Catching Bianca: A Dark Mafia Romance (Shadows of Obsession Book 4)
Catching Bianca: Chapter 27

Bianca’s sleeping like the dead.

It’s nine in the morning, and I’ve already done my workout, even though I probably don’t need to after last night. I’m showered, dressed, and brewing coffee in the kitchen. Music seeps from the ceiling-mounted speakers, filling my condo with “Gasoline” by Måneskin.

And Bianca’s still in bed.

I checked in on her ten minutes ago, standing in the doorway and wondering whether I should wake her. We’re not leaving for Cleveland today, so she can sleep however long it takes her to recover from the five or six orgasms I wrung out of her last night. As soon as she wakes, I’ll want five more, so she needs the rest.

That’s if the tough-girl act has been dropped for good…

A bitter-sweet sensation fills me up when I sit down with my coffee at the breakfast bar.

I don’t regret last night. I’d be lying if the thought of having her again hadn’t crossed my mind a thousand times this past week. In all honesty, that first time shouldn’t even count given how robotic it was. Cold, detached, emotionless.

Last night was how I’ve imagined sex with Bianca since I saw her for the first time. She dropped her mask, submitted to my dominance, and she was absolutely fucking perfect, but…

Yeah, there’s always a but.

While she was perfect, a part of me dreads the moment she comes to her senses and slips back into her cold-bitch attitude.

After what she told me last night, I know it’s a defense mechanism. She’s hiding, protecting her heart.

Fuck, there’s so much hurt in that girl. She told me she’d been let down numerous times before, that she has trust issues, but nothing hit me harder than “It feels like I’m falling.”

How much hurt did she live through if allowing herself to feel makes her this vulnerable?

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. Koby stands in the doorway, one eyebrow raised, a white paper bag with the logo of my favorite bagel place in Columbus in one hand. In the other, a bouquet of pink peonies.

“Breakfast.” He steps around me, heading straight for the kitchen and turns to wave the flowers in my face. “A gift from a secret admirer. Where’s your girl?”

“Asleep. You have three—”

“You didn’t say she’s not my girl.” He spins, a stupid grin across his face. “I take it things went well last night?”

“I know you have a bad habit of bragging about every minuscule detail of your life, but you should know by now that I’m more discreet. Who are the flowers from?”

“Whatever.” He drops the bag on the breakfast bar, and shoves his hand inside, pulling out its contents. “Smoked salmon for you.” He pushes a bagel my way.

“Koby,” I grit out, eyeing the bouquet he brought, my blood scorching my veins. “Who are the flowers from?”

“Unclench. All in time. Muster some patience, will you?” He leaves another bagel on the side. “Cream cheese for Bianca. I wasn’t sure what she likes, but everyone likes cream cheese, so I thought that’d be the safest choice. And…” He takes the last one, grinning. “Bacon and egg for me.”

“You went to all this trouble because you’re nosy?”

“What can I say? I’m a curious guy.” He shrugs, taking a big bite. At least he’s well-mannered enough to chew and swallow before speaking again. “Curiosity isn’t the only reason I’m here. We had an unexpected guest in Scarlett after you left last night.” He bounces his eyebrows as if trying to clue me in without spelling it out.

With the shit going on in the background, there are a few names that spring to mind, each less likely than the last. The amusement on Ryder’s face tells me I’ll never guess, but I play along and take a shot anyway, knowing it’ll lift his spirits.

“Noretto?”

“Close. Jax Hall. Noretto’s right-hand man.”

I drop my half-eaten bagel, confusion taking center stage. “How? Carter killed him when we grabbed Hailey.”

“He shot him, yes, but he survived. He’s been recovering for months and has a pretty scar on his neck to prove he was seconds from bleeding out.”

I lean back in my chair, replaying that night in my mind. I watched Carter and Broadway barrel through Noretto’s mansion on the live feed. I led them through the mayhem of raining bullets, and I specifically remember Jax folding to the floor.

“I presume he didn’t walk out of Scarlett alive?”

“Now that’s the kicker. He did. He came waving a white flag. Literally. He had a small white flag with him and waved it about as he approached the VIP section with Apollo’s gun digging into his lower back.”

My pulse quickens, the possible reasons for Jax walking out of the club unharmed multiplying inside my head.

“Spill it,” I hiss, my palms growing clammy.

“We don’t know much yet. Jax bowed low, said he means no harm.” He juts his chin at the peonies. “Brought flowers for Violet, Hailey, and Bianca—”

“Noretto knows she’s with us?” Cold sweat sweeps the nape of my neck as if someone dropped a clammy palm there and squeezed hard.

“Seems that way. We’re not exactly hiding her, are we?”

No, I guess not.

My throat tightens. The stunt in Scarlett last night wasn’t my brightest moment. There were too many onlookers who could whisper what they saw into the wrong ears. And they saw me lose my shit when another man touched Bianca.

Hailey was kidnapped when it became obvious Carter cared about her. Violet was almost deported. Bianca’s a target because she’s Hailey’s sister. Their familial connection is enough to blackmail Carter, but… now there’s more.

I shouldn’t have lost my cool. I shouldn’t have made it so obvious that Carter’s not the only one who’s leverageable over Bianca’s safety. The more chinks in our armor, the more exploitable avenues for Noretto and Grey.

“What did Jax say that saved him from heaving his last breath and covering Scarlett’s illuminated floor with the contents of his bowels?” I ask.

Koby swallows the last bite of his bagel, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “He asked Carter for a meeting. Said he has information he shouldn’t ignore.”

I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t like the sound of that. It’s a trap.”

“Maybe. Probably. But Jax suggested Hailey’s safety’s on the line, and Carter agreed to hear him out. He’s coming back tonight. Alone, unarmed. Carter wants us with him. Broadway’s out right now, pulling in all our soldiers to keep the girls safe while we replace out what Jax wants.”

I bet Broadway’s a ticking time bomb at this point, worried about Violet and his baby.

“We should leave the girls at Carter’s tonight with Arthur, Apollo, and a small army,” I say. “It’s the most logical solution.”

“That was my thinking, but, as you can imagine, Carter and Broadway shot me down. They want them close.”

Of course. Neither one trust anyone but me and Koby to keep their girls perfectly safe. We’ll be behind the wall, watching them on the monitors the whole time.

“Besides…” Koby muses, raiding my fridge. “If Jax is a distraction and Noretto’s men raid Scarlett, we’ll need backup. Sending away all our available soldiers is not a good plan.”

A soft click from the hallway has both our heads snapping toward the kitchen door. Bianca’s footsteps echo through the apartment, sending my pulse into overdrive.

I fucking hope she’s not wearing the almost see-through, spaghetti-strap night dress I caught her in last week.

Hell, I hope she’s got anything at all on because she fell asleep in my arms completely naked.

Another click tells me she’s gone into her bedroom.

“What time are we meeting in Scarlett?” I ask, summoning Koby’s attention.

“Seven. Jax is coming over at eight.”

I nod, glaring at my coffee cup. This game has been going on for too long now. It all started with one desperate man’s bad decision. A man who’d sell his soul to the devil if it meant his wife would live.

His decision knocked the first domino. But the others aren’t in a straight line, toppling over one after another. This is an intricate maze. Every fallen piece knocks down three more that spread in different directions.

We’ve reached the point where nothing and no one is safe. The power is spread out between all the players. No one has the upper hand.

Carter and Grey both have the evidence.

Noretto’s under Grey’s thumb.

Vaughn’s fucking unpredictable.

I don’t know what he wants most. Whether it’s Hailey, Bianca, or Carter’s head. Maybe all three. Maybe something else.

It could be freedom. He reduced himself to a puppet the moment he took Grey’s first bribe. Maybe he wants his old life back. Either way, whatever his endgame, Vaughn’s proved how much he’s willing to sacrifice.

He betrayed Hailey once and almost lost her. Then he did it again. I wouldn’t put anything past him. Noretto’s power hungry. Hailey said that, while he kept her prisoner, he talked about Dante. He said, “Every King must fall from grace.”

Grey wants Carter. His power, his connections, his allies.

Something has to give. Someone must die soon, or this will only get worse.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I say, running a heavy hand down my face.

“So do I, my friend. So. Do. I.”