Olivia laid snuggled in the covers beside me as I studied her. The look on her face appeared sombre despite her being in a deep sleep. It was no wonder considering what she’d been through. I doubted her dreams would be pleasant. The bruises on her cheekbones had darkened, turning various shades of blue and purple and contrasting with her olive skin.

Guilt sunk in my chest as I tried to decide which were caused by her father and which by me. How could I enjoy hurting her when I’d witnessed the pain she’d endured at her father’s hands? How could I hate him for hurting her and then turn around and do the same thing?

I can tell myself she asked for it, wanted it. But I knew she needed the bruises on the outside to mask the wounds on the inside. I imagined those hurt a hell of a lot more.

She stirred and her eyes pinched against a dream, causing a strand of hair to fall across her face. I brushed it back, careful not to wake her. Her warm skin was so delicate under my fingers. I had to fight the urge to kiss it. Instead, I made do with running my fingers over her cheeks. I wanted her more than anything, but there was a growing feeling I might be the one thing she didn’t need.

I sighed as I remembered how she pulled away yesterday. It was understandable she didn’t trust me. That didn’t stop it hurting like hell. It felt like I was losing her before we’d even begun. I wasn’t sure I could cope with that, even now.

I turned on to my back and gazed up at the ceiling as I tried to rid the thoughts. Laying there brooding wasn’t helping anything. I decided I needed to occupy my mind and find some answers.

Getting dressed, I left my room to search for coffee and Marcus. I found them both in the kitchen.

He looked up from his laptop screen and smiled as I walked in.

“Good Morning, sunshine. There’s coffee in the pot.”

I made my way over to the counter and poured myself a cup. Then took a seat opposite him at the centre island.

“Your face is looking better. The Doc fixed you up good. That’s gonna be quite a scar, too. Just the thing you need to toughen your image.”

“Still won’t make me look as mean as you.”

He shrugged. “No one does. It takes many years of practice to get a scowl as good as this.”

I laughed under my breath and took a sip of coffee.

He picked up his own and swilled the cup before drinking. Then looked back at me. “Where’s our prettiest little house guest?”

“Sleeping.”

“Has she mentioned anything about Gian?”

I groaned and rubbed the side of my face. The pain bit against my frustration. “Give it a rest, Marcus. She went through a lot yesterday. You didn’t help the fucking matter, either.”

“I need to know, Aaron.”

I glared at him. “Why? What’s changed? A couple of days ago you wanted her dead. Now, she’s suddenly pivotal to your plot?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t say that.” He looked into his cup. “Besides, I never wanted her dead. It was an empty threat.”

My jaw dropped. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

He huffed through his nose. “Because she was supposed to be safely out of the way with you at the farm. Then you acted like an idiot, so I had to get her away from you. You’d only let her leave if her only other option was death.” He rolled his eyes. “None of that matters now, of course. Seen as though she’s upstairs asleep in your room.”

“Are you going out of your way to be fucking cryptic?”

“You were supposed to stay away from her!”

The sudden anger took me aback. Sure, he’d warned me off her. Realising I didn’t quite stick to that would give him reason enough to be angry, but I couldn’t figure out why it would piss him off so much.

“What is she doing here, Aaron?”

“She saved my life.”

“Yeah. Why would she do that? You kidnapped her. Held her captive and did fuck knows what else to her, so why? Why would she betray Gian to save your sorry arse?”

I couldn’t answer that. There was an undeniable chemistry between us, but was it enough of a reason to do what she did. Why would she risk everything for me? “I don’t know.”

“I fucking do.” He gave me a long, annoyed glare. Then collected himself, shook his head and sighed. “She wasn’t supposed to be a part of this, Aaron. I did my best to keep her away, but you brought her in. Now she’s here, caught in the middle of fucking everything. That’s precisely what I didn’t want.”

“Why did you want her out of the way? I thought taking her was only to push Gian. Why the sudden concern for her welfare?”

He looked away and rubbed his jaw. “Because she’s innocent in all of this. I don’t want her to suffer; I want Gian to suffer.”

“Don’t see you rushing out to save Milena.”

He laughed. “She doesn’t need saving. You’ll see that soon enough.”

It was beyond me to question what he meant. Milena wasn’t my concern. “Well, despite what you wanted, Olivia is here. You can’t change that. What are you going to do now?”

He pressed his lips together as he stared at me. “We need to make sure she’s safely on our side.”

“And if she’s not taking sides?”

He shook his head and looked away. “She needs to be.”

“Marcus, I won’t let you hurt her.”

He flicked his hands at me. “For fuck’s sake. I’m not going to hurt her, but it’s not me you need to worry about.”

“I’m not going to let Gian hurt her, either.”

He closed his eyes. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

I swallowed. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

He studied the cup as he ran his finger around the rim. “I don’t want your pity, Aaron. It was my fault at the end of the day. I should’ve never got involved. Just like you shouldn’t be involved with Olivia. Gian’s a vicious fucker and he’ll hurt you in the worst way possible, by using her. If I were you, I’d prey he wants Olivia around more than he wanted his wife.”

“It’s not as if I can walk away.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

“She can’t walk away from this now, either. She betrayed her father to save me. I doubt he will forgive that.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Exactly.”

“How did this get so complicated?”

He stared at me with that annoying, knowing stare.

I huffed and shook my head. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. My fault.”

He sighed. “Do you love her?”

My heart skipped at the question. It wasn’t something I was prepared to answer. I wanted her, I needed her, but I couldn’t help feeling she would cause me more pain than I could handle. Or I’d do that to her. Either way, it scared me.

I stared down in to my cup. “I don’t know.”

“It’s kind of a yes or no question, Aaron.”

The doorbell rang. I was glad of the intrusion. Marcus checked his phone and muttered under his breath. “Always fucking early.”

“Are you expecting someone?”

“Yeah.” He huffed and stood off the stool. “Your sister-in-law.”

“What?”

He shook his head and headed out of the kitchen. It was too early in the morning to be figuring out his games.

The front door opened and a shrill voice pierced the air. “Good Morning, Marcus.” She sounded familiar.

“You’re early.”

Climbing off my stool, I walked to the kitchen door to see who it was.

“Yes, well. I needed to get out of that house. He’s been on the warpath all night. I swear this needs to happen soon. I can’t stand much more of him.”

A tall woman with killer heels and a sharp skirt suit had her back to me. My stomach dropped as I realised who it was.

Marcus closed the door and gestured for her to walk in. “Not long now.”

She jumped when she saw me. “Oh, Aaron. Good to see you again. Or it would be if my father hadn’t made such a mess of your face.”

“Hello, Milena.” I looked across at Marcus and shook my head in disbelief.

He raised his hands and shrugged. “She’s been in on it all along. I brought her here to talk to Olivia.”

She glanced behind me into the kitchen. “Is my sister around? I’ve been looking forward to seeing the reaction on her face.”

Milena might be looking forward to it, but I sure as hell wasn’t. “No, she’s upstairs, asleep.”

She smiled. “Damn. I guess we’ll have to save that surprise for later. Are you not going to offer me a drink?”

Standing aside, I half-heartedly raised a hand into the kitchen, still blindsided by her whirlwind presence. “Coffee?”

“That would be lovely, thank you. Milk, no sugar.” She sauntered into the kitchen and took a stool at the centre island. Marcus followed and made his way to the stool facing the door. It took a moment for me to collect myself before I went to the counter and poured her a cup.

Marcus wasted no time getting to business. “So, what’s the news on his latest reaction?”

“He’s fucking furious to say the least. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry.”

“That’s a given, Milena. What’s he trying to do about it?”

She smiled as I placed the coffee in front of her and took my seat. “Thank you. Well, he’s been up most of the night calling in various men to the house. He’s trying to get a lead on where you’ll all be.”

“Does he know anything?”

“He knows you’ve got a house in Clapham, but apart from that I think they’ve stayed quiet.”

“Someone hasn’t if he knows I’ve got a place around here.”

I kissed my teeth then grimaced as I looked across at Marcus. “Yeah… That was me. I told Gian you had a house in this area.”

“For fuck’s sake, Aaron. Did you give him my bank details, too?”

“I didn’t give him anything else, or say where exactly, but I didn’t have much choice.”

He rubbed his face in frustration. “You couldn’t have said Hackney or Shoreditch then, no?”

“I’m sorry, man. I had to.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, don’t worry. At least no one in the Syndicate has talked.”

“You’ve got the Syndicate in your pocket?”

“Not all. We’ve got most of note, but he still has his core loyalists. It’s too risky to try to win them over. Thankfully, they don’t know shit unless I feed it to them.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised by anything you do anymore.”

“I wouldn’t be.” He turned back to Milena. “Any word on if he’s planning to strike?”

She shook her head. “No. Since Olivia’s little stunt, he’s been too reticent with me. I don’t think he suspects anything, but he’s keeping his cards against his chest.”

“Fuck. That’s all we need.”

She rifled through the expensive handbag on her knee and glanced at her phone before she gave her attention back to Marcus. “I’ll hear most of his orders, but they’ll take time to filter through.”

I studied Milena as she placated Marcus. In her designer dress suit, her polished image should’ve been attractive. With her sharp features and piercing grey eyes, she had a look about her, but it wasn’t pretty. Under the perfect veneer lived someone who was ugly, calculating and devious. The woman underneath repulsed me. I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.

“Anything else I should know?” Marcus sighed.

“He’s spitting for Olivia. As you can imagine. Don’t let him get anywhere near her. She wouldn’t be shown much forgiveness this time.”

Dread prickled my skin as I realised Marcus’ warning was justified. Olivia was in danger. This wasn’t just a betrayal against her father; it was a betrayal against Gian, and I was seeing how much of a twisted psychopath he was.

She looked at me. “He’s also gunning for you, Aaron. So much so, he’s forgot Marcus exists.”

I nodded. That I expected. “So, what are you going to do? No doubt you two have some elaborate scheme. I’m guessing you can tell me about that, now.”

Marcus shook his head. “It’s not elaborate. I wanted him to attack the warehouse in Forest Hill. I’ve had everyone stationed there since we took Olivia. So far, he hasn’t bitten.”

“That’s it?”

He laughed. “Well, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes, but that was supposed to be the culmination. It’s the only place I have that would give me the advantage. I wanted to take out his guys and get him alive. I think Gian’s figured that out though.”

Milena nodded. “I laid the groundwork, so he’d think it was his only option. He appeared to be going with it, too. Until he came back yesterday with Olivia. I don’t even know how he found her.”

Marcus huffed. “Lawrence Caldwell. One of the few I didn’t think I had to pay off.”

I hunched forward as my stomach churned and held my head in my hands.

Marcus’ voice rang heavy in my ears. “Aaron? It was Lawrence, wasn’t it?”

I slid my hands to cover my mouth as I looked up at him and shook my head. I didn’t want to tell him, but I had to. “CCTV.”

His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “What?”

I dropped my hands, straightened and took a breath as I faced him. “He saw me take her on CCTV.”

Marcus pushed back from the counter and the stool clattered to the floor with the force. He growled and paced the kitchen. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

Fuck. I didn’t realise how much I’d screwed things up.

Milena turned to me. “Shit. He’s got contacts there?”

I nodded. “Apparently, he’s got contacts everywhere.”

Marcus came back to the island, raging at me. “Fuck! Fucking hell, Aaron! What did I say to you about Soho? I fucking knew it!”

“I’m sorry, Man.”

“You’re sorry? Think yourself fucking lucky it was Gian that intercepted it. What if it had been the goddamn police that came knocking on your door? Goddamnit, Aaron,” he growled. “You were the one part of this operation I didn’t need to worry about, or so I thought. Turns out, you’ve fucked up everything!”

I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Since you laid eyes on that girl. You’ve done nothing but screw up. What’s it going to take for you to get your head back in the game? You realise you’re putting her life at risk, don’t you?”

“You don’t need to tell me that, Marcus. I get it. Just tell me what I need to do to bring Gian down.”

He looked up to reply, but stopped when his gaze held behind me. He sighed and shook his head. Apprehension gripped me as I turned to the doorway, but I knew what I would see. Olivia stood there with her jaw gaping. Her eyes darting between the three of us.

“Olivia.”

She looked at me with disappointment in her eyes, then turned into the hallway.

“Olivia.” I stood to go after her, but Milena moved first and held up her hand to stop me.

“Let me talk to her. She’s heard enough from you right now.”