My hand goes to my chest and I look at Giovanni, trying to find amusement in his eyes but all I see is sincerity. There’s no way he… After everything that happened to me, knowing what they did to me while I was unconscious, knowing what happened, he still— “You love me?” I ask, my breath catching in my throat. “Are you sure? You’re not just saying that because we just had sex, or because you have to?” He chuckles and kisses me hard. “I think I know the difference between love and lust, Amoruccio; and yes, I do love you. The second I laid my eyes on you, I knew I’d be falling hard; you had my heart the moment you stepped out of that church.” I shake my head, focusing extremely hard on his chest tattoo. “I just didn’t… I didn’t think you’d feel the same as me—” “So say it,” he challenges, placing his finger under my chin and tilting my head so I’m looking right at him. “Say the words.” I swallow hard, looking into those blue eyes that pulled me in the first time I saw him…and then I

I strap the two Berettas in my holster, slip in four KA Bar knives and check my ammo before getting out of my armored SUV. Frankie called a few minutes ago to say gunfire broke out as soon as the women stepped off the private jet.No one should know these women are arriving here today, in fact, the only people who know the location of the airstrip are me and my brothers, Kaz and Dev. When we bring soldiers with us, they’re fucking blindfolded, for God’s sake.“You better fucking say you’re close, man,” Frankie’s voice comes through my earpiece. “They got me in the shoulder, Julia was hit before I could get her inside, and I can’t fucking leave her here.”Fuck! “I’m five minutes out, hang tight. Where are you?”“We went back inside the jet the second the guards went down. They’re trying to shoot their way in here and I’m a fucking sitting duck, Gio,” Frankie answers. He’s pissed off because he can’t do a damn thing, and I understand.“Is Nikki okay?”“She’s busy getting this bullet ou

“Explain it to me as if I’m stupid,” I say, shaking my head. “How the fuck is Catalina alive?” Kaz sits back and sighs. “I think you should go speak to them first so they can explain it better,” he says before standing up. “I’m going to see Nikki before leaving, and I believe Dev is arriving soon.” “Christ, Kaz, how long have you known about this?” I ask as I get to my feet. Kazimir, like his grandfather before him, is amazing at finding anyone and anything. Don’t ask me how he does it, it’s scary as shit the intel he has. “As soon as you called me and told me what happened, I had all airports and harbors kept under strict surveillance. I expected to find the old woman, but Catalina herself was a shock to me,” he says, shaking his head. “The funniest thing about this entire thing, though, is the fact that they were both heading to you, anyway.” “What?” I ask, blinking. “Why would they come here and risk death after what they’ve done?” Kaz sighs and shoots me a look. “Ask them th

Giovanni My eyes fall on Kaz crouching down next to a body and rifling through their pockets. He sees me and shakes his head. “They’re Romanians,” he says. “What?” I ask, looking at the two men who don’t look familiar. Then Kaz moves the lapel of one of their shirts to show me the B tattoo below his collarbone. “Fucking Brigăzi. Either Andrei’s men or-” “No, Kaius wouldn’t betray me; not with Emilia with him,” I say as I pull out my cell phone and dial the Romanian Mob Boss’ number. There’s no way he would’ve helped Moretti after what we spoke about; this must be Andrei’s work. Kaius answers on the fourth ring, but as he does so, I hear a loud crash in the background. “Fucking hell, calm your ass down or I’ll calm it down for you.” He growls to someone in the back, and when I hear my sister’s voice telling him to try her, I can’t help but chuckle. “Things are going well, I see,” I say, amused, and listen to him breathing out a sigh on the other side. “Your sister is having some

I’m slowly making my way downstairs with Giovanni’s help, when I spot a dark-haired woman sitting in the living room. She has her head downcast and appears to be writing in a journal or notebook while not even taking in her surroundings. “Nikki Baranova,” Giovanni says. “She’s Frankie’s fiancee.”Oh, she’s the Bratva Princess Dom spoke about, the timid and quiet one. Wow, now that I know Frankie better, I must admit that I don’t see how this will work out between them, since Frankie is the complete opposite of her.“You’ll meet Julia Devlin as well, but I must warn you about her. She’s a spitfire and speaks without thinking. Don’t take whatever she says at face value. She means well but has no fucking filter,” he says. “Just like her brother.”Ah, the one Dom is worried about. Well, I suppose we’ll see when we meet today.We reach the living room and Nikki finally looks up. Her mouth falls open when she sees Giovanni and me and she gets to her feet. “I am so sorry, I didn’t even hear