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CHAPTER ONE

ROYCE

The shadows wrap around me like a familiar friend as I watch her through the window, my pulse thrumming. I could get closer to her. Close enough to feel the rapid race of her pulse as fear takes over.

It’s too soon. One slip—a single wrong step—will send this plan spiraling. It will unravel before I ever have the chance to.

Her hand flutters near the curtain as she stares down at the city below, her eyes narrowing like she’s looking for me even though she’s never going to find me.

But there she is, acting like this is just another night, running a hand through her hair, her gaze haunted. She stands there like nothing changed between us. Like she didn’t light the fuse on the bomb that blew our lives apart. As she reaches for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head, her pin-straight hair falling loose to her waist, all I can think about is what it used to be like to be standing across from her when she undressed.

I used to watch every flick of her gaze toward mine when she would taunt me. She’d peel off her clothing like it was a second skin she was shedding, taking her time, making my mouth water and cock stand at attention.

Now, she’s nothing but the woman who double-crossed me and for that she’s going to pay.

I’m torn between what to do and how to start. I could punish her for all that she’s done to me—all that she’s kept. I could take her to the very verge of her death before allowing her to recover. Then I could do it all over again.

To have her on her knees, begging me to be her salvation—well, that’s something I wouldn’t be willing to pass up.

Though I may not be ready to get her right now, sooner or later, I’m going to be coming for her, and she’s not going to have a clue.

Knowing her, she’s gotten comfortable. Relaxed.

She’s thinking that her brother is going to keep her safe, although there’s no such thing as true safety when you belong to the underbelly of New York. If only she knew the things my family was capable of—the things we’ve done for lesser wrongs. She would’ve thought twice before she fucked me over.

And I was the idiot who was willing to overlook all that before. I thought it would be enough. At least, I did until secrets started pouring out of her like a waterfall. Everything that was good between us was killed on impact.

It’s been years, but I’ve finally hunted her down.

Matt sighs beside me, shifting his weight from one side to the other before he pulls a red and white carton from his pocket. He slides the top open, tapping the last two cigarettes out and into his hand.

I snag one from his palm, putting it between my lips and taking the lighter he offers me. “You would think that a woman like her would think to have thicker curtains.”

I say the words more for his benefit than my own. I know what kind of woman she is, but my family and the men who work for them don’t. They never will. I plan to be done with her—the body hidden where nobody will ever find it—long before Aiden ever figures out she was mine.

“Women like her don’t ever think that they’re being watched.” Matt takes the lighter back from me, igniting the end of his own cigarette.

A puff of smoke rolls from my lips, the thin ribbon curling toward the night sky. “She’s spent a long time having her brother to watch over her. Now that Aiden is almost ready to make a move, there’s going to be nothing Noah Rinaldo can do to protect his younger sister.”

“We could take her now and be done with stalking around in the middle of the night to watch her.” Matt holds the cigarette between two fingers, letting it burn down without taking a single puff.

“Not yet.”

“It’s cold and damp out. I’d rather grab her and deal with the consequences of Aiden’s anger later than spend another night out here.”

Fucker.

If he ruins everything I’ve worked for, I’m going to make his death slow. He’s going to know what it feels like to have his entire life taken from him an inch of flesh at a time.

I flick the cherry off and glare at him. “We’ve been friends for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I’ll accept you even suggesting that you would be willing to go against orders.”

His head dips, blond hair flopping in his eyes. “I apologize. I wouldn’t actually go against his orders. I know we have a job to do; my balls are just freezing off.”

“Find a girl at one of the clubs to warm them.” I pull out the keys to my car, dangling them from one finger. “We’re done here for the night.”

Matt nods and disappears into one of the cars waiting around the corner, but I linger for a couple minutes longer.

When I take Gia, it needs to be quick and quiet. I can’t have Matt around trying to rush the job because he’s cold. I need to smell her fear in the air, to see the way she shakes when she realizes her time is up.

Things like that just can’t be rushed.

As the lights flick off in Gia’s bedroom, I get into my car and leave her behind, the same way I left her twenty-four months, two weeks, and four days ago.

Not that I’m keeping count.

* * *

Aiden is already sitting in one of the booths when I unlock the door to the closed rooftop café.

It’s one of the buildings I own as a front, and though he has a key, I didn’t think he would beat me here. I certainly didn’t think he would have found the stash of alcohol I keep on hand for special occasions.

He looks up, swirling around the red wine in his glass and nodding to the bottle in the middle of the table. “You know, I didn’t think you were one for wine.”

“Depends on the wine.” I slide out of my leather moto jacket, hanging it on one of the gold hooks by the door. “What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t going to be meeting until tomorrow.”

The door to the patio opens and Sean Andino walks in, shoving his phone into his pocket. “Because things changed.”

Between Sean and Aiden, they control over three quarters of New York City’s criminal underworld. Noah Rinaldo is chipping away at them, trying to gain ground, but it’s an ongoing battle.

One that he’s going to lose.

The Rinaldos have no idea what connections we have. What lengths we’re willing to go to. This isn’t the same mafia that my father ran. It’s evolving and with it the shadows are getting darker—what lurks is the more monstrous.

My eyebrows rise as I head to the kitchen and grab a beer from the fridge. Even though I keep wine here, it’s more for the few women I have seen in the last couple years, not for me.

I’ve never been able to get past the taste of rotten grapes.

Cracking the top of the beer, I head over to the booth, sitting on the opposite side from Aiden.

Sean hauls a chair over, glancing toward the door. “Are you sure that this is a safe place to talk?”

I nod, taking a long pull of the beer. “It’s fine. My employees here are all on Aiden’s payroll.”

Aiden hums his agreement, sloshing the wine around the glass again before finishing it off. “So, what did tonight tell you?”

“I found out where she lives.” I put the bottle down on the table, running my fingers through the condensation before letting go. “She’s alone too. I’ve been watching her apartment for the last two weeks and the only other person coming or going is her mother and some woman named Kat Lawson. No connections to the Rinaldos beyond her friendship with Gia.”

“Matt and Dominic have both been sent now to try and track down Noah for negotiations, but nobody has been able to find him.” Aiden scowls out the window like it’s the bane of his existence.

My lips press together in a thin line as I glance between the two of them. “Is that why we’re having this meeting right now? Neither of you can track him down even though it’s been months since he attacked the two of you and Ellie.”

“I don’t like it any more than you do.” Aiden grinds out the words, his grip so tight on the stem of the wineglass that I’m sure he’s going to break it. “Negotiations are the only way forward.”

Sean rolls his eyes. “There is no way that Noah is ever going to come to the table. If I were him, I would think that it’s nothing but an assassination attempt.”

“Which would be why he went underground.” I take another sip of the beer and lean back, draping my arm over the back of the booth.

Aiden shakes his head. “He’s going to come out once someone can get a message to him. Negotiations are the best way of moving forward. I won’t have him carving his fucking initials into another one of my sisters.”

Sean glowers at him, though his own brand is hidden behind the tattoo he got when he and Ellie got married. Both of them have their brands covered, but there’s going to be no outrunning the memory.

Which is why I’m not surprised when Sean shoves back from the table, the chair scraping against the tile and falling to the ground.

Branding. Now that’s a thought.

Although, to brand Gia before I kill her would be to claim her as mine again. She doesn’t deserve that—not when we were together and certainly not now. Maybe if she’s willing to submit, she might live.

Sean slams his hand down on the table in front of Aiden. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for this asshole to show his face and hurt my wife again.”

“My sister.”

“Oh, for the love of fucking God.” I tip the beer bottle back, swallowing the last drop before putting it back down. “The two of you need to get over this. She’s married to Sean. Her well-being is his primary concern.”

Sean smirks down at Aiden. “Which is why we should attack now. Hunt Noah down and kill him before he has a chance to get his feet under him.”

I hold up a hand. “Just because I agree that Ellie is your responsibility doesn’t mean that I think we should stop looking out for our sisters either. I don’t think that going after Noah right now is the right move. He’s built his soldiers back up after the warehouse. He’s going to be trying to grow larger and get more power behind him.”

“You can’t really think that we’re going to just let him get stronger.” Aiden keeps his tone even, but I know he’s simmering.

Despite being the one who arranged for Ellie and Sean to get married, he’s still annoyed that they ended up falling in love with each other.

He’d rather that she had come home when Sean assumed control of the Andino mafia, and I can’t blame him for that. I miss Ellie, but she’s happier now.

Just like I used to be happy.

Aiden sighs, shoulders slumping as he looks up at the pendant light hanging above us. “Royce, what do you think we should do?”

If there was a time to tell him about my connection to Gia, it would be now. It might change Aiden’s opinion of our next move.

Shrugging, I cross my arms, looking him in the eyes and hoping that he doesn’t see I’m holding back. “I think we go forward with the plan to kidnap Gia. She’s been off our radar until now because she has her mother’s last name, not her father’s. Now that we know she’s actually a Rinaldo—Noah’s younger sister at that—we use her to our advantage.”

Sean picks the chair up and sits back down. “Then why don’t we take the other sister too?”

“Haven’t been able to track down Zoe.” Aiden pours himself another glass of wine. “Doesn’t matter though. Gia is enough.”

“We don’t know anything about these women,” Sean says, his tone clipped, caution shining in his eyes. “If they’re more connected than we assume they are, we could be getting into a bigger war.”

“We won’t be.” Aiden stands and grabs one of the little cakes out of the fridge behind the counter. “Noah is going to do whatever it takes to get his sister back, and he’s not going to allow anyone else to get involved.”

With a sigh, Sean finally leans back in the chair and nods. “Alright, we’ll do it your way, but if this goes to hell, then we’re going to start doing things my way.”

Aiden studies him before eating some of the cake. “Fine. My way first, and if that fails, we go in with brute force and take him down.”

The corner of my mouth twitches, the possibility of revenge against Gia shining bright. “I’ll take her as planned, but she should be kept in one of the safe houses. Noah is going to expect us to take her somewhere with a holding cell. If he chooses to attack in retaliation, that’s going to be the first place he goes.”

Sean’s silent for so long I’m sure he’s going to argue, but he finally nods. “You’re the best one to take her. We can’t risk the others who could easily be swayed going after her.”

This is all too easy. If either of them knew the bloodlust I have for her, neither of them would risk me getting close. They would demand that I hold back. That she’s for their revenge and not my own.

They would be wrong.

Aiden’s chest puffs up. “Are you saying that my men aren’t loyal to me?”

I groan and scrub a hand over my jaw. “Ellie is going to murder you both if you keep up with this pissing competition. I thought you were both over this shit.”

“I’m over it.” Aiden crosses his arms, his chin jutting out. “We’re fine.”

Rolling my eyes, I get up and open the door. “Yeah. Somehow, I don’t believe that, but I think we’re done here before the two of you start fighting.”

Sean snorts and gets up. “Good. I wanted to get home soon.”

Aiden scowls and stands to follow him, but he stops on his way out the door and turns to me. “I don’t care how you deal with Gia, but make sure she’s alive and that Noah is never going to find her.”

“Don’t worry,” I say with a smirk as I lean against the door. “I have plans for her.”

I lean against the door, watching Aiden and Sean as they disappear down the hall and out into the night. They may think they’re in control right now, but they’d be wrong.

They have no idea what I have planned for Gia.

This is personal.

And when I take her, there won’t be anyone there to save her.