Katarina POV inside a shipping container, held hostage "What’s this?" Giordano asked, picking up the red bracelet off the floor. It looked so small in his large, greedy hands. Like a thread barely holding my world together.Cherie grinned like a cat who’d eaten the whole cage. "Fell off one of Vittorio’s shooters during the scuffle. Looked pretty, so I took it."I froze. My heart thudded like thunder in my ears. No.Giordano lifted it to the light. "Looks cheap. Why do you care so much, sweetheart?"He looked right at me. That same cruel smirk. Then—snap.He tore it. “No!” I lunged forward — too slow. The rope yanked me back. Snap. The sound of the bracelet breaking was louder than a gunshot in my chest.Red beads were scattered across the dirty floor like spilled blood. One bounced and rolled until it hit my boot.It felt like something in me broke. I didn’t scream. I didn’t move. But I felt it all. Aunt Malva had given me that bracelet. Said it would protect me. Said it meant som
Katarina POV Inside a shipping container in an unknown placeMy mouth was dry. My head throbbed like it had been split with a sledgehammer.I blinked once. Then again.Dark.Too dark.My wrists were tied behind my back with something sharp and tight. Rope? Wire? I couldn’t tell. My legs were numb. My body ached like I’d been thrown off a cliff.No windows. No breeze. Just rust. Heat. And bad intentions.The walls were metal, sweating in the heat. I could hear the slow hum of a generator outside. The distant thud of footsteps. And something else—panting. Not mine.It smelled like rust and sweat and something dead.No light except the flickering orange glow from a bulb that buzzed like it hated its job.I shifted and felt pain rip through my shoulder. A bruise. A fresh one.My mouth was dry. My tongue felt like sandpaper.And then it hit me.The van. The shot. The back door. “VIT!” His face. The panic. The rage. My voice screaming. Then—nothing.Darkness.I turned my head slowly, and
Giordano POV, Earlier At The Fake Safehouse, They Blew "You idiots couldn’t catch a cold in a snowstorm."I stepped out of the black SUV like a storm rolling in. My boots hit the gravel. My jaw clenched. The wreckage of the failed raid still smoked behind the so-called safehouse. Bodies, blood, confusion. Smoke still hung in the air.Scarface stood near the busted porch, limping, his cheek split open again, still stitched from last time. He looked like a kicked dog.Good."Which one of you thick-headed motherfuckers let them escape?!"I slammed Scarface into the side of the door so hard his skull bounced off the steel. He groaned, spitting blood, but I wasn’t done. Not even close."Giordano—fuck—we didn’t know Ghost was baiting us!""You didn't know?" I grabbed his face, forcing him to look me in the eye. "You had one job. Find the girl. Grab the girl. And you got played like a damn puppet."He didn’t answer. Smart. Because I was five seconds from carving his name into the door with
The knock on the door yanked me back. Ghost entered first, always silent, always watching. Then Katarina.I stopped breathing.She wore red.Not just red sin.A high-slit gown that hugged her waist like it had secrets, with a neckline that plunged low enough to make my mouth dry. Her hair was pinned up, loose strands brushing her collarbone, and her lips were painted a deep, dark wine.My nurse. My prisoner. My curse.And she looked like she could walk into any ballroom and steal the soul of every man there.I stood. Slowly. My eyes traced every inch of her.“Jesus,” I muttered.Her gaze met mine, defiant and sharp. “What?”“You look…” I cleared my throat. “...dangerous.”She smirked, brushing her hand down the fabric. “That’s the idea.” Luce was behind, grinning like a demon. I saw her eyes flick to Katarina."Morning, hot nurse," she smirked.Katarina rolled her eyes. "Still not funny."Luce raised a brow. "That dress says otherwise."Ghost raised a brow. “You sure you want her in
Kat Pov at the nude art museum in RomeHe wheeled ahead. I followed.The next room was hotter. Literally. Steam hissed through vents. Low music vibrated through the marble floors. A curved sofa sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by hanging vines and slow, writhing bodies. It was like stepping into a dream built by temptation.He sat. I stood."Sit," he said.I sat beside him.A woman with bare breasts poured champagne into our flutes. Her fingers brushed his. He didn’t flinch, but his eyes were on me.I drank.Another couple kissed across from us. Slow. Beautiful. She was on her knees, trailing her fingers over his thigh. They watched us. Everyone watched everyone."This place is insane," I whispered.He smirked. "This place is honest."My dress suddenly felt tighter. My skin hot.He leaned close, voice low. "I could take you here. In front of all of them."I swallowed. My thighs pressed together."But I won’t," he said."Why not?"His smile vanished. "Because when I finally ta
Vittorio POV My skin still burned where her mouth had touched.The night with Katarina haunted every cell of my body. I could taste her on my tongue. The scratch of her nails on my shoulders. The sound of her little gasps when I— Fuck. Focus.It wasn’t just lust—it was something darker, hungrier. I hadn't felt this alive since Fiorella.And God, that was saying something.I sat back against the plush leather of my private jet, watching her from across the aisle. She was curled in one of the oversized seats, pretending to sleep, but I knew better. Her fingers twitched every few minutes like she was ready to run again.Good. Let her try.Beside me, Ghost sipped his espresso like we were on vacation. Luce lounged two rows back, polishing her knife against her thigh.Pietro stood near the exit, head bent, as I handed him the last set of instructions.“You’re staying behind,” I said, voice low but firm. “Find out what’s true and what’s fiction. Dig deeper into her background. And the gir