Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Luca’s POV
I pulled over at the edge of a dim alley, just across from what was supposed to be Black Talon’s Syndicate headquarters.
The building was a crumbling three-story with graffiti-scarred walls, boarded-up windows, and a rusting fire escape that looked like it would collapse under a stiff breeze.
It didn’t look like much. In fact, it looked abandoned.
But that was the point. When you’re running illegal operations like Black Talon’s, the last thing you want is attention.
I slipped on my gloves—just in case I needed to get my hands dirty. Literally. I wouldn't want to bruise my knuckles on one of those lowlife bastards. Not when I had another option. A better one. The gloves were Plan B.
And my Plan A never failed.
I pulled out my phone and tapped the contact. He picked up on the first ring.
“If you’re calling me this late, it must be serious,” Grant said, his voice muffled by chewing.
The sound grated on my nerves. Then again, Grant always irritated me.
We’d barely met in person, and that was intentional.
But even I had to admit, he was the best tech guy in the business.
He’d hacked into my competitors’ servers, unmasked shell corporations, and traced money trails from Manhattan to Mauritius without leaving a footprint.
Five years of clean hits. No leaks. No failures.
And I paid him enough that if he wanted to disappear to a private island in Fiji, he could.
“It’s barely nine-thirty,” I said. “You’ll live.”
“What do you need?”
“I need a complete breach into Black Talon’s network. Deep access. Everything Cassius Kane has buried, bring it to the surface. Accounts. Supplier lists. Tunnel routes.”
There was a pause. I could hear him stop chewing.
“Damn, Luca. That’s not just corporate espionage, that’s a suicide mission. Black Talon’s a high-risk syndicate. If they trace me, I’m a dead man.”
“And if you don’t do what I’m asking, you’re a dead man anyway. So make your choice.”
There was a beat of silence. Then a sigh. “Why do you need to breach their system, anyway?”
“Your job isn’t to ask why,” I said, my tone flat. “It’s to do exactly what I tell you.”
He muttered something under his breath. It was too low to catch, but I heard the familiar clack of his keyboard keys. He was already working.
“All right, what are you after? Blood or leverage?”
“Both.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “What did Kane do—threaten your girlfriend or something?”
“Something like that.”
My hands tightened around the steering wheel, the leather groaning under the pressure. The mere thought that Cassius fucking Kane had spent the better part of a year stalking and harassing Leila made my blood run hot. My wolf paced, snarling, demanding I let it loose.
“Oh, hey man—congrats on the engagement, by the way,” Grant added like an idiot. “Saw your pre-wedding shoot all over the media. You’re marrying a real princess.”
I rolled my eyes. Not the time.
“How soon can you get into the system?”
“Thirty minutes minimum. I’m going in unarmed. No digital backdoors.”
“I need it in fifteen.”
There was a pause, then an incredulous laugh. “Fifteen? Are you high? That’s practically—”
“Can you do it? Or not?”
He huffed, louder this time. “It’s gonna cost you. Double the usual charge.”
“Just do it. Money’s never been the issue.”
I hung up, shoved my phone into my coat pocket, and stepped out of the car. The night air was cold, but not enough to cool the heat under my skin.
I rounded the corner to the back of the building. I figured the main entrance couldn’t possibly be out front—sleazy cowards like the Black Talon never exposed themselves that easily. They were rats. Always hiding in the shadows, breathing smoke and pissing fear.
I found the steel door and slammed my fist against it, hard enough to rattle the hinges.
Every ounce of frustration poured into that knock.
Frustration from knowing Leila was seeing Victor.
Frustration at the way she kept punishing me, locking me out with walls that were getting harder to scale.
She was shutting me out on purpose. And I was tired of knocking gently.
The metal slot scraped open, revealing bloodshot eyes that squinted at me through the dark. “And you are—” The words froze on his tongue. Recognition dawned on him.
“Alpha Vaughn…?” His voice cracked.
“Is Cassius inside?” I asked, my tone in a controlled rage.
“Y–yes,” he stammered.
“I want to see him.”
The locks clicked open in rapid succession. I brushed past him and stepped inside.
The scent hit me first—smoke, whiskey, and sweat. The place was built like a backroom casino: neon lights casting sickly glows, low ceilings stained with tar, rows of card tables with grizzled men and scantily dressed women.
I didn’t need to speak. The moment I stepped in, silence cut through the room. Heads turned. Conversation died. Eyes tracked me with a mix of fear and disbelief. They knew exactly who I was.
My gaze swept across the room, locking onto a steel door guarded by two men flanking it like statues.
Cassius Kane’s office. It had to be.
I stalked over. The guards didn’t attempt to stop me. Smart.
I pushed open the door, and when I stepped inside, I was greeted by the most predictable sight imaginable.
Cassius was mid thrust, a half-naked girl crouched between his legs, head bobbing over him. He startled like a rat in the light.
“What the hell!”
The girl let out a shriek, scrambled to snatch her bikini panties and tangled bra off the floor, and bolted past me, eyes wide with humiliation.
I was already moving, already lowering myself into one of the leather chairs.
Cassius was adjusting his pants, still panting slightly, his face flushed—not with embarrassment, but irritation. He wasn’t the type to be ashamed. He was just annoyed at the interruption.
Cassius Kane was a small man—at most, he was five-foot-eight. He was the kind of man who made up for his size with cruelty and connections. Dark hair, twitchy fingers, a gold chain around his neck. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a sunburst tattoo over his chest.
He shuffled to the minibar, pouring himself a drink with unbothered arrogance.
“Drink?” he asked.
“I didn’t come here to drink with you,” I said flatly.
“No?” He poured another glass anyway, shrugged. “Okay, then.”
He downed the first one, then the second, wincing as it burned down his throat. “Whew. That’s some damn good stuff. Shipped it in from Mexico. Want me to send you a crate? It’ll change your life.”
I didn’t blink. Just checked my watch.
Seven minutes in.
Cassius turned, settling into the chair across from me. “I don’t believe I’ve crossed your business, Alpha Vaughn,” he said smoothly. “So, to what do I owe this…unpleasant visit?”
“That would’ve been better,” I said, my voice low and lethal. “If you’d double-crossed my business, we could’ve handled this like businessmen. But you did worse.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Leila Carter. Ring any bells?”
A few seconds of silence went by. Then recognition flashed in his eyes, followed by the kind of smirk that made my wolf rise.
“Oh, the half breed? With that drunk joke of a father?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Shame. Beautiful woman like her, and that’s the kind of man she comes from.”
My pulse thundered. My wolf surged forward. He wanted blood. Wanted to end the man who dared to speak her name with those filthy lips. He wasn’t allowed to say a word about her. Wasn’t allowed to see her. Leila belonged to me. Only me.
“Don’t you ever talk about her like that again.”
The air shifted. Cassius’ smirk vanished like it had never been there. My voice had dropped an octave lower. That dangerous quiet before the snap.
Cassius straightened instantly, clearing his throat, a flicker of something like fear in his eyes.
“What do you want with Leila Carter?”
I checked my watch. Thirteen minutes. I stalled. “I want you to wipe her debt clean. I’ll offer you double what she owes.”
One of his brows hooked up. “Why are you so concerned about the half breed’s debt?”
“That’s none of your concern,” I snapped. “Double. Do we have a deal?”
He looked at me too long. Greedy men like Cassius Kane always smelled opportunity, and I knew that look. He wanted more. He’d just seen a crack in my armor and was planning to rip it wide open.
“Oh, Alpha…” he drawled, smirking. “Double won’t cut it now. Not when I know you’re desperate. What is she to you—your mistress? Your side piece? I mean, I won’t judge. She’s way hotter than the woman you’re supposed to be marrying.”
My wolf pressed against me, itching to tear out his throat. It took everything in me to stay in control. To keep sitting there, waiting for Grant’s message, when every instinct screamed to end this man where he stood.
“Access to Manhattan’s underground tunnels,” he said. “ Complete access. Zero interference. That’s what I want. That’s what will clear Leila’s debt.”
He wanted me to enable his drug trafficking operation? He must be out of his goddamn mind to think he could make demands of me.
My phone buzzed. A text from Grant.
Grant: I’m in.
That did it.
I lunged. I slammed him into the wall by the throat. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I growled, my voice pure steel. “You’re going to cancel her debt. Wipe it clean. No loopholes. No secret collectors. No ghosts crawling out of dark corners later. Nothing.”
Cassius’ eyes went wide. “That’s—that’s a hundred and fifty grand. I—I can’t—”
“I offered you twice that,” I hissed, dragging him forward by the collar. “But you wanted more. You wanted to play me. Your mistake was thinking I was desperate.”
I pulled out my phone and turned the screen toward him. His eyes lit up at the sight of supplier manifests, payment ledgers, and smuggling routes traced over Manhattan’s subway grid. The cherry on top? Surveillance footage of his men unloading crates into Vaughn-owned docks.
Cassius paled like a man watching his own funeral.
“I just shared this data to every major law enforcement server,” I said, my grip tightening. “They’re all scheduled for release. Unless I cancel them.”
“You’re bluffing,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Am I?” I leaned in. “You think a man like me would walk in here without a kill switch?”
I shoved him down into the chair, both hands pinning him.
“My Mate has been paying for sins that were never hers,” I snarled. “That ends now.”
My wolf surged forward, just enough to show. My nails lengthened into curved claws. My eyes flared red. The room filled with the weight of my fury.
“You so much as breathe her name again,” I said low and lethal, “and I’ll tear your spine out and mount it on your fucking gates. Understood?”
He nodded frantically, sweat clinging to his brow.
“Use your words. Do. You. Understand?”
“Yes! Yes! I swear—”
I stepped back. Straightened my coat and ran a hand through my hair to tame the shift clawing up my spine.
“Delete the debt. Now. If I so much as hear a whisper of it again…” I leaned forward, and he flinched. “I’ll burn this entire syndicate to ash.”
Then I turned and walked out, leaving him exactly how I wanted him—shaking in his own fucking kingdom.
As I made my way toward the exit, I saw Blaze laughing in the corner.
The sound of his laughter snapped something in me.
I walked toward him and, without thinking, slammed my fist into his nose.
The sound of bone cracking filled the air, and blood spilled instantly.
A chorus of gasps followed. The entire room fell dead silent.
“That was for daring to lay your hands on Leila. And if you dare to lift any of your filthy fingers on her, I’ll cut them off one by one while you watch.”
I didn’t wait for a reply. I turned and walked out, fury lashing inside me. My wolf was livid. I was barely holding him back. I’d thought punching Blaze would satisfy something in me. But all I felt was the rage beneath it. Raw. Unrelenting.
It was getting harder to pretend. Harder to leash the craving. My wolf wanted her—our Mate. And so did I. I didn’t care that she’d betrayed me. Didn’t care what the past said.
I just wanted her.