Luca froze as he took the note, his eyes narrowing.The name hung in the air, thick with tension.The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.This wasn’t just some random admirer.There was something more to it—something dangerous.
Luca’s stomach muscles tightened as he read the message:
In shadows deep, the vows may break,A fragile thread, a life to take.The clockwork moves, the dancers sway,One foot wrong — he'll slip away.
Lace will tear, and steel will bend,Unless a voice from rain's descent.A whispered name, a northern call,Can halt the groom before the fall.
One path, one choice, a fate to seal,Max steps forth — or darkness kneels.
Ava blinked at the poem, her brow furrowed in confusion.“What does it mean?”she asked, glancing up at Luca.
Luca’s eyes narrowed as he re-read the note, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of it.“No idea,” he muttered.“But I have a friend in Seattle who…” He trailed off, then turned back to Ava.For a moment, he didn’t speak, his jaw tight as he weighed the situation in his mind.
Ava waited, her confusion palpable, but Luca simply picked up the package with the poem, his movements deliberate.He turned and started toward the door.“I’ll call you later.I’ll have a driver bring you to me for dinner!”
Before she could respond, Luca was already gone, striding out of Ava’s office with the package in hand.Ava was left standing there, the faint click of the door closing behind him the only sound filling the air.The question hung in her mind, unanswered: what did it all mean?
Chapter 13
Lucapulledoutaseparate phone as soon as he settled into the back of the SUV.His friend, Maximilian Diatras, answered on the first ring, his voice tight with immediate concern.“What’s wrong?”he demanded, recognizing the emergency line.
“Tanaka is after you,” Luca said, his voice low, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.“He’s here in Vegas threatening me, but I received a note this morning indicating that he’s really trying to get to you.And he’s trying to use me to lure you here to Vegas.”
“What do you know?”Max demanded, his tone shifting to analytical and controlled, as always.
Luca explained about the poem, the cryptic message and the attacks on Ava’s company.
“Why the hell would he try to lure me away from Seattle?”Max scoffed.“Even if I were to leave the area, I have competent managers and capos to run the docks.They’re not going to allow Tanaka to just saunter in and take over.”
Luca looked out the window, the city blurring past him as his mind raced through the possibilities.“My sources say that it has to do with the control you have over the drugs that you allow to filter into your territory,” he explained, his voice tight with frustration.“Apparently, Tanaka couldn’t break through your defenses, so now he’s trying to weaken mine to force me to call on you for assistance.He thinks that if he stirs things up enough here, you’ll send a contingent of support to Vegas and confront him, leaving your ports open to invasion.”
He paused, his jaw clenching as he processed the situation.Tanaka had been relentless in his attempts to destabilize things, focusing on Ava’s business and trying to use her as leverage.“He’s trying to get under my skin, to create enough chaos that you’ll have no choice but to intervene.It’s a power play to get you out of your territory.It’s not about my turf—it’s about drawing you here.”
Max was silent for a moment, then he burst out laughing.“He seriously thinks you can be weakened?”
Luca nodded, his friend’s humor lightening his mood.“That’s his theory.”
Max’s amusement faded as he considered the implications.Then he began, “I’ll be there in—”
“No,” Luca cut him off with a grim, determined voice.“You’ve already shut Tanaka out of your territory.It’s my turn to explain to the man that he can’t sneak in here and cause trouble.”He paused, but Max couldn’t see the smile of determination.“My turf.My fun.”
Max chuckled at that, and Luca imagined him shaking his head, amused despite the situation.“Tanaka is messing with the wrong man.”
“Exactly,” Luca replied softly, a dangerous edge to his words.“Just stay where you are and make sure you don’t leave any cracks open for a cockroach to infiltrate.”
“I never do,” Max said with a grin, his confidence unshaken.Then he ended the call.
Luca exhaled deeply and pulled out his other phone, dialing Jim.He needed to move quickly now.“We need a plan,” he announced, then relayed the contents of the poem.
Jim’s chuckle came through the line, full of anticipation.“Music to my ears, boss.”
Chapter 14
“Tellmewhat’sgoingon,” Ava demanded as soon as she stepped into Luca’s penthouse later that night.
Luca had been watching her arrival on the security cameras, so he knew exactly how agitated she was.But seeing her in person was something else entirely.She was literally trembling with anger, tense with frustration.And yet, there was something about that, something about the way she couldn’t fully control herself around him, that filled him with a deep satisfaction.
And now, she was in his home.His space.
