Page 1 of The Devil's Fire

Prologue

Damiano

Blood splattered on my face faster than I could even process what was happening. The sound of gurgling had me slowly widening my eyes when I saw who was hit. I dropped to my knees, pressing my hand onto her neck where blood kept sputtering out.

“You’ll be okay… you’ll be okay.” The words came out of my mouth hastily, but she was choking on her own blood, watching me with fear in her eyes as tears filled them. I gritted my teeth, trying to stop the bleeding, but deep down inside, I knew I couldn’t.

“Find them! Find who did this!” I shouted to my men, my chest heaving uncontrollably in fury.

“Don’t close your eyes.” I pleaded. Her eyes drooped, but they never fully closed. She placed her hand on my cheek, giving me a silent plea before I watched her eyes become lifeless and her hand dropped to her side.

I cradled her body into my arms.

“Open your eyes. Open your eyes!” I shouted, but she remained unresponsive.

“Why, Damiano?”

I stilled and stared into her eyes, which were open but glazed over with no spark of life.

My eyes narrowed in confusion. Something was not right. Her eyes were cold and lifeless, yet her mouth was moving, screaming at me.

“Why did you let me die, Damiano? Why? Why? Why?!”

I snapped my eyes open.

I let out a breath as I stared at the ceiling before sitting on the edge of the bed, my head dipping between my shoulders as I rested my elbows on my thighs.

Once again, she was tormenting me in my dreams, giving me another sleepless night. I’ve been having this dream for four years, and the anger from it is still deeply engraved within me. If I had put her first instead of being absorbed in building my empire, maybe she would still be alive instead of haunting me.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep, I took a shower and got dressed to do what I do best; handle my businesses and make sure they all went smoothly. It was the only distraction I could give myself before she tormented me again for failing to protect her.

I was in one meeting after another, killing one fuckhead after another. The slightest things set me off; looking at me the wrong way, breathing too loud, wearing too much cologne, anything to let my trigger finger work overtime.

Must be the lack of sleep.

My brother, Lorenzo, and my right-hand man, Antonio, loved to remind me how I was a pain in the ass when I was sleep deprived. They were probably the only ones who could get away with saying that and not end up with a bullet between their eyes.

I went back to the manor to take another shower to wash off the blood. Some piece of shit thought he could steal from me as if I wouldn’t notice. I liked to deal with them directly. I loved to make them into my personal punching bag, except that my gloves were made of knives. It was messy but satisfying.

Freshly showered and dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, I went to the Volante mansion to attend my brother’s engagement party. Arriving, I took a quick glance around the decorated backyard as I sipped my whiskey. I had my men stay vigilant in case Gaetano Volante tried something funny.

I pulled out a cigarette and took in a deep drag as Lorenzo and his fiancée, Cara, made an appearance and mingled with the other guests.

“That shitface, Michael, isn’t here. Find out where he is.” I ordered Luca.

“He’s coming right there.” Giovanni informed me before Luca could get to it.

I inhaled deeply from my cigarette and blew out the smoke as my eyes narrowed on the woman Michael was with. I observed her closely as they exchanged some words before Michael walked away.

“… She’s hot.” One of the men nearby let out a low whistle at the sight of her.

“… Gorgeous.” Another one commented. I couldn’t blame them; she was a fucking beauty.

My gaze slid down, drinking in every inch of her body. She had long, brown curly hair flowing down to her waist. The dress she was wearing hugged her body deliciously, and the generous amount of her cleavage on display left little to the imagination.

My gaze went up to her face and our eyes clashed. I almost let out a smirk when I caught her checking me out since she wasn’t being discreet about it either.

Fucking hell, she had the most striking green eyes I had ever seen, and I found myself becoming lured into them. I tilted my head slightly to the side as I continued to look at her. She looked oddly familiar.

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