Se connecter(Adraino pov)
I stared down at her sleeping face, so innocent, so peaceful, with those soft lashes brushing her cheeks and her lips slightly parted in quiet breaths. My hardened, ruthless heart softened, just a fraction, from the moment I spotted her at the bar, I had knew she was special and different, pure light in my endless night, and I wasn't letting her go, not ever.
But the fear of her finding out who I really am, the Mafia Don who ruled this city with an iron fist, enemies trembled at my name. Rivals begged for mercy I rarely gave. They called me the Devil, and for good reason. Blood stained my hands, deals sealed in shadows, power built on fear and bullets. She could never know. Not yet.
My phone vibrated sharply on the nightstand, shattering the silence. I snatched it up, my expression hardening instantly as I saw the caller, I answered on the second ring, my voice low.
“Talk.”
“East warehouse,” Roman said, breath tight. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“Shipment’s compromised.”
My eyes lifted slowly from her sleeping form. “Define compromised.”
“Security’s down. Cameras went dead ten minutes ago. Guards aren’t responding."
“Who hit it?” I asked.
“We don’t know yet.”
“You don’t know?” My tone dropped. “Or you haven’t looked hard enough?”
“We’re still pulling feeds from nearby blocks—”
“Stop talking,” I cut in. “Are you there?”
“Two minutes out.”
“Good,” I said, already reaching for my jacket. “Stay outside. No one goes in until I get there.”
“Yes, boss.”
I ended the call, for a second, I didn’t move, "Damn it," I muttered under my breath. I glanced back at her one last time, memorizing the curve of her face, then leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead.
"Sleep, pajarito I will be back before you wake."
I moved like a ghost, grabbing my jacket and signaling my men waiting in the hall. Within seconds, they were armed, each one with a sleek black gun holstered or gripped tight.
“Boss all set,” Marco said as I stepped outside.
“How many?” I asked.
“Six cars. Full crew.”
“Good,” I replied. “We go in, we secure the shipment, we get out.”
“You think it’s a hit?” Luca asked as I got into the SUV, engines roared to life, and the convoy sped through the rainy city streets toward the warehouse district. I sat in the lead SUV, jaw clenched, fingers drumming on my knee.
"How bad?" I asked my right-hand man, Luca, without looking away from the window.
"Bad, boss. Looks like a setup. Shipment's hot, automatic rifles, enough to arm a small army. If we lose it..."
“I think someone wants my attention,” I said.
“And you’re giving it to them,” Marco muttered.
I glanced at him. “That’s how you find out who’s stupid enough to ask for it.”
We pulled up to the warehouse under cover of night. The air was thick with tension. No lights. . My instincts screamed trap, but the shipment was too valuable to abandon. We moved in formation, guns drawn, shadows blending with the crates stacked high inside
“Where the hell is everyone?”
“Stay sharp,” I said as I stepped out. “No one spreads out. We move together.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Doors are unlocked,” Luca said.
“That’s not a good sign,”
Then all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted from multiple directions, ambush. Police sirens wailed in the distance, but these weren't just cops. Special teams poured in, backed by what looked like rival informants. Bullets ricocheted off metal, shattering glass and wood. My men returned fire with precision, but they were outnumbered.
"Cover the exit!" I barked, my own gun blazing as I dropped two officers with clean shots. Blood sprayed. Chaos reigned. I spotted Luca pinned down behind a crate. Without hesitation, I charged forward, laying suppressive fire, grabbing my lieutenant by the collar and shoving him toward the back door.
"Get the others out! Now! I'll hold them!"
"Boss, no—"
"Go!" My roar cut through the noise. I protected my crew one by one, taking hits that grazed my arm and side, but never faltering. My men escaped into the night, vanishing like smoke.
Alone now, surrounded, I lowered my weapon slowly as officers closed in, rifles trained on my chest. I locked eyes with the lead detective, a smug bastard who'd clearly orchestrated the tip-off, the one who'd tricked us here.
"You think this ends me?" I asked ,voice low and lethal, even as cuffs clicked around my wrists. Blood trickled from a cut on my lip. "I will wipe out your entire family from the face of the earth, every last one, slowly, you will beg for death before I'm done."
The detective smirked, but there was a flicker of fear in his eyes. "Big words for a man in cuffs, Devil."
I just smiled a cold, promise-filled grin as they dragged me away. "Count the days."
Hours later, in the cold interrogation room, I sat chained to the table, my expensive suit torn and stained, the detective paced, slamming files down.
"We got you this time, Adraino Rossi. Gun trafficking, assault on officers, ties to half a dozen murders. You're done."
I leaned back, unfazed, my dark eyes piercing. "Am I? You have nothing but a setup, my lawyers will have me out by morning. And you... you just signed your death warrant."
The detective laughed nervously. "Keep talking. We raided three more of your spots tonight."
My phone had been taken, but I knew my empire was already moving. Loyal men on the outside, contingencies in place. But my mind drifted back to her, the girl sleeping safely in my bed, she couldn't know about this, not the arrest, not the blood.
"You think fear will break me?" I said quietly, almost to myself. "I've built my life on it."
The detective leaned in close. "Who was the girl at the bar? The one you were talking to? We know about her now."
My eyes flashed with pure rage. I lunged forward as far as the chains allowed, my voice a deadly whisper: "Touch one hair on her head, and I'll burn this city down with you in it. That's not a threat. That's a vow."
The room fell silent. Even the cops shifted uncomfortably, I settled back, heart still soft for her, but the Devil fully
awake now, they just threatened her, I would get out, I would protect her, and I would make them all pay.
(Adriano pov)“Where is he?”“In the lower room, boss,” Luca replied without hesitation, falling into step beside me as we moved down the long corridor, our footsteps echoing off the bare concrete walls like distant gunshots. “We picked him up near the docks, just where the informant said he would be. Fucker was sweating bullets, trying to vanish into the fog.”“And the shipment?” My voice stayed even, but the rage simmered beneath it, a low boil waiting to erupt.“Recovered. Not untouched, couple crates splintered, product stepped on, but nothing we can’t salvage and make them pay for twice over.”I didn’t slow, my boots hitting the floor with deliberate force. “Names.”“He hasn’t given us shit yet.” Luca’s tone carried an edge of frustration, his knuckles already bruised from the prelim work.I glanced at him briefly, my eyes narrowing. “Then you haven’t asked properly. Not with conviction.”Luca’s jaw tightened, a muscle twitching under the stubble. “We were waiting for you. Didn’t
(Melissa pov)My breath came in ragged gasps, chest heaving against the silk pillowcase that clung damply to my cheek, the salty tang of dried tears mixing with the fresh musk of our mingled release, Adriano weight pressed me down, his chest hair rough against my back, every inhale expanding those tattooed ridges into my skin like brands, his cock, still half-hard and slick with our combined fluids, shifted inside me, stirring the overfilled mess, cool stickiness seeping between my thighs, pooling on the sheets beneath my ass. I hated the way my body responded, my pussy fluttering weakly around the invasion, as if begging for more despite the raw ache radiating from my core. *Bastard owns this now,* the traitorous thought slithered through my mind, fueling a fresh spike of fury even as heat licked low in my belly.He nuzzled my neck, lips brushing the fresh bite mark, tongue lapping at the metallic bead of blood with a low hum of satisfaction, the wet drag sent shivers cascading down
(Melissa pov)“What the hell”My eyelids fluttered open to dim light filtering through heavy blackout curtains, my head throbbing like I have been hit with a brick, disorientation hit first, silk sheets tangled around my naked body, my wrists bound loosely to the headboard with what felt like leather cuffs, soft but unyielding. The room was opulent, dark wood paneling, a massive four-poster bed dominating the space, the air thick with the scent of expensive leather and faint cigar smoke, panic surged as memory crashed back, the party last night and Adriano in the restroom and blackness after that.The door creaked open, and there he was, shirtless in low-slung sweats, tattoos snaking over his muscled chest and arms, a predator in human skin, his dark eyes locked on mine, possessive, unblinking, like I was prey already cornered. "Awake, pajarito?" His voice was low, accented gravel, sending unwanted heat twisting in my gut despite the fear, he stalked closer, the mattress dipping und
(Adriano pov)“Welcome back, boss.”I stepped out of the prison gates without slowing, the morning air hitting differently after two months behind concrete and steel, the sound of freedom quieter than most people imagined but sharper to someone like me.“You took your time,” I said calmly, adjusting the cuff of my shirt as Luca fell into step beside me.He smirked slightly. “We had to make sure everything was clean.”“It better be.”“It is,” he replied. “No evidence, no witnesses, no loose ends.”Another man opened the car door.“Good to have you back, sir.”I paused just before getting in.“And the ones responsible?” I asked.Luca’s expression hardened. “We’re still tracking movement, but we’re close.”“Close isn’t enough.”“It will be.”“Rossi.”I didn’t turn immediately, I didn’t need to, I already knew the voice.“Detective Kane,” I said slowly, glancing over my shoulder.He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, watching me like he had hoped I rot in prison “You walk out l
“It’s been two months… and I still feel like I never really escaped him.”Two months since Adriano Rossi appeared on every screen in handcuffs, and I still couldn’t breathe without feeling his shadow on my neck, I told myself he was gone, I stopped watching the news, I stopped saying his name, I stopped looking over my shoulder, Lies, all of it.“It’s obvious, Melissa,” Emily said as we walked toward the campus café. “You flinched at a fucking car.”“It was just a car,” I snapped.“A black tinted one that slowed down right beside us,” Chloe added, voice too casual.I stopped walking, my pulse spiked, Zara studied me with those quiet, knowing eyes. “You’re not sleeping. You’re barely here.”“I’m fine,” I lied, forcing my legs to move again.But I wasn’t fine, I noticed everything now, every slow-moving vehicle, every set of eyes that lingered too long, every silence that felt like it was waiting for me, I was drowning in my own paranoia, and my friends could see the water rising.“How
(Melissa pov)“Melissa! Wait—!” Fuck it's Daniel, I didn’t stop.“Melissa, please!”I walked faster, my grip tightening around my bag.“Mel—!”I broke into a run, by the time I reached the lecture hall, my chest was tight and my hands were shaking, but I didn’t turn back, I didn’t look for him, I didn’t give myself the chance to hear whatever excuse he was ready to throw at me.“Rough morning?”I dropped into my seat, barely glancing at the girl beside me. “You could say that.”The room quieted as Dr. Nathaniel Carter walked in, placing his notes neatly on the desk.“Today we’ll be discussing criminal psychology in high-risk offenders,” he said, scanning the room. “This is not just theory. This is a real-world application.”“Melissa.”I straightened slightly. “Yes, sir?”“What motivates individuals in organized crime?” Dr. Carter asked.I swallowed. “Power,” I said. “Control… influence. And fear.”“And how do they maintain that authority?”“By making people afraid to challenge them.”







