Semua Bab The Triple Don't: Daniels' Debt: Bab 11 - Bab 20

I extricated myself from the Moretti brothers, pulling on a silk robe and heading into the high-tech kitchen of our Barcelona penthouse.“Matteo!” I called out. I smirked to myself, realizing the fear I used to carry for the Syndicate’s fiercest enforcer had evaporated. He was wrapped around my finger now, and I leaned into that power. Matteo sauntered into the kitchen completely exposed, his lean, scarred muscles catching the morning light. “Matteo!” I hissed, half-chastising, half-admiring. He stretched, yawning like a panther. “You rang, Princess?” he asked, a predatory smirk playing on his lips. “Put some gear on,” I muttered, though my face was flushed. He closed the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating off him. “Do you actually want me to hide the view?” he whispered, knowing the answer before I could even think it.I tried to keep my eyes locked on his face, but my gaze kept sliding down over his ink-covered chest.Of course, I didn't want him to cover up.

The high-tech pool bay was on the complete opposite end of the Moretti yacht, far from the upper-deck lounge and the customized kitchen. I was gasping for air, my chest heaving with a mix of adrenaline and relief. I was too drained to even fight the way they were holding me, though every nerve in my body screamed for space. My inner Noir was pulsing with a strange ache, sensing the genuine misery radiating off Luca as he climbed out of the water, his head hanging low."I was just trying to keep her steady. She wouldn't let me touch her," Luca whispered, his voice cracking as he looked at his hands. He rubbed the back of his neck, his dark, wavy hair plastered to his forehead in heavy, wet clumps. He looked like a kicked stray, but my blood was still boiling. Why didn't he just drag me to the ledge the second I started spiraling? He'd kept me pinned in that deep water just to settle a debt of conversation. I was absolutely livid."Matteo, put me on my own feet," I commanded, my voice b

The sea breeze felt like a clean slate against my skin. After the high-tension negotiations with Matteo on the Santoro Private Island, things had finally settled. Once he’d promised to excavate the truth about the Kanes, he’d managed to drag Nic and Luca onto the same page. I’d spent the rest of the trip trying to actually be a fiancé instead of a victim. The chefs on the yacht—which they’d rebranded from the Luna to the Daniels—served up five-star spreads every night. I spent my afternoons in the surf, Matteo’s arms wrapped around me like a life jacket. He wouldn’t even let Luca take a turn, still simmering over that incident back at the Moretti Family Estate pool.“Don’t take this the wrong way, Noir,” Nic murmured in my ear. I was tucked into his lap on the top deck, watching the horizon bleed into shades of deep violet and bruised orange.“Go on,” I said, leaning back into his warmth.“I think you should see a specialist. A private mediator,” he said gently. “On our dime, obviousl

“Stay under the sheets, Noir. It’s my watch,” Nickie murmured, his voice a low vibration against my collarbone.“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” I whispered, shifting so my face was buried in his chest. The Moretti brothers had implemented a rigorous twenty-four-hour detail ever since the break-in at the Moretti Family Estate. They were running shifts like they were back in the special ops: 0800 to 1600, 1600 to midnight, and the graveyard shift—which Nickie currently owned.“I’m in charge of your safety,” he said, his long hair a wild mess against the silk pillows. He looked softer like this, less like a Syndicate hitman and more like the man I loved. I crawled up his chest, seeking his mouth. His lips were warm, tasting of the dark roast coffee he’d clearly been nursing all night.“Go back to sleep,” he commanded groggily against my mouth, though his hands tightened on my waist, pulling me flush against him.“Where are Matteo and Luca?” I asked.“Out with the street crews. They’re

“Listen to me, you little kitchen rat,” Tatiana hissed, her red dress so tight it looked like a second skin. Her dark eyes were black with a lethal envy. Flanking her were Aienna, the redhead in green velvet, and Hria, the blonde in blue sequins. All three were dripping with the tequila-and-bile cocktail I’d just unloaded on them.“I said I’m sorry,” I choked out, though my pulse was hammering with a newfound defiance.“For what? Snatching our men or trashing our clothes?” Aienna barked, her hand snapping out to grab my wrist.I didn't flinch. I ripped my arm back, a low, guttural sound vibrating in my chest that surprised even me. “I didn't snatch anyone. They’re my partners, and they cut you loose because you were dead weight. I’m sorry about the silk—I’m not sorry about the truth.”“You think you’re a Queen now?” Tatiana spat, stepping into my space. “You think you’re actually worth the ink they put on you?”I rolled my eyes, the tequila giving me a dangerous edge. “I think I’m the