ANMELDENThe drive to Las Vegas felt different from anything before, there was no urgency, no panic but only a purposeful direction.When we arrived, the contrast hit immediately; lights, noise and life.The city was alive in a way that felt almost surreal compared to everything we had just gone through, the glow of neon reflecting across polished streets, the sound of laughter and music blending into a constant hum of activity that never seemed to rest.And right at the center of it—Power.“This is one of ours,” Gregori said as the car slowed.I looked up and froze.The building in front of me was massive.A luxury casino, towering and elegant, its glass exterior reflecting the city lights like a statement of wealth and control.“Yours?” I asked.“Ours,” he corrected.My gaze shifted slowly between him and Dominic.Dominic said nothing.Well… He did not need to and that alone already told me enough.“I’ll leave you with Sasha, we will meet you inside” Gregori said and I know Dominic hated the
The shift from survival to strategy happened faster than I expected. There was no dramatic announcement, no long debate, no hesitation.One moment we were reacting the next, we were planning a war.The room felt different that night. Every person present carried the same understanding without needing to say it out loud.This was no longer about hiding but this was about stepping forward.Gregori stood at the center, one hand resting casually against the table, though nothing about him felt relaxed anymore. The usual ease in his expression had been replaced by something far more focused, something that made it clear he was no longer just observing the situation.He was leading it.“We will move tonight,” he said.No one questioned it.“To Las Vegas.”The words alone were enough to make me pause slightly.Las Vegas; bright, public and exposed.I frowned slightly. “So, we are going into the open?”Gregori’s gaze shifted to me, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips. “Exactly.”S
The moment we stepped inside the clinic, the atmosphere shifted.Gregori, who had been standing near the center of the garage, immediately turned toward us, his expression calm at first—until his gaze landed on Dominic and it changed into sharp and alert.“What the hell—” he started, his voice tightening as he stepped forward quickly.I did not give him time to finish.“Dimitri,” I called out immediately, my voice urgent as I turned toward the doctor. “His wound—please check it. It is bleeding again.”The words came out faster than I intended, my chest still tight from everything that had just happened, my mind refusing to settle as the image of blood soaking through Dominic’s shirt replayed over and over again in my head.Dimitri reacted instantly, already moving toward us.“What happened?” he asked, his tone calm but focused, his eyes scanning Dominic with practiced precision.Before I could answer, Gregori spoke.“He was shot before, but we stitch and bandage it,” he said.The room
Morning came slowly.Not in light, not in sound but in awareness.The first thing I felt was warmth.Not the distant kind, not something fading, but something solid, surrounding me, anchoring me in place before I had even fully opened my eyes.His arm was wrapped tightly around me. Not loosely, not absentmindedly but firmly, as though even in sleep, he refused to let me go.My breath slowed as I became more aware of everything else—the steady rise and fall of his chest against my back, the weight of him behind me, the quiet tension still present in the way he held me.Careful but unyielding.I shifted slightly, testing the movement, and the moment I did his grip tightened possessively.“You are awake.” His voice was low, rough with sleep, yet fully aware.I stilled for a second before turning my head slightly. “Did I wake you?”“You moved.” That was his answer, it was simple but it said everything.I turned slowly within his hold, facing him now, and the moment I did, his gaze was alr
“Take me, Dominic”The moment the words left my lips, telling him softly that the pain in my back had faded, that the injury no longer pulled at me the way it had before, something shifted in his gaze.It was subtle but unmistakable.His eyes darkened, not with anger, but with something deeper, something restrained that had been held back for far too long.“You should not say things like that so easily,” he murmured, his voice low, almost warning.My breath caught slightly. “Why?”For a brief moment, he did not answer.Instead, his hand lifted, brushing slowly along my arm, up to my shoulder, and then higher, until his fingers rested g
Two days had passed since Dominic and the others left, and no matter how much I tried to remain calm and reasonable, I could not ignore the quiet unease that had begun to settle deep within my chest, growing heavier with each passing hour.At first, I convinced myself that everything was fine, that whatever they were doing required time, precision, and patience, especially considering how dangerous the situation had become, but as the hours stretched into long, silent nights and then into another full day without a single word from any of them, that reassurance slowly began to lose its strength.Still, I refused to let that anxiety consume me.I refused to sit and wait like someone fragile.So instead, I forced myself to adapt.I forced myself to belong.Surprisingly, it was not as difficult as I had imagined.Dominic’s people were nothing like what I had once believed. They were not cold, nor distant, nor did they treat me as an outsider. If anything, they accepted me in a way that f
“In the meantime, you need to take antibiotics along with these medications. We need to gradually flush the remaining substances out of your system,” George explained patiently, his tone calm but firm as he handed over the prescription. “That is also why your memory is beginning to return. However,
The room felt too quiet.Too still as if everything inside it was waiting for something to break.And I realized—That something was me.I sat frozen on the hospital bed, my fingers gripping the edge of the blanket as Dominic’s name lingered in the air between us, heavy with something I could not ye
I did not realize how far we had traveled until the city changed.Los Angeles slowly faded behind us, the familiar structure of crowded streets and bright buildings giving way to quieter districts, places that felt more controlled, more hidden, as though they existed outside of the world most peopl
He did not tell me where we were going.The ride felt longer than necessary, or perhaps it only felt that way because my thoughts would not settle, my head still aching faintly from earlier, my mind circling endlessly around everything that no longer made sense.The city slowly faded behind us, rep







