Sunlight cut through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse like a knife.
I woke up with Bianca’s naked body pressed against mine, her leg thrown over my thigh and her dark hair fanned across my chest. My wounds throbbed like a bastard, but the feel of her warm skin and the scent of sex still lingering in the air made the pain secondary.
She stirred, lifting her head. Those sharp hazel eyes met mine, half-lidded and dangerous even first thing in the morning.
“Already hard again?” she murmured, sliding her hand down my stomach until her fingers wrapped around my cock. “Greedy bastard.”
I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “We’ve got work to do.”
Bianca smiled like a cat who got the cream anyway. “Work can wait five minutes.” She tried to stroke me, but I flipped her onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand.
“Last night was the warmup,” I said, voice low. “Today we start building something real. I need names. Safe contacts. Anyone who hates the Rossis as much as we do.”
She arched beneath me, rubbing herself against my thigh. “You’re no fun in the morning.”
I leaned down and bit her neck, right over the mark I’d left last night. She gasped. “I’m not here to be fun. I’m here to destroy them. Now talk.”
Bianca moaned softly but finally nodded. “Fine. There’s Marco Reyes, no relation to Doc. He runs guns on the east side. Hates Don Rossi because they killed his brother last year. Then there’s Tommy ‘Tech’ Ruiz. Young hacker. Brilliant but skittish. Could be useful.”
I released her wrists but stayed on top of her, grinding slowly between her legs. “Good. Call them. Set up meetings.”
She reached down and guided me inside her with a sharp breath. “Only if you fuck me while I make the calls.”
I thrust deep, making her cry out. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Bianca.”
“I like dangerous,” she gasped as I started moving, hard and steady.
I fucked her slow and deep while she grabbed her phone from the nightstand. Her voice stayed surprisingly steady as she made the first call.
“Marco… it’s Bianca. I’ve got a proposition for you. Meet me at the usual spot in two hours… Yes, it’s big… Bring your best stock.”
I slammed into her harder, making her bite her lip to stay quiet. Her free hand gripped my shoulder, nails digging in.
She hung up and dialed the next one. “Tommy? Bianca Moretti. I need your skills… No, not a job for the Rossis. Something better… Dangerous? Very.”
I rubbed her clit while pounding into her. Bianca’s voice cracked on the last sentence. “Just… be there.”
The moment she dropped the phone, she grabbed my face and kissed me fiercely. “Harder, Damien. Fuck me like you hate them.”
I gave her exactly what she wanted. I drove into her mercilessly, the bed slamming against the wall. She came first, screaming my name, body shaking. I followed right after, burying myself deep as I filled her again.
We lay there for a minute catching our breath before she pushed me off with a satisfied smirk.
“Get dressed. We have meetings.”
Two hours later we met Marco in an old auto repair shop on the edge of town. Rook stood guard by the door while Bianca and I sat across from the stocky gun runner.
“You’re really alive,” Marco said, eyeing me. “Isabella must be pissed.”
“She will be,” I replied. “I need guns. Ammo. Something heavy. Can you deliver?”
Marco leaned back. “For the right price. And protection. If the Rossis find out I’m supplying you…”
“They won’t,” Bianca cut in. “Not if you’re smart.”
We negotiated hard. By the end, Marco agreed to deliver a van full of weapons by tomorrow night in exchange for twenty percent of our first big score and protection for his family.
Next we met Tommy “Tech” Ruiz in a quiet coffee shop. The kid, barely twenty-two, looked nervous as hell when he saw me.
“Damien Vale… shit, man. You’re like a ghost story right now.”
“Ghosts don’t bleed,” I said. “I need eyes. Phones tapped. Security footage. Can you do it?”
Tommy swallowed. “I can. But the Rossis have serious cybersecurity now. It won’t be cheap… or safe.”
Bianca slid an envelope across the table. “That’s ten grand to start. More when you deliver. You in?”
He stared at the money, then at me. “Yeah… I’m in.”
By the time we got back to the penthouse, the sun was setting. Rook had already brought in some basic supplies and set up a small command area in the living room.
“We’ve got the start of a crew,” I said, looking at the three of them. “It’s small, but it’s loyal.”
Bianca poured herself a drink and handed me one. “Small crews die fast. We need more.”
Before I could reply, my burner phone rang. Unknown number.
I answered.
“Damien.” Isabella’s voice slid through the line like poison honey. “You really should’ve stayed dead, baby. Enzo is very upset you’re still breathing.”
Rage flared hot in my chest. “Tell your new boyfriend I’m coming for him next.”
She laughed softly. “You think that little whore Bianca can protect you? Cute. I know where you are, Damien. And I’m sending someone very special to say hello tonight.”
The line went dead.
Bianca’s face hardened. “She’s bluffing?”
Rook checked his own phone. “We’ve got movement. Three black SUVs just turned onto our street. They’re coming here. Now.”
I grabbed my pistol, adrenaline surging. “Looks like the welcome party arrived early.”
Bianca loaded her revolver, eyes cold. “Then let’s greet them properly.”
We moved to the windows overlooking the street. The SUVs were pulling up fast.
Whoever Isabella sent, it wasn’t going to be a polite visit.
I looked at Bianca, Rook, and the new beginnings of my crew.
“Time to show them the dead man bites back.”