Alessia POV
Rain hammered the sludge around me, my broken arm throbbing in sync with the poison clawing my gut. Damien Cobb loomed like a shadowed reaper, Colt gleaming under the flickering gas lamp. His thumb flicked the safety—click. Those charming eyes held only death.
No begging. No truth about Falcone's poison. One desperate play.
"Your uncle, Clarence Cobb," I rasped, voice raw over the storm. "Killing a Caporegime here? Witnesses. Messy. You'll show up to him reeking of street blood, late for your cousin's screw-up. Waste of a Don's time, Mr. Cobb."
His grip tightened, eyes boring into my mud-streaked face. Seconds stretched eternal. Pride warred with urgency in that predatory stare. Finally, the barrel dipped. "Pray we don't meet again, Harrington." Venom dripped colder than rain. Not mercy—efficiency. I was trash for later.
He turned to his unscathed Cadillac, Luca hovering. "Boss—"
A glare silenced him. Engine roared. Tires spun, veering precise. Mud exploded from a puddle, icy filth drenching me head to toe. Laughter echoed faint from the car—mocking, aristocratic—before taillights vanished into the night.
Humiliation burned deeper than poison. John Harrington's son, reduced to a gutter rat. Vision blackened as toxin surged. Last thought: family.
...
Fevered darkness shattered. I jolted awake in my bedroom, Harrington manor creaking under relentless rain. Sweat soaked the sheets; left arm splinted by Mr. Peters, who'd dragged me from the wreck. Poison purged, but nightmare lingered.
Rain poured eternal. No Alessandro suit—flowing skirts clung to my skin. Damien strode from shadows, no gun. A blade kissed my throat, cold as his smile. "A woman playing at men's tables? Deceiving a Don, Principessa (Little Princess)? Vendetta demands your Harringtons erased from Chicago."
His whisper slithered like silk over steel, laughter echoing doom.
I gasped awake, heart slamming. Secret teetered eternal. Passive hiding was death. To shield Angela, Eden—family—I needed power. Even unveiled, untouchable. No more prey. Time to hunt.
