Pursued by the Rival Mafia King

Chapter 2

Enzo's POV

As soon as Brielle passed out, I withdrew my hand and swallowed hard.

For a moment, the only sound inside the car was her uneven breathing. Soot streaked her face, and a shallow cut marred her temple. Yet even beneath the soot and blood, I could still picture those hazel doe eyes staring back at me only moments ago.

Six years.

Six f*****g years.

Of all the people who could've been trapped beneath my building... It had to be her.

An amused laugh escaped me. "Life has a f****d-up sense of humor, doesn't it?"

My assistant, Shadow, glanced over his shoulder from the front passenger seat. "Boss, who's the woman you pulled out of there? Do you know her?"

My gaze drifted back to the unconscious woman beside me.

Brielle.

She looked... fragile.

Her auburn hair no longer reached her waist, stopping just below her shoulders instead. One strap of her pink lace dress had slipped off her shoulder, revealing bruised skin beneath.

My eyes wandered lower before I caught myself. The silver charm peeking above her underwear was enough to make me look away.

My jaw tightened. "I know her."

Shadow frowned. “I've never seen you risk yourself for any woman. You know the ceiling was collapsing, yet you ignored my warnings and went into the fire! You could've died, Boss."

I waved his worries off. "Brielle and I go way back. Just because we couldn't stand each other doesn't mean I'd leave her there to die."

A slow smile tugged at my lips. "Back then, she absolutely hated me."

Shadow opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. He knew better than to bombard me with questions. I fixed him a hard stare.

“Now, what the f**k happened back there?”

The last twenty minutes replayed in my mind.

I’d only taken three steps towards the lounge before it blew up in flames. With the way the blast had reached a mile radius, I instantly knew it was a bomb. My first instinct when I stood up was to run, so by the time my men realized what I was doing, I'd already run back inside the burning building.

That lounge wasn't just another building; it was one of my biggest operations as the Don of Chicago's largest mafia family.

I used the lounge’s underground basement as a smuggling hub that moved millions of pounds’ worth of contraband every month.

“That was my f*****g investment,” I hissed, my jaw tightening in barely concealed rage. “Are you telling me that my weapons, rare jewellery and priceless artwork just burned to the ground?”

Shadow gulped. “I had Blade move out as much weapons and artwork as he could before the police and the fire department arrived, sir.”

“f**k!”

Eager to redeem himself, Shadow looked back.

“I already asked for the CCTV footage and I’ve analyzed it, boss. Four masked men infiltrated the building, but after the rapid shooting, we could only take down two of them. The other two escaped.” He paused. “They were the ones who planted the bomb.”

My thumb brushed my jaw, silent for a moment as I tried to process the information.

“Someone sold the warehouse information,” I said, almost to myself. “Someone in our crew sold me out.”

The atmosphere turned tense.

One thing I hated the most was betrayal, especially from my own people. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

“The Romano were supposed to pay their debts by the end of the week, right?” I asked.

“Yes boss.” Shadow lowered his head. “There’s something I forgot to mention to you, boss. A few days ago, one of Romano's men was spotted near the lounge. After this bombing…” he paused. “…I suspect they're the ones behind it.”

My jaw tightened. “It’s not new for desperate men to do desperate things, but bombing one of my properties because they can’t pay what they owe?”

I laughed humorlessly. “That’s a new level of stupidity. Give me a cigar, Shadow.”

Shadow quickly dug into his pocket and took out a pack of cigars. He handed a stick to me, then turned slightly backwards to light it. I took one long inhale, letting the smoke swirl my thoughts.

I stared out the window, watching the city blur past us as my anger built momentum.

Buildings could be rebuilt. Money could be replaced. It’s one of the losses in business. But trust could never be replaced. One thing I absolutely would not forgive was a snitch.

Someone had talked. Someone inside my organization had sold my location to my enemies.

That was a betrayal I could not ignore.

“Find that bastard,” I said, dragging another long inhale. “Find the fool that snitched on me.”

The words were quiet, but Shadow heard them.

He nodded immediately. “I’m on it, boss. I’ve already sent men to Romano's hideout to question them.”

My gaze shifted to the woman sleeping beside me. “That explosion could have taken something precious. I won’t forgive it.”

“The target was you, boss,” Shadow reminded me carefully. “They were planning to kill you. If you’re out of the way, then they wouldn’t need to pay their debt.”

“All the more reason to deal with them.” I glanced briefly at him. “Contact Dr. Pierce. Have him come to the house.”

Shadow’s eyes moved toward Brielle. “You’re bringing her back to the villa? Isn’t that a risk? We don’t know who she is.”

My expression hardened. “I knew better than anyone who she was.”

I didn’t explain further. That was it. End of discussion. Shadow knew better than to push.

When we arrived at the villa, the staff were already waiting at the entrance for us. I curved my arms under Brielle and carried her, her lush, soft skin pressing into mine. Her weight was lighter than I expected, but her scent was still the same, only slightly stronger, slightly spicy.

She smelled like mist and cinnamon. Warm and spicy. Like rain and sin.

I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes.

The first time I saw Brielle, she had walked straight into me in the school corridor and spilled warm milk all over my shirt.

I remember staring down at her, waiting, too struck by her striking features that I didn’t say anything for a few seconds. My piercing gaze usually made most people nervous, and I didn’t actually think it’d work on her, but it did.

Brielle stuttered a half-baked apology and stumbled out. After that day, she avoided me like the plague, and never properly apologized, by the way.

I looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully in my arms. My eyes lingered on the ring wrapped around her finger.

Interesting.

"Sleep while you can. We have a lot of catching up to do.”