Bella
My ears were still ringing. Even after Enzo had driven three blocks away from the blast and pulled into a hidden alley behind one of the warehouses, even after Aristide’s arms had loosened around me, my whole body buzzed like it didn’t know we’d survived.
I could still feel the heat. Still smell the smoke.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
I sat on the hood of the car, knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them. Enzo was on the phone, barking orders. Aristide stood a few feet away, talking to someone through his earpiece… Matteo, probably. His voice was clipped, controlled.
But I could feel it, he was one wrong word away from snapping. He looked over at me. I quickly looked away.
The problem wasn’t the explosion. It wasn’t even the realization that someone still wanted him dead… It was the message.
Make it look like a hit. He dies because he got too close. The girl doesn’t get touched… for now.
They didn’t say his wife. They said the girl… Me.
Someone had gone through a lot of trou
