Vittorio’s POV, At Vittorio’s Mansion“Don’t fucking touch her.”My voice split through the marble hall like a whip. Ghost had already stepped forward, fingers twitching at the sight of her lunging at me like a wild animal.But I didn’t flinch. Katarina's teeth sank into my shoulder like she wanted to rip the flesh from my bones. She was sobbing, clawing at my chest, screaming something about Mateo.Her LoverShe thought I killed him but She didn't know shit."You bastard! YOU KILLED HIM!" she screamed, pounding her fists into my chest, her nails leaving angry red lines. Her voice cracked. Raw and Broken. That sound dug into places I didn’t like to remember existed in me.I let her.Let her swing. Let her curse. Let her crumble.One punch. Two. She was weak. That hoodie barely clung to her body, soaked in sweat, blood, and dirt. Her hair stuck to her face in clumps. Her legs wobbled like a newborn fawn.But for a second, just one, when our eyes met, she froze. Her breath hitched. She
Katarina’s POVI paced under the flickering streetlamp, my footsteps crunching glass on the sidewalk. The wind bit through my clothes as I waited under the broken streetlamp, hugging myself tighter, trying to stop my bones from rattling in fear. The hoodie I wore was too big, Liam’s stolen sneakers two sizes too large, and my heart? That shit had turned into a rock lodged deep in my throat.I kept glancing around, hoping and praying for Mateo to come.My eyes searched the empty street like they might summon him if I just stared hard enough.Come on, Mateo. Where the hell are you?But there was nothing. Just shadows, silence, and the soft buzz of the streetlight above me.Then I heard it. A low, rumbling engine.A black van.Its headlights sliced through the dark like knives. My breath hitched for a second.My gut told me to run, every instinct screamed it, but my feet didn’t move. Not fast enough. Not soon enough.The van screeched to a halt, and the passenger door flung open.And he
Vittorio’s POV“Merda!” I slammed the crystal tumbler so hard against the bar that the amber liquor sprayed across my knuckles. The glass didn’t break. Shame.I shouldn’t be waiting this long. Not for her.“Pietro!” My voice snapped like a whip across the marble expanse of the living room.The little bastard was at the far end of the room, his fingers jittering across his laptop, pretending to look busy. He flinched from behind his laptop, his eyes lit blue like a ghost caught on a screen. The click of his fingers paused. I saw his shoulders tighten. He didn’t look up.“Don De Luca,” he mumbled, voice tight. “Just narrowing the location pings. Another sweep—”“You’ve had hours.” I moved toward him barefoot, sweat still rolling off my body after my intense boxing match. A towel was slung on my shoulders. Water dripped down my chest, catching the light, trailing across scars I earned in wars Pietro would piss himself dreaming about.I got in his space. Close enough to smell his citrus
Mateo’s POVI wrapped my torn shirt around what was left of my fucking hand.My pinky was gone. My pride was bleeding out right with it. But none of that mattered. None of it fucking mattered — not when she was still in danger.Katarina.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. Scared. Hiding. Waiting for me to fix this. And I was wasting time — because my useless fucking father had vanished last night with the money that he used to buy her.Ran off in the middle of the night like a fucking rat, with the money and no spine to show for it.I wanted to break something. No — I wanted to kill him. But I didn’t have that luxury. Not when Scarface's deadline was closing in. I needed more money, and I also needed a miracle.Instead, I got a devil. I didn’t answer the phone buzzing in Katarina's jacket pocket, she left behind on the couch, even when I saw her best friend’s name flash across the screen.. Speaking with Selena will derail my actions and make me think. And then made my
Katarina’s POV, Liam’s HouseThe knife in my hand shook so badly I nearly dropped it, but instead I put it into the pockets of Liam’s trousers I had managed to get from him.I pressed my back against the cold kitchen counter, the blade slipping dangerously in my sweaty laps. Every breath I took felt too loud and too reckless. The old wooden floor creaked under my bare feet with every tiny shift of my weight.I couldn't fucking move in this place I couldn't fucking breathe.Liam was still pacing the living room, talking to himself in that weird, jittery, nerdy voice. The "sweet" side of him. The side that offered me burnt toast and mint tea after almost snapping my wrist against the door just an hour ago.The house smelled like old soap, dust, and something sickly sweet, almost like rotting fruit. My Hair clung damply to my body, sweat sticking to my ribs and thighs. Every hair on my arms stood and was on edge.I didn’t trust Liam anymore. The Liam who came to the bookstore and always
Giordano’s POV, Party at Giordano House"Pop the fucking bottles!" I roared, slamming a fist into the marble as champagne spilled across the bouncing ass of a giggling blonde grinding on my lap. She squealed, laughing, not caring that half the bottle had poured down her bare back. Her fingers trailed across my chest, sticky with sweat and Dom Pérignon. Around us, the world burned gold. Bronzed skin glittered under the Mediterranean sun, cocaine dusted the rims of wine glasses like snowflakes from hell, and the prettiest whores Naples had to offer wiggled their oiled tits for whoever had the biggest bankroll or the meanest face.The pool shimmered like liquid sapphires beneath their feet. Tonight, I was supposed to take my virgin prize. Katarina Delgado. Bought. Paid for. Waiting for me to break her.The thought of her—sweet, untouched, trembling—tightened something dark and greedy in my gut. She was supposed to be tied up by now, locked in my private suite, a red ribbon around her pa