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Cole’s POV That single message on my phone sent me spiraling in a way nothing else had managed to do tonight. She’s not safe. Best friend? Best friend?! Who the hell was that supposed to be? My thoughts raced wildly, slamming into each other, until one name forced its way to the front and refused to leave. Nolan. That bastard. He escaped. And now he was here, In Italy. Fuck!! My chest tightened painfully as the realization settled in. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Every ounce of morale I had left after the Albanians bloodbath evaporated instantly, leaving behind something raw and sharp and terrifyingly focused. I spun around and called for Raid immediately. He staggered toward me, blood soaking through his clothes, his face pale but still stubbornly alert, still refusing to drop even though his body was screaming at him to. “We’re leaving,” I said without hesitation. He nodded once, not asking questions, and followed me to the car. This time, I decided to drive beca
Cole's POV The moment we dropped Alban to the floor, we turned and started walking away like it was already done.That was my mistake.Alban’s laugh suddenly echoed behind us, low and ugly, scraping against my nerves.“If you escape this place unscathed,” he called out, coughing as he laughed, “then good luck to you.”Something in my gut twisted.Before I could even turn fully, Mark’s voice exploded in my ear.“Cole—there’s movement everywhere. Multiple entries. This is a trap.”Then I saw them.Men poured in from the side doors, the back entrances, even from above on the metal walkways. They came fast, coordinated, disciplined. Not street thugs. Soldiers. Trained killers.“Count?” I muttered.“Rough estimate?” Mark replied quickly. “Forty. Maybe fifty.”Raid looked at me once.Just once and he nodded.Gunfire ripped through the air at once.I dove sideways as bullets tore into the space where I’d been standing a second earlier. The sound was deafening, metal screaming as rounds hit
Cole's POV Night had already enveloped the entire city by the time we were ready to move.This wasn’t just a meeting. It was a gamble. A dangerous one. But it was the only fast way back to the top, and right now, speed mattered more than comfort. The Albanians weren’t allies. They were predators. But they respected power, and once that power was acknowledged, no one dared cross the Don they backed.That was the only way I could protect Esme and Lior.No one touched the family of the Don. Anyone stupid enough to try would be erased by the underworld itself before I even lifted a finger.Only Raid and I were going.Mark would be my eyes and ears from wherever the hell he was hiding, feeding me information through the earbuds fitted snugly in my ears. No extra men. No unnecessary noise. Too many bodies always made things messy.I adjusted the jacket over my shoulders when Shawn’s voice came from behind me.“Be careful, Cole,” he said seriously. “Don’t get too angry or violent. Remember
Esme's POV Work finally closed for the day, and the hospital slowly emptied out, the usual noise fading into something quieter, something that always made my thoughts louder in my head. Since I didn’t live far, I decided to walk instead of taking a cab. I needed air. I needed movement. I needed something to shake off the heaviness sitting in my chest. I had seen Cole today. Even thinking about it made my steps slow. Seeing him had been hard. Harder than I expected. I had practiced looking past him, practiced that blank face, practiced pretending he didn’t still affect me. But the moment my eyes landed on him, all of that effort almost shattered. Acting indifferent took everything in me. Resisting him took even more. And the worst part was knowing that it wasn’t entirely his fault. I had heard everything from Raid. Everything. How Cole had been ambushed. How he had nearly died. How he had torn through men thrice his number just to get to Lior. How he had refused to stop even
Cole's POV “Nolan has escaped.” The words landed like a bullet to the chest. “What?!” I barked, spinning toward Shawn so fast the chair behind me scraped loudly against the floor. “That’s not possible. I put Brad’s in charge. Personally.” Shawn didn’t flinch, didn’t look surprised by my reaction, just ran a hand through his hair and sighed like this was already expected. “It’s not his fault, Cole,” he said firmly. “Landon helped Nolan escape. That old man has always been up to no good, and this time he finally showed his hand.” “Fuck!” I cursed, dragging a hand down my face. My head was already pounding, my body still not fully recovered, and now this. I turned toward the door, my instincts screaming at me to move, to hunt, to crush the problem before it grew bigger. I was already halfway to the exit when Shawn grabbed my arm and yanked me back hard. “What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped. “Don’t even think about going back there until you sort it out here.” I
Cole's POV I can’t believe I just watched a fucking full fucking gay scene right now.My chest was rising and falling too fast, anger crawling under my skin like something violent, something that wanted blood. I took a step forward, my fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms.“He’s your what?!” I thundered at Shawn, my voice filling the room, bouncing off the walls.Shawn didn’t flinch. That alone pissed me off more than anything else.He was already pulling his shirt back on, movements calm, controlled, like he hadn’t just turned my ears upside down. He bent slightly to grab his jacket, shrugged into it, then finally looked at me properly.“Come on,” he said, buckling his belt like this was some normal fucking conversation. “You really don’t think Raid would be that dirty right in front of you, his boss, when he knows you’d have his head on a spike?”Raid stiffened at that.Shawn continued, unfazed. “That was my pheromones acting up and dragging him under. I didn’t plan f







