Submitting To The Devil - The Devil's Snare - Book 2

Chapter Eighty

Niko

I absolutely need to get my hands on some, and I have a pretty good idea of where to find it. Besides, Mitchel owes me a favour, and it's about time he paid up.

I negotiate the boat's expansive main deck, the salty breeze tousling my hair, and soon spot Jacob leaning against the railing. He's cradling a thin, rolled spliff between his fingers, the very drug I find myself craving at this moment.

With a light-hearted grin, I approach him, my mood buoyed by the prospect of using him. "Care to share?" I ask, my voice cheerful, making an effort to mask the lingering edge of tension from my earlier altercation with his boss over the dire threat I had just dismissed—that Bianca might be better off dead.

"Here, have your own," he said, pulling out a tin that mirrored the one I kept stashed at home.

"Thanks," I replied, accepting it with a nod.

"So you decked him, huh?" His voice carried a teasing edge, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Oh, you caught that?" I said, realising the cat was out of the bag. But a nagging question lingered—why hadn't one of his men stepped in to help him?

"Everyone saw it; he had it coming. Most of us caught wind of what he spat out...Turns out the playboy has the capacity to feel," he jested, nudging my shoulder with a light chuckle, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

As I stood there, gazing over the ship's railing, I noticed Luca's men bustling about, hauling packets of bottled water aboard alongside bags of vibrant produce from the markets. The final remnants of our supplies were making their way on board—within twenty minutes, we'd be casting off, embarking on our quest to search two of the islands, Giovanni's and Edoardo's.

Both of them were, at least on paper, dead and buried.

I took a deep drag on the spliff, relishing my preferred escape's rich, earthy taste. It was as if I were indulging in every second of that smoke, a familiar comfort that I'd probably detoxed from, but here I was, sliding back into its embrace. Being around Bianca had made that indulgence feel justified. I had enjoyed living in those moments with her, yet now she was gone. I desperately needed to find my calm; I had to bring her home so I could relish bringing her to justice, but only after I ensured her safety and happiness.

"So, tell me about Bianca," Jacob prodded, a cocky smirk dancing on his lips.

"Your boss seems to know enough about her, Jacob," I replied, measuring my tone.

"Yeah, sure. If you can trust a word, Alex fed him."

"She's a woman, she's special. We clicked," I feign innocence. The truth? That's a whole 'nother story.

We were forcefully thrust together beyond our control, and in a reckless dance of vulnerability, I dismantled the defences she had carefully built around her heart with the desire to help her let me in. But in that exhilarating yet terrifying process, I was completely engulfed by my feelings for her. Now, she is my ultimate weakness, an intricate part of my soul that I can't seem to escape, yet falling in love with her has been the most exhilarating few weeks.

"Tell me about Alex. Did she really turn up dead?" I ask.

Jacob looks at me with a deep frown, and he thinks for a minute as I allow him to contemplate whether telling me the truth is the right thing.

"She was delivered over two days in pieces, dude. Eight packages of severed parts, the last her fucking head. I can't blame Mitchel for wanting to end it. And I can see why he feels the need to avenge her, given half the chance. She might have been a traitorous bitch, but no one deserves to go that way."