Blood in the Water | 18+

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘯𝘦

𝘈𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I live in a world of blood and money. What you don't pay in paper you pay in your life.

My name is Aurora Coppola, the youngest daughter of the boss of the Coppola family. I've spent my whole life behind these four walls, an impenetrable prison, or so I thought. Staying in the safety of these four walls was far better than the dangers of New York. I had a target on my head, I was the gem. The first Coppola princess in over twenty years, everyone around me, other than my beautiful mamma had so much testosterone it was a miracle they weren't fighting each other for the top spot every day.

See, being a female in this family wasn't terrible. It would be nice to have some freedoms, but being ignorant of the business dealings, to the bloodshed was necessary, I may live in a world of sharks where someone is always bleeding, but I have a heart, and I have a conscience, something most these men severely lack. If you weren't working on our side, you were against us.

The moon was filtering light through my sheer curtains when I woke up, shivering from the cold New York air. We were weeks from the first snowfall of the season, and the weather was getting colder. Days were warm, and nights were bitter, but with another year coming to a close, it was another year I survived, I wasn't married off, and I lived to breathe another day.

Movement in the corner of my room had me sitting up in bed.

As soon as I did, the air caught in my throat, constricting any hope of breathing I had. Standing in the dark corner, illuminated by the silver moonlight was Steve Rogers, boss to the Rogers family, his icy blue eyes on me, blonde hair styled perfectly. His teeth were glowing white when his smile appeared. He took two steps forward and I slammed back against my headboard, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. Steve Rogers was an impressive specimen, hands covered in tattoos, delicate designs disappearing under the white of his shirt, and appearing again at his neck. But he was dangerous, lethal, and enemy number one of my family, how he managed to get behind these walls was chilling.

"Bambina," my eyes snapped up to Steve again, who was now standing inches from me, I hadn't even realized I looked away, "You should learn to lock your balcony doors, it's unsafe."

I couldn't get words out, the panic clawing at my chest and throat, every breath was painful. And Steve took that as an invitation, tattooed hand wrapping around my throat, holding my head hostage at a ninety-degree angle, his face centimeters from mine, "We wouldn't want a bad man to break in, now would we? Oh wait," A pause that made me quiver, "I'm already in aren't I?" His thumb pulled on my bottom lip, rolling it down my chin and I shivered, unable to blink back the tears that had appeared, which only made him smile wider, "Pretty girl, you'll make great arm candy," a quiet sob racked my body, a small sound finally leaving my lips, "Quite bambina, two of my men are in your brother's rooms, and two are in your parent's room, if you put up a fight, I will make an orphan out of you," I squeezed my eyes shut, whimpering when he squeezed my airway, restricting the precious oxygen from entering my lungs. "If you do what I say, I'll make sure we're out of here with them alive, are you going to listen to me Bambina?"

A slow nod was all I could manage, my lungs ached to have air, but his grip never loosened, as he spoke his next command. "Stand up."

I was surprised my legs didn't give out when I pushed off my mattress, his grip on my throat guiding me to the cold tile floor, the black negligee suddenly not enough fabric to cover my body, not as his gaze turned dark and his eyes traced my body. It felt like an hour before he slackened his grip, and oxygen flooded my lungs again. It burned, a path of destruction in my body as the air traveled to force my lungs to pump again. "What do you want with me?" The question came out as a wheeze, and I flinched when Steve reached around me to grab a glass of water off my nightstand, holding it up to my lips.