LUCIANO POV

Midnight painted Harlem in shadows.

The old warehouse had been stripped clean, ghosts and all. Now, we moved in silence—new location, tighter security, double the guards. No paper trail. No names. Just bricks, bullets, and loyalty.

I paced the concrete floor of the new space, boots echoing off the steel walls. Fluorescent lights buzzed above, cold and sharp. Pallets of crates were being rolled into the corners—guns, cash, product. Our bloodline.

Hardin walked three paces behind me like a scolded dog, still nursing the bruise I gifted him last week. He hadn’t said a word since I cracked his Ego in front of the circle.

Good. He needed to remember. Respect is earned. Fear is maintained.

I turned down the hall toward the south dock. The freight elevator was working again. Cameras had been installed at every entrance—infrared, facial mapping, voice-locked doors. No one got in unless I wanted them in.

“Boss,” a voice called behind me. I turned.

Two of my men approached—skin tight with tension. Kurt and Elijah. Reliable. Loyal. Mean when needed.

“What?” I said, not slowing my stride.

Kurt fell into step beside me, eyes grim. “We are keeping an eye on Daisy like you requested. She has been avoiding you.”

My jaw twitched.

"Tell me something I don't know"

"She is being followed.” Kurt blurted out.

I stopped. So did they.

“Who?”

They exchanged a glance.

Then Elijah said, “It’s your brother.”

Silence stretched. My fingers curled slowly into fists.

“Elaborate.”

“Xavier. We got photos. He’s been tailing her for three days. We didn’t intervene in case it spooked him, but… he’s close.”

I exhaled once, slow and sharp. Of course he would come for what was mine.

Daisy wasn’t just bait anymore. She was blood in my mouth, sin in my bed, venom in my chest. And Xavier? He didn’t get to touch what I claimed.

I turned, heading for the private hallway behind the metal door that led to my underground lot.

“Get my car ready,” I said coldly.

Kurt blinked. “Now?”

“Now.”


“But—where are you going, It's midnight and, your attention is...”

I looked over my shoulder, my voice deadly low.

“To don't get to question me ”

Then I walked into the dark, and the walls seemed to tremble in my wake.

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DAISY POV

It's been three days since I kissed Luciano in his warehouse. I haven't summoned the courage to face him since that day so I go about my duties, visit the warehouse when he is not around and try my best to avoid him. I have succeeded in avoiding him for three days but..a part of me wants to run into him so badly.

As for Hardin? Well, he has been on a leash. Giving me those cold glance each time he sees me, as if I care.

I was in my apartment, making myself a cup of hot tea when I felt it again.

The weight of eyes on my back. That prickling heat against my spine. I yanked open my apartment blinds. Nothing. Just streetlights and dead silence. But I knew. Someone was tailing me. Someone has been tailing me for the past three days.

Every time I turned a corner, crossed the street, even when I lit a cigarette on my fire escape—I felt it. I wasn’t stupid. I grew up in dirt and learned how to smell danger like perfume. Someone had been following me for three damn days.

It was past midnight when I heard the first knock.

Not soft. Not cautious.

It was Like thunder pounding through my door.

My jaw clenched as I stalked toward the door, barefoot in nothing but a black tank top and grey shorts. My Glock sat on the kitchen counter, just inches from where I stood. I snatched it with one hand and slid the safety off, just in case.

"Relax, Daisy," I muttered under my breath.

I cracked the door open—And there he stood.

Luciano Morreti. In a long black wool coat, shirt unbuttoned halfway, face sharp and unreadable as a blade. His stormy eyes locked on mine.

"Pack your things," he said.

No greeting. No explanation. Just a damn command.

My eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Pack. Fast."

He stepped into the apartment without waiting for permission. His scent hit me like smoke and cologne—dark, arrogant, expensive.

**************************

LUCIANO POV

I watched her blink at me like she didn’t believe I had the audacity to order her around in her own home. She didn’t know the kind of chaos circling around her. Yet.

I didn’t have time for attitude.

"Daisy, get your shit. Now. You have sixty seconds."

"You’re not serious." She folded her arms, her black tank top riding up just enough to show a sliver of tattooed waist.

I wasn’t here to play.

"One of my men confirmed it. Someone’s been tailing you for days. He’s not doing it for fun."

"And you think I don’t know that?" she snapped. "I’ve felt it too. I’m not stupid."

"No," I said coldly. "You’re reckless. That’s worse."

***********************

DAISY POV

I stalked past him, throwing my hand in the air.

"You break in here like you own the damn place, barking orders—Luciano, this is my apartment. My life. You don’t get to come in and dictate shit."

I grabbed my hoodie from the chair, yanked open drawers looking for my knife, all the while muttering, "Men like you think because you’re powerful, you can treat women like pawns—"


"Shut up." His voice was calm. Too calm.

I whirled around, "Excuse me?"

"You think this is about power?" He walked closer. "You’re being hunted. Not because of who you are. But because of who I am."

My breath hitched.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"He’s not watching you because you’re Daisy Monroe," he said, eyes drilling into mine. "He’s watching you because you’re mine."

My mouth parted, but nothing came out.

Mine? He kept walking until he was right in front of me. The heat rolling off his body coiled around my spine.

"I didn’t want this to touch you. But it has. So now, I fix it and you are going to let me."

"And I don’t get a say?"

"No."

He turned to walk toward the door—but I grabbed his arm.

"Who is following me? I need to know"

He spun, his jaw clenched.

"You don't have to know who he is. Just know this man—whoever’s watching you—he’s not just tailing you for intel. He’s baiting me. And it’s working. Because the idea of something happening to..."

He stopped, ran a hand through his hair.

"Am I now a target for your fellow mafiosos?" I whispered, furious. "I’m not your girlfriend. I’m not your wife...."

He grab my chin, His lips crashed against mine before I could finish.

************************

LUCIANO POV

She tasted like salt, anger, and fire. I kissed her like I was starving and she was the last woman on Earth. Because in that moment, she was.

Her lips pushed back against mine. Not soft. Not yielding. Fighting.

We broke apart, breath tangled.

"Now, you’re going to come with me, baby girl. Because the man after you isn’t someone you can handle. But I can."

********************

(TO BE CONTINUED....)