LOGINADRIENI watched the scene play out from the rooftop, triumph swimming in my chest.But there was another unsettled feeling that tethered nervously around the triumph, and it bothered me. Things were finally going according to plan. Luciano was just in a fight with his wife. That meant his vulnerability was beginning to crack open. I should be happy. But what I felt was an unexplainable melancholy. With my jaw clenched hard, I watched him drive out of the premises. Then my eyes moved back to the entrance. She was nowhere to be found. I cursed under my breath and left the rooftop without stopping to think about my next course of action. She was hurting, and I didn't like it. The last thing I needed was for Quinn to be distracted by stupid emotions. I had to remind her what was at stake. Going down to the house, she was nowhere in sight. I stalked over to the guard that stood by the side entrance. “Where's she?”The man eyed me cautiously, his expression stern. “Boss Draven’s wife
QUINNStars exploded somewhere in the distance, pulling me from the abyss. Or maybe it was the coffee-whiskey voice that whispered in my face. Heat coiled in my stomach. I could feel the hairs on my skin rising on end. I could feel…Up to a moment ago, I had been slipping in and out of unconsciousness. But now… I could feel surprisingly soft and familiar lips sliding over mine, gently probing.What was this warmth?My hands slid up and into soft hair, scraping over warm scalp. I didn't care to understand what was happening…I just wanted more of this. My body was tingling with heat and it seemed to be the most important thing to absorb that heat, right in the moment. All of a sudden, those lips moved away from mine and urged me to come back. Come back, princess. The voice echoed in the abyss, pulling me to the light. “Are you okay?” I thought this was some kind of déjà vu moment. Until I remembered. It was the same question he'd asked me that day, on the bridge. The first time we
LUCIANO“Seize him.”My ears were working just fine, because these bastards immediately caught my arms and dragged me across these dirty floors. They forced me to my knees, and I couldn't do a simple thing like fling them backwards. Something was happening to me. My legs were too heavy when I tried to move them. My mind seemed to be very foggy, slipping fast away from my grasp. My inhibitions to fight were leaving even faster.I watched helplessly as Vlad Ross pushed Lilith’s head down his cock with a filthy grin. “Ow! Fucking hell!” He snatched her mouth away and slapped her hard across her cheek. She fell to the side like a doll, plastic and unmoving. Something burned inside me. God, I hope she bit him.Vlad glared at my wife as he massaged his cock, pants hanging around his thighs. “Do that again, and I'll spill your blood and let your husband watch.”I stared hard at Lilith, trying to see her beyond my swimming vision. I couldn't tell what was wrong with her, but she was clearly
LUCIANO“I don't have the time for this, inspector.”Michael Thorne seemed to find something about those words amusing, as his lips curved in a smirk. He started across the space between us, and everyone parted to let him through, like they were all under his spell, and he was the one in charge here. He definitely had that controlled aura about him, and it pissed me off like hell.Irritation flared in my chest as he got up in my face. “Oh come on.” His voice dropped to a gruff whisper. “Surely, you can find some time between running illegal gambling houses and murdering people. You don't think so, my friend?”I scoffed, reeling from the urge to wipe that smirk off his face. “So, this is your idea of a clean sheet?”He shrugged, wearing a mask of disappointment. “A man gotta do what he's gotta do.” He flashed the video in my face again. “So, think you could explain this?”I didn't need to look hard at the video to tell what it was. The murder of those two little thieves a few weeks ag
LUCIANO Things were beginning to go wrong in my world…in this perfect syndicate I crafted for myself in the midst of these foolish humans. Lounging on a couch in a VIP room in my casino, I wondered what could be setting off the fireworks. I never had a reason to worry about turf wars, but now, it seemed like the recent move of a notorious gang into the city would be more of a headache than I ever imagined. Vale had broken the news to me early this morning. The gang was a group of bikers known to dabble in various murky waters. Ranging from drug and women trafficking, to petty political thefts that were starting to destabilize the economy. It was wrong, no matter how much I thought about it. I thought I had this world in my control. Did they have no fear? Everyone behaved here, but these ones had been audacious enough to come into my turf and make stupid noise, wreak havoc. Truly, they had no fear. And that was why I'd been curious about that every minute of today. I
QUINN“What the hell is going on?” I yelled when I saw that the situation was getting weirder, and out of hand. Fiona shrieked in rebellion as they grabbed her behind me. A sick thud followed her cry, and she fell silent. Goosebumps scattered across my skin. I couldn't look behind for fear of what I would see. Was she…dead?Fuck. Fuck! I should have listened to my instincts. Apparently, they were still sharp as ever.My eyes traveled around the place, wild and crazy. Was this really a logistics company? We’d spotted some trucks outside, but then…that could be a front for something lethal going on within these walls. The receptionist’s smirk turned evil, and she leaned forward, brown eyes taking in every inch and speck of my attire. “Why are you here again?”“To meet with the CEO. If he's not here, we can come back some other time—”“You'll meet him. But you have to tell us why you came all the way here.” Her eyes twinkled with delight. “A friggin 'director of a well-known accounti
QUINNThe car pulled to a stop in front of the tall glass building. Vale turned the engine off and pulled the key out.I stared at him, askance, expecting him to hand it to me. But he just turned and stared at me.“Go ahead. I'll keep the keys.”My eyes burned bright. I was immediately furious. “W
QUINN“Why don't you ask Veritas yourself?” Adrien’s voice was dangerously cold when he responded. “Come on. You'd know better. You're crazy about her.”Adrien…crazy about a woman? That wasn't me?Now I was very curious about her. “Enough! Don't think you can speak so freely and with stupid confi
QUINNPlaying with fire was becoming a habit I couldn't control. There was definitely no other explanation for why I floated across this space to the man on the other side. Adrien standing there with that apple, looking all devilish and cunning, reminded me of the legendary serpent who fed an inn
ADRIENI was beginning to have a little too much fun playing this game. Luciano’s expression in the rearview mirror back in the car, was pure gold, tickling me right to my toes. The possessive idiot couldn't even hide the fact that he was getting quickly sucked in by his wife's charm. Lilith’s be







