Alessandro
is the unwilling heir of a Chicago crime family. Intent on leaving the
life set out for him, he decides to run as fast and as far away as
possible. His plans crumble when one girl crash lands in his life. He
should hate the daughter of his father’s mistress, but it’s near
impossible when he finds that they are alike in more ways than one.
Olivia grew up watching men walk in and out of her mother’s life. When one man finally decides to stay, she learns that crime lords don’t leave until someone’s dead. Olivia’s salvation comes from the person she least expects: his son.
Six years later, Olivia and Alessandro are reunited when her life is threatened. If time has proven one thing, it’s that repeating their parents’ mistakes seems inevitable.
In a world where friendship is a luxury and love a death sentence, two unlikely lovers find each other only to be separated by their cruel reality.
Olivia grew up watching men walk in and out of her mother’s life. When one man finally decides to stay, she learns that crime lords don’t leave until someone’s dead. Olivia’s salvation comes from the person she least expects: his son.
Six years later, Olivia and Alessandro are reunited when her life is threatened. If time has proven one thing, it’s that repeating their parents’ mistakes seems inevitable.
In a world where friendship is a luxury and love a death sentence, two unlikely lovers find each other only to be separated by their cruel reality.
I wasn’t sure how I
felt about this one till I was done reading it and sat back and pondered the
lead female characters behavior and role in this story. I went and looked
at the reviews to see if others had an issue with her as well and found I wasn’t
alone. What I do think makes me different than others who have strong
feelings about her behavior is I believe she had to be this reckless in book
one, to make whatever the author has coming late mean more. My gut tells
me the ending of this book was the first step in her growing up and realizing
what her life is now, not her rebellion over what it used to be. So for
that reason, along with the story and writing style of the author, I give this
book four stars with high hopes that the next installment will be a five star
rating once everything is played out.
Olivia and Alessandro
have a history. Her mother, his father, married and brought them together
as a family, only Olivia and Alessandro discovered a different connection, they
found love. When they had chance years ago to run off together and get
away from the mafia business his dad ran, events tragically derailed their
plans. With her being sent off and he taking over the business, their
paths were not meant to cross till years later when she made a desperate phone
call for help. There are so many twists and turns in this book that I
would love to spell out and talk about, but you really need to read this one
and go through the maze yourself. If you are like me, you will find a mix
of emotions while you read.
Now someone is trying
to kill her and Alessandro is determined to not only protect her but find out
who it is that is the threat. He will balance his feelings for her and
the other woman he is involved with while Olivia will confront the nightmares
from her past that she refuses to let go of. She still loves Alessandro
but she isn’t willing to relent to those emotions and she makes some pretty
stupid decisions that will put her and others at risk, which leads me back to
my prior remarks. I had moments where I didn’t like him hanging on to the
girlfriend that he really didn’t feel anything for and lusting after Olivia,
but I can’t shed this nagging feeling we are going to find out soon why he is
doing it and it will make perfect sense. Alessandro isn’t the kind of man
who does something that isn’t calculated and planned.
This isn’t the
darkest or grittiest book I have read, but it does get graphic in places so if
you are a fluffy, faint of heart book lover, you might want to prepare yourself
for this one. The characters are well developed and I could really
understand and feel for each of them. Even the secondary characters were
presented in a way that the reader could invest in them. They did more
than fill in the space in this story. I can hardly wait for the next
installment. The ending was a cliffhanger but more of an emotional
kind. There wasn’t gun shots or buildings exploding and then we fade to
black, it was more raw and gut wrenching when she discovered what she had done
and was left with no one to blame but herself. Will she stand up and
recover or will she lay there and wallow……….that is what we will find out in
book two.
CHAPTER ONE
OLIVIA
I stared at the lifeless body on the floor, thinking about
the blood seeping into the wood and staining it. It would be impossible to
clean. The wooden floorboards would have to be replaced.
The gun I had just fired fell from my hand. The clattering
noise it made as it hit the ground startled me out of my skin. The sight of the
gun, lying in a puddle of blood, and the metallic scent invading my senses made
me tremble. Maybe I was going into shock. My mind raced, trying to figure out
what I should do next, but I couldn’t think of anything.
Other than calling him.
After six years, I had truly believed I was free from my
past. I had been sure he would never be a part of my life again. After all, he
had made that choice. But, with a bleeding body on my floor, it seemed that
facing him would be inevitable.
I took a slow step back, away from the blood pooling near
my feet, only to stumble over my purse that still lay where I had left it when
I entered my apartment. Keys, my chipped powder compact, three nickels and a
quarter, an uncapped pen I’d borrowed from the bank, and my phone skidded out
across the floor. Entranced, I watched as my pink lipstick tube rolled over to
the door. The sudden urge to cry and scream welled up in my throat. I sank to
my knees and reached for my phone—it had fallen near the couch. I cringed at
the sight of the dark blotches on the couch’s white fabric. In the daylight,
they would be splashes of deep, sticky red. I swallowed the lump in my throat,
picked up my phone, and scrolled down the contact list. My thumb hovered over
the word ‘HIM.’
I hesitated.
Swallowed again.
Then, I pressed the dial button. It rang once.
“What’s wrong?” he answered.
I whimpered at the sound of his smoothly calm voice—a
voice that had haunted me for years. I briefly listened to his breathing,
wondering how he knew that I needed him. I shook my head and bit back a
dejected laugh. Of course, he knew. I wouldn’t be calling unless it was a
matter of life or death.
“Someone was here,” I whispered as if not to startle the
corpse. My voice sounded raspy and thick with unshed tears. For the most part,
up until this point, I had actually impressed myself by not freaking out. Now,
my well-crafted façade was cracking. I could hear his breathing quicken
slightly.
“Are you all right?”
I soaked in the alarm in his voice, letting it wrap me up
like a balm to a sting. I closed my eyes and willed my voice to sound firm.
“You need to send a crew,” I said.
“Fuck… cleaners?” he asked, letting out a heavy breath.
I nodded. After a moment, I realized I hadn’t actually
answered. “Yes, I’m in Chicago… in my apartment on the corner of—”
“I know where you live. Sit tight. Tiny will be there in
no time—”
I hung up, not strong enough to listen to his voice any
longer. Sitting on the floor, I dropped the phone in another loud clatter and
brought my knees to my chest. I wasn’t startled or even fully conscious of the
continuous vibrating of my phone. It just danced in the dark, dangerously close
to the pool of blood. I watched it, lost in thought of how naïve I’d been. I
should’ve known the past would catch up to me—he would always catch up with me.
Closing my eyes, I let a sliver of happiness creep up
inside.
I would see Tiny again.
The happiness lasted just until I remembered why I would
see him again and was replaced by a sharp pain in my chest. I looked over at
the dead body once more and shivered, the sickeningly sweet metallic scent of
blood churned my stomach. It was unbearable. I started dry heaving
uncontrollably and leaned on my hands for support. I hadn’t eaten all day so
there was nothing my body could purge itself of, save for the acid burning the
back of my throat.
When the dry heaving stopped, I sat back and wrapped my
arms around my legs. Leaning my forehead on my arms, I made myself breathe
through my mouth. I didn’t want to smell it anymore. And, I was pretty good at
convincing myself if I couldn’t see or smell it, it didn’t exist. So, I sat there,
rocking myself in the dark, repeating four words like a mantra.
He can fix this.
It might have been a few minutes, or hours, before I heard
the front door creak open. Although I was in plain sight, I couldn’t make
myself move from my position. The door opened, but I didn’t raise my head. I
heard several pairs of footsteps treading the floor almost imperceptibly as
they invaded my home.
“Clear,” several voices said at the same time.
“Stand guard. We’re coming down in a few,” Tiny’s deep
voice called out from the door. The men moved around while Tiny approached me.
He took a couple of steps and came to an abrupt stop.
“You left the door unlocked.” His tone was harsh,
accusatory.
Truthfully, I hadn’t even considered the possibility that
someone else might come to finish the job.
I could sense Tiny’s stare on me. After a moment, he
spoke.
“Fuck,” he said.
I looked up to him now, but I knew he was looking at the
man beside me. I followed his gaze and then averted my eyes. I sniffled, not
realizing until then that I had been crying. Straining, I fixed my eyes on
Tiny’s perfectly polished patent leather shoes that shone even in the dark.
“Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling down in front of me.
His words had an almost affectionate undertone, something rare for him.
I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. Was I okay?
Hardly. No. I raised my eyes to his. I unlocked my arms and wiped my
tear-stained face with my hands.
He frowned.
“I’m fine,” I said before nodding towards the body.
“But... that’s going to leave a stain.”
Tiny chuckled and shook his head lightly.
I couldn’t help the slight upward curling of my lips,
despite the horror I had just gone through. I had lived by so many rules, for
so many years that even now, as an adult, I couldn’t help the impulse to follow
them. Everything needed to be clean and in perfect order. I shouldn’t be too
loud. Speak too much. Attract any attention.
And, I certainly shouldn’t have a dead body on my floor.
“Come on, Lou. Let’s get you out of here,” he said as he
took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
I frowned. No one had called me Lou in years—these days I
went by Livi.
I didn’t fight him; I needed to get out of there. “My
purse,” I said, looking down at the black leather bag whose contents were still
spilled all over the floor. It was truly absurd to worry about something so
trivial after all that had just happened, but old habits died hard. Really
hard. And, that was my favorite lipstick.
“I’ll take care of it,” Tiny said. He placed his hand
between my shoulder blades and pushed me gently towards the door.
I suddenly panicked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“We need to go, now.” Tiny pushed again, urging me to
move, but my feet remained glued in place.
“I-I can’t leave like this, I have to pick up my things,”
I said turning around. My eyes watered at the sight of the mess in front of us.
“Don’t worry about it,” Tiny said, now grabbing my arm.
I shook my head again and tried to pull out of his grasp,
but he didn’t let go.
“I need to clean up, I’ll probably have to bleach the—”
“Lou!” Tiny said, grasping my shoulders and forcefully
turning me to look at him. “Snap out of it.”
That’s when I freaked out.
My whole body started trembling uncontrollably and my breathing
hitched. I chewed the inside of my cheek to try to stop myself from crying, but
when I bit too hard and tasted the metallic tang of blood, my tears spilled
over. A sob escaped me. I covered my mouth with my hands, startled by my
reaction.
“Damn it,” Tiny said, shaking me slightly. “You need to
calm down.”
I closed my eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly, ignoring
the taste in my mouth. When I felt in control again, I opened my eyes.
“Are you good?” Tiny asked. I nodded. He looked at me
doubtfully, so I wiped my face and breathed in deeply again before answering.
“I’m good,” I said.
“Okay, then let’s get you the fuck out of here.”
This time when he guided me, I followed his lead. A man
stood guard at the door, but I hardly looked at him. I just saw the bloody mess
everywhere. Thankfully, Tiny helped me down the two flights of stairs otherwise
I would have crumbled. He stepped outside first, his body tense, prepared to
attack any other assassin. Then, he turned back to me and waved me forward.
Slowly, I stepped into the cold night.
Another man in a black suit stood just outside the
entrance. There were four black SUVs with tinted windows parked in front of us
with men standing guard in front of them. They had come like an army intent on
making a statement—Don’t fuck with us.
The sight of them brought back my most painful memories. I
hesitated, but Tiny pushed me forward. He walked with purpose, hovering over
me.
With Tiny, there was never time for uncertainty. He opened
the door and carefully, but firmly, helped me inside the car. The driver stood
beside his own door, intently scanning the surroundings, and looked up at
Tiny’s approach.
“I gotta go clean up. Liam will follow you,” Tiny said to
the driver. Turning to me, he added, “Tate will take care of you.”
“Where is he taking me?” I asked before he could shut the
door. Noticing the panic in my own voice, my eyes glazed over in shame; I
didn’t want him to see how scared I was of his answer.
“Home.”
The way he said it left no room for arguing. Still, I opened
my mouth.
“But—”
“This is not up for discussion,” Tiny said.
I nodded, resigned as he closed the door behind me.
Tate started the car. I didn’t know him, and his grave
face was not reassuring. He glanced a final time at the rearview mirror and
drove off. I turned around and noticed that one of the other cars was following
us. That must have been Liam—whoever that was. I still couldn’t believe Tiny
had left me alone with a stranger. His size alone made me nervous and the fact
that he hadn’t spoken to me yet was unnerving. Tate was almost too big for the
interior of the car, even though he was still not as large a man as Tiny. The
driver’s seat was shoved all the way back, squeezing my legs awkwardly into a
twisted, painful position. When I decided to slide over to the other side, Tate
broke the silence.
“Keep your head down,” was all he said.
My head snapped up to look at him through the rearview
mirror. He didn’t meet my gaze.
“I will, but I need to move because you’re crushing me,” I
said through clenched teeth. Tate didn’t react.
I started pulling at the buckle of the seat belt, trying
to release it, but my hands trembled too much. I finally let go, defeated by
the device.
When I looked back up, I noticed Tate smirking. He was a
real charmer. I sighed and decided to stay put and suffer through the numbness
in my legs. We finally merged onto the almost deserted I-94 highway. I didn’t
want to think about what would happen next and tried to distract myself from
those thoughts by examining Tate. He had broad shoulders and, beneath his suit,
I knew he would be all hard muscle. I took in his blond hair and brooding eyes,
color unknown in the dark, and startled when I noticed his gaze fixed on mine.
I was embarrassed to have been caught staring at him and
offered a small smile as an apology. His eyes narrowed slightly. My heart sped
up, though I couldn’t identify the emotion. My brain seemed to freeze at that
moment, unable to process any more information.
I closed my eyes and breathed in and out several times,
just like my therapist had told me to do when I felt a panic attack coming.
Slowly, I calmed myself enough to open them again.
Tate was no longer looking at me.
Relieved, I stared out the window as we sped through the
city. My thoughts traveled to the past.
This wasn’t the first time I had killed someone.
Six years ago, I had watched a man bleed out on a cold
floor while I cried helplessly. The memory of that night was my own private
nightmare—a nightmare I thought would only ever repeat itself in my dreams.
I was wrong.
It was six years ago all over again.
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