My voice cracked.
The older man looked at me.
Then laughed.
"You're weak."
His grip tightened around Alessio.
"He dies."
Something inside me broke.
Maybe fear.
Maybe hesitation.
Maybe innocence.
I pulled the trigger.
The gunshot exploded through the storm.
Silence followed.
His father's eyes widened.
A dark stain spread across his chest.
Slowly.
Shockingly.
He looked down.
Blood.
So much blood.
His grip loosened.
Alessio fell forward.
Gasping for air.
The older man staggered backward.
One step.
Then another.
Rain poured over him.
Blood ran across the rooftop floor.
Mixing with the stormwater.
His eyes found Alessio.
Then me.
A strange smile appeared.
"I wasn't..."
He coughed blood.
"...the real enemy."
The words barely escaped him.
Then his body collapsed.
Thunder shook the sky.
Rain continued pouring.
Blood spread beneath him.
Slowly disappearing beneath the storm.
The rooftop fell silent.
The monster was gone.
Alessio stood there breathing heavily.
Blood covered his face.
His hands.
His clothes.
Then his eyes found mine.
I dropped the gun.
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
For a second neither of us moved.
Then he crossed the distance.
His hands cupped my face.
Firm.
Possessive.
Protective.
"You saved me, principessa."
His voice was rough.
Raw.
Beautiful.
A sob escaped my lips.
"I thought I lost you."
Alessio pressed his forehead against mine.
Rain soaked us both.
"The day I leave you..."
His thumb brushed my cheek.
"...is the day death drags me away."
My heart shattered.
Then healed all at once.
His gaze dropped to my lips.
Darkened.
Filled with relief.
Need.
Love.
"I love you, Adriana."
Before I could answer, he pulled me against him.
His mouth crashed onto mine.
The kiss was fierce.
Demanding.
Deep.
Every emotion poured into it.
Fear.
Relief.
Possession.
Love.
The storm raged around us.
Thunder roared overhead.
Rain drenched our bodies.
But neither of us cared.
Because after everything—
The blood.
The bullets.
The betrayal.
The fight.
We were still standing.
Still breathing.
Still together.
The realization settled between us like a quiet promise.
Finally once again , there were no enemies hunting us.
No gunshots echoing through the night.
No bloodshed.
No fear.
Just us.
The safehouse was unusually silent as I followed Alessio into the bedroom.
The moment the door closed behind us, exhaustion crashed over me.
Alessio shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
A dark stain spread across the sleeve of his shirt.
My stomach tightened.
"You were hit."
His eyes flickered toward the wound before returning to me.
"It's nothing."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Take the shirt off."
A slow grin spread across his face.
"Bossy."
"Alessio."
His grin only widened.
For a second, I thought he would argue.
Instead, he began unbuttoning his shirt.
My pulse betrayed me immediately.
Not because of the sight before me.
But because the bruises and cuts covering his skin reminded me how close I had come to losing him.
How close we both had come.
I opened the first-aid kit and tried to focus.
Tried being the important word.
Because Alessio's gaze never left me.
Not for a single second.
"What?"
His lips twitched.
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"I'm looking at my wife."
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
"You're impossible."
"And you're blushing."
I grabbed a cotton pad and pressed it against his wound.
He hissed.
"Serves you right."
His laugh was low and warm.
God.
I had missed that sound.
More than I realized.
The room grew quiet again.
This time the silence wasn't awkward.
It was comforting.
Safe.
I carefully cleaned the blood from his shoulder.
It reminded me of the of the time when we just got married and I had stitched his wounds . Sitting on his lap.
My hands trembled slightly.
I prayed he wouldn't notice.
Of course he did.
Alessio noticed everything.
His huge hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist.
Gently.
Not enough to stop me.
Just enough to make me look at him.
"Adriana."
I swallowed.
"What?"
"Look at me."
I finally lifted my eyes.
The teasing had vanished from his expression.
Something vulnerable had replaced it.
Something raw.
Something real.
"I'm here."
My chest tightened.
"I know."
"No."
His thumb brushed softly against my skin.
"I'm here."
The words shattered whatever strength I had left.
Because I knew exactly what he meant.
When his father had pointed a gun at me...
When everything had fallen apart...
There had been a moment when I thought it was over.
A moment when I thought I would never see Alessio again.
Never hear his voice.
Never touch him.
Never tell him all the things I should have said sooner.
My vision blurred.
My eyes got watery for a second.
Alessio's expression softenepd immediately.
"Hey."
I laughed shakily.
"I'm fine."
"Liar."
I looked away.
His fingers touched my chin.
Carefully guiding my face back toward his.
"You were scared."
The simple truth broke me more than any lie could.
"Of course I was scared."
My voice cracked.
"I thought I was going to lose you."
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then Alessio rested his forehead against mine.
The gesture was so gentle it nearly hurt.
"I was terrified too."
I froze.
Alessio never admitted fear.
Not to anyone.
Yet here he was.
Confessing it to me.
"When he pointed that gun at you..." he said quietly. "I wasn't thinking about power."
I closed my eyes.
"I wasn't thinking about the empire."
His voice lowered further.
"I wasn't even thinking about surviving."
A tear slid down my cheek.
"The only thing I could think about was you."
My heart completely surrendered.
Because for all his arrogance...
For all his darkness...
For all the violence that surrounded his world...
This man loved me.
Completely.
Unconditionally.
And somehow that felt more terrifying than any gun.
Because now I had something worth losing.
Alessio brushed away my tears.
His touch was impossibly careful.
As though I were something precious.
Something fragile.
Something he would die protecting.
"Don't cry, moglie."
I laughed through my tears.
"Then stop saying things like that."
A smile tugged at his lips.
"Never."
The warmth in his eyes stole my breath.
Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
Then another.
And another.
Each one softer than the last.
The world outside disappeared.
No mafia.
No enemies.
No family wars.
No blood.
Just this.
Just us.
I curled against him without thinking.
His arms wrapped around me instantly.
Strong.
Protective.
Home.
The steady rhythm of his heartbeat echoed beneath my ear.
For the first time in weeks, I felt myself relax.
Completely.
Alessio rested his cheek against my hair.
Neither of us spoke.
Words weren't necessary anymore.
Because after everything—
The blood.
The bullets.
The betrayal.
The fight.
We had survived.
And for tonight, that was enough.
For tonight, we could simply be Alessio and Adriana.
Not soldiers.
Not survivors.
Just two people hopelessly in love.
And as his arms tightened around me, I realized something.
No matter what battles waited for us tomorrow...
Tonight belonged to us.
He suddenly crashed his mouth into mine.
Breaking in a kiss.
Rough. Demanding.
" Mine."