Thorton Gallardo POVThe golden light of sunrise filters in through the crack in the curtains, filling the hotel room with warmth and the promise of a new day. Beside me, Zandra’s red locks have curled slightly in her sleep, spilling out like tendrils of copper. I spend a little too long drinking in the sight, her beauty unmatched in all things worldly or otherwise. I silently pray for time to stop. I want to capture this moment for all eternity and bask in it, breathing in the scent of vanilla and admiring her pretty face.But my phone goes off, vibrating angrily on the bedside table. She stirs, eyes fluttering open. When she realizes where she is, Zandra sits up quickly with a gasp.“Oh my God, I need to go,” she says, hurriedly throwing the covers off to climb out of bed. There’s no time to appreciate the love bites I’ve left all over her body. There’s no doubt in my mind my own back looks like a warzone.“What’s the hurry?” I ask her, reaching for my phone.“My guards are waiting

Zandra Valderrama POVI need to see you. It’s urgent. I stare at my phone, mildly confused. Isn’t Thor out of town?Is something wrong? Can’t tell you over text, our usual spot at the Crown Hotel. Tomorrow morning by nine.A strange, sinking feeling grows in the pit of my stomach. Call it intuition. A sixth sense. If this is Thorton, then whatever he has to tell me is clearly something big and sensitive in nature.I’ll be there.“Sweetie?”I look up to find my mother stepping into the kitchen. She wears a soft smile, bundled up in one of Dad’s sweaters. It’s surprisingly drafty in the house today, and I frankly don’t blame her for stealing one of Dad’s comfiest cashmere knits.“Is something wrong? You look troubled.”I shove my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. “It’s nothing. Just… work.”Mom joins me by the counter, reaching for a mug to make herself a cup of tea. “How are you handling things? I know it must be such a huge responsibility.”“Nothing I can’t handle. I’m getting u

Cassandra Valderrama POV“What were you thinking?” Dad asks me. He doesn’t shout, doesn’t raise his voice. In fact, his tone is perfectly calm and level, like this is just any other run-of-the-mill conversation.And that’s how I know he’s pissed.I sit across from him on the living room couch, rubbing my hands together. They’re stained red with my brother’s blood. Somewhere upstairs, I can hear him groaning and wailing in pain. Aunt Natalya is with him, tending to his injuries. Nothing too serious, she told us. All he needs is a couple of stitches, some antibiotics, and some rest. The bullets had gone through and had hit nothing vital. But her prognosis does little to settle my fried nerves.“Did you see the shooter?” Uncle Craig asks me. “Can you give us a description?”I nod numbly. “He was an older guy. Thinning white hair. A mustache, very bushy brows. His eyes were blue, I think.”“Did he say anything?” Uncle Montero presses on.My response sits on the tip of my tongue, but I hes

Zandra Valderrama POVAt the Valderrama Mafia Meeting Greggy slams his fists against the table, his grim expression made much more bitter by the harsh light overhead.“I lost an eighth of my men last night to those Gallardo dogs!” he seethes. “And they’re disrupting my businesses. I’ve seen an almost fifty percent decrease in profit since this war you started.”I let the old man finish, frankly too irritated to trust myself with a responsible follow-up. The family heads and I am gathered today in the private backroom of one of my family’s restaurants—a front for smuggling weapons in and out using the clever disguise of food crates—for an emergency meeting. My uncles and even Dad are here to sit in on the meeting, a testament to how serious things are getting. We’re all flabbergasted at the amount of progress Thorton has made in such a short amount of time, and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.“This is your fault,” Greggy continues, the vein in his temple popping as he point

Thorton Gallardo POVFor a man who works in law enforcement, Detective Rossi sure knows how to hide like a criminal.I’ve scoured every inch of Italy for even a whisper of the man’s whereabouts. There’s a chance he might have left the city altogether, but my gut tells me he hasn’t. Rossi was so determined to see the Mafia shred itself to pieces. Wouldn’t he want to be nearby to watch the madness unfold? He has to be here somewhere; it’s just a matter of narrowing down possible hideouts.If I were a disgraced detective hell-bent on avenging my dead wife and daughter, where would I be?There has been relative peace on the war front, a temporary lull I’m taking full advantage of. It was a massive risk trying to get to Zandra, but it was worth it. Getting to see her beautiful face again was all the motivation I needed to keep going. The sooner I find Rossi, the sooner we can put all this behind us.And maybe—just maybe—Zandra and I can turn over a new leaf.“Anything?” I ask Leo as I pace