Page 94 of Untamed

I exhale through my nose, lowering my voice. “You know I started working at Eden, right?” She nods, cautious. “Well…Ares showed up one night. Saw me working. He didn’t say much at the time, but later that night, he told me to quit. Said the place wasn’t safe, not for someone like me. That I had no idea what kind of men walked through those doors.”

Bianca’s brows knit, worry creeping into her expression.

“I didn’t listen,” I continue. “And a few nights later… something happened. With a guy named Nicolai Moretti.”

Her entire body stiffens. “Nicolai Moretti?” she repeats, voice tight.

I nod. “Do you know him?”

“No,” she says quickly. “But I’ve heard the name. Around here, once or twice. He’s... not someone you want to cross. From what I’ve picked up, there’s some kind of bad blood between the Moretti’s and the Russo’s.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, chewing at the inside of my cheek. “That’s putting it mildly. I had a run-in with him at Eden. He hired me, asked for mepersonallyto serve him at one of his private events. And if Ares hadn’t shown up when he did, I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened to me.”

Bianca’s eyes go wide, her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you mean? What did he do, Jordyn?”

I sigh and tell her everything, the way Nicolai cornered me, the things he said, how trapped I felt. Bianca listens in silence, her eyes glued to mine, not interrupting once.

“…and then out of nowhere Ares came in. He threatened Nicolai and then he just went for him. And Ares got me out of the VIP lounge, right outside there were at least five of Nicolai’s menlying in a blood-soaked heap on the floor. I’m not even sure all of them were still breathing.”

Bianca’s hand lifts to her mouth, her brown eyes growing wide. “Oh my God, Jord, why didn’t you tell me all of this before?” she asks, and shuffles closer to me and reaches up to take my face into her soft hands. “You must have been terrified.”

I nod, but the truth is so much more complicated than fear alone.

“I was,” I whisper. “At first. But of what Nicolai would do to me, not ofhim.”

Bianca’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I should’ve been terrified of Ares,” I murmur. “After what I saw, what he did. But in that moment all I felt was… safe. Like nothing could touch me as long as he was there.” Bianca stares at me like she’s trying to make sense of that. Like it doesn’t compute that a man soaked in violence could somehow be a shield.

“He looked at me differently that night. Like I wasn’t just some girl working a bar shift. He looked at me like I mattered.” I pause, heart thudding in my chest. “And then he told me to quit. Said that place wasn’t safe for someone like me. That I didn’t belong in a club like that and if he saw me there again he would burn the place down.”

“What?” Bianca’s voice is hushed now, like even saying it too loud might invite trouble. “You thinkhedid it.”

“I know he did. I can’t prove it, but...I know.” I sit back against the couch, eyes fixed on a crack in the tiles. “Just like I know he’s had me blacklisted me from every bar, every restaurant, everyhotel in this damn island. I can’t get a job anywhere, Bianca. The moment they hear my name, they lose interest or I never hear from them.”

Bianca goes quiet for a long beat. Then, softly, she says, “That’s not normal, Jord. That’s not just someone being protective. That’s…power.Dangerouspower.”

I meet her eyes. “I know. And the worst part?” My voice catches. “He did it all because of me.”

Bianca exhales slowly, her fingers still resting on my arm. “Jord, I love you, but you need to hear me when I say this.”

Her tone has changed. It’s no longer comforting, no longer curious. It’s edged with something harder. Protective. “You need to stay away from Ares. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

I blink. “What?”

“I’m serious,” she says, lifting her gaze to mine. “I don’t care how many people he took down to get to you, or what he said to you after. Maybe he did it because you’re part of the family. Maybe it was duty, not you. But that doesn’t make himsafe.”

I blink at her, stunned into silence.

Bianca exhales slowly, her expression torn between fear and reason. “Whatever kind of man walks through a lounge and leaves a trail of broken bodies behind him like it’s nothing, he doesn’t belong anywhere near you, Jordyn. That kind of violence, that kind of control? It changes people. You can’t be close to someone like that and walk away untouched, do you understand. A guy like that has a long list of enemies.”

She leans in slightly, her voice dropping lower. “Whatever they’re hiding, or whatever’s going on in that world of theirs… Idon’t want you anywhere near it. You will not get pulled into it, do you understand?”

I look away, but she reaches out and cups my chin gently, turning my face back toward her.

“I’m saying this because I care about you. You’ve been through enough already. The last thing you need is to fall into something you can’t crawl back out of. I’m not saying he’s bad and I’m grateful that he protected you,” she adds quickly. “I just... I don’t want you caught up in something you don’t understand. He plays by rules no one talks about. That much is obvious.” Bianca lets her hand fall, her eyes searching mine. “Please, just...promise me you’ll stay away from him.”

I’m sorry B, but that’s one promise I don’t think I can keep.

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