All Chapters of UNDER THE DON’S PROTECTION: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

Luca’s POVThe airstrip’s floodlights pierced the night like accusatory fingers, illuminating Viktor’s massive frame as he stood triumphant, flanked by a phalanx of Bratva soldiers in tactical gear. Their AKs gleamed under the glare, pointed at our group—Sofia frozen in shock, Dante struggling against his chains, Enzo and Sal glaring with impotent rage. The toxin in my veins surged like acid, blurring my vision, weakening my knees. I collapsed to the tarmac, the cold asphalt biting into my palms as nausea roiled. Viktor’s laugh boomed—a deep, guttural sound that echoed his Siberian roots.“Full backstory, you say?” Viktor rumbled, stepping closer, his blue eyes cold as arctic ice. He hauled me up by the collar, effortless strength pinning me against the jet’s fuselage. “You think this started with your puny family, accountant? Dive deep, boy. Deeper than you dare.”His voice dropped, a storyteller’s cadence laced with menace. “I was born in the gulags, 1978. Mother a political prisone

Luca’s POVThe cabin’s dim light flickered from a single bulb, casting long shadows across Dante’s face as he paced, his confession hanging between us like smoke from a fired gun. “I let it happen,” he repeated, voice rough with self-loathing. “Viktor approached me when I was twenty-two—right after Giovanni’s ‘heart attack.’ Said he had proof Marco ordered the poison. Offered me a deal: infiltrate for him, feed small intel, or he’d expose everything. I thought I was playing him—protecting the family. But the Marinos’ hit… Viktor mentioned it as a ‘lesson.’ I didn’t stop it. Thought it was just another loose end.”His words gutted me—Dante, my captor-turned-lover, tied to the Bratva all along. Complicit in my parents’ death. Betrayal burned hotter than the toxin ever had, but the antidote Sofia had slipped me during her “forced” vial moment cleared my head. Her hidden origins flashed: during those “residency” years, she’d connected with ex-KGB remnants in Eastern Europe—shadow networks

Luca’s POVThe woods closed in like a living cage, Chen’s grip on my arm iron as she dragged me deeper into the trees. Her tac team fanned out behind, securing the perimeter, but her focus was singular—on me. The federal SUV idled on the dirt track, engine low, headlights cutting yellow swaths through the dark. Dante’s vehicle had been forced off the road; I could still hear distant shouts, gunshots popping like fireworks. Sofia’s comm in my ear had gone silent after her last warning: Chen’s Bratva deep cover. Viktor’s endgame.Chen shoved me against a thick oak, the rough bark biting my back through my shirt. “You think you’re clever, Marino? Whispering into that little implant?” She pressed her body against mine, thigh wedging between my legs, forcing them apart. “I know about Sofia’s KGB toys. Alexei’s old network. Cute. But you’re in my playground now.”Her dominance intensified—federal authority fused with raw, predatory hunger. She grabbed my throat, squeezing just enough to mak

Luca’s POVThe ravine offered temporary sanctuary cold stream water lapping at our boots, moonlight fractured through the canopy above. Dante, Rocco, and I crouched in a tight circle, breaths visible in the chill, bodies pressed close for warmth and something far more primal. Sofia’s voice had gone quiet in the comm after her last revelation, but the weight of her words lingered: Alexei Volkov wasn’t just a handler. He was her father. And the secrets ran deeper than blood.Dante broke the silence first, voice low and edged. “Tell us everything she didn’t. If we’re going after her, we need the full picture.”Rocco shifted beside me, his massive frame radiating heat. His hand rested on my thigh—casual, possessive—thumb tracing slow circles over the fabric of my pants. The touch sent sparks up my spine, reigniting the fire from earlier. I swallowed, trying to focus.“Sofia said Alexei was KGB,” I started, piecing together fragments from her comm bursts and the files I’d glimpsed in the v