Chapter 5 King Of The Underworld

• || STEFANO’S POV ||
• I frowned, staring at the panicked woman in front of me, trying to remember if I’d seen her before.
• But her face didn’t ring a bell. Not even a little.
• The lights in the underground parking lot are too dim. I glanced casually at the men standing in front of her.
• There was nothing unusual about a group of dangerous-looking men chasing a panicked woman in the dead of night.
• And I didn’t show up tonight to play savior to some scared woman—I was here because we got a clue that the traitor leaking our secret locations in America was present at that hotel.
• I was just about to turn and leave when something one of the guys said caught my attention—
• “If you want to live… run,” he growled. “We’re from the Devil Gang. Nobody messes with Mr. Devil.”
• The Devil Gang?
• I raised an eyebrow, suddenly amused. Crossing my arms, I looked them over with interest.
• “You're Mr. Devil’s men?” I asked, my voice laced with a strange mix of amusement and cold disappointment.
• I knew every single member of the Devil’s Gang—
• because I was none other than the notorious Mr. Devil in the underworld.
• Mr. Devil was a name without a face or identity. I was the Italian Don known by my title. No one had ever seen my face, not even the gang members. I wore a devil mask always and I did it to protect my identity. To the whole world, I was Stefano Lombardi, a billionaire businessman whose life was full of dark secrets. No tabloid or magazine was allowed to take or post my pictures. Only a few who met me personally knew my face.
• And these fools before me are not the Devil's Gang’s men. But they showed up at the hotel and pretended to be members of the Devil's Gang. Could there be any connection between them and that traitor?
• “Yeah,” the henchman snapped. “Now hand over the girl and scram — unless you’ve got a death wish.”
• “Suit yourself.” I gave the woman a cold glance, then walked past her without hesitation, curious to see what these guys were up to.
• Her eyes widened in fear. She scrambled back to my side, begging desperately,
• “Please… save me…”
• I shrugged coldly and turned to leave without saying a word.
• As they moved in to grab her, she suddenly shouted at me, "$300! I paid $300 for one night with you just two weeks ago. I’ve got money—believe me! I can give you all the money you want. How about $30,000? Just save my life!"
• My body stiffened.
• Now it made sense — the strange sensation I felt the moment she touched me. The effect she stirred in me… and the way it had already tented my pants.
• I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket where I still kept those crumpled three hundred-dollar bills.
• She was the woman.
• Found her finally!
• That night, I was in a business meeting in Los Angeles where my rival, Harry Beaumont drugged me. He really thought that he could destroy me but it was too bad for him.
• Now, his whole empire was destroyed into ash, his proud family was left begging on the street. I spun around to face the fools, giving them one last warning,
• " Leave.Her.Alone!"
• My deep voice echoed through the parking lot, thunderous and commanding. The henchmen froze in their tracks.
• But then, they pulled out guns, aiming them at me and the woman. Her eyes widened in horror.
• I pulled the woman behind me and spoke again, my voice cold as ice.
• “I’ll say it once more. Leave her… and get lost.”
• The henchmen burst into laughter, as if I’d just cracked the world’s funniest joke.
• “You’re stubborn as hell,” sneered another, stepping forward with a dagger gleaming in his hand. His sleeveless shirt exposed scarred, muscular arms — a clear badge of countless brutal fights.
• My eyes narrowed. I tilted mt head slightly, lips pressed into a hard line. I had given them a chance and I didn’t want to expose myself here. Not like this.
• As the henchman’s finger began to squeeze the trigger, my eyes scanned the surroundings sharply.
• Damn it.
• The girl was directly in the line of fire.
• If I moved to save myself, the bullet would strike her.
• Was she really that dumb — just standing there instead of running?
• I scowled at the thought, but I didn’t get the luxury of choice. The gun fired.
• I had only a fraction of a second — and I used it.
• In a blur, I lunged at the scared girl, wrapping an arm around her waist and yanking her down with mine.
• Bang!
• The bullet grazed my shoulder. The pain was sharp, but I barely registered it.
• Because all I could feel was her.
• Her soft, trembling body pressed against mine. Her scent. Her heat. Her touch.
• Those buried sensations inside me… stirred awake.
• My cold, impassive eyes met her wide, frightened blue ones.
• And God help me — in the middle of all this chaos — I felt hot.
• Too hot.
• But I didn’t have time to make sense of it.
• Another bullet was already coming.
• But before the henchman could pull the trigger, I drew my pistol and fired — the bullet slicing clean through the henchman’s hand.
• The man screamed, stumbling back, his gun clattering to the floor as blood gushed from between his fingers.
• The next shot I fired wasn’t aimed at them — it went into the air. A warning. Then, in one fluid motion, I stood and pulled her up with me. I wanted to put every bullet into their chests for daring to use my gang’s name… for enraging me with their lies.
• But not now.
• I didn’t want to commit a murder — or multiple murders — in front of her who was now a witness.
• Then, suddenly, the henchmen panicked.
• They bolted, not even daring to look back. In their panic, they abandoned their weapons and scattered like rats.
• I scowled in disgust.
• Cowards.
• They had to be Julian’s men.
• Only a coward of a boss could breed such a worthless pack.
• So… the clues had been right.
• The American Don was in this hotel.
• That realization reignited my focus — I instinctively snapped into action, and I was already on the move, hurrying to pursue them.
• But then I heard it.
• A soft thud behind him.
• I turned abruptly — and my cold mask cracked.
• The girl was lying on the ground.
• Unconscious.
• “Fuck!”