All Chapters of THE KISS OF VENGEANCE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

They say time numbs pain.That grief fades. That with some time, the past releases its grip.They lie.Ten years, and the pain has not dulled, instead, it has sliced more deeply. It has transformed into something else.Thirst for Revenge.I ghost hunted for years, shadow chased, after the men who took my parents away from me. I wanted their names. I wanted their faces. And sought them for years and when I found them, I did not just kill them instead I made them feel immense pain.They thought they were above the law, deep beyond the reaches of the government . They did not expect me. They did not expect what I would do to make them talk.I tortured them for days. I cut open their skin, crushed their bones. Deriving joy from their muffled screams in the darkness of my cell.But no matter what I did to them, they didn’t give anything. Even when I wrung the knife deeper, even when I cut my rage into their flesh, they never spoke.It was not fear that silenced them,It was something great

Vincenzo looked at me, his black eyes weighing, unyielding. Up close, he was enormous, tall and broad shouldered, the kind of stature that kept men on guard and women uneasy. But I was not like most women.I opened my mouth and put on a civil smile. "A pleasure, Mr. Lombardi."Taking my hand into his, his gaze settled on me a beat longer than necessary. Just as I was about to pull my hand away, he finally spoke. "Likewise, Doctor."I could feel my boss's gaze, so I kept my tone light. "I thought the job was already filled."Lombardi relaxed slightly, his expression pleasant but gaze sharp. "When I require something, I do not take second best."Arrogant self-confidence. He had no idea he was letting a wolf into his home.I tilted my head to one side. "And what do you want me for, precisely?""A personal physician," he said smoothly. "I require someone first rate and completely discreet. My line of work requires… certain cautions."Discreet. Was this what he told the men who had killed

The sound of the door clicking shut behind my uncle still echoed in my head as I flopped back down on the couch, rubbing my temples.He was right about one thing, I'd raised some eyebrows. But that was what I wanted, wasn't it? Let them take a sneak peak. Let them wonder.I needed a shower.I dragged myself over and walked across the room, stripping off my clothes and dropping them in a bunch on the floor as I made it to the bathroom.The hot water pounded against my skin, beating the tension out of me, but my mind refused to settle. I was thinking about Lombardi. About his weakness. About how easy it would be to slit his throat in his sleep if I wanted to.But that wasn't the plan. Atleast, not yet.After taking a cold bath, I tied a towel around myself and emerged, collapsing into my chair in front of my laptop. Maybe getting some work done would cure me. I had papers to sort, and ends to tie. But when I looked at the screen, the words blurred together.Damn it.I released a hard br

CHAPTER SEVENThe house was quiet, but my mind wasn't.I leaned at the edge of my desk, the glass of untouched scotch warming on my palm. The room was strangely still except for the soft rumble of air vents and the far off crackle of burning logs in the fire.Francesca had left nearly fifteen minutes earlier. And yet, she hadn't. Not really.She'd gone out with the same calm, steady pace she'd come in with, unshaken and unapologetic. I had told her she was moving in expecting resistance, not because I necessarily needed her to be here, but because I wanted to get under her skin.She didn’t argue, just hesitated and when I finally decided a day for her, tomorrow, she only nodded and agreed. That was itI attempted to get her out of my head, but the longer the silence in my office stretched, the more her voice whispered.She had questioned me earlier, delayed picking my calls, and hesitated to return here when I asked her to. She even had the temerity to challenge me about Sandro's alle

CHAPTER NINEI folded the rest of my shirts into the small, black duffel bag that had been with me to too many countries, too many battlefields. I didn't need much, just the basics.My labcoat, a few clothes, a knife, and my trusty red lipstick. I put a burner phone under my boot and my gun? It was sewn into a bandage roll, that way it wouldn’t raise suspicion during a quick inspection.That was all the armor I needed to move forward into the lion's den."Are you sure you're ready for this, Francesca?" my brother asked, arms crossed in the corner of my bedroom. He was the spitting image of our father at thirty—broad shoulders, chiseled jaw, that piercing stare that could destroy someone without uttering a word. But my brother's voice wasn't like our father's when he addressed me. There was softness in it. A gentleness he didn't give to the world."I was born ready," I replied, not meeting his gaze. The zipper zipped shut across the bag, a sharp finality to our conversation. Or so I hop