Sven:

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The door is probably shaking the person is pounding on it so hard. I get up casually. Who is freaking pounding on my door right now? This fucking forcefully. I hear the shuffling of covers and glance over. My mouth curls up in amusement. Rose is scrambling to the back, blocking herself off with a pillow.

Like that will protect her.

I swing the door open. My eyebrows shoot up when I see who it is.

“Boss?”

Boss looks furious. He’s practically shaking with rage. Immediately my guard goes up and my mask slips on.

“We need to talk. Now.”

He stalks off down the hallway. I turn to Rose, feeling every bit of the underboss I am. I point at her food.

“Finish.”

I know she won’t, but I'm curious to see what she does. I slam the door. It locks automatically. I have to practically run down the hallway to keep up with Boss. No way am I walking behind him. Principal. One of those things most people don’t pay attention to. I do. Power isn’t always in the grand gestures. It’s in the little details no one notices until they have a leader who doesn’t give a shit.

He walks in the main area ahead of me. The air surrounding him is practically vibrating. In this moment the task of taking his role out from underneath him seems practically impossible. He embodies the role of boss.

I shove aside these thoughts and drag my chair to sit across from him.

“What’s going on?”

I glance at his clenched hands.

“So first things first, Giovanni’s dead. We need a replacement, so keep an eye out for who you think would be a fit.”

Fuck the no questions asked rule.

“Why?”

Boss glares at me. “He disrespected me, and unless you want to join him you will stop questioning me.”

I nod.

“We need to discuss the hard drive.”

Instantly I sit up straighter. I love being privy to this information. I used to have to sneak around to get it. Pull strings. Which was fun, but this is a much bigger game. The more you have at stake, the more fun it is to play. The more there is to win.

“I'm all ears.”

Something in Bosses demeanor changes. He studies me carefully.

“You do know the consequences of betraying me? Correct?” He studies me further, then smirks. “We all have our ambitions. I understand that. What I expect is for people to know what lines not to cross, what roles they need to play and the timing in which they play it. Understood?”

Damn. Shit. I underestimated him. He knows what I'm planning, but he also knows I'm smart.

This game just got a lot more interesting.

Teammates and opponents.

Friends and enemies.

Boss, underboss and equals.

“Yes. I understand.”

“So, the question is, Sven,” he leans back in his chair and wears a mask of nothing but power, “can I trust you?”

I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”

… And he can. With this hard drive. Because I plan on taking him down without ever betraying the family. Without ever becoming a snitch.

Of course, other than the minor detail of, I plan on ending his life.

“The hard drive contains information on The Castello’s,” he growls. The anger is back. It is well known we have been after this family for generations, and boss wants to be the one to take him down. It’s personal in some way. I just know it is.

“This has to do with the girl?”

Boss sighs, but it’s subtle. “Yes. She’s the… bait.”

His teeth are gritted so hard he’s gonna burst a vein.

“Interesting. Start from the beginning.”

… and he does. How she literally fell right into his lap. The perfect trap. I don’t know what’s on the hard drive yet, but I know it ties the whole plan up with a pretty little bow.

“So what is on the hard drive?”

“The layout of their prison. We can thank Lacey for me finding out about the existence of that. She’s been very useful to me, and she’s about to be a whole lot more useful.”

“How so?”

Then I learn. I learn of the most evil, twisted plan I’ve ever heard. It’s perfect. The Castello’s won’t have any chance of existing after what boss has in store.

Unfortunately for Bosse's little plaything, Lacey won’t either.

That ends the meeting. Once Boss tells me the plan he looks exhausted. He dismisses me. There’s something off about him. He doesn’t like the plan. This is the first time I begin to suspect this Lacey, the prisoner, means more to him than he lets on.

I walk back to the room just dying to know what kind of chaos Rose has started. She’s sure to have started some. She’s a little hellion hidden under a gold heart and model looks. Let’s just say what I find is a little more than I anticipated.

Toilet water covers the bathroom floor and Rose is on the ground having a full-blown emotional breakdown. I don’t like it. Not one bit. I'm surprisingly calm for her having deliberately disobeyed me and caused such a mess.

She’s tucked in a ball in dirty toilet water rocking back and forth, hyperventilating. She looks at me with pure terror.

It bothers me. A lot. Interesting.

I walk over and she begins to scream at the top of her lungs and stop breathing at the same time as I scoop her up. She puts as much space as possible between us. So, even though she’s light, it’s hard to hold her up like that. I set her in the tub. She’s fucking filthy.

It takes her a while to calm down, but I'm relieved as shit when she does. I decide then I don’t like her like that. Not at all. I take off her clothes. Not to make her uncomfortable, but I need her clean. Her perfect body and skin help dissolve some of the tension I'm carrying from my meeting with Boss.

For some reason I'm nice. I give her space. Let her get clean even though I want to be the one to run my hands over her skin. Well, almost nice. I do snatch her clothes on the way out. I chuckle as she screams my name. I don’t underestimate her. I expect her to pull a lot of shit, but what she does next I never would have imagined. She comes out stark naked and glares at me.

Then… she tries to fucking back out when I try and touch her. She played with fire and got burned and then she’s surprised. Fucking hell.

“Thanks for being well prepared for my kidnapping Sven,” she says when we’re done and I hand her the clothes I bought her.

I don’t like that. I don’t like how those words settle in my gut. Ungrateful little… She has no idea what I'm capable of. How easy I am taking it on her right now. I glare at her.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

She snaps her head off the wall and scowls at me. The girl flips moods so fast. I'm hoping it dies down when she realizes she’s not going anywhere, and that I don’t plan on her hurting her. Not physically at least. It’s unnecessary and actually counterproductive. I don’t know exactly what I want from her yet, but for now, I just want her here. She’s mine. Her and her blue eyes. Her blonde hair so light it’s nearly white and her frail body. It’s all mine.

And her attitude. That’s mine too.

Her heart. That’s something I have yet to come to terms with.

“You are despicable! I said that to make you realize that… God, I HATE you! Let me go. I'm not meant to be here. My girls Sven! I mean you own the damn place. Let me go. Please let me go. Please.” She scrambles over and gets on her hands and knees, holding onto my pant leg. “Please. Please. Let me go Sven. Please.”

I roll my eyes.

“Get off the floor Rose.”

“No. Let me go.”

I crouch down. She jumps back and lands on her ass. “No. Get it through your stubborn head that you are here now.”

“What am I supposed to do here? Huh! Tell me that Sven. I can’t just stay locked up. I can’t do anything. I’ll lose it. I will lose it. The…” she frowns at whatever she was going to say. I already know.

I cup her cheek. Not gentle. Possessive. She’s mine. Even her twisted mind. “The memories. You’re oh so lovely father.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh wow. Sweet little Rose, that’s so vulgar.”

“You’re so awful. I hate you.”

Her voice falls as hopelessness sets in. I stand and grab her hand, pulling her to her feet. She looks at me with big blue eyes full of fear and uncertainty.

“What would you like to do little Rose? Behave, and this place doesn’t have to be a prison.”

In fact. I want it to be far from it.

She doesn’t know this yet, another act of kindness on my part, but no, this place isn’t her prison.

It will be her home.

When everything I’ve planned for succeeds.

The Castelo’s are under us.

Then I take over, effectively ruling the entire region.

Rose will be mine, and this will be our home.