Caught in the Act
The room was cloaked in silence, the only sound Diamond could hear was the pounding of her own heart slamming against her ribcage. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, sweat clinging to her temples. Her hazel eyes, wide with disbelief, locked onto the man now sitting upright on the velvet couch. Watching her like a hawk.
She stood frozen, caught mid-step, the flash drive clenched in her trembling fingers.
His cold, calculating gaze flicked from her face to her hand.
She stammered. “What? How did you—”
Alessandro cut her off with a dry chuckle, his voice as smooth as poison. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He rose slowly, as if giving her time to digest the impending storm. “I mean…”
He tilted his head, his tone mockingly conversational. “I knew something was off the moment I saw you here. I just wasn’t sure what exactly.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, then smirked. “And voilà.” Another low laugh followed as he took a step toward her. “Here you are. Caught red-handed, trying to rob me. Adriano definitely sent you, didn’t he?”
Diamond took a step back.
He kept coming closer.
“You know,” he drawled, “you almost had me convinced. The way you wrapped that pretty mouth of yours around my cock? Damn. You’ve got skills, Diamond. But let’s be honest—”
With a quick, fluid motion, he reached forward and snatched the flash drive from her grip before she even had the chance to blink.
“—not that good.”
Before she could speak, scream, or move, his hand lashed out like a whip. In a split second, she was slammed against the wall. Her head hit the surface with a dull thud. His hand locked around her throat, tight and unrelenting.
Her eyes widened in shock as her feet barely touched the floor.
“What is this?” Alessandro hissed, holding up the flash drive with his free hand. “And why the fuck is it so important?”
Diamond choked on air, her hands flying to his wrist, her nails digging in. But she didn’t speak. Her glare was fierce—blazing with defiance.
“Talk,” he growled, venom coating every syllable. His fingers tightened. Her vision began to blur, lungs screaming for air. Still, she didn’t give in.
Outside, in the shadows of the club parking lot…
Adriano paced like a caged lion outside his matte-black Lamborghini. The tension in his shoulders was visible, his jaw clenched so hard you could hear it grind.
“She said she was going straight to the office,” he muttered, staring at his phone. “It’s been almost two hours. Where the fuck is she?”
Serena, leaning on the hood of her car, crossed her arms calmly. “Maybe she got held up. You know how these things can be sometimes. Adriano, you need to chill.”
Adriano spun on her like a live wire. “Don’t fucking tell me to calm down, Serena! She’s supposed to be out here by now. Something's definitely wrong.”
“Boss—” Marco started, but Adriano stormed past him.
“I swear to God, if anything happens to her…”
He made a move for his car door, yanking it open, gun already halfway out of the glovebox.
Luca grabbed his wrist. “Adriano! Think. Going in there right now will ruin the entire mission . You said it yourself—La Fortezza is crawling with Greco men. Alessandro’s men.”
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do,” Serena snapped. “If you die, she dies too. So please sit down and let’s think this through.”
Adriano’s jaw twitched. His breath came in shallow, furious bursts. But after a long, tense pause… he relented. He slammed the door shut and leaned on it, seething.
“I’ve got a bad feeling,” he muttered. “I swear on everything, something’s wrong.”
—
Diamond’s vision was dimming now, her nails clawing at Alessandro’s hands. Her heels scraped against the floor uselessly as she kicked out. Panic surged in her chest. She couldn't breathe. She couldn’t scream.
Alessandro leaned in close. “Since you won’t talk… then just die.”
His voice was chilling in its calm.
Her pulse screamed in her ears. In a final surge of desperation, she slammed her knee straight into his groin.
His body spasmed.
“FUCK!” he grunted, instantly dropping her as he doubled over in pain. Both of his hands flew to his crotch as he staggered back, cursing under his breath.
Diamond hit the floor hard, coughing violently as air rushed into her lungs like fire. Her throat burned, her fingers trembling as she clutched it, trying to breathe through the agony.
She spotted the flash drive on the ground and crawled toward it on shaky limbs. Her palm closed over it.
Then she stood, panting. Her knees wobbled.
“Fucking psycho!” she shouted hoarsely.
With every ounce of strength she had left, she kicked Alessandro in the ribs with her stilettos. He grunted, falling sideways.
She snatched her purse from the table, flung the office door open, and ran.
The club was alive with noise. Music thumping, lights flashing, dancers moving—but all of it blurred around her as she tore through the space, shoving past stunned patrons, spilling drinks, knocking over chairs.
From behind, Alessandro’s voice boomed.
“HEY! STOP HER! STOP THE GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR!!!”
The order snapped his men into action.
One of them appeared ahead, a burly monster of a man. She collided with him, bouncing back like she hit a brick wall. She immediately tried to run in another direction but he grabbed her arm.
“Let me go!” she screamed, trying to twist away. She balled her free hand into a fist and swung on him but he caught her wrist mid air, rooting her in place.
“LET—GO—OFF ME!” She yelled, twisting and struggling, trying to wrench herself free from his grip. She turned around to see more of Alessandro's men closing in.
Shit!
Diamond immediately took a step back the kicked the man in the balls with her stilettos. He cried out and stumbled back.
She broke free and ran.
—
Adriano stood just outside his car, fingers clenched around the grip of his pistol, eyes locked on the glowing red neon sign of La Fortezza like it had personally insulted his bloodline.
“Adriano,” Serena said through gritted teeth, stepping in front of him. “Please put the gun down.”
He didn’t even blink. “It’s been two hours. Two fucking hours! She said she was going in for a quick flirt and flash. That shit doesn’t take a hundred and twenty fucking minutes unless she’s dead or—”
“Or maybe she’s being careful,” Marco cut in, stepping between Adriano and Serena. “She knows what she’s doing.”
“Move!” Adriano barked. “Now!”
“No,” Serena snapped, planting a hand on his chest. “You walk in there like this? You're going to get her and all of us killed.”
Adriano’s jaw ticked as he glared at her, his temple throbbing with the rhythm of his boiling pulse. “He touches her—he fucking touches her—he’s dead. You hear me? I don’t care if I have to drag his corpse back to Italy and drop it at Papa’s feet.”
Serena’s voice dropped, deadly calm. “If he has touched her, you’ll need your head clear to avenge her. Not riddled with bullets on the floor of his club.”
Adriano looked between them—Serena, Luca, Marco. All tense, all standing in his way, trying to reason with a storm.
He exhaled through clenched teeth, pacing backward, gun still in his hand.
“She’s late,” he muttered, eyes darting to his phone again. “I know something’s wrong.”
“Maybe she’s still inside playing the long con. Maybe she’s still trying to sweet talk her way into his office,” Marco reasoned.
“Or maybe she’s already dead,” Adriano spat.
A heavy silence dropped.
“Bro,” Luca muttered under his breath, “this is exactly why we’re trying to stop you. You’re not thinking straight.”
Adriano turned on him. “Don’t fucking ‘bro’ me right now.”
“Then stop acting like a man who’s ready to die for pussy.”
Adriano’s hand twitched on the gun, and for a split second, Luca didn’t know if he’d be aiming it at the club—or at him.
“Wait…” Luca said, tilting his head, eyes narrowing as he looked past them. “Is that… Diamond?”
Everyone turned.
There she was—red hair flying, heels clicking violently, face pale as death and breath ragged. She was sprinting across the parking lot, yelling at the top of her lungs.
“We gotta go! We gotta go! We gotta GO!”
Behind her, Alessandro’s soldiers burst out of the club’s side door, shouting commands, weapons raised.
Adriano didn’t think. He ran.
Diamond reached Serena’s car and dove inside headfirst, purse and flash drive clutched tight.
Serena was already moving, sprinting to the driver’s side and throwing the door shut.
Adriano, Marco, and Luca hit their car at the same time, engines roaring.
Gunshots rang out as Alessandro's men opened fire on them.
Serena’s tires screeched. Marco and Luca were halfway out the windows, returning fire with quick precision.
One of Alessandro’s men got hit and immediately dropped. Blood sprayed the sidewalk.
Diamond screamed as Serena swerved, dodging bullets. “You got it?” Serena shouted.
Diamond raised the flash drive with shaking hands. “I literally almost died trying.”
Serena hit her earpiece. “She got the drive!”
Adriano laughed, wild and relieved, as their car tore down the road behind Serena’s. “That’s my girl!” he screamed with a grin, gripping the wheel like a madman.
Back at La Fortezza…
Alessandro limped through the chaos, one hand over his stomach, rage burning in his veins. He nearly tripped over his wounded man on the ground.
His men approached, eyes downcast.
“She came with Adriano,” one muttered. “They were waiting. They… they got away.”
“FUCK!” Alessandro roared.
Alessandro barked at his men, spitting every insult in his arsenal. “All of you are sons of bitches! You're fucking worthless! Useless bastards! You disgust me! What the fuck are you even good for if you can’t catch ONE whore?!”
He paced like a feral animal, breathing hard.
Then, in a cold, almost whispering tone, he said
“I’m gonna kill that fucking bitch.”