LOGINPOV: EVEEve was reviewing client contracts in her office at Phoenix Talent when Maya burst through the door, breathless and wide-eyed."Eve. You need to see this.""See what?" Eve looked up, immediately alert at the tone in Maya's voice.Maya crossed to the desk, pulled out her phone, and showed Eve a photo.Instagram. Posted twenty minutes ago by a mutual acquaintance, someone who ran in the same social circles, someone who posted about every event, every sighting, every piece of gossip.The photo showed a sleek restaurant downtown. High-end and exclusive.And sitting at a corner table, elegant in a cream-colored dress, was Isabella Russo.Eve's blood went cold."That's her, right?" Maya asked quietly. "The ex-fiancée who approached us at lunch?""Yes." Eve stared at the photo, her mind racing. "When was this posted?""Forty minutes ago. The caption says 'Ladies who lunch at Lumière.' Eve..." Maya's voice was careful. "I thought Dimitri told her to leave the city?""He did." Eve's j
The line clicked to hold.Antonio immediately dialed Lorenzo, who answered on the first ring."Well?""He's willing to negotiate. But he wants you on the line. Wants to hear your agreement directly.""Of course he does. The boy doesn't trust anyone." Lorenzo's voice held grudging respect. "What are the terms?"Antonio outlined them quickly.Lorenzo was quiet for a moment. "He's protecting her. Making sure we can't move against the girl without breaking our word to him directly.""Yes.""Smart. Ruthless, even." Lorenzo chuckled darkly. "Fine. I'll agree to his terms. For now. But Antonio....this doesn't end well. You know that, don't you? Eventually, he'll have to choose. His empire or his woman. And when he chooses the woman....""Then we'll deal with it. But not today." Antonio switched back to the three-way call. "Dimitri. Lorenzo is on the line.""Lorenzo," Dimitri said, his voice neutral."Dimitri." Lorenzo's voice was equally controlled. "I understand we have terms to discuss.""
POV: ANTONIOAntonio Valentino sat in his study in Rome, a glass of forty-year-old scotch in hand, watching the sun rise over the Tiber.His phone call with Lorenzo Russo had been... illuminating.Isabella had failed spectacularly. Gotten caught. Been banished by Dimitri with threats of death if she returned.Which meant the alliance, the carefully constructed partnership that had taken years to negotiate was crumbling.All because his son had fallen in love.Antonio took a sip of scotch, let it burn down his throat.Love.Such a pedestrian emotion. Such a weakness.Claire had loved him once. Loved him enough to leave America, to marry into his world, to bear his child.And it had gotten her killed.Dimitri should have learned that lesson. Should have understood that sentiment was a luxury men like them couldn't afford.Instead, he'd chosen a woman. A nobody. Someone with no training, no connections, no understanding of their world.And now Antonio had to clean up the mess.He pulled
POV: ISABELLAIsabella stood alone in her hotel suite, tears still wet on her cheeks, hands shaking as she stared at her phone.Two hours.Dimitri had given her two hours to leave the city. Forever.And if she didn't....I will kill you myself.His voice had been so calm. So absolute. Like he was stating a fact rather than making a threat.That's what terrified her most.Not the anger. Not the fury.The certainty.Her phone buzzed in her hand. A text from Marco.Car will be downstairs in 90 minutes. Pack light. You won't be coming back.Isabella's fingers tightened on the phone until her knuckles went white.She'd lost everything.Her plans. Her organization with Enzo. Her presence in this city.All because Viktor Kozlov had gotten caught.All because Dimitri had eyes everywhere.All because she'd underestimated just how far he'd go to protect Eve Thorne.Another text. This time from Enzo.What the hell happened? Marco just told me you're leaving? Tonight?Isabella didn't respond. Cou
He dialed a number. Isabella answered on the third ring, her voice sleepy."Dimitri?""We need to talk. Now. Your hotel. I'm on my way.""It's 4 AM....""I'm aware. You have ten minutes to make yourself presentable. And Isabella?" His voice dropped to something absolutely lethal. "If you're not alone when I get there, if Enzo is there, if anyone is there, I will burn that hotel to the ground with everyone in it. Do you understand?"A pause. Then, shakily: "I understand."He hung up.Mike watched him carefully. "You sure about this? Going to her hotel alone, at 4 AM, while you're this angry?""I'm not going alone. You're coming with me. As witness." Dimitri headed for the door. "And I'm not angry, Mike. Angry is emotion. This is clarity. Isabella Russo just declared war on the woman I love. Now she's going to learn what that war costs."***POV: ISABELLAIsabella stood in her hotel suite, hands shaking as she pulled on a silk robe over her nightgown.Dimitri was coming.Here.Now.At 4
They pulled up to the warehouse forty minutes later, the same one where Dimitri had brought Enzo for proper education after he visited Eve.Marco was waiting outside with the team."He's inside. Conscious. Relatively unharmed." Marco's expression was grim. "He's FSB trained, boss. This won't be easy.""I don't need easy." Dimitri shed his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves. "I need information. And I'll get it. One way or another."The warehouse inner room was exactly as Dimitri had left it. Single chair bolted to the concrete floor. Table with tools....pliers, knives, blowtorch, cables. Overhead lights casting harsh shadows.And tied to the chair, cable-tied at wrists and ankles, was Viktor Kozlov.Late forties. Scarred face. Cold eyes that had seen violence and delivered plenty of it himself.He didn't look afraid.Well he should have been.Dimitri circled the chair slowly, assessing. "Viktor Kozlov. Formerly FSB. Dishonorably discharged in 2019 for selling classified information. N
The arousal was shameful and involuntary and made absolutely no logical sense, and it was there regardless, coiled low in her stomach alongside the shock, the two things existing in completely contradictory parallel the way they had since the warehouse.She heard the shower run.She heard it stop.
POV: EVEThree days after Mike left, Eve had started to believe things might actually be okay.Not perfect. Not simple. But okay.Mike had stayed for dinner that first night....had eaten Dimitri's pasta in near silence, had answered Eve's careful questions about London in short sentences, had looke
She gagged but didn't stop. Couldn't stop. This was the closest she'd gotten to what she needed and she wasn't going to waste it.Tears streamed down her face from the effort, from the stretch, from the overwhelming need to please him.When he finally pulled out, a string of saliva connecting her l
She had. She really had."When?" she asked. "When do you think... when would you want...?""To marry you?" He smiled. "When the six months are up. When you've had time to truly know what you're choosing. When there's no doubt in either of our minds that this is forever."Four and a half months.Fou







