Chapter 2 Are you crazy

Kade Thorn leaned against a blacked-out SUV, flipping a coin between his fingers.

Across from him, a nervous-looking kid handed over a flash drive.

"All of it's there," the kid said. "The shipment records, the route changes, everything."

Kade pocketed it without checking. "Good boy."

"Dante's gonna kill me if he finds out," the kid muttered.

Kade grinned. "He's gonna kill you either way. But thanks for saving me the trouble."

He shot the kid in the chest, one clean bullet, no hesitation.

The body dropped.

Kade climbed into the SUV.

Inside, his right hand man was already waiting. "He'll know it was you."

Kade lit a cigarette. "I want him to."

The man raised a brow. "That wise?"

"I don't care if it's wise." He exhaled smoke. "I'm tired of waiting in the shadows. It's time we burned his kingdom to the ground."

He tapped the drive against his palm.

"And I just lit the first match."

***

Mandy unlocked her apartment and stepped inside, toeing off her heels. The city was quiet outside, her body ached from the night, and she was already tugging off her jacket when...

Click.

She froze.

A lighter flicked on in the dark, flame touched a cigarette, then his face appeared in the faint glow.

Dante.

Sitting on her couch like he owned the place.

"What the fuck-" she gasped, reaching for her phone.

He raised a hand. "Don't."

Her heart thundered.

"You broke into my apartment?"

"I had someone unlock it for me," he said smoothly. "Don't worry. They're alive. Barely."

She stared at him. "You're insane."

He stood, tall, slow, deliberate. "Maybe, but I couldn't get you out of my mind."

Her back hit the wall. "You can't just show up here-"

"I can do whatever the fuck I want," he cut in. "And I want another night with you."

Her breath caught.

"I want another fuck," he said, stepping closer. "But slower this time, no distractions. Just your voice in my ear and my hand on your throat."

Her knees nearly buckled.

"You think this is normal?" she asked, voice shaking. "You think this is okay?"

"No," he said. "It's not, but it's happening."

His eyes raked over her, dark with hunger. Not just lust, possession.

She swallowed hard. "You don't even know me."

"I don't need to. I felt you."

Silence.

Then softly, almost like a warning:

"Say no," he murmured. "If you want me to leave."

Mandy forced herself to breathe.

Dante took another step.

She held up a hand. "Stop. Right there."

He paused, but the look in his eyes didn't soften.

"You don't get to break into my apartment and talk like that," she said, jaw tight. "I don't care how good the sex was, you don't own me."

He didn't flinch.

"I should call the cops right now."

A slow smile crept across his face. "You won't."

Her hand hovered near her phone. "Try me."

Dante's voice dropped. "You really think calling the police is going to scare me?"

She blinked, his tone was casual, but the threat underneath it coiled like a snake.

"I'm not scared of you," she lied.

He studied her. "You should be."

Something cold passed between them.

Then he stepped back.

"No need to be dramatic," he said, voice smooth again. "You're right. I crossed a line."

She didn't relax.

Dante walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob.

"But I'm not done with you, Mandy."

He turned his head slightly. "Next time, I won't ask."

The door shut behind him.

She stood frozen for a beat, then locked every bolt on the door.

Her hands shook.

Not because she was afraid, because part of her wasn't, and that was the real problem, mandy double-checked the locks.

Then checked them again.

She paced her apartment barefoot, arms crossed tight over her chest. Her mind was racing.

What the hell was that?

She'd seen men like him at the club before, rich, cocky, dangerous. But Dante? He was different, he didn't bluff, he didn't pretend. He looked at her like she was already his.

And for one terrifying second... she hadn't hated it.

"No," she muttered aloud, grabbing a glass of water from the sink. "Don't be stupid. He broke into your home."

She sat on the edge of her couch, staring at the floor.

Next time, I won't ask.

The words replayed in her head like a song stuck on repeat.

Her phone buzzed. She jumped.

Unknown number.

1 New Message:

Sweet dreams, angel. – D

She stared at it.

Then blocked the number.

But it didn't help, because he knew where she lived. And worse, he knew how to make her feel things she'd spent years trying to bury.

Don't get pulled in.

Don't get curious.

Don't fall for the devil's smirk.

But beneath all that?

Another thought whispered up, uninvited,

Why you, Mandy? Why you?

***

Abandoned Warehouse – Outside the City

A man hung from the ceiling, arms bruised and raw, blood ran down his side, pooling beneath his feet.

Dante stood still, rolling up his sleeves slowly. A single chair scraped against the floor behind him.

He didn't sit, he didn't need to.

"You sold me out for scraps," he said, calm, like it was already decided.

The man stammered, "Please, I didn't know it was your shipment-"

Dante's fist cracked across his jaw, the man's head snapped sideways.

"Lies bore me," Dante said, shaking out his hand. "Try again."

In the shadows, leaning by a broken window, Kade watched, cigarette lit, eyes sharp.

He wasn't here to help. He was here to study.

To wait.

He exhaled smoke slowly. "Same old Dante."

Dante didn't look at him. "You following me now?"

"Just curious," Kade replied, a smirk curling. "Word is you've been sloppy lately, getting distracted."

Dante turned, gaze ice-cold. "You came all this way to talk shit?"

Kade shrugged. "I came to see how long it takes before your kingdom starts to crack."

He nodded toward the man bleeding on the floor.

"This? Used to be beneath you."

Dante stepped closer. Blade drawn. "I'm still beneath nothing."

He turned back to the traitor, pressed the knife to his cheek.

"You crawl back to your boss," Dante murmured, "and tell him I know every rat he feeds. One more misstep and he'll need a closed casket."

He carved a thin, deliberate cut down the man's chest. "Let this scar remind him."

Kade's voice was low now, amused. "And here I thought you were going soft."

Dante faced him. "You don't know me."

Kade smiled. "Not yet."

They stared at each other, no smirks, no more words, just the kind of silence that meant only one of them would survive the long game.