تسجيل الدخولCAMILLAI was not in the mood for anything that day.My desk was a mess of files, half-open emails, and a coffee that had gone cold at least an hour ago.I exhaled sharply and pushed the document away like it had personally offended me.“Men,” I muttered under my breath.My secretary’s voice came through the intercom a second later.“Ma’am, your client is here.”Right.The last-minute meeting my father had “strongly encouraged” me to take.I sat up straighter.“Send them in,” I said, smoothing my blouse automatically.I did not bother looking up when the door opened.“Hey.” My fingers froze on the pen in my hand.I hoped to God it wasn’t it but when I raised my head, there he was.Nathan in the flesh standing in my office looking infuriatingly calm.My grip tightened on the pen.“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked slowly. “I have a client coming through that door in some minutes. You cannot be here”My voice came out sharper than I intended.His eyes held mine and he took a c
NATHANLeila looked oddly calm for a woman currently in handcuffs.Perhaps because she still thought she had a way out of this or perhaps because she still believed someone would come for her.No one was coming.The black SUV came to a stop outside the building and the men waiting stepped out almost immediately.One flashed a badge.DEA.“You bastard” she muttered under her breath.I almost smiled.Christian had been the one to bring the idea to me after I informed him of everything that happened.Apparently, a friend of his knew someone in federal law enforcement and Leila’s organization had been on their radar for years. Drugs. Illegal arms movement. Money laundering.The problem had always been getting close enough to pin anything substantial on her.Leila was careful and meticulous which was precisely why she had survived this long.Until she made the mistake of touching Camilla.That had been the beginning of the end for her.The agents approached us and one of them nodded toward
CAMILLA Two weeks later…I was glaring at the television as Nathan spoke to the press about what seemed to be the biggest case in television history.“He seems to be handling it well” My father commented, taking a seat beside me.He had decided to skip work for the day because it was nearing the anniversary of meeting my mother and he was planning something that he did not want her to know about.“Yes, he does” I muttered under my breath.“He still has not contacted you?” My father asked knowingly.I shook my head in the negative.You heard that right.It had been two weeks since Nathan’s crazy ex put a gun to my head and he was ignoring me.When he had asked me to return with my father while he handled things, I should have known that included cutting me off from his life totally.It made no sense.I had tried to give him the benefit of doubt by waiting for him to call me. I figured he was probably still handling things with Denver but imagine my surprise when I turn on the televisio
NATHAN“Why exactly can we not kill her?” Dante asked for the umpteenth time.We had Leila tied up which she found very absurd as she glared at us, not saying anything.“She is…”“Yes, the leader of a small city gang. She can easily be killed” Dante said. “I can carve her up into bits and pieces so her people have a field day finding every part of her in every corner of the city” He added.He did not seem to be joking and Camilla looked horrified at this.“As much as I appreciate that very gruesome description. Nathan has mentioned it will be a hassle if she is discovered.”“But she would not be discovered” Dante sighed.He approached Leila and squatted until they were on eye level.“Hi Leila, you must have heard about me. I am Dante Russo of Italy”Leila’s eyes flickered with recognition but she said nothing.“I know my brother in law really abhors violence but I do not. They all want to keep you alive but I say we kill you so this never repeats itself.”“My people will come after yo
NATHANJason had arrived so quickly and he had brought the cavalry with him.I finally met Lucien, his brother and Dante, rumored to have ties with the Italian mafia.“What happened?”It felt like an interrogation as all three of them stared at me, waiting for me to speak up.I could already feel that part of me that hated answering to him or anybody rear up but I shut it out quickly.Now was not the time because I needed their help and he was her fucking father.“I used to work for a very bad man before I got married to Eleanor”Jason nodded.He did not seem surprised so I could only assume he had a slight idea of that part of my past.“His daughter and I were engaged to be married. Her name is Leila but I left and she and I parted ways”“I am assuming that was not amicable” Lucien interjected.“I do not believe it was. She, along with my dead wife’s family had her killed”Jason’s eyes widened at this.“Had her killed?” Dante echoed.He had seemed bored before but now he seemed very
CAMILLATwo things struck me as soon as my eyes opened in the darkness.One… I had been kidnapped.Two… it had to be Leila.I was stuck in a room that smelled like the boot of a car filled with unwashed gym shoes and my head was pounding furiously.Whatever they had used to knock me out was still in full effect because my body felt like soft jelly.When the door opened, I recognized Leila immediately.I had met her once when Nathan and I visited Sarah’s but it was hard to forget what she looked like.“You are awake. I was scared for a minute that my boys had somehow killed you”I said nothing.I knew what she wanted.It was obvious this was not about me and I was just a cog in the machine of a much larger issue between her and Nathan.“Do you want me to get anything to eat… drink?”I did not respond.If she thought because I was tied up in this chair then she had the advantage, she was sorely mistaken.I could see the anger flash in her eyes at my silence but it was gone immediately.
CAMILLAI sighted my uncle the moment I walked into the restaurant. For someone who had been the brunt of a lot of media attacks, he looked good.“Hey uncle” I smiled lightly, taking the seat in front of me.He smiled back at me.“You are all grown” He murmured.“If you had bothered to keep in touc
NATHANIf it were left to me, I would have asked Denver to shove it and gotten on the next plane out of the countryside.I hated the countryside… I hated small towns.It had nothing to do with the people or the things it had to offer which wasn’t much if we are being honest.My problem with small to
CAMILLAI got on the phone with my mother immediately I landed and she had questions particularly about why I did not think to tell her about Darren and that he had contacted me.“I wanted him to speak to you first and I know how much you have missed your brother and how much you have been wanting
CAMILLAAfter the previous day encounter and the kiss… I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on the same team with Nathan.In all honesty, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted.My lips still tingled from the memory of Nathan’s kiss, and yet, the feeling did NOT settle in the way I expected. It wasn’t the passion







