Trapped Between Enemies

Trapped Between Enemies

Esliee I. Wisdon 🌶 · Ongoing · 113.3k Words

734
Hot
2k
Views
153
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

She wanted freedom...
They turned her into a weapon.

At the age of fifteen, Marina’s mother was murdered alongside the most powerful Don in the Sicilian mafia, before the wedding could even happen.
Now, almost six years later, just weeks before her 21st birthday, she’s ready to run.
From the rules.
From the blood.
From the Romano Famiglia—the only home she’s ever really known, and the cage she’s always wanted to escape.

But her ā€œstepbrothersā€ have other plans.
Cesare, cold and calculating, the mafia’s right hand and loyal only to the throne.
And Matteo, the youngest, wild-eyed with a manic smile and a taste for blood.
They give her one job: seduce the enemy, earn his trust, and uncover what he’s hiding.
Her target? Enzo Bianchi, the second son of their enemy famiglia — a man as dangerous as he is captivating.

One deal.
One month.
One enemy to seduce.

But in the criminal underworld, playing with hearts always comes with a price.

And Marina is about to learn the hardest truth of all:
Freedom was never part of the plan.
Not when two demons guard the way out.

Ad Finem Fidelis.
Loyal until the end, even if she never had a choice.

Chapter 1

ā‹„ Marina Arellano ā‹„

I stare at the mahogany door, my heavy breathing betraying the chaos bubbling inside me.

Since my path crossed with the most infamous mafia in Sicily, I’ve been called into this room only a few times, and not once for anything good.

The first time was when I was fifteen years old, when my mother died along with Don Angelo Romano.

It’s been almost six years, and I still remember it as if it were yesterday.

If I close my eyes, I can still see Mom’s smile when she told me that Angelo had proposed. It was strange, of course. What kind of man in expensive suits would put such a costly diamond ring on the finger of a troupe dancer he had met just a few weeks earlier?

But of course, I couldn’t say anything. The gifts shone too brightly. They dazzled everyone, let alone a woman who had once lost everything because of love.

Many were jealous—that’s what she said when they tried to explain that there was something suspicious about that gentleman with the easy smile that didn’t reach his eyes, the heavy Spanish accent, and the men who followed him like shadows.

I didn’t understand, even after I arrived in Italy. I couldn’t understand the language or why there were so many bodyguards. I didn’t understand the looks of disdain. I didn’t understand when, just one month later, I had to bury my mother beside the man she would still swear to love forever.

A car accident.

So simple.

So stupid.

Stupid, like the second time I was called into this room, months later, when I was unfairly punished. And right after I turned nineteen, when they called me here to say I’d finally begin my training.

But the worst reason of all was exactly five months ago… when they announced that my initiation into the mafia would take place the night after my twenty-first birthday.

Now, they’re calling me again, with just one month left before the deadline.

My hands are sweaty. I can even feel a drop of sweat trickling down my bare back.

It’s okay, Marina… just one more month—just one more month.

And then, I’ll never have to deal with the Romano family again.

With a shallow breath, I wipe my hands on the sides of my red dress and turn the handle. The door opens with the same effortless ease that always surprises me, despite how massive and heavy it looks.

The first thing I notice is the blend of two familiar colognes and the strong smell of cigar smoke. One scent is woody, old, dry, with a hint of something slightly sweet. Subtle, like aftershave, yet still thick in the air, captivating. The other is bolder, sharper, warmer, and spicier. Pepper? Or ginger? Or both.

Then, more intensely, I feel the eyes… the weight of those brown eyes that never fail to send a chill down my spine.

ā€œCome in, Marina.ā€ Cesare’s order makes me straighten up even more.

I take just two steps inside, and slowly turn around, very slowly, pulling my long hair to the front, letting them see my tanned, bare back as I close the door… Just for a moment, before the black waves fall back into place and hide my skin again, right where a damn tattoo will be soon if I can’t escape in time.

Slowly, I face them again, two of the five Romano, sitting at the long table, made of wood even darker and thicker than the door.

Matteo, the youngest, is sitting in his usual spot, third on the right. His eyes, a bit darker than the others’, stare at me like they could skin me alive. His head is tilted slightly back in that lazy, arrogant way, giving me a clear view of the dark skull-and-thorns tattoo on his throat. His black shirt, half unbuttoned, reveals glimpses of ink proudly spelling his surname across his chest.

ROMANO.

He doesn’t say a word, just watches me step closer, like a predator eyeing its prey. A dangerous beast that sets all my senses on high alert, nerves exposed in a way that goes far beyond fear—deep into something like fury in my veins. Something that makes me stare him down with open defiance.

But once again, that deep voice speaks, pulling my attention back: ā€œMarina.ā€

My head turns slowly toward the man sitting at the head of the table, a seat that should belong to the Don, but is currently being occupied by the second-in-command.

Cesare Romano.

The second son. La Pantera.

The most dangerous man I’ve ever known.

ā€œDid you finish your training?ā€ he asks, his back relaxed against the leather chair, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

His eyes, lighter than his brothers’, a honey-brown with golden edges, are just as deadly. Not wild like Matteo’s. Not sharp, raging, and unhinged, like the eyes that earned the youngest his reputation for madness and bloodlust.

Cesare’s are cold, calculating, and ruthless. There’s emotional distance, yet an almost obsessive focus. He watches and studies, not like a man preparing for an exciting hunt, but like someone who knows that no matter how much the prey runs, fights, or screams, it will never escape.

ā€œYes.ā€ I find my voice somehow, but it comes out hoarse and uncertain. I swallow hard and lift my chin a little higher, like that’ll make me look less weak. ā€œFour months ago.ā€

Why did they call me here? Did someone say something again?

It really could be for anything; another lie cooked up by that bitch Chiara, or some complaint that Zio Arturo whispered in Cesare’s ear. None of that would be new.

But what really twists my stomach, what makes my chest go cold, is that, for the first time, I truly have something to feel guilty about… Something to fear—my seeking for freedom.

My betrayal.

But Cesare looks at me, calm, composed, cold. And that slightly eases my nerves. If he knew about my escape plan, he wouldn’t be so calm. I’d likely already be dragged to the Cripta del Dolore, a place that, as the name indicates, is literally a crypt built for pain.

When he finally speaks, though, my heart skips a beat: ā€œGood. I called you here because I have a job for you.ā€

My brows knit together slightly, unable to hide my confusion. There’s still a month until my birthday, and a month until the initiation. I’m not part of famiglia yet.

What the hell does he mean, a job?

Matteo glances away, snorting—a low sound, but sharp enough to reach me. I glance at him just in time to see the blatant annoyance on his face. He doesn’t bother hiding it. He doesn’t look at me, but I can feel the air thickening with the barely-contained madness radiating from him.

Cesare, on the other hand, doesn’t care in the slightest. His attention stays fixed on me as if nothing in the world could distract him, and that’s definitely not a good sign.

ā€œWhat job?ā€ I ask, realizing too late that he’s probably relishing my anxiety.

He leans back. At some point, he had leaned forward, and I wonder if it was on purpose, to intimidate me even more. But now, he’s back in that usual straight-backed, elegant, commanding posture. Like this, with his sharply cut features and that controlled expression, he looks older than just thirty.

ā€œI want you to seduce Enzo Bianchi and win his trust.ā€

I nearly choke.

That name, slipping from Cesare’s lips with carefully measured disdain, sends an instant chill down my spine.

My eyes widen slightly, and every single muscle in my body tenses.

Cesare wants me to seduce a Bianchi.

And not just any Bianchi… Enzo.

The second-born, and most likely, heir of the Fratellanza.

And the sworn enemies of the Romanos.

Last Chapters

You Might Like šŸ˜

Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

238.4k Views Ā· Ongoing Ā· My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

941.8k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
Goddess Of The Underworld

Goddess Of The Underworld

950.6k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Sheridan Hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha

14.2k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Christina
I woke up three years into a marriage I barely remembered—pregnant with twins that weren't my husband's.

Those words should have destroyed me, but the truth was worse: I'd been used as a broodmare by the man who swore to love me, set up in a hotel room with a stranger because My husband Alexander Cross couldn't father children himself, and now I carried the secret babies of Damon Lester—the most powerful and dangerous Alpha in San Loris—while my own family replaced me with the daughter they'd always wanted. But when that same stranger's doctor appeared at my door, when twenty million dollars exchanged hands over a fake perfume bearing my secret identity, and when Damon's gray eyes locked onto mine with recognition I couldn't afford, I realized my carefully hidden life as the legendary perfumer Vera was colliding with a pregnancy that could cost me everything.

Could I protect my babies from the husband plotting my death, hide my true identity from the Alpha who's been hunting me for years, and reclaim the freedom I'd buried along with my dreams—even if it means standing alone against the wolves who see me as nothing more than a womb to be used and discarded?
After One Night with the Alpha

After One Night with the Alpha

534k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Sansa
One Night. One Mistake. One Lifetime of Consequences.

I thought I was waiting for love. Instead, I got fucked by a beast.

My world was supposed to bloom at the Moonshade Bay Full Moon Festival—champagne buzzing in my veins, a hotel room booked for Jason and me to finally cross that line after two years. I’d slipped into lacy lingerie, left the door unlocked, and lay on the bed, heart pounding with nervous excitement.

But the man who climbed into my bed wasn’t Jason.

In the pitch-black room, drowned in a heady, spicy scent that made my head spin, I felt hands—urgent, scorching—searing my skin. His thick, pulsing cock pressed against my dripping cunt, and before I could gasp, he thrust hard, tearing through my innocence with ruthless force. Pain burned, my walls clenching as I clawed at his iron shoulders, stifling sobs. Wet, slick sounds echoed with every brutal stroke, his body unrelenting until he shuddered, spilling hot and deep inside me.

"That was amazing, Jason," I managed to say.

"Who the fuck is Jason?"

My blood turned to ice. Light slashed across his face—Brad Rayne, Alpha of Moonshade Pack, a werewolf, not my boyfriend. Horror choked me as I realized what I’d done.

I ran away for my life!

But weeks later, I woke up pregnant with his heir!

They say my heterochromatic eyes mark me as a rare true mate. But I’m no wolf. I’m just Elle, a nobody from the human district, now trapped in Brad's world.

Brad’s cold gaze pins me: ā€œYou carry my blood. You’re mine.ā€

There is no other choice for me but to chose this cage. My body also betrays me, craving the beast who ruined me.

WARNING: Mature Readers Only
Reborn: My Biased Brothers Beg Me To Come Back

Reborn: My Biased Brothers Beg Me To Come Back

8.3k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Eleanor Sterling
In her past life, Arabella Oberon was the lowest-ranking member of the Oberon family.

She genuinely took in Regina, the butler's daughter, only to be constantly manipulated by this cunning and manipulative woman.

Regina gradually stole the love from her three brothers.

Arabella was forced to give Regina blood transfusions time and again, her weight plummeting to a mere eighty-eight pounds.

Ultimately, under the relentless pressure from her brothers, she jumped out of a window in despair and died. Her last words were,

"What about Regina's blood transfusions?"

When she opened her eyes again, Arabella found herself reborn three years earlier—the very day Regina appeared at her doorstep crying, begging for help.

Looking at the pitiful, tearful girl before her, Arabella smiled.

No more soft-heartedness.

No more groveling.

Instead, she "kindly" arranged for Regina to move into the servants' quarters, to earn her own living through honest labor.

Faced with her brothers who sided with her, she no longer bothered to please them.

And towards her former fiancƩ, Theodore, whom she had once fawned over, she remained cold, distant, and indifferent.

Moreover, in this life, they would discover that her identity was far more than just the eldest daughter of the Oberon family.
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

1.8m Views Ā· Completed Ā· Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
The Princess's Revenge

The Princess's Revenge

62.4k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Xena Kessler
Two nations are at war. Valencia's pack is massacred by Alpha Marcus, and she is enslaved by him. When he dies, she is to be buried alive with him as a sacrifice.

Alpha Logan is an illegitimate son whose mother disappeared when he was 10 years old. He grew up suffering from humiliation and lacking maternal love.

Alpha Logan saves Valencia at Marcus's funeral, which seems to be destined by fate—part of the Moon Goddess's grand plan.

As Valencia accidentally discovers prophecies in Logan's mother's diary that seem to be related to her, the truth gradually surfaces. Valencia appears to be merely a tool in a princess's revenge plot. How will Logan and Valencia navigate their path amid the national war and pack politics?
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)

2.5k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Emma Mountford
Saints and Sinners- She was the light to my dark.
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.

I’m not even sure I want to.

Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.

She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.

The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.

I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.

I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.

3/ Rags and Ritches-
Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon

Accidentally Crossing the Tycoon

496.4k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Riley
My name is Audrey, and I'm the adopted daughter of the Bailey family.
Four years ago, the Bailey family faced a devastating financial crisis.
Just when bankruptcy seemed inevitable, a mysterious benefactor emerged, offering salvation with one condition: a contract marriage.
Rumors swirled about this enigmatic man—whispers claimed he was hideously ugly and too ashamed to show his face, possibly harboring dark, twisted obsessions.
Without hesitation, the Baileys sacrificed me to protect their precious biological daughter, forcing me to take her place as a pawn in this cold, calculated arrangement.
Luckily, in those four years, the mysterious husband never asked to meet in person.
Now, in the final year of our arrangement, the husband I've never met is demanding we meet face to face.
But disaster struck the night before my return—drunk and disoriented, I stumbled into the wrong hotel room and ended up sleeping with the legendary financial mogul, Caspar Thornton.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
King of the Underworld

King of the Underworld

114.1k Views Ā· Completed Ā· RJ Kane
In my life as a waitress, I, Sephie - an ordinary person - endured the icy glares and insults of customers while trying to earn a living. I believed that this would be my fate forever.

However, one fateful day, the King of the Underworld appeared before me and rescued me from the clutches of the most powerful Mafia boss's son. With his deep blue eyes fixed on mine, he spoke softly: "Sephie... short for Persephone... Queen of the Underworld. At last, I have found you." Confused by his words, I stammered out a question, ā€œP..pardon? What does that mean?ā€

But he simply smiled at me and brushed my hair away from my face with gentle fingers: "You are safe now.ā€


Sephie, named for the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone, she's quickly finding out how she's destined to fulfill her namesake's role. Adrik is the King of the Underworld, the boss of all bosses in the city he runs.

She was a seemingly normal girl, with a normal job until it all changed one night when he walked through the front door and her life changed abruptly. Now, she finds herself on the wrong side of powerful men, but under the protection of the most powerful among them.
Bella and Her Beast

Bella and Her Beast

18.9k Views Ā· Completed Ā· Sheridan Hartin
For all the little girls who grew up wondering what happens after the prince kisses the girl—this is the story they never told you.
.
Locked in her frozen tower, Bella dreamed of warmth, of touch, of freedom and of love. Cursed with the power of ice and snow, she’s spent her life alone. A secret they tried to protect the world from. Her only escape comes in the form of the books she reads. Stories of heat, desire, and the kind of love that could melt even her frostbitten heart.
Damien is the Beast. A dragon King with a temper forged in flame and a soul hollowed by duty. The world fears him. The people call him a monster. But beneath the scales and the rage lies a man who has never been touched by love.
When frost meets fire, the world shatters. She was never meant to leave her tower. He was never meant to find her. But destiny doesn’t bow to kings or care for cages and now the question burns through them both: Can Bella have her Beast? Or will the girl of snow melt in the heat of his desire?

.
"I’m keeping her."
"What?"
Before I can react, he scoops her up. Her small body fits easily in the cradle of his talons. For a split second, she looks startled, but not afraid. Her hand rests against one scaled finger, and she stares up at him with that same curious wonder, as though she’s already forgotten she was ever meant to fear me.
"Put her down," I try to command, panic threading through my thoughts. "You’ll hurt her."
"She’s ours," the beast insists, possessive and fierce. "Our snowflake."