Chapter 15: The Devil and the Princess

“You have a choice right now,” Cassian said, his voice a low, intensely magnetic rumble right beside her ear.

Emma looked over at him, her tear-streaked face illuminated by the flickering neon sign.

“Vincent Moretti honestly thinks he’s an untouchable king,” Cassian whispered, staring deeply into her eyes. “Let’s show him exactly what happens when a king’s pawn reaches the other side of the damn board.”

Emma’s breath caught sharply in her throat as she met his dark, intense gaze. “What are you proposing? A hostile merger?”

Cassian let out a low, dark laugh. A lethal, predatory smirk proudly returned to his scarred face.

“You know all of his intimate security protocols,” Cassian listed, his eyes burning with violent ambition. “You personally know his top lieutenants. You know exactly which shell companies he hides his dirty money in.”

Cassian reached out, his hand hovering near her face.

“Help me tear your father’s entire empire to the absolute ground, Emma,” Cassian commanded softly. “Brick by bloody brick. We take New York. We take everything he loves.”

“And in return?” Emma asked. Her heart was pounding a frantic, wild rhythm against her ribs. The absolute terror was entirely gone, replaced by something much more dangerous.

Cassian reached up, gently tucking a stray lock of messy auburn hair behind her ear. His rough thumb lightly brushed against her soft cheek, sending a massive jolt of pure electricity violently through them both.

“In return, I give you New York on a silver platter,” Cassian promised, his voice thick with raw emotion. “I give you your total freedom from his shadow.”

He leaned in, his lips hovering mere inches from hers.

“And maybe…” Cassian murmured. “Maybe we finally find out if the beautiful girl I spent the last eight months falling in love with was entirely an act.”

Emma stared deeply into the dark, dangerous eyes of the most feared man in Boston.

The paralyzing fear that had gripped her just moments ago completely evaporated. It was instantly replaced by a dangerous, thrilling, blinding rush of pure adrenaline.

She had spent her entire, miserable life desperately trying to escape the darkness of the mafia. But looking closely at Cassian Costa, feeling the immense, protective power radiating from his body, she realized she didn’t want to escape the dark anymore.

She wanted to violently rule it.

She glanced down at the poisoned cup of black coffee sitting on the table, then slowly looked back to Cassian. A slow, incredibly wicked smile formed on her lips, perfectly mirroring his own dark intent.

“My father,” Emma whispered, leaning in until her soft lips softly brushed against his rough jawline. “Never drinks his coffee black.”

Cassian closed his eyes, absorbing the absolute surrender in her words.

“He takes it with cream,” she murmured against his skin.

Cassian laughed—a genuine, deep, profoundly dark sound that echoed warmly through the empty, freezing diner. He reached up, tangling his large hand into her auburn hair, and pulled her fiercely into a claiming, desperate kiss.

It was a violent collision of two dark souls, sealing a lethal pact written entirely in deep betrayal and completely destined for a sea of blood.

Outside, the brutal Nor’easter raged on, heavily burying the quiet city in thick, suffocating ice.

But inside the warm, dimly lit Rusty Spoon, a massive, terrifying new empire had just been violently born.

The undercover mafia boss had walked into the diner looking for a quiet, brief escape from his bloody life, but the struggling waitress had boldly given him the entire world instead.

Vincent Moretti didn’t know it yet, as he sat in his high-rise tower in New York, but his reign was already completely over. His own daughter was coming for his heavy crown.

And she was bringing the terrifying Devil of Boston right alongside her.

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What would YOU have done in Cassian’s shoes? Would you have spared the assassin who stole your heart, or pulled the trigger? Let us know your survival strategy in the comments below!