Chapter 25

ALINA

I leaned over the railing, scanning the patio below to make sure there were no guards in sight. Once I was certain, I quickly tied the sheet to the heavy chair on the balcony. It wasn’t a perfect knot—I knew that—but it was the best I could manage, hoping it would hold long enough for me to get down before it slid or the weight shifted.

I threw the sheet over the edge, watching it snake down the side of the building. I waited, tense, expecting to hear the cry of alarm any second. But there was nothing.

I took a deep breath and hiked up the chemise, relieved I’d put on underwear before starting this crazy plan. I swung a leg over the side, my heart hammering in my chest. This was it. I could turn back, forget this whole plan, and let whatever was coming for me happen. Or I could climb down that sheet and face whatever waited at the bottom.

A door creaked open in the distance, and my pulse spiked. I didn’t have time to react—only a quick flash of a guard’s surprised expression before I pushed myself over the edge and descended into the unknown.

ALEXANDER

As I descended the grand staircase, each step felt like a weighty burden, as if time itself was conspiring against me. The day had been an endless, draining slog, and all I yearned for was to escape into the solace of my bed, shutting out the world and surrendering to sleep.

But duty still beckoned, refusing to be ignored. I made my way to the sideboard, where the crystal decanter gleamed in the soft light. With deliberate slowness, I poured a generous measure of whiskey into a glass, watching as the amber liquid swirled and eddied within. The sharp scent wafted up, filling my senses as I raised the glass to my lips. The burn of the liquor as it slid down my throat was a welcome respite from the turmoil that churned within my mind.

I should have been upstairs, claiming what was mine, but something about Alina Santini held me back. Her presence lingered in my thoughts like a haunting melody, refusing to be silenced. The knowledge that she was a virgin only served to inflame my obsession. It seemed almost impossible in this modern age – yet here she was, untouched and untainted.

The realization ignited a primal need within me, a hunger that threatened to consume me whole. I had never taken a virgin before, and the prospect of being her first – of breaking her in and making her mine – was intoxicating. Her defiance only fueled the fire that burned within me. I could see it in her eyes: an unwillingness to submit that excited me more than I cared to admit.

Even as she shrank away from me, I felt my desire grow. It wasn't cruelty that drove me – I didn't take pleasure in inflicting pain for its own sake – but when a woman defied me... I would make her submit. If punishment was required to bend her to my will, then so be it.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs and approached Nico, my thoughts still lingered on Alina – my captive, my prize – and the unyielding determination that burned within me to claim her as mine own.

The thought of her—Alina—always got me hard.

I shifted uncomfortably, adjusting the front of my pants, forcing myself to think of anything else for now.

If I didn’t, I knew where my mind would go. I’d end up taking care of things myself, or worse, calling one of my usual women to scratch the itch.

Alina? She wasn’t ready for my cock yet.

“Xander...” Nico’s voice cut through the fog of my thoughts.

I gulped down the last of my whiskey, the sharp burn in my throat doing little to steady my nerves. I turned to face him, irritation already bubbling up.

“What the fuck is so urgent that you couldn’t wait?”

Nico didn’t flinch at my tone. He just raised his phone, the screen glowing faintly in the dim light.

“It’s urgent,” he replied

I raised an eyebrow, a sense of unease creeping in.

Taking the phone from his hand, I brought it to my ear.

“Yeah?” I said, my voice low, demanding.

The pause on the other end was brief, but enough to make me bristle. Something was off.

"Hello, Alexander."

The moment I heard that voice, my blood ran cold. My free hand clenched into a fist at my side, my jaw tightening.

“What the fuck do you want, Robert?” I ground out, already annoyed.

Robert Solas. A delusional fool who liked to pretend he was more than a glorified lapdog for the Russian Mafia. He fancied himself a Don, the most powerful man in the game. Almost laughable. Too bad I would never let him take that throne. That position was mine.

“I’m hearing rumours,” he said smoothly. “Rumors that you’ve taken something that belongs to me.”

I let out a dark chuckle, rolling my shoulders as if shaking off the weight of his words.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The silence on the other end was brief, but the tension crackled like a live wire.

"The bitch Alina is mine," he finally snarled, his voice edged with barely controlled fury. "I bid on her first. I want her back."

My amusement vanished.

My grip tightened around the glass in my hand before I set it down, slowly, deliberately.

“Too bad,” I murmured, my tone shifting from entertained to ice-cold. “I’ve set my sights on her. And now she belongs to me.”

A low, dangerous growl rumbled through the line.

I leaned back, letting the silence stretch just to piss him off before adding, “And you don’t get to fucking tell me what to do. You aren’t the Don, Robert.”

I smirked, knowing this would hit exactly where it hurt. “I am. Have you forgotten that?”

“So you keep reminding me,” Robert sneered, his voice thick with resentment. “You’re a disgrace to the mafia, Alexander. You broke the code. I won the girl—fair and square. You had no right to take her from me.”

I smirked, unbothered. “And yet, here we are.”

His breath came sharp, heavy with fury. “I will get her back. No matter what it takes.”

A low chuckle escaped me, cold and merciless. “Good luck with that.” I leaned back, taking my time.

“You’ve been trying for three fucking years. Tell me, what pathetic little trick are you going to try this time?”

The silence stretched—thick, electric. Then, voice coiled with menace, he whispered,

“You have your day coming, Alexander.”

I set my glass down, the sharp clink cutting through the air like a blade. My voice dropped, deathly quiet.

“Then don’t fucking miss when you come for me.”

A pause. A shift in his breathing. He felt it. The weight of what I just promised him.

But Robert? He wasn’t the type to back down.

“Oh, I won’t,” he promised, his voice dripping with malice. “And when I put a bullet between your eyes, I’ll make sure she watches.”

I exhaled slowly; my smirk was devoid of humour. A quiet, simmering rage curled in my chest—cold, lethal.

“You won’t live long enough to see that bullet, Solas.”

I ended the call before he could spew another worthless threat.

Reaching for the bottle, I poured myself another drink, the amber liquid catching the dim light.

Robert Solas had just sealed his fate.

He just didn’t know it yet.

The sound of hurried footsteps made me snap my head up. David, one of my most loyal guards, was sprinting toward me, his face pale, sweat dripping down his temples. A sharp, uneasy feeling coiled in my gut, tightening like a vice.

“What?” I barked, my voice sharp, cutting through the tense air.

David skidded to a stop, chest heaving, eyes wide with panic.

“She’s gone—she jumped over the balcony!”

For a split second, my mind refused to process his words. Then, something inside me snapped.

The glass in my hand shattered as I crushed it, shards biting into my palm, but I didn’t feel the pain. My chair scraped violently against the floor as I shoved back, already moving. My heart pounded, fury and something far more dangerous roaring to life in my chest.

No.

I stormed past David, my pulse a thunderous drum in my ears. If she thought she could escape me—

She was dead fucking wrong.