Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“And Hugo?” he asks.
“I need him here in case shit goes down with the Dragomir, the Irish, or Albanians. Have Nathan take the lead on the team for Japan.”
When Nico leaves to inform Nathan, I sit down behind my desk again and let out a sigh.
I open my encrypted laptop and log into the system Rosie set up for me. When she took over from her father, Uncle Dario, I was skeptical, but the girl has proven herself to be one of our most important assets. She’s even better than her father when it comes to hacking and tracking.
There’s a grid block with photos of the Cosa Nostra’s enemies, and I click on Constantin Dragomir. He’s the head of the Romanian Mafia and one of my biggest worries. His organization has the power to give the Cosa Nostra a run for our money. A war with him would cripple us and vice versa.
That’s the only reason we’re sitting down to talk. We need to come up with a way for both organizations to live in peace.
I check where he is, and seeing he was last spotted in Amsterdam, I move on to the next enemy. I keep track of all of them, so we’re not caught off guard, and I’m sure they’re doing the same with us.
Once I’m done, I check all the businesses, making sure everything is running smoothly.
Nico comes into my office, and placing a container from a restaurant on my desk, he says, “Take a break so you can eat.”
Mom would shit herself if she knew how much takeout I eat. The only homemade food I get is whenever I visit her, which I’ve been doing less and less. It’s to avoid the never-ending questions and fights because even though I’m turning thirty in three months and run the Cosa Nostra, she still treats me like a baby.
I love her for it, but I don’t want her to know how fucked up I am. It will break her heart.
Just to keep Nico from nagging, I pull the box closer and open it. Seeing prawns and rice, my thoughts jump to Sienna because she’s allergic to shellfish.
She’s one of triplets, but they’re all completely different. The only thing Sienna, Augusto, and Bianca have in common is their green eyes.
Augusto is strong and dominating, just like his father, and Bianca is one hell of an extrovert. Everyone loves hanging out with her.
But Sienna…she’s the quiet one of the three. Growing up, she hid behind her brother and sister and has always stayed on the sidelines.
Where Augusto and Bianca have made a place for themselves in our world, Sienna always stayed in the shadows, thinking no one would notice.
I did. Every fucking single time she entered a room, I felt her presence. Her quiet and shy nature drew me in like a moth to a flame.
While I tried dating in school, none of the girls could hold a candle to Sienna. Once I turned twenty-two and took over from my father, I claimed the only woman who could hold my interest.
The three months we dated quickly turned my budding feelings for her into an undying love. The past seven years that have formed a gaping chasm between us have done absolutely nothing to minimize my love for her. Instead, it’s changed it into a dark obsession. It’s fucking ravenous, and only she can ease the hunger.
Chapter 7
Sienna
After holding it together long enough to offer Mom, Dad, and Bianca comfort, I rush to my bedroom and shut the door behind me.
My lungs instantly seize, cutting off the precious air I desperately need.
Riccardo’s been shot. Oh my God!
The words are carved into my soul, merciless and painfully slowly. My heart stutters before slamming hard enough against my ribs to make me feel dizzy.
Stumbling a step forward, fear coils tight in my stomach, sharp and feral, sinking its claws deep into me.
I begin to pace my bedroom like a trapped animal, and every time I turn, the walls feel closer. The air is too thick, pressing into my body until it feels like I’m being crushed to death.
I lift a trembling hand to my chest as if I can physically stop my heart from tearing itself apart.
Riccardo.
A wail rips loose from me. All the fear that’s haunted me for years, telling me I’ll lose everyone until I’m left with nothing but bloodstained memories, is becoming a reality. It’s a tormenting force that devours every rational thought.
I can’t lose my baby brother. He’s only twenty-seven. He just got married. This is supposed to be the happiest time of his life.
My vision tunnels, the edges darkening, and panic surges hotter and crueler than before through me.
Flashes of when I thought Christiano was dead bombard me, mixing with the storm created by the attack on my little brother.