All Chapters of BOUGHT,TAMED AND TAKEN : Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

The night was heavy, thick with the scent of rain that hadn’t yet fallen. Aria stood by the window of the safe house, her fingers tracing the condensation along the glass. The world beyond was dark—too dark—and somewhere in that darkness, danger moved like a silent predator.Luciano’s voice came from behind her, low but edged.“They’ll come tonight.”Her breath caught. “You’re sure?”He stepped closer, his heat radiating against her back. “I’ve been sure since the moment we left the estate. We’re not hiding—we’re bait.”She turned sharply to face him. “You planned this?”A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, so quick she almost missed it. “It was the only way to draw him out.”“Him?” Her voice trembled. “You mean—”“Yes,” Luciano interrupted, his jaw tightening. “Your father.”Aria staggered back, her mind spinning. She had imagined their eventual meeting countless times since Isadora’s revelation, but the idea that it would happen like this, orchestrated by Luciano, twisted her chest

The night was too quiet.Luciano had learned to hate that kind of silence—thick, unnatural, like the air itself was holding its breath before the gunshot.Aria stood near the window, fingers curled into the silk curtains, her body half-lit by the glow of the moon. She looked like a painting left unfinished—beautiful, yet trembling, as if she knew the artist might never return to complete her.Luciano closed the door behind him, locking it without taking his eyes off her. “You’ve been avoiding me all day,” he said, his voice low, more observation than accusation.“I needed space,” she replied without turning.He walked toward her slowly. “Space from me… or from what you’ve learned?”Her breath hitched. She still wasn’t ready to face him, not after the documents she’d found in his office. The truth about the “accident” that had taken her mother’s life wasn’t an accident at all—and Luciano’s family name was all over it.When he reached her, he didn’t touch her. Not yet. He just stood beh

Luciano’s fist slammed into Matteo’s cheek again, a sharp crack echoing through the room. Blood sprayed from Matteo’s split lip, and still—still—he laughed.“You’re slower than I remember,” Matteo taunted, blocking a blow and shoving his brother back into the broken window frame. “Getting soft, Luciano?”Luciano lunged forward again, but Matteo slipped sideways, the shadows swallowing him as if he’d been born from them. Aria could barely track the movement—he was fast, too fast—and the next thing she knew, Matteo was at the far side of the room, his gun raised and his grin sharpened into something cold.“One shot,” Matteo said. “That’s all it would take. But where’s the fun in ending it now?”Luciano’s stance didn’t shift, though his knuckles whitened around his gun. “You think I’ll let you walk out of here alive?”“I think,” Matteo replied, glancing briefly at Aria, “you’ll realize you have more to lose than me. And you’ll want to keep it breathing.”The implication hit hard. Aria’s

The sound of Matteo’s gun cocking felt louder than the warehouse’s silence.Luciano’s finger brushed his own trigger, but he didn’t aim yet. His entire focus was on Aria—on the slight tremor in her hands, the way her eyes locked on his like she was holding onto him for dear life.“Let her go,” Luciano said, his voice so calm it was almost terrifying.Matteo’s smirk deepened. “You’ve always thought you could bargain with me. You can’t. Not when I’m holding the one thing you’d burn the world for.”Luciano took one slow step forward. “Then you already know what happens if you pull that trigger.”“Oh, I do,” Matteo said. “It’ll be the last thing I ever do… but it’ll be worth it.”Aria made a muffled sound behind her gag—part protest, part plea. Her wide eyes darted between the brothers, silently begging Luciano not to do something reckless.Luciano’s body was steel, his voice pure threat. “You’ve got two seconds to decide whether you walk out of here breathing.”“One…”Matteo’s grin widen

The morning came not with the soft, golden quiet of safety, but with the sharp edge of reality.Luciano woke to the sound of rain against the balcony glass, his arm heavy over Aria’s waist. Her hair was a spill of dark silk against the pillow, her breathing even, her body warm and tangled with his. For a moment, he let himself stay there—listening to the soft rhythm, his chest rising and falling with hers, pretending the world outside didn’t exist.But it did.The knock at the door was soft at first, then firmer.Luciano’s eyes opened fully, the steel settling back into them. He slid from the bed without disturbing her and crossed the room, grabbing the pistol from the nightstand out of habit before opening the door a crack.Marco stood there, rain dripping from his hair and coat, his face grim. “We have a problem.”Luciano didn’t move, but his voice hardened. “Say it.”“Matteo’s gone.”The words landed like a blade.Luciano stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind him so Aria