Aliyah's P.O.V

I pattered toward the dining table, the mug in my hand warm against my fingers. I sipped the coffee slowly, hoping the bitter heat might burn away the sluggishness gnawing at me, but the zeal in me had already been reduced to its lowest flicker. My other hand slid absently over my phone, letting the endless scroll of the internet pull me into its distraction.

Footsteps approached from the hallway, deliberate and unhurried, but I didn't bother to glance up. I share this place with only one other person. Who else could it be?

"You seem a little too unbothered for someone who just failed a second time," Eva's voice sliced through the calm like a sharp nail on glass.

"I didn't fail," I shot back, setting the mug down with a soft thud. "I just left. Because I can't stand either that shitface Brown or his demon bodyguard."

Finally lifting my gaze, I met her eyes. Her blonde hair, glossy in the morning light, always reminded me of Michaelo not that mentioning it would help. Those two hated each other, and bringing his name into the room would guarantee me a frosty silent treatment for the rest of the day.

"And why is that?" she pressed, arms crossing tightly, her glare hitting like a blade aimed between my ribs.

"Because I was violated, Eva. If it hadn't been for his arrogant bodyguard who, for whatever twisted reason, stopped suddenly that dickhead would have slid his hand into my pants." I snorted, anger coiling again in my chest as the image of the man burned into my mind. The brunette. Gorgeous. Dangerous. The kind of man whose face you hated remembering but couldn't forget.

Eva tilted her head, leaning her chin on one hand. "Ottavio, was it?"

I gave a curt nod, pulse quickening at the sound of his name.

"And why did he stop?"

I shrugged, the truth more frustrating than anything I could invent. I'd asked myself the same question too many times. "Doesn't make him any less of a monster. Men like them have done worse to more women than they can count."

The room went still, heavy with the kind of silence that squeezes around the lungs.

Eva's gaze sharpened. " Aliyah don't tell me you have given up right?"

I let out a dry laugh, leaning back in my chair. "Apparently, my perfect tits and ass didn't do the job, so no. If that didn't work, nothing else could. And honestly? I'm glad. Better that than living a lie just to get in his good graces."

Eva hummed low in her throat, not arguing. Her attention drifted toward the cupboard, where she plucked a tin from the shelf and pulled out a biscuit.

I narrowed my eyes. "Where did you even get that name Aliyah Santiago?"

She broke the biscuit in half, taking a bite before answering. "I did my research. Dug into some Mafia family records. Figured it would give you credibility and originality since your name is also Aliyah.The real princess is a runaway nobody knows her face. Which means... nobody except her family in Spain can prove you're not her."

She chewed slowly, eyes never leaving mine, as if weighing whether I had the spine to play the part.

"You said that Ottavio guy said he has trust issues huh?" She began, munching on the biscuit so hard, i fear for her teeth.

I rolled my eyes, "drop it Eva," she snorted and continued. "Why don't you do something to gain his trust?"

I paused, staring at her like she had lost her mind, I just said I was irritated by the man for fuck sake. "Honestly I'm no longer cut out for that. Isn't there any fast way to do this?"

She scoffs. "Oh yes, I know of one fast way, I've suggested it to you but you refused." I rolled my eyes knowing where all this was going. "Let's get a gun and shoot at the family one by one till they're all dead,"

"We might end up in jail before we finish one of them or rather,the lovely Marinos will gut us down before we lift a finger.My answer still remains the same. No," I emphasized.

"Then we do it my way then," she cocked her eyebrows at me.

***

I hid behind the warehouse Eva had traced Brown's car to, waiting for Eva to plant the nicotine she had somehow acquired before we left the house.

Eva's words echoed in my skull, low and smug: Get Brown out of trouble in the most confident way, and I bet he's yours.

I gritted my teeth, not because I believed her, but because I hated being this close to proving her right.

She darted back to my side from the shadows, brushing dust from her jeans. "It's done. The cops are on their way. Brown will be out soon." Her lips curved into that sly little smirk that always meant she was five steps ahead of me in a game I didn't know we were playing.

True to her prophecy, Brown emerged minutes later, casual as ever, his hands in his pockets like he'd been strolling out of a spa instead of a nicotine-stinking warehouse. That same evil grin twisted his face, the one that said he thought the whole world was his stage.

But he wasn't the one twisting my insides into knots.

It was the man behind him.

Tall. Sharp. Dressed in a black suit that seemed tailored to match the permanent scowl etched into his features. Ottavio. The image of him draping his coat over me days ago hit like a sucker punch, my chest tightening despite every rational part of me screaming to stop.

The distant wail of sirens dragged me back to the present.

"Freeze!" a voice barked. Three policemen poured out of a patrol car, guns at the ready.

Brown paused mid-step, exchanging a quick glance with Ottavio before striding forward to greet the officers. I couldn't hear the words, but I could read the body language hands gesturing, a charming half-smile, leaning in just enough to suggest familiarity without surrender.

The lead officer's head shook, slow and firm. He wasn't buying it.

Eva's breath brushed my ear. "You can go out there now."

My pulse jumped. Stepping into this was the last thing I wanted but if I didn't, Brown was going down, and Eva's bet... might actually be won.

I squared my shoulders, feeling the air between us grow heavier as I prepared to walk straight into their mess.

Aliyah's p.o.v

The cold night air was a razor against my skin, but the real cut came from the scene unfolding in front of me.

Blue and red lights painted the warehouse walls. Police sirens wailed like vultures circling a carcass. Brown Marino, for all his swagger, stood like a man backed into a corner. His grin had dimmed to a shadow, charm dripping off him but not sticking to the stone faces of the officers aiming guns at his chest.

Ottavio shifted slightly behind him, one hand near his jacket, ready to pull iron if the situation snapped. But three guns to two men wasn't a gamble even Ottavio would win.

Eva's voice echoed in my head: Get Brown out of trouble in the most confident way, and I bet he's yours.

My pulse quickened, but my steps didn't falter. I walked out of the shadows, heels clicking like a countdown. Every gun turned my way. Every breath in the air seemed to stop.

I didn't look at Brown. Didn't look at Ottavio. My gaze locked only on the police chief, the man barking orders with false bravado. His badge gleamed under the sirens, but his eyes flickered when I smiled.

A slow, practiced smile. The kind that makes men wonder if you know their darkest secret.

"Officers," I purred, stopping just between Brown and their sights, "I'm afraid you're making a mistake."

"Step aside, miss," the chief ordered, though his voice wavered. "This doesn't concern you."

"Oh, but it does." I tilted my head, folding my arms lightly as though we were in a drawing room, not a standoff. "Because if you arrest him..." I gestured lazily toward Brown, "...you won't have to worry about losing your pension. You'll have to worry about losing your life."

A ripple of unease shifted through the men.

"Are you threatening an officer of the law?" the chief snapped.

"Threatening?" I let out a soft laugh, almost musical. "No, darling. I'm simply reminding you who signs the invisible checks that keep your family safe, your debts erased, and your little gambling addiction a secret."

His face drained of color.

Eva's research seemed to have the desired effect.

The other officers glanced at him sharply, confusion in their eyes. I stepped closer, lowering my voice to something velvet and venomous.

"You see, Chief, my boss doesn't like incompetence. And if word reaches him that you dared point a gun at his... future alliance..." My smile sharpened. "Well. Accidents do happen. Cars skid. Gas stoves leak. Graves get dug with no names attached."

The silence after that was absolute. Even Brown stared at me like he'd never seen a woman before. Ottavio's jaw ticked, unreadable, but his eyes... his eyes burned.

The chief's hand trembled, lowering his gun. One by one, the others followed.

"That's better," I murmured. "Now, why don't you boys run along and pretend this never happened? We'll do the same. Everyone goes home alive."

For a moment, no one moved. Then the chief cleared his throat, muttered something about "miscommunication," and signaled his men. Within seconds, the flashing lights vanished into the night, leaving only the echo of tires against asphalt.

I turned slowly, meeting Brown's stunned expression head-on. His hand shifted reaching for his trouser and I resisted the urge to sneer. The fucker is hard.

"You..." His lips curved into a grin, equal parts amusement and disbelief. "...are full of surprises, princess."

I smirked, though my hands were still shaking inside. "Get used to it."

Behind him, Ottavio's eyes never left me, like he was trying to peel back my skin to see what I really was.

My smirk lingered, but inside I was still reeling. I had expected the Marino family to have every police officer in their pocket. But tonight proved otherwise.

"I thought the badge dogs all wagged their tails for you," I said softly, more to myself than to them.

Brown chuckled, shaking his head. "If we owned every cop, princess, then there'd be no one left for your kind to twist around their pretty little fingers."

That earned him a sharp look, but I didn't bite. Not yet.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, grin creeping back into place like he hadn't just stared down death. "Tell me something what's a woman like you doing in this neighborhood at this hour?"

The weight of his gaze pressed against me, testing, probing.

I lifted my chin. "Same thing you're doing, Brown. Business." I turned slightly, the click of my heels announcing my exit.

But his voice followed me like smoke. "Why don't we make it dinner, then? You and me. Settle this... tension somewhere with better lighting and less gunpowder in the air."

I stopped. Slowly, I glanced back over my shoulder, letting my eyes skim him with deliberate coolness. "I don't go out with men who think disrespecting my body is an acceptable form of trust issues."

That shut him up for a beat. Long enough for me to finally let my gaze drift to Ottavio.

For the first time that night, our eyes met. His were sharp, carved with contempt that cut deeper than any blade. It was as though he was daring me...daring me to make one wrong move so he could justify the hatred simmering in his stare.

I held it, unflinching, then broke away, sliding my attention back to Brown just long enough to leave him with a final smirk.

"Goodnight, boys."

And with that, I turned on my heel and walked off.

****

"What the fuck do you mean you declined," Eva banged her hand on the table immediately we got into the house. Anger etched on her forehead like a scar.

I rested my head on the wall as I folded my hand"I mean exactly what I meant," she glared daggers at me and for a moment I wondered why she was so pissed. "That man disrespected me."

"Rightfully so, he has trust issues," she nodded curtly and I stared at her in disbelief.

I scoffed angrily. "Are you serious right now," she shrugged, pushing off from the table and heading towards the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of vodka, then turned to me.

"We went through trouble to get him to see you and now it worked and you let it slip off your mother fucking finger because of pride."

I straightened, voice calm but cutting. "No, Eva. Appearing cheap would do me no good with a man like Brown. He has to chase me now. I've done my part."

Her brows furrowed, but I didn't flinch. "I saved his life tonight, stood between him and a bullet or a jail cell." He would have easily gotten himself out anyway. "If that's not enough to spark his interest," I could bet my life it did. His dick was poking through his trouser by just watching me tell the officer off.

"Then nothing will. The rest?" I tilted my head, a smirk tugging at my lips. "That's on him."

The silence that followed was heavy.

"So what now. We wait?" She said, her voice now a soft whisper.

"We fucking wait."

"But he doesn't have your number." Eva pointed out.

"For a man like Brown, my number wouldn't come in his way."