All Chapters of THE DEVIL’S CHOKEHOLD : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

It took eight hours to get from New York to Venice, but it felt like less. I barely blinked. I had work to review, a plan to finalize, and a woman on board who made it harder to think straight with every glance she threw over her shoulder. I left Bianca with Liana to finalize her measurements and make adjustments to the dress. The hair was already dyed. I had agreed to the color. Deep red, something rich and dangerous. The green lenses were my idea. They softened the cold silver of her real eyes. I thought it might dull her effect on people. I was wrong. She was still as breathtaking as ever and that was infuriating. No one should be that dangerous and that beautiful at the same time. And yet there she was. In my jet. In my space. In my plan. I hated her, no doubt. But maybe I wanted her. Maybe both could be true. But love? No. Bianca Marcello was not capable of love. That part of her had been surgically removed years ago. What was left was appetite. Hunger. And maybe that was

I had been playing my role perfectly. The out-of-his-league girlfriend who might be tempted by someone better. Men at the event were easy. They slipped their numbers into my palm when they thought Roberto wasn’t watching.But Rob was acting strange. His usual swagger was gone. His posture was tight, his expression locked. If the man he saw wasn’t the broker, why did he look like he’d seen a ghost?“What do you mean?” I asked.“He was reported dead a long time ago. He’s my uncle,” he said, jaw clenched. The carefree Rob vanished in an instant, replaced by something colder.I tried to follow his gaze, but the crowd shifted and blocked my view.“Is he the broker?” I asked.“Uncle Victor? No. But he sure has a lot of explaining to do.”“How do you know for sure he isn’t the broker?”“Because the broker killed my family. Victor was the one who stayed. He raised me until he handed me off to Vito.”The air around us suddenly felt heavier. Everything seemed to circle back to his grandfather i

I excused myself from Rob and his uncle, claiming I needed to freshen up, but really I just needed a moment to breathe. The atmosphere in that place was thick with secrets, and Victor’s gaze hadn’t sat right with me. The hallway was quiet, the music behind me muffled now. I pushed open the door to the powder room, only to stop dead in my tracks. A woman stood inside, her back slightly hunched, one hand gripping the edge of the marble counter. Blood trailed from her nose, smeared across her upper lip and staining the lace sleeve of her dress. In front of her stood a man in a decorated military uniform, blocking the doorway like a barrier. “Are you okay?” I asked the woman directly. “She’s fine,” the man said quickly, too quickly. “She’s bleeding,” I replied, my voice sharper now. “My wife fell,” he added, pulling her into his chest like a shield. The woman didn’t speak. She kept her head slightly lowered, eyes hidden beneath heavy lashes. But when she tilted her face up, just en

ROBSomehow, we had ended up like this.She was on her side, facing me, her head resting on the crook of my arm like it belonged there. My other hand had settled on her waist at some point, and I hadn’t moved it since. I should have. I could feel her warmth through the robe, and her breath fanned softly against my neck with every exhale. It was late. Too late to still be this close. But I didn’t move.I didn’t want to.Her face was turned slightly into my chest, and I watched her as she slept. Not just looked. Watched. The way her lashes twitched. The way her lips parted when she murmured in her sleep. She said something that made no sense — soft gibberish under her breath — and I almost laughed.Almost.It wasn’t the way I usually felt amusement. This wasn’t sharp or mocking. It was… soft. Damn her. Even asleep, she was undoing me.I brushed her hair away from her face gently, my fingers dragging slowly through the strands. Her skin was so smooth beneath the faint shadows of the nigh

He looked pale and lost in thought. Against better judgment, I reached out to him.“It’s okay. I’m okay,” he said, downing the rest of his drink and pouring another.“If it’s any consolation, we’re both in pretty shitty places right now. I have to figure this out or I’ll get framed. It’s like The Broker is playing some sick, twisted mind game with me,” I said, taking the glass from his hand before it reached his lips.He stared at my mouth as I took a sip.I let myself become his distraction for some messed-up reason, and I could only blame it on the disguise I was wearing and the goddamn atmosphere of this place.“I know. I’m sorry,” he said.“What’s the connection? Why did The Broker go after your uncle, your family, and Mrs. Bayern?” I asked.“If I knew, we wouldn’t be here. I can only assume he’s a hired hand with a network of hitmen like Vega. Someone must have hired him the same way he hired Vega,” he said.Whoever it was, screw them. I just wanted a big-girl job to get a big-gi