like I was dropping the gun but catch Marcel off-guard—put a bullet right through him before he pulled the trigger on Sarah. That was the plan in my head. Fast. Clean. Over.I looked at him. Then at the gun pressed to her skull. My hand twitched.His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”Sarah screamed as he pushed the gun harder into her.“Try to act smart again,” he said, voice calm, but not in a good way. “Try anything and I swear, her brains paint this floor.”My plan died right there.I bent down and set the gun on the ground. Real slow. Real careful. No sudden moves.He smiled. Sick bastard looked like he just won.I tried to glance to the side. Give Tony or Petrov some kind of signal. A nod. A blink. Anything.But Marcel caught it. Of course he did.He laughed. “You still think you’re running the show, huh?”He raised his voice. “Tony. Petrov
MARCOBullets flew the second that door blew open.I didn’t even have time to think. My ears rang, the lights flickered, and glass shattered somewhere behind me. I ducked low, pressing my back against the chair, as my heart pounded like a drum in my chest. I couldn’t tell who the hell was shooting, all I knew was it wasn’t Marcel’s crew. That was enough.Just then Marcel screamed something, I couldn’t hear it over the gunfire. He grabbed Isabella and yanked her down behind the bar cabinet near the side wall. Coward. Took cover with a bottle of scotch while the world burned.I’d been wriggling the damn cable tie on my wrist ever since his speech started. Flexing, turning, rubbing it against the sharp edge under the armrest. My skin was raw and burning, but I didn’t stop. Not once. And now it finally paid off.One last twist — the tie snapped. I yanked my left arm free, then the right, pain tearing through my shoulder as I moved. I didn’t waste a breath. Dropped low, rolled to the side,