LOGINThe meeting in the lounge finally ended, and the men scattered to their posts. I hurried away before Andreas could ask me to go back upstairs with him. My mind was completely overloaded with the delivery routes and the roof sniper positions I had just memorized. I needed a moment to breathe without someone watching my face for a reaction. I walked down the narrow service hallway that ran behind the kitchen, heading toward the quiet storerooms where the staff rarely
The city center was far behind us by the time the sun fully broke through the gray sky. Andreas’s driver had taken the long routes, avoiding the main highways until we reached a small, quiet estate hidden behind a line of tall green trees. It was a simple house, far away from the flashing lights of the club and the dirty alleys of the docks. The air here smelled clean, like wet grass and pine leaves, instead of the salt and old grease of Pier 47.Inside, the rooms were warm and completely peaceful. I sat on the edge of a wide, soft bed in the upstairs room, my feet finally washed and wrapped in clean white bandages. Asher was lying right beside me, tucked under a pair of thick blankets. He had eaten two bowls of warm soup before his eyes finally grew too small to stay open, and now he was sleeping deeply, his little chest rising and falling in a steady, gentle rhythm. The yellow bruises on his face looked prominent against his pale skin, but his hands were loose and relaxed, no longer
The cold rain hit my face the second I kicked the rear exit door open, stepping out onto the slippery iron platform that hung directly over the black river. My left shoulder was throbbing with a fierce, burning pain where the bullet had torn through my shirt, but the adrenaline running through my veins kept my grip tight on my silver piece. A few feet ahead of me, Dante Moretti was scrambling toward the edge of the dock, his expensive black coat soaked through and splashing in the puddles as he realized his getaway boat was nowhere to be seen."Move another inch, Dante, and I will put a round right through your spine," I called out, my voice dropping into a low, deadly tone that cut straight through the sound of the falling rain.Dante froze, his shoulders tensing up as he slowly raised his hands into the air. He turned around to face me, his slick dark hair plastered against his forehead, but he still tried to force that calm, easy smile onto his wet lips. "Andreas. Let's be smart ab
The papers were scattered all over the long table at the venue, the blue ink from the bank transfers showing every single penny Dante had stolen from our southern accounts over the last five years. Old man Rossi sat at the far end of the room, his eyes fixed on the digital sheets while the other southern captains murmured under their breath, their angry voices filling the tight space. My heart was pounding against my ribs, a cold, sharp panic freezing my blood because I knew exactly what time it was. The noon vote was supposed to start in less than an hour, but Dante wasn't in the building, and his personal drivers had completely disappeared from the main gate."The numbers don't lie, Rossi," I said, my voice rough and completely raw as I slammed my open palm down onto the table. "Dante ran the operation that destroyed Horton Rowen's family. He didn't just leak our security codes last night; he used Arthur to frame me so you guys would vote me out of the seat today. And right now, he
My bare feet slapped against the gritty iron stairs as I scrambled up the narrow steps at the back of the warehouse. Down below, the flashlight beams were sweeping across the dark rows of crates, the drivers shouting at each other as they realized I had slipped past their circle. My lungs felt like they were on fire, each breath coming out in a ragged gasp that scratched my throat. I didn't care about the pain in my body, and I didn't care about the blood dripping from my heel where the glass had cut me. I only cared about the small room at the top of the platform.I reached the upper landing, my hands skidding against the cold metal railing as I threw my weight against the door of the old office. It burst open with a sharp click, swinging back against the wall.The space was small, smelling of old grease and wet paper. Right in the center of the floor, under a single flickering yellow lightbulb, was a metal chair."Arthur?" a tiny, cracked voice whispered.The sight broke me complete
The cold air coming off the river felt like tiny needles hitting my bare skin. I had been running for what felt like miles, my chest burning and my throat completely dry. My bare feet were numb now, covered in dark grime and small scratches from the sharp stones along the industrial road. I stopped at the corner of a rusting metal fence, my body shaking violently as I looked out at the massive, dark shape of Pier 47.The building was a giant, collapsing warehouse that sat right over the black water. The windows were mostly broken, looking like empty eye sockets staring down at me in the dim morning light. There were no cars parked in the main lot, and no signs of movement near the wide front loading doors. The only sound was the constant, rhythmic slapping of the river against the green wooden pillars below the dock line.I reached down to my right ankle, my fingers slipping under the hem of my damp trousers. I pulled out a small, simple kitchen knife wit
The old kitchen was completely dark except for the thin yellow streetlights shining through the dirty windowpane. I sat cross-legged on the floor, wrapped tightly in the damp wool blanket Marco had given me at the diner. My bare feet were swollen, the small cuts on my toes throbbing with a dull pain every time I shifted my weight on the cold floor tiles. The flat smelled like old dust and trapped air, a place I hadn't stepped inside for months, back when I thought my biggest worry was just finding enough dance gigs to pay the monthly utility bill. Now, it felt like a tomb.The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the sound of my own ragged breathing. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Andreas standing on that high balcony, his face turning completely into stone as Dante shouted my real name to the room. The pain in my chest was a physical ache that wouldn't go away, a tight knot that made it hard to swallow. He hated me. He thought I was a monster who h
The hallway was quiet as Andreas led Raine toward the back of the club. It wasn't the way to the rooms or the bar. They stopped at a heavy door that Andreas opened with a small beep of a key. Inside, the room was dim. The only light came from a small lamp sitting on a large desk. The air felt still
"This better be worth it, Dante," I growled as I slammed the car door.The rain was coming down in sheets, blurring the lights of the city into messy streaks of yellow and red. I stood in the back of a small, cramped office near the docks, watching the tech guy tap away at hi
The air in the private wing of the warehouse was thick and smelled like damp concrete. I sat on a crate in the center of the room, my legs stretched out in front of me. I had a cigarette between my lips, the smoke curling around my head like a slow-moving storm. My shoulder was scre
The top floor of the club was too quiet. Usually, I could hear the muffled thump of the bass from the speakers downstairs, but since the city had pulled the license, the building felt like it was holding its breath. I sat on the edge of the large bed, my hands locked between my knee







