The short platinum blonde bob jerks with every clink of my stilettos as I strut up the driveway. Wind whistles through the trees, causing a burst of goosebumps on my skin. The fluffy white fur coat isn't doing enough to combat the wind. I feel my nipples harden from the coat, probably see-through from my silk material. The black spaghetti strap satin dress with side silt rises my thighs as I walk up the stairs.

When I used to frequently visit his house, Luka's bodyguards wouldn't risk a limb to gawk at my body. Now, with my disguise on full charge, they aren't bothering to hide their hungry gaze. I don't care. It's a reaction I received from men when I began developing around the early age of thirteen.

His two chief bodyguards, Felipe and Cherie, escort me to Luka's chambers, standing on both sides of me. They're close enough to pretend like they bumped into me when really they're trying to feel me up. Fucking scumbags. I can't wait to shoot a bullet through all of their skulls. Maybe I'll collect their blood and use it for a painting. It's a good way for them to serve their purpose to me.

Cherie knocks on Luka's door. "Jefe, we have an Amelia Costa here. We know not to disturb you, but she had a compelling argument. Apparently, you scheduled a meeting with her."

"Yes," he yells through the door. "Open the doors for the beauty and send her in. Leaves us alone afterward unless you guys have some fucked up kinks."

Cherie side-eyes me, but the smirk never drops from his face. Lately, any male attention that wasn't from my boyfriend made my skin crawl. I do love and value having power over men, but I can't stand all the gawking. Asiel has got me used to the soft glimmers in his emerald eyes whenever they land on me.

I'm turning into a puddle of goo.

The broad set of rustic wooden doors open with a push of Cherie's arms, and he signals for me to go by cocking his head. Luka is standing in front of the bay window, observing the Gardner trimming his lawn with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. His gaze leaves the window, trailing over my non-discreet disguise with amusement.

Once I step in, Cherie closes the door behind him, and I release the breath I was holding. "Remind me. Aren't you the one that's so eager to have this secret alliance? Then why do I have to show up in a whole disguise? Doesn't seem fair to me."

Luka throws his whiskey down his throat. "I'll compensate then. Besides, we wouldn't want to risk exposing our intentions to Asiel until it's too late. He probably has his people monitoring Diablo's Paraiso. Especially after our surprise attack."

Opening my black clutch purse, I pull out a strip of gum and shove it in my mouth, tasting the sweet mint flavor on my tongue. To think I let myself get distracted and risked the chance of losing Asiel. I need to screw my head on straight, dissect everything Luka reveals to me, and get rid of him once and for all.

It's easy when I have the men wrap around my fingers, but I have a massive liability that he will hang over my head. There's no doubt about it. Until my plan is in motion, I'm the rabbit chasing after the dangling carrot. Luka walks over to his desk, pulls the chair out, and sits in it. My pumps cause the planks to creak as I sit my ass on the desk, my dress hiking up past mid-thigh.

Got to put my assets to good use.

Luka flings open his cigarette box, angling at me to take one. His blue eyes darken, lingering on my lips as I hold the cig there and search for a lighter in my clutch. He grabs my wrist, dragging it down to the flickering orange flame coming from his lighter. The smoke mutilates my lungs, turning them to tar as the nicotine spreads through my veins. He parts his lips, holding onto my chin, and I release the wad of white smoke into his mouth.

His chest heaves as he inhales all the smoke. "God, you haven't lost your touch. Doing everything just the way I like it. What did I do to deserve this?"

I flip the cig over to give Luka a puff. "He is on to you."

He scoffs. "I would hope so. I made it rather obvious I wanted to kill him and his stupid fucking wretched familia. Do you actually have anything worthy of sharing?"

My dark eyebrows arch to my hairline as I press the end of the cigarette on his cheek, burning him. "Fuck you." He hisses, scrunching his nose with irritation. "I wouldn't waste my time for a friendly chat. I have other matters that are more important than you. Way more. So, feel grateful that I fit you in my schedule."

He cleans the burnt particles off his cheek. "I do." His eyes drift to my fishnet stocking thighs, trying to get a better look at what's underneath. "Trust me. I really fucking do. If only you would accept your hatred for me as passion and fuck me on this desk."

I internally cringe when he sets his hand on my thighs, giving them a squeeze. "I don't fuck for free, big boy. Cash a few checks, and maybe then we can talk."

His white teeth glisten under the bright cast radiating in from the window. "What is Asiel's plan? Is he going to retaliate? Or does he still believe in staying out of wars? He's probably shitting his pants every night. Does he make you hold him through the night in order to sleep easily?"

My hand reaches for his tumbler, causing my dress to ascend my thigh and leaving the faintest barrier. "His plan is very much still in the working station. If anything develops, I'll give you heads-up." I jiggle the glass in his face and refill it for me. "But no, I don't hold him to sleep. He prefers to do other tiring activities."

A dent forms in his left cheek as he pushes his tongue against it. "I see. You finally made him a man? He probably sucked like those other clients, right?" My eyes widen an inch when he encloses his hand around my throat, pressing it. "Nothing like the way I made you feel. Stop being so uptight and fuck me. We both know you want to."

A smug smile stretches across my lips. "A little desperate, huh? Your hand isn't enough anymore? Should've thought about that before blackmailing me."

He lets out a chuckle, his eyes boring into mine. "You can't blame me for being a bit warily after your last attempt. But we can push our differences aside for a fun time. There's nothing hotter than fucking a bitch with an attitude."

I scrunch my nose. "A fun time that will last a total of three minutes? No, thank you. I'll take my chances with my vibrator."

Luka refills my tumbler to the tippy top. "Drink a couple more of these, and I'm sure I'll change your mind. Maybe I'll give you a line of coke too. Have to make your little visit worth wild."

My finger touches his muscular chest, pushing him back. "Asiel is receiving a delivery on Thursday. Because of your little stunt, he's behind in all of his contracts and is scrambling to catch up with this load. This is your chance to kick him down another peg."

He bangs his knuckles against the wooden desk, his lips protruding as he stills, silent. "Okay, I can work with that. Take them out one by one and save him for last. Is Asiel going to be there? I want to see the fear in his eyes as I kill everyone around him."

My blood boils, scorching the metal-tin heart in my chest. God, it irks my soul having to feed into his narrative in order to save myself and Asiel. All I'm doing is feeding his massive ego when all I wanted to do is plunge a knife into his chest. Twist the cavities, tissues, and organs as the blood pools down my wrist.

What I need to do is get Luka to leave the room for two minutes to then plant my evidence. Pacho is outside, hacking into their computer system as we speak to loop the video when Luka is gone. It's funny. Luka doesn't even see anything coming. Remember girls, if you want to control a man-- flash your tits and ass. That always gets the job done.

Digging through my clutch purse, I seize a grape blow pop, and rip the wrapper. Luka takes a deep breath, his eyes dropping to my lips as I suck on the lollipop. His palm runs back and forth on his thighs as his eyes are half-lid with lust.

With a -pop- of the lollipop, I respond, "I can talk him into going. I can get pretty persuasive when I want to."

He nods, his adam's apple bobbing as his mouth parts open. "Yeah, I doubt you've ever been rejected before. No sane man would. W-where is the delivery arriving?"

Giggling with the purple lollipop poking out my cheek, I lean forward, giving him deep access to my cleavage as they're practically in his face.

His breath hitches, hitting my breast as he stares up at me with a mixture of confusion and sexual desire. After giving my lollipop one last long lick with my cheek hollowed in, I stuff it in his mouth. He nearly chokes, but takes it. For him, I'm giving him a taste of all things we can do.

My finger slowly traces the curves of my boob before retrieving the white note in my bra. I drop the note in his shirt pocket and tug the lollipop out of his lips and back into mine. Luka shudders, his hand grazing the side of my thighs as I catch a glimpse of the dent in his pants. He's about to have a severe case of blue balls.

Innocently, I widen my legs to give him a peek of the black lace thong, and he sits back, his eyes rolling back. "I-I need a minute."

"What for?"

His eyebrow knots together in utter confusion, but it all slips away when his gaze falls on me. I think he likes it when I suck hard on the lollipop while twirling my hair like a clueless brat. He violently grabs my cheeks, clenching them together as he forces his dirty fingers into my mouth. But as I imagine ripping him to shreds, I slowly suck on his fingers, sending him to overdrive.

"I-I'll be back," he stutters, bumping into the desk on his way to the door. "I-I just need to use the bathroom. Cherie will be outside if you need anything."

I cock my head to the side. "Okay. I'll be waiting."

The fakest smile radiates off my face until the door shuts close, and I internally scream. Fucking piece of shit. It's so fucking easy. Like taking candy from a baby. Men like Luka can't function without getting aroused for the simplest things. Like a lollipop? Seriously. It's hot when I have Asiel squirming in his chair, but men like Luka-- it's just pathetic.

Letting the fur coat slip down my arms, I pull out the black leather journal and letters taped to my arms. Digging my hand up my dress, I rip the tape holding the photos attached to my hips and add them to my collection. The key to this next part is to find a location where Luka wouldn't look.

It needs to stay hidden until Asiel finds it.

I don't have much time, but I needed to calculate before jumping off the cliff. My reputation, my legacy, my livelihood, my boyfriend all rely on this.

I can't get caught.

His desk is too hot, too obvious, too active. The same goes with hiding under clothing or cloth, like a rug. His small collections of books could work, but I wouldn't be surprised if he can recognize this diary anywhere. There are even a few entries from a preteen Luka in here, meaning he will catch on if I leave it in a noticeable place.

On the last shelf is a dusty row, as if no one has touched it in years. It's pretty empty, with only a wooden box littered with enough dust to burn your eyes. I can't move anything. That will ruin the illusion. But there is a small opening on top of the box that accommodates about everything except the journal.

I might just have to bite the bullet and hide it behind the box. As long as the dust particles remain on the front half, he wouldn't bat an eyelash at this area. Carefully, I shove the journal between the bookshelf and box, nibbling on my bottom lip as my gaze darts from the journal to the door.

Muttering a silent prayer, I zip to the desk just in time for the door to crack open, revealing Luka with his sleeves rolled up. A satisfied smile stretches on his face. He totally just fucking masturbated in the bathroom. What a waste of space.

"Do you have anything to tell me, or am I free to go?" I say, bitting down on the lollipop, cracking it, and reaching the gummy inside. "I wasn't lying when I said I had a busy schedule."

Luka returns to his favorite place, right by his window. "You're free to go, Amelia. I got my money's worth. Stay in touch."

"I don't have a choice," I mutter under my breath.

Step two-- check.

Now, onto step three.

Asiel, here I come.

Am I the only one that thought Mika was extra sexy in this chapter? Like I would fold in a second if she was acting like this in front of me... I think I might be the only one.. expect for Luka... And Asiel 🥹🦋☺️.

What do you guys think step three is? Do you think Mika will succeed in her plan or fail? Do you want her to fail and have her secrets exposed to Asiel? Or should we live in the blanket of obliviousness?

One random question— do you guys have a favorite moment or favorite chapter in this story so far? I would love to hear your opinions and fangirl over the moments you like!!

Thank you for reading this chapter and I can't wait for you to leave comments and to chat together! You guys always make my morning/evening/night!

Love ya💜❤️💜❤️