Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Taryn VescariWinter sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains of the Falcone Estate master bedroom. I reached across the tangled sheets, expecting to feel the solid, dangerous warmth of Rocco’s chest, but my fingers hit cold linen.He was already gone. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Eleven in the morning. My body was still heavy with fatigue from weeks of working double shifts on the floor at the Black Crown Lounge, but those days were officially behind me.Tonight was the hit on the Moretti Syndicate Territory. By tomorrow morning, my debts to the Falcone family would be wiped clean. I would step out of the shadows as a respected soldier in the organization, free from the bottom-tier street hustle of the Vescari District.I pulled my knees to my chest, letting the silent room sink in. I was in Rocco’s bed. Last night hadn't been a quick, transactional encounter on a back room couch. It had been raw, intense, and possessive. I’d spent my entire life keeping men at a

Taryn Vescari"I didn't want to freak you out, but they found Gisella Ferraro's body," Rocco said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I know you worked shifts with her at the lounge, and I didn't want you hearing the gory details from the street. Especially since Enzo Caradonna was running the house."His large hand covered mine on the laminate tabletop, his thumb tracing my knuckles with a possessive, heavy pressure. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Gisella was gone. I already knew Enzo was a dirty capo who put a bullet in her, but hearing it out loud from Rocco made my throat go completely dry."You mean... Enzo did it?" I asked, forcing a tremor into my voice so I sounded like a fragile civilian. "It wasn't a hit squad from the Moretti Syndicate?""We pulled her body out of the lime pit behind Enzo's warehouse in the Vescari District," Rocco growled, his jaw clenching tight. "The bastard executed her because she caught him skimming cut money from the Blac

Taryn VescariWe were surrounded by dark, tinted sedans on all sides as we sped down the boulevard. I’d never seen so many armed convoys in one district, and the tension inside our armored SUV was thick enough to choke on. I owned a beaten-up Sedan back in the Vescari District, but I only used it to haul illegal booze across town. Seeing the city towers grow larger as we approached Vittorio Moretti's home turf gave me a cold, sickening reality check.Sure, life was rough in the Vescari District, but I was already getting suffocated by the endless concrete and patrol vehicles. I knew those high-rises housed thousands of civilians. My skin crawled just thinking about how close we were to people who had no idea a syndicate war was about to break out over their heads.Civilians were completely blind to the Commission's underground law. It was deadly to draw law enforcement into mob business, but the Moretti Syndicate didn't care. They operated in broad daylight, buying off city officials

Taryn VescariI shoved the hard ledgers and iron shipment contracts deep inside my leather jacket, turned on my heel, and bolted into the black alleyways of the Vescari District. The heel of my boot caught a slick patch of grease, but I kept my balance, clutching the heavy documents against my ribs. I had to hit the secondary extraction point near the docks, but first I had to shake whatever Moretti Syndicate enforcers were tailing me.My arms pumped violently, the freezing air burning my lungs as my legs fought to keep pace. I turned down three separate alleys, ducking behind abandoned brick warehouses, but the silence on the street was deafening. I hadn't passed a single civilian or patrol car for blocks.I slowed down, peering into the shadows. Was I even being hunted, or was my paranoia playing tricks on me? I stopped, backing into a doorway while I caught my breath. Maybe I'd imagined the footfalls behind me. Maybe it was just some junkie shifting in the alley.I looked back once

Taryn VescariI shoved past the dark curtain, my boots slamming against the polished marble floor of the Moretti Palazzo. I took one look at the closed steel security doors and realized Nico Sforza had stepped out, leaving no sign of the other guards who had brought me in.I spun on my heel, lifted my boot, and drove my heel hard into the bare top of Nico’s foot. He grunted, but his hand tightened like an iron vise on my jacket sleeve. Instantly, I pivoted, throwing my weight into a vicious upward knee straight into his groin.He yelped in pain, doubling over and letting go of my leather coat. I didn't waste a second. I bolted straight for the heavy front exit, threw the brass latch open, and sprinted down the granite steps into the dark courtyard.I made it halfway across the cobblestone drive before a heavy tactical boot slammed into the back of my knee, driving me face-first onto the rough stones.Pain erupted in my kneecap as the skin tore against the rock. The weight of a hundred