Page 6 of King of Obsession

The gemstones were cool and smooth, gliding against my skin as I rolled them between my fingers.

I twirled the orbs like prayer beads, my eyes canting in the direction she’d disappeared, praying for safe mercies.

She’d long vanished into the night.

I let her.

Hell, I had no choice.

For she deserved her freedom. From what my father had shared, she’d suffered so much, so young.

I also knew our men would soon catch up to her and whisk her back home where she belonged.

I turned to the man flailing on the ground and committed his features to memory, just as I had hers.

For now and for all eternity.

Chapter 2

Present day

ALESSIO

The text came in at midnight.

My eyes flew open, and I knifed up in bed, reaching for my phone on the bedside table in my glass-walled, double-level penthouse.

Outside, New York was a living, breathing entity, pulsing with life even in the late hours, its neon glow and flashing strobes painting the sky in the distance.

I squinted at the words that radiated at me.

A development on CM & FC.

My eyes narrowed at the initials, the code forher- andhim.

Two individuals whose fates had inextricablyentwined with mine.

I pushed a hand through my hair as I typed a quick response.

Call me. Now.

The device went off, and I stared at the screen for a beat before sliding a finger across it.

‘Dimmi,’ I announced in a raw growl.

‘He’s walking out of prison in three weeks,’ the no-nonsense voice intoned in my ear.

‘Cazzo. You’ve eyes on her?’

‘No, we’re stretched thin, but we know where she is.’

‘Where?’

‘On her farm in the outback. She uses it as a base and returns to it every few months. Only this time, she’s stayed put for some time now. There’s more, padrone. According to the local fuzz, she’s alone on the property and had some trouble.’

‘From whom?’

‘The neighboring estate. Which is where the fuckwit will return to after his jail term.’

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