Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

Maya I wake to sunlight and the feeling of Ryan's body curved around mine. For one perfect, stolen moment, I let myself pretend this is normal. That waking up in his arms is just another Wednesday morning. That we're just two people in love, not two people caught in an impossible situation. Then my phone starts buzzing. I disentangle myself carefully, not wanting to wake him, and grab my phone from my purse.I have even missed calls from Papa. Five from Gabriella. Three from Jeremy, ana twelve text messages, escalating from concerned to worried to demanding: Papa: Where is your report? Papa: Maya, I need an update on the Zurri situation. Papa: Call me immediately. Gabriella: Dad's freaking out. Where are you??? Jeremy: Hope you're okay. Your dad's looking for you. Shit. Shit shit shit. I check the time. 9:47 AM. I should have been at work two hours ago. I should have called in. Should have maintained the illusion of control. Instead, I spent the night in Ryan Zurri's bed,

Chapter 12 Maya The restaurant Ryan chooses is in Hout Bay, tucked into the mountains where Cape Town's elite don't venture unless they're hiding something. Which, I suppose, we are. I wear a black dress that makes me feel dangerous. Wear my hair down instead of pulled back. Wear the silver bracelet my mother gave me before she died—the one piece of jewelry that's mine, not the family's. I feel like Stella again. Just for tonight. Ryan's already there when I arrive, sitting at a corner table with his back to the wall. Old habits. He stands when he sees me, and the look in his eyes makes my breath catch. "You're late," he says, pulling out my chair. "I'm fashionably on time." I sit, hyperaware of his proximity. "You're early Babe." "I wanted to make sure we had privacy." He signals the waiter. "I own the place." "Is there anywhere in this city you don't own?" "A few places. I'm working on it." "You live next door to me." His smile is sharp, amused. "Wine

Chapter 14 Ryan Maya doesn't answer my texts for three hours. Three hours of watching my phone like it owes me something. Three hours of pacing my apartment, replaying every moment of tonight ,the hotel bar, the drive, the parking garage where she stood in that black dress and told me things no one else in the world knew. Three hours of rehearsing what I'll say, how I'll fix whatever went wrong, whether I said too much or not enough or exactly the right things in exactly the wrong way. When she finally calls, it's nearly midnight. "Where are you babe?" I ask immediately, and I hate how raw it sounds. How obvious it is that I'm worried. "My apartment. Can you come over?" Her voice is hollow, scraped clean of something. All the warmth that had been building between us, gone. "Now?" "Now." I was in my car before she hung up The door is unlocked when I arrived. I found her on the balcony, still in that black dress, standing at the railing with her arms folded ac

RyanThe summit location was changed it was now being held at the Mount Nelson Hotel, neutral ground chosen specifically because neither family owns it. The pink landmark sits imposing and elegant, a reminder of old Cape Town money and colonial power.Perfect place for two criminal empires to negotiate peace.Maya and I arrive separately, maintaining appearances. She's in a blue gown that brought out her dark eyes, her hair was swept up, looking every inch like Antonio Rossi's heir. I'm in my armor a perfectly fitted tuxedo."We don't acknowledged each other in the lobby by winking.The meeting room is on the top floor, private and secure. Both fathers are already there when I arrive, along with their respective lawyers and advisors."Ryan." My father nods"Pops.". "On time. Good."Antonio Rossi stands when he sees me, extending a hand. "Mr. Zurri. Thank you for coming."I shake his hand, trying not to think about the fact that this man ordered a hit on one of his own players. Tha

Chapter 18 Maya The party moved from the dining room to the lounge, the music swelling into something jazzier, more hedonistic, the kind of music that encourages bad decisions and expensive regrets. I get caught in a conversation with a group of investors, nodding and smiling while my mind is already three steps ahead, calculating the wire transfer for Gabriella, planning the conversation I'll need to have with my banker, dreading and anticipating the moment when she is truly gone from my life. "Excuse me." I say, gracefully exiting the circle with the social dexterity that has been beaten into me since childhood. I need to find Ryan. I need to feel that grounding presence again, need to remind myself that I am not alone in this, that there is one person in this room who sees me and not just the Rossi name. I scan the room. I don't see him by the bar, where he was ten minutes ago. I don't see him with his father, who is holding court in the corner with a cigar and a circle