MATURE

Life hasn’t been kind to me. One moment, I was a carefree eighteen-year-old with dreams of a bright future. The next, I was a 28 year old lady and my world went up in flames. literally. My mom died in the fire that destroyed our home, my little sister is in a coma, and my brother’s in jail for trying to keep us afloat. My dad? He left us drowning in debt and despair.

I thought I’d hit rock bottom, but then I found myself working in a place where dreams go to die, doing things I never imagined just to survive. That’s when he walked into my life, Alex Romanov. Dangerous. Mysterious. And entirely out of my league.

He’s everything I should fear, but there’s something about him that draws me in. Maybe it’s the way he looks at me like I’m more than just another broken soul. Or the way he makes me feel alive when I thought I’d forgotten how.

But Alex has secrets, dark ones that could destroy us both. And as my past collides with his world, I’m left wondering: Can I trust the man who’s slowly stealing my heart, or will his darkness swallow me whole?

This isn’t the life I wanted, but it’s the one I’ve been given.

I was about to drive out of my driveway when I saw Luca's car pull up. He stepped out, his usual composed expression in place, and walked over to my window. I rolled it down, waiting for whatever news he had.


"Marcus has done the needful," Luca said simply.


I gave a small nod, my fingers tapping against the steering wheel. "Good. That's one less thing to worry about. Now, we need to focus on clearing the gun shipment arriving in three days."


Luca's brows furrowed slightly. "You think there's going to be a problem?"


I sighed and sat back in my seat. "I have a bad feeling about this one, Luca. Something's off. I don't know what, but my gut tells me we should be ready for anything."


Luca didn't question me. He knew better than anyone that my instincts were rarely wrong. "Then we should go check on things now. Make sure everything is locked down."


Chapter 71 - Officers