Don Carianno swiped a cloth around the sharp edge of his dagger, admiring the finely sculptured metal. The blood on it was an evident indication of what he just did. Slitting a throat. A measly life that shouldn't have stayed breathing as long as it did. The geezer owed him a fortune, he'd been lenient enough. Not anymore.The door opened and Sergio walked in, agitated and furious. He had a gun in his hand and his eyes were hooded with the crazy urge to kill. "Speak." Don Carianno said, returning the dagger to its small sheath. He was disturbed but had a knack for concealing his emotions, no matter how raging they were.The Asian fighter had died in their ring, brewing a pending feud between them and the Asian Mafia. And if badly handled, the triads would come for them. It would bring a devastating catastrophe. He was sickly worried, no matter how coordinated he seemed."Scar gave the order." Sergio sputtered out. "He bloody asked one of our men to spike the Asian guy's water with th

Staring at the splitting lookalike of Jason, Ciara was terrified. The man was nothing but Jason's doppelganger, a cold-blooded doppelganger. Recalling that day in his apartment, and how vicious he'd been to her, she had every reason to be terrified by his presence. Nah, scratch that. She had every reason to be terrified by everyone here. She's been through hell and never had she imagined humans could be so vicious. Growing up, she was taught that only rogues had this great level of viciousness. But these monsters just showed her how wrong she'd been taught. They were literal beasts. And she was fucking lucky to still be breathing. "What are you doing here?" Deep and hoarse came the voice, startling her again. His bluish-grey eyes were in a dark squint."I'm working." Ciara cleared her throat, regaining her senses. She took the bottle of brandy from his hand and filled the two glasses."Here?" Ghost blurted out again. It made no fucking sense that she was behind that counter. Who the

The starry night sky echoed Ryder's sullen mood as he stared up at the stars, deep in thought. Distant wailing of kids and lowkey chattering were the background sounds. Somehow, they synched with his misery, creating a sore in his heart.A half-filled glass of whiskey was loosely gripped by one hand, and the other hand was wrapped firmly around the rails. His shoulders were sagged, indicating just how troubled he was.Tomorrow, he would be visiting different Packs in hopes that they would ally with him in his fight against the Mafia. It was a drastic step, one that wasn't insured. If they do agree and ally with him and the war ends badly, he will suffer an incurable loss. Every damn thing he had would be gone.The Mafia would sweep them out of existence, and the other Packs would suffer losses that they knew nothing about. If that happens, he'll spend the rest of his life feeling guilty.But if things work out right, then Jason would be back home, where he belongs. Surely, it would be

27"I don't bloody care," Camilla seethed, tugging her arm off his hold. "Ghost wouldn't tell me his address, so I can't visit him at home. And he's been avoiding my calls. So I'm sorry, but this meeting is over. I need to talk to him."Don Carianno stood and went to her. Calmly, he said. "Camilla, have some bloody manners, please. This is a meeting. Now, you're welcome to wait for him in any of the rooms in the building but not in here,""You caused all these, Don Carianno. Why the hell did you give that bitch to him?" Camilla retorted. Bratty, as always."It's just for two weeks. What's the big deal?" Don Carianno tried reasoning with her. Camilla wasn't just any Mafioso's daughter. Her father, Riccardo Dante was a big shot caller in the Mafia world. It gave her more rights to throw silly tantrums than any daughters of the Mafiosos. If only Ghost wasn't always trying to upset her. If only he'd learn how to treat her right."Ghost hasn't touched me after the day he returned. It's bee

29"Grazie (Italian for " thank you"). The random Italian man smiled at Ciara as she placed his drinks on his table. He had a girl with him, and her head rested on his shoulders as she beamed at Ciara too.Feeling weird, Ciara nodded nervously and strolled back to the counter. She got behind it, taking a few seconds' break. The hushed whispers of her co-workers infiltrated her ears — they were going off about her again. She threw them a glance, and they fell quiet, avoiding her gaze and pretending to be busy.Weird. They never avoided her gaze. On the contrary, they always blasted her for making eye contact with them, and if she looked a second longer, they're gonna walk up to her and hit her face. It's always been that way.But lately, they've been acting very differently. Not just them. Everyone else. Imagine serving a drink and getting thanked for it. That's never happened since she came to work in the bar.They usually blast her, and some uncouth bastards would go as far as grab