Chapter 3 Adrian
Four days before Christmas
T he city lights filter through the curtains, casting a faint glow over the tangled sheets beside me. Natalia—or maybe it was Nicole—sprawls next to me, her body still flushed from the pleasure I gave her. She’s breathless, smiling lazily, a satisfied look on her face that most men would take pride in.
But I’m not most men.
I lean back against the headboard, my muscles buzzing with a dull ache, my mind a million miles away from her. My hands roamed her body like they’ve done with countless others, teasing, claiming, bringing her to the edge again and again. She’ll probably think about me for weeks, replaying tonight as if it was something special.
But it wasn’t. Not for me.
I stare at the ceiling, taking in slow, even breaths as she shifts beside me, her fingers trailing along my abs. She wants more—a second round, a whisper of something that feels deeper. But there’s nothing deeper. Not with me.
“That was... intense,” she says, voice breathy, a light laugh following. “You sure know how to keep a girl satisfied.”
I smirk, giving her the practiced smile she expects—the charming playboy, here for a good time, nothing more. “Glad I could help,” I say smoothly, though there’s an edge beneath my words she doesn’t catch. She’s still lost in the afterglow, still buying into the illusion I create for all of them.
She leans in to kiss me, but I don’t let her. Instead, I slide out of bed, reaching for my pants, feeling her eyes on me, disappointment shadowing her expression. She doesn’t ask, but the question hangs in the air. Is that it?
I pull on my jeans and check my phone. Massimo’s name flashes on the screen, his third call in the last hour. Shit.
I’ve been dodging him since the hit on Marco Vitale. Two weeks of spiraling, burying myself in sex, alcohol—anything to numb the memory of the blood on my hands. But the distractions never last.
I’m about to hit ‘Ignore’ when I hear the door creak open.
“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.”
Fuck.
Massimo’s voice slices through the quiet, his silhouette sharp in the doorway. His gaze lands on the girl beside me, her eyes widening as she realizes she’s not meant to be here for whatever’s about to go down. He looks exhausted, worn down, like he hasn’t slept in days. There’s anger simmering beneath the surface, but mostly... he looks worried.
“Adrian,” he says, his voice carrying a dangerous edge. “We need to talk.”
I grab my shirt from the floor, pulling it over my head, my back to him. “Can it wait? I’m in the middle of something.”
Massimo’s eyes flick to the woman, who’s now trying to discreetly pull the sheet over herself, her face flushed with embarrassment. He ignores her completely, his focus locked on me.
“Don’t pretend this is about your latest hookup,” he says, his voice tight.
He’s right. This isn’t about her. Hell, I don’t even remember where I met her—some club, her body pressed against mine, her hand slipping into mine as we left without a word. She knew what I was offering—one night, no strings. They always know. They always follow.
But now, she’s lingering, and I don’t have the patience for it.
“You should go,” I say, not bothering to look at her. “Now.”
Her eyes flash with hurt, but she slips out of bed, pulling on her dress in silence. She pauses at the door like she wants to say something, glances at Massimo, then decides against it. She leaves without looking back.
The door clicks shut, and the room feels heavier, the tension between me and Massimo thickening in her absence.
“Whatever you’re here to say, I don’t want to talk about it,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair.
Massimo’s jaw tightens. “You don’t have a choice. This isn’t going away just because you fuck someone new every night.”
His words hit harder than I expected, exposing something raw inside me.
I open my mouth to argue, but he holds up a hand. “I’m not here to lecture you. I’m here because you’re my brother, and I can’t have you going off the rails like this. Not when there’s more coming. Not when the Vitales are still out there, and we’ve got unfinished business.”
“What are you talking about? I thought we were done with the Vitales.”
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he gives me that long, piercing look—the one that says he’s assessing how deep I’m drowning in my own mess. “You need to get your head on straight. You look like hell,” he says finally, his voice softer now. “Go shower, get your shit together. Then we’ll talk.”
I hesitate, but he’s right. I feel like hell. My body aches, stiff and weary from nights spent trying to fuck and drink away the image of Marco Vitale’s face in his final moments. It hasn’t worked. It never does.
Without another word, I head to the bathroom.
The scalding water pours over my skin, but it can’t wash away the weight pressing down on me. Marco Vitale’s death clings to me like a second skin, his final moments flashing behind my eyes every time I close them. It should feel like a victory—one less Vitale to deal with. But instead, it’s left something raw inside, something I can’t seem to shake.
And then, unbidden, her name drifts into my mind.
Mia Vitale.
The one who didn’t belong in this world. The one who—just like me—once dreamed of escaping it.
I grip the edge of the sink, staring at my reflection in the fogged-up mirror. Medium dark brown hair dripping, tattoos on my chest stark against my skin. My beard’s trimmed close, but my blue eyes—bloodshot, rimmed darker than ever—stare back at me, haunted.
It wasn’t always like this. She wasn’t always like this. I remember the first time I saw Mia, five years ago, when she was untouched by the darkness of this life. She was eighteen, about to leave for college, a girl who still had the fire of dreams in her eyes. The girl who’d dared to say she didn’t want to be here, didn’t want any of this.
I’d watched her from across the room at a party, drawn to her like a magnet. Her green eyes, so striking they cut through the crowd, met mine with a spark I hadn’t expected. She’d approached me, confident but hesitant, whispering words that no one else had the courage to say aloud.
“You don’t look like you want to be here,” she’d said, her voice soft but steady.
For a moment, I’d wanted to tell her the truth. That I didn’t belong here either, that every day I felt like I was sinking. But I couldn’t say it, couldn’t admit the weakness.
Mia... she’d been brave enough to say it for both of us.
I snap back to the present, the memory dissolving as I pull on a shirt and jeans, my jaw clenched. Mia’s image lingers, a ghost in my mind, a reminder of what could have been. But that was a long time ago, and she’s not that girl anymore.
When I step out of the bathroom, Massimo is leaning against the counter, watching me with that familiar intensity. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he says, tossing me a bottle of water. “But it’s time to face reality.”
I twist off the cap, taking a long drink. “What reality?”
Massimo’s expression hardens. “We’re not done with the Vitales. Marco was just the beginning.”
I stop, my pulse quickening. I already know what he’s going to say. It’s been two weeks since we took out Marco, and I’ve been trying to stay away from the inevitable next step. But there’s no avoiding it.
“We’re going after Mia Vitale,” he says, his voice as cold as steel. “The princess.”
Her name lands like a punch to the gut, the weight of what he’s saying hitting me full force.
“We’re going to kidnap her,” he continues, arms crossed over his chest. “Hold her as leverage. Force Dante to give up key territories in Vegas.”
Mia. The girl who wanted to escape. And now I’m the one who’s going to drag her back, pulling her deeper into the life she tried so hard to leave.
“This is for our father,” Massimo adds, his eyes hardening. “You know that.”
I swallow, the weight of the assignment pressing down on me. Kidnapping Mia isn’t just business. It’s personal.
“Fine,” I say, my voice cold. “I’ll handle it.”
Massimo claps a hand on my shoulder, nodding. “Good. We’ll go over the details tomorrow.”
He heads for the door, leaving me in the silence of my condo, my thoughts a storm raging inside. Mia Vitale was supposed to escape this world. Now, I’m about to bring her right back into its jaws.