Romans & histoires Noir

We didn't let the darkness win. END OF VOLUME ONE

I was getting obsessed with this woman. If I wasn’t obsessed already. “Come,” I said brusquely. My thoughts were taking another dimension that I didn’t want. It was clear that Reine was not the innocent I believed she was. And it was clear that she had just one objective: getting the money she needed for whatever shady deals she had and leaving. The last thing I wanted to do was attach myself to a golddigger. Or to someone that was going to use me and disappear.

Nora P.O.V. The city’s neon-lit streets pulsed with life, casting their glow across the sleek, tinted windows of our black town car as it moved steadily through the heart of the bustling nightlife. From the back seat, I watched the world speed by, flashes of red, blue, and yellow merging into a chaotic blur. Beside me, Agent Lee, my partner for this operation, sat reviewing the details of tonight’s mission. His sharp, focused gaze never left the screen of the tablet resting on his lap, illuminating his face with a cold, blue hue.

"Oh, Frank! Aren't you a man? Honestly, getting tripped up over some woman? Go on, kill me! I don't want to live anyway—the child inside me won't live without the Bloodcrane Spiritbloom, and it's pointless for me to stay alive otherwise! And I certainly don't dislike the idea of taking a few heads as I go down!" Frank's fingers twitched around her neck even as she continued her maniacal ramblings, but he eventually closed his eyes. "I'll let you go. Leave the detonator." "Hahaha…" Horey looked skyward and roared with laughter as he gave in. "Master Noirot, Kairo Wal… Do you hear this? Are you witnessing this?! The man you think is so invincible, so unstoppable

But he followed me tonight. The Noir de Costas bled into the dark behind us. My shadows, my family of knives, guns, and loyalty that can't be broken. Their movements were quiet and precise. The Noirs were already cleaning up the higher floors of this skyscraper, where drug dealers were shot down in alleys and their bodies were left to cool under fluorescent lights. We moved with the night, hunting and erasing. As one of my men dragged a body across the floor into the dark, Damian flinched. The smear left behind caught the dim light.

" My mother-in-law's regret turned into loud sobs. The online crowd, once swayed, then felt duped, and their insults grew even harsher. [Wretched woman! May you be struck down by a car the moment you leave!] [You're the dregs of society, unfit to be called human. Go straight to hell!] [Just die! Die!] Amid the barrage of curses, I dialed three numbers with composure. "Hello, I need to report a crime."

‘The girl from the photos… with the powerful Leone Gritti. His hand possessively slid so he had his arm around Norah and drew her closer, dipping his chin to look into Norah’s withdrawn expression with just the right level of concern. Then, he lifted a hostile, contemptuous glare to the cameras around, sending a silent message to Weldon saying ‘You hurt my woman… Now, I’ll hurt you’. A buzz of gasps went through the crowd and the bursts of light intensified into a wall of exploding lights. Norah swallowed and revealed the barest moment of anguish before she leveled her shoulders and sent a haughty, dismissive but effective glance toward the cameras.

I laughed, teasing them. "Fuck you." I couldn't help but shake my head at their offensive mouths. "You all, too," I fired back and stepped on the gas. I took a glance at my cellphone, which was resting on the dashboard, and saw the footage that Noella had sent me. As I realized how destructive my bombs are, I grinned evilly. Very good babies. "All pigs burned and mangled alive," I informed while staring at the opponent's lifeless bodies, then looked back on the road.

I looked like a woman who didn’t cry herself to sleep over the wrong man. But under the lashes and lip gloss, I was still a little cracked. Still a little jagged. Still rebuilding. And I was about to make a beautiful mistake. Noir was all shadows and seduction. Velvet curtains, gold trim, chandeliers that looked like melted champagne. There was no dance floor, just opulent booths, thumping bass, and a curated guest list that kept the riffraff out. Men in suits with secrets in their eyes. Women who knew how to use a glance like a blade.

The city buzzed with neon lights and the bass-heavy thump of music spilling onto the crowded streets. Inside Noir, the most exclusive club in town, bodies moved to the rhythm, lost in a haze of alcohol and desire. Noel Laurent leaned against the bar, fingers wrapped around a glass of something stronger than his heart could handle. His best friend, Aria, had practically dragged him here, insisting he needed a distraction. Distraction. Right. "Come on, babe," Aria nudged him playfully. "You look like a kicked puppy. You’re way too cute to be sulking over that asshole ex."