There was a look in her eye. A look that spoke words formed from her heart. It took me by both surprise and fury that she cared for a boy who hardly knew her.

There was a time when someone looked at me the way Reyna did for Giovanni. My mother. For a moment, I caught a glimpse of the woman whose heart I crushed with the palms of my own hands. Her tear-stricken face dripped onto Reyna's as she fell to the floor with blood seeping from her body. When her gaze met mine, my heart instantly grew cold. An empire was built on the foundation of the loss of my family. It was a price that I had to pay for having no mercy.

My heart used to beat with purpose and dignity. It now only thumping for money, power, and vengeance.

However, when I looked at Reyna, ice seemed to slowly melt away. It was so fucking stupid. I hated every bit of her that smiled, pulling her full lips up to show off her white teeth. I hated her boring eyes that were full of wisdom and beauty. I really fucking hated how good her skin felt and how much I wanted to feel more of it.

She must be some damn good hacker. Not only was she manipulating systems, but she was manipulating me. Like a magnetic force, when I pushed her away, she'd come flying back. Actually, I think that's what I don't like most about the nerd. It was revolting.

"He keeps saying he doesn't know where Giovanni is. The only person that could break him is you, sir," Leo said the moment I arrived at my safe house.

My shirt was a mess, and I was missing my suit jacket all because of the nerd. Leo didn't dare bring up how disheveled my clothes were.

"The girl is still at my house with Savannah, but I want you there too. Watch over them. Make sure no one enters or exits that house other than me. Am I understood?" I questioned. Leo nodded his head, but just before he could walk off I held up my hand.

I remembered Reyna's appearance. My jacket left nothing to the imagination on her body. I hoped she'd change, but there was no telling when it came to that girl.

"Don't you dare speak or even look at Miss Fields. You're there for her protection... that's it," I ordered him. He gave a curt nod as I narrowed my eyes at him skeptically.

"I understand, boss," he said.

Leo turned on his heel and began walking in the direction of his car as I entered the house. It was dark, but the sounds of Matteo, one of my soldiers, yelling at Adriano could be heard. The front of the house looked completely ordinary, but as I walked down the long hallway, I could just feel death lurking in the shadows. It made me smile.

I entered the room and immediately took in the scene in front of me. Adriano was tied to a chair. There were bruises and blood painting his skin. He almost looked unrecognizable. Matteo looked at me and once I nodded toward the door, he took the hint and walked toward me.

"He keeps asking for you. He says he won't talk until you goy here. I did my best, boss," Matteo whispered in my ear just before he exited the room.

"Saint," Adriano groaned. "I don't know where Giovanni or Viktor is. This is a set up. You know that I wouldn't do this to you Saint, you're like my brother. You're my only famil—"

"Shut up," I ordered.

Taking a step to Adriano, I bent down so I was eye level with him. As much as I hated it, memories of the times we were young chased through my mind. All of pain we experienced together. All of the aches and clenched fists were what forced us together. We never had a typical childhood, but we had each other—my brother

He looked me straight in the eye. His gaze was dull and lifeless but tried its best to remain strong. "I don't have anything to do with Viktor. I swear to you."

"Tell me what happened," I insisted.

"I went to the ball to set everything up for Giovanni as he requested. That's when I saw you. After that, I went back to your place and found Giovanni in your office. He made us both a drink and began telling me how he received some strange message from the ball. Then, everything went black. I don't know how I got into your bar. I don't know where Giovanni is. And I don't know what the fuck Giovanni found. I don't understand any of this shit, but I can't figure it out if I'm dead," Adriano explained. He grimaced as he turned his head to look away from me.

"You still don't believe me, huh?" Adriano scoffed. "It's that chick you been fucking with, isn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if she were the real snitch. Ever since she showed up our family has been pushed farther away than it ever has. Don't be stupid over some puss—"

I didn't realize I had balled up my fist until it collided with his face. His head whipped off to the side as blood mixed with saliva shot from his mouth.

Just as I was about to speak, my burner phone began to ring. Reyna.

I picked it up and held it up to my ear.

"Saint?" she questioned. I turned away from Adriano, making sure my hand was on my gun in case he tried anything.

"Angel," I addressed.

"I have been working very hard to prove Adriano's innocence because my intuition is rarely wrong. Turns out, there is a surveillance camera just down the street from your home. I hacked into the software and guess what I found?" she asked.

I smacked my teeth, rolling my eyes. "Can you just hurry the fuck up?"

"Fine, I guess it's not important then. Goodbye," she said dismissively.

"Angel..." I warned. I stole a glance at Adriano to see he was staring off in space. "Tell me."

"Beg me," she dared. I couldn't ignore the smirk on my face as my dick almost jumped alive at the sound of her words.

I turned toward the door and walked out of the room. I closed the door behind me just before I settled myself just outside the door. "Just because we are a couple miles away doesn't mean I won't spank the disobedience out of you. Tell me what you saw, Reyna."

"No, I've had enough of your touching and ordering me around. We made a deal... we're equal. Therefore, if you want to know what I saw, you're just gonna have to be nicer to me," she stated. I smiled.

"You're playing a dangerous game. Are you sure you want to proceed?" I questioned, raising a brow.

"Checkmate," she chuckled. Suddenly, the line went dead.

—

don't forget that i have a discord server you can all join. i'm pretty active on there. i would love to meet you all and become friends. you can even talk about every update there and meet so many book lovers who are just like you! the link is in my author description here on wattpad! keep in mind that we are a bit weird, but you'll get used to us lol.

question: how do we feel about reyna turning over a new leaf?