Alex POV
The night wrapped around my penthouse like a silk noose, tight and suffocating. I should’ve been at the gala downstairs, playing the perfect mafia-CEO hybrid I’d built my empire on. But Isabella wasn’t there.
She was in my room-my sanctuary sitting cross-legged on my bed like she belonged there. The audacity.
“You don’t knock anymore, huh?” I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. My voice was cold, deliberate.
Her eyes flared. “You gave me a key, remember? Or was that another one of your traps?”
I smirked, shaking my head. “You know better than to ask questions you don’t want answered, tesoro.”
She bristled at the nickname. Good. Let her simmer. Let her fight me. I thrived on that fire.
She stood, crossing the room with that damn confidence that made me want to break her and worship her all at once. The thin silk robe she wore barely covered her skin. My fists clenched involuntarily.
“You didn’t show up tonight,” I said, my voice dropping. “Why?”
“Why does it matter?” she shot back, chin tilted defiantly.
“You’re under contract,” I growled. “You don’t decide when to disappear.”
“Under contract?” she sneered. “I’m not your property, Alex. Not your toy.”
I moved faster than her words could cut. One second, she was glaring at me; the next, she was pressed against the wall, my hand on her throat-not tight, just enough to make her listen.
“You are mine,” I said, my voice low, lethal. “You signed the papers. You wear the collar. Don’t forget what that means.”
Her breath hitched, but her eyes didn’t waver. She was scared, but not enough. She liked this game, even if she’d never admit it.
“You don’t own my mind,” she whispered, her voice soft but sharp as a dagger.
“Don’t tempt me to try,” I whispered back, my lips brushing the shell of her ear.
I released her, stepping back, giving her space she hadn’t earned. She rubbed her neck, defiance etched into every line of her face.
“You’re such a control freak,” she muttered, pacing now. “Do you ever get tired of pulling the strings, Alessandro?”
I laughed, dark and humorless. “Tired? No. It’s exhilarating. Watching people dance to my tune. Watching you struggle to fight what you know you want.”
“What I want?” she scoffed, spinning to face me. “You don’t even know me.”
“Don’t I?” I countered. “I know you better than you know yourself, cara mia. You crave this. Crave me.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off, stepping into her space again. “You’re scared because you know I’m right. You’re scared because you’re starting to like it. Aren’t you, Bella?”
Her silence was deafening. She looked away, biting her lip-a tell I’d memorized.
“You can’t handle the truth, so you run. But there’s nowhere to hide from me. You belong here.”
The tension was thick, suffocating. I could feel her resolve crumbling, her defenses cracking under my gaze. But just as I was about to press further, my phone buzzed.
I ignored it.
It buzzed again. And again.
“Answer it,” she said, her voice strained, almost pleading.
I picked it up, irritation flaring. “What?”
The voice on the other end was shaky, urgent. “Boss… there’s been a breach. At the gala.”
“What kind of breach?” My grip tightened on the phone. Isabella moved closer, concern flashing in her eyes.
“It’s-uh-it’s her. She’s here. She knows about the contract.”
My blood ran cold. I turned to Isabella, my face a mask of calm hiding the storm beneath. “Stay here,” I ordered.
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” I said, already moving toward the door.
But as I reached it, she grabbed my arm. “Don’t lie to me, Alex. Who is she?”
I stared at her, my mind racing. “Someone I should’ve buried a long time ago.”
The dim glow of the chandelier barely lit the room, but I didn’t need light to know she was angry. Isabella stood across the table, arms crossed, her jaw set in a defiant line. That damn fire in her eyes-it would be my undoing someday. But not tonight.
“Let’s skip the pretense,” she said, her voice colder than the whiskey in my hand. “What is this, Alex? Another test? Another game you need to win?”
“Games? You think this is a game?” I leaned back, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. “Sweetheart, this is survival. I’m not about to let you waltz into danger just because you’ve got something to prove.”
Her lips parted, ready to fire back, but I cut her off.
“You think I don’t know what you’re up to?” I stood, my chair scraping the floor. “Sneaking around behind my back, meeting with men who’d sell their souls to destroy me? You’re playing with fire, Isabella, and I’m the only one who can pull you out before it burns you alive.”
She didn’t flinch, but her breathing hitched. A win.
“You don’t own me,” she said softly, venom dripping from every syllable.
I crossed the distance between us in three steps, caging her against the table. “Don’t I?” My voice dropped to a whisper, meant for her ears alone. “Every breath you take, every step you make-I feel it, Isabella. You belong to me. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
Her pupils dilated, betraying the war raging inside her. But she didn’t give in. Not yet.
She shoved me back, surprising us both with her strength. “You’re impossible,” she spat, pacing the room like a caged animal. “You can’t just-control everything. People. Deals. Me.”
“You signed the contract,” I reminded her, letting the smirk curl my lips.
She laughed bitterly, the sound cutting through me like glass. “The contract? You mean that leash you wrapped around my neck?” She pulled the thin leather collar from beneath her blouse, holding it up like evidence in court. “This doesn’t make me yours, Alex. It makes me trapped.”
I stepped closer, slow, deliberate. “Trapped?” I murmured, brushing my fingers over the collar. “Funny. You’ve worn it every day since I gave it to you. Even when you didn’t have to.”
Her silence was deafening.
“You can walk away,” I continued, my tone soft but lethal. “But you don’t. Because you know, deep down, that no one will ever own you the way I do.”
Her breath hitched again. This time, she couldn’t hide it.
“You’re delusional,” she whispered, her voice trembling with something between fear and desire.
“Maybe.” I tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze. “But you’re addicted to it, Bella. To me.”
Her phone buzzed on the table, shattering the moment. She snatched it up, her face paling as she read the message.
“Who is it?” I demanded, my voice hardening.
She shook her head, clutching the phone like a lifeline. “It’s none of your business.”
“Everything about you is my business,” I snapped, grabbing her wrist.
“Let go, Alex,” she said, her tone dangerously low.
“Not until you tell me who’s been messaging you at midnight.”
“It’s a client,” she lied, too quickly.
I snatched the phone from her hand, my eyes scanning the screen. The name wasn’t familiar, but the words were clear as day.
“The deal is set. Midnight. Don’t bring him.”
My blood ran cold. “You’re meeting someone tonight?”
“It’s work,” she said, trying to sound confident. “Let it go.”
“You’re lying.” My grip tightened, anger bubbling to the surface. “What are you involved in, Isabella?”
She yanked her hand free, fire blazing in her eyes again. “Something that doesn’t concern you.”
“Everything concerns me when it comes to you!” I roared, the sound echoing off the walls.
“Not this,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm brewing between us. “Stay out of it, Alex.”
Her defiance should have infuriated me. Instead, it made me want her more.
“You walk out that door,” I said, my voice low and lethal, “and you’ll regret it.”
She stared at me, her jaw clenched, her eyes daring me to stop her. Then, without a word, she turned and walked out.
I stood there, frozen, my fists clenched at my sides. She thought she could handle this on her own, thought she could outplay me.
“Midnight,” I muttered, the time burning into my brain.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed a number I hadn’t used in years.
“It’s Ricci,” I said when the line connected. “I need eyes on Isabella Greco. Tonight. Midnight. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
I hung up, my chest tight with something I didn’t want to name.
This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
“Bella,” I murmured into the empty room, a dark promise in my voice. “You don’t get to run from me.”
Alex: “She thinks she can hide secrets from me?”
Unknown Voice on the Phone: “Boss, there’s more. She’s meeting him.”
Alex: “Who?”
Unknown Voice: “The one we’ve been hunting.”