006

PIERRE

My heart practically bled when I thought back to the vile look on Tessa's face when she saw me for the first time in years.

She was different. She hated me, and I cannot even begin to explain how that felt.

The woman I spent years searching for now despised everything about me. How could she forget so soon? How could she not want me back too?

Well, whether she did or not, I was not letting her go. She was the only closest thing to a real family I had, and I still loved her as much as I did back then. I was broken and empty, and she was the only woman who could fill that void. I was going to win her love back, easily or forcefully.

We had dinner in awkward silence, but I did not mind. I let her process whatever was running through her mind.

We were not done eating when Nikolai walked in and whispered something in my ear. I kept a stern face, trying to mask the angry yet satisfied expression threatening to show.

“I'll be there shortly,” I dismissed him.

“Get up. I'm taking you back to your room,” I said, rising up from my seat.

“I don't want to go to that room. You cannot lock me up in there like I’m a prisoner. Go if you have business. I'm fine here,” She said stubbornly.

“Now is not the time, Tessa. Something important came up, and I'm not leaving you here. Unfortunately, I do not trust you that much.” I tried to remain cordial, but she still sat there like I wasn't talking to her.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Don't get me angry, love. You do not want to see that side of me,” I warned as I dragged her inside with me. She struggled and cursed, but I did not react—yet.

“Let go of me, you monster!” She shouted, yanking her arm free from my weak grip, then slapped me on the face.

My men charged forward, and I saw the horror and regret in her eyes. I raised a hand and they froze.

I strode toward her like a beast, and she kept taking steps backward until her back finally hit a cold pillar.

“Provoking me is never the best idea, Tess,” I whispered in her ear. “I guess we've both changed. I have accepted the new you, and you'll have to do same. Do not give me the thrill of taming you, my love. It will not be funny.” I said as I held her neck gently and let our lips touch.

Maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to do, because now my body surged with ecstacy. My heart began to throb, and my penis reacted even faster.

“Please, Pierre. Please let me go. I've got people who will be worried sick,” she pleaded.

I glanced at the time on my wrist watch. “Marco! Come take her to her room!” I instructed one of my men.

In a split second, Tessa shoved past me and took to her heels.

“Don't hurt her,” I instructed before my men ran after her.

She clearly didn't know her way around, so it was foolish of her to try to escape from me.

I sat on a couch in the living area when two of my men dragged her back, and kept her kneeling in front of me.

“I'll never accept you! You're a fucking psychopath, abducting me and trying to force me to develop feelings for you!” she barked. “I just want to leave. Please, Pierre,” She begged.

I felt a stab in my heart. “Take her to her room,” I said then rose from my seat. “We'll talk later, love. And if she's still stubborn, tie her up.” I concluded, leaving the room.

“Don, news just came in that a gang of mobsters raided one of our warehouses in Italy two days ago. They stole a lot,” Nikolai reported, and I stopped in my tracks.

“Why am I just hearing about this now?”

“Capo Salvatore said he wanted to fix the problem before informing you. The good news is, they've caught six of the mobsters and started an investigation to find out who sent them. The bad news is, they've refused to talk. He has already killed two of them.”

“I'm sure it's something he can handle. Did he say how much they stole from me?” I asked, still trying to maintain my calm.

“That's the bigger issue, Don,” Nikolai said with an apologetic look on his face. My patience wore thin.

“The fuck, Nikolai?! Can you speak up already and stop stalling?” I growled.

“Another warehouse was raided in the early hours of this morning, and they struck bigger. More than half of the arms are gone. Capo couldn't catch anyone this time, so it's hard to tell if it's the same people from the first raid who struck again.”

“I was stolen from twice in three days, yet I have thousands of soldati who prove to be incompetent bastards. What do we call this joke?” I shouted, continuing down with Nikolai close behind.

The last time someone tried to steal from me, I took the entire colony down. It felt so good, and maybe I had been too relaxed lately. It was time to flex my inner monster and remind people who exactly I was.

“What do we do, boss?” he asked as we stopped in front of my office door.

“Isn't it obvious? I have to do every fucking thing on my own. Get the private jet ready. We're leaving for Italy first thing tomorrow morning,” I said and opened the door.

“Uh… Don, what do we do about Tessa? Her people are pulling strings back in Los Angeles to find her.”

“Hmph,” I scoffed. “Fools. They probably have no idea how much of their time is being wasted. I'm taking my Tessa with me.”

“Yes, Don,” Nikolai replied and I could swear I saw him roll his eyes before turning to leave.