LOGINAce's Pov
On the eighth day Ivan handed me a phone across the breakfast table.
"One hour," he said. "Monitored. Do not try anything creative."
I looked at it. Basic model. Nothing on it except a calling function. I picked it up and said thank you and took it upstairs.
I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at it.
The problem was that I had no idea who to call. I had not thought about that
Nikolai's PovThe interrogation room reeked of blood and fear.The assassin was strapped to a metal chair, his body broken and bloody after hours of my personal attention. Ace stood in the corner, his face pale, his eyes wide with horror as he watched me work.I had insisted he be there. He needed to understand what happened to those who threatened him, what I was willing to do to protect him.I wiped the blood from my hands with a towel, my eyes never leaving Ace's. "This is what happens to people who try to hurt you," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "This is what I do for you."The assassin whimpered, his head lolling to the side. I ignored him, my focus entirely on Ace. He was trembling, his body rigid with fear and shock."Come here," I commanded.He hesitated for a moment, then crossed the room slo
Ace's PovI had been quiet for most of the evening and both of them had noticed and neither of them had said anything about it yet and that patience was starting to feel worse than if they had just asked.We were in the main room and Nikolai was at the desk and Ivan was on the couch and I was sitting on the floor with my back against the couch and my knees pulled up and I was thinking about everything I had learned in the past several weeks and trying to figure out what any of it actually meant for the three of us."Say it," Ivan said from above me."Say what.""Whatever you have been sitting with for the past three hours."I looked at the wall across the room for a moment and then said, "Is this real."Nikolai turned from the desk. "Clarify.""This." I gestured at the space between all thr
Nikolai's PovThe video of us killing Ace's parents had been playing on every news channel for three days.The underworld was in chaos, our enemies emboldened, our allies questioning us. But my only concern was Ace.He hadn't left the penthouse, barely ate, and when he did sleep, it was plagued with nightmares. I watched him pace the living room, his movements restless, his face a mask of pain and fear.I tightened security, doubling the guards, implementing new protocols. No one got in or out without my explicit approval. But it wasn't enough. The fear of losing him was eating me alive, making me more possessive, more controlling than ever."Ace," I said, my voice breaking the silence. "We need to talk."He stopped pacing, turning to face me. "What's there to talk about? Everyone knows. Everyone has seen it."
Ivan's PovWe had David back in the building within four hours and those four hours were the most direct and violent four hours I had experienced in months.The planning took forty minutes. Rem had a location from a south side contact within twenty and Nikolai built the approach in the remaining time and I read it twice and then we moved. Moving fast was the entire strategy. The Morettis were expecting a negotiation. They had built a whole timeline around us trying to talk first and buy ourselves time. That assumption was going to cost them.The warehouse was a secondary facility they had been using for six months and they had four men inside and two covering the exterior. Nikolai took the south entry and I came through the main approach and Rem's people sealed the two side exits and we went in at the same time. The whole thing was finished in eleven minutes.David was in a back room wi
Ace's PovThe live broadcast started at nine in the morning and Rem walked into the main room with the tablet already playing and set it on the table without saying a single word first and that silence told me everything before I even looked at the screen.Nikolai looked up from his phone. "What is this.""Castro went live," Rem said. "Forty minutes ago. Every major criminal network in the city received it and it has been shared through private channels since."Nikolai took the tablet and pressed play and I moved closer and Ivan came around the table and stood on my other side and we watched it together.Castro was in a clean room with good lighting and he was dressed well and looking directly into the camera with the kind of calm that only came from a man who had been planning something for a very long time and was finally delivering it.
Nikolai's PovI was walking past Ace's bedroom when I heard his hushed voice through the door.He was on a call, trying to be quiet, but I caught enough. "I know it's dangerous but I have to know the truth... Yes, meet me tomorrow."My blood turned to ice. After everything, the leaked photos, the lieutenant feeding information to the Morettis. He was still keeping secrets. Still planning secret meetings. The rage that hit me was blinding, a possessive fury that demanded to be unleashed.I pushed the door open without knocking. Ace jumped, ending the call quickly, his face pale when he saw me."Who was that?" I asked, my voice dangerously low."No one," he stammered. "Just a wrong number."I crossed the room in three strides, grabbing his arm. "Don't lie to me, Ace. Not after everything.""I wasn't&
Nikolai's PovAce was smarter than I had initially given him credit for and that was fine. Smart people were easier to manage than stupid ones because they understood consequences clearly. The stupid ones needed reminders.Ivan was still in bed. Ivan was never awake before ten unless someone was on
(Ivan’s POV)A surprised, strangled gasp falls out from his lips. He glanced at us, afraid again. I could see the battle in his eyes, against his own body’s desire.“I…”To be ours, Ace had to learn some things.First, we wouldn't hurt what was ours for speaking up. In fact I wanted him to speak u
Ace's PovMy room locked from the outside.I found that out at quarter past eleven that night when I tried the handle and it did not move.There was no click of a key turning and no sound of a guard on the other side. Just a lock built into the frame that had engaged on its own, quiet and clean and
Sergei's PovThe fifth contact happened on a Tuesday.Ace was on a supervised walk with one guard when I fell into step near him going the same direction. The guard was a few feet ahead, dealing with a call on his earpiece, which gave me abo







