Page 156 of My Sweetest Temptation

I shook my head, frustration boiling within me. How could anyone betray me? They had to know the monster I would unleash upon anyone who dared cross me. They were signing their own death sentence.

"And the shipment?" Alessandro pressed.

"It’s still intact," Luca responded. "But the men who tried to take the truck blew themselves up. They had bombs strapped to their jackets," he continued.

They would rather die than face me, which meant whoever was pulling their strings was someone I had underestimated. The thought twisted my gut. My home was compromised. In a sudden moment of clarity, I shifted my gaze from the window and made my way to the safe in the wall behind my desk, where I kept my bug detector.

"What are—" Lo began, but I held up my fingers to my lips, silencing him.

I activated the device, starting at the door and sweeping it across the room. The red light blinked erratically as I approached the bookshelf. Setting the detector down, I grabbed the eagle figurine my mother gave me as a teenager, inspecting it closely. My heart sank when I noticed the back looked like it had been tampered with. I pried it open, and a small black device, no bigger than a Cheerio, stared back at me.

I turned to face my men, holding the device up. I tossed it into one of the untouched glasses, watching it sink beneath the whiskey.

"What the fuck?" Lo hissed.

"Who has access to this room besides us?" my uncle asked.

"The maids, but I doubt any of them would have the guts to go against me." Gloria and the rest of the employees had been with me for years and I considered them family.

"Nico, we need to regroup," my uncle said.

I ran my hands down my face and sighed. "I want the entire house scanned for bugs and hidden cameras. We can’t take any chances."

They nodded in agreement, and then I turned to Luca. "I need you to sift through the security footage and see who’s been in and out of my office since the first convoy was ambushed."

“On it,” Luca stated.

The room was stagnant with tension, each of us bracing ourselves for the fight ahead. We weren’t just hunting down a rat but preparing for war.

But right now, I needed my angel.

WINTER

Mya and I jumped in our seats as the front door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the living room like a gunshot. Nico's footsteps were heavy and deliberate, each step resonating with his barely contained rage.

Mya rubbed Aurelio’s back soothingly as he sat on her lap, trying to calm him. "Let’s get you ready for bed," she said. Mya lifted him into her arms and glanced down at me. "Just give him a minute," she murmured.

"You can always sleep with us. He may need the space tonight," she added.

I nodded and smiled, the knot in my stomach tightening.

Mya pressed a kiss to Aurelio's forehead, whispering goodnight to me before leaving the room.

Serafina was sitting on the recliner, her hands wringing together anxiously, and she offered me a wry smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"Do you think everything is okay?" I ventured.

"No, Winter," she began, her tone solemn. “What you must understand about this life with Nico is that it will never be normal. I know you love him, but love isn’t always enough." Her lips turned downward, a shadow of sadness crossing her face.

"I understand," I replied quietly, turning my gaze away from her.

She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze that felt both comforting and heavy with the truth. "But I see the way he is with you. He’s different around you. There’s a softness in his eyes that I've never seen in him before when he looks at you; how you manage to brighten a room even in the darkest moments means something."

A small smile crept onto my face as I looked back at her.

"You are his salvation, even when he doesn't believe he deserves it. He carries so much anger and hate for his past," she continued.

"I can’t save him," I commented. "All I can do is love him and hope it will be enough."

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