FLORAAs I stared at Giovanni’s lifeless body on the floor, the gun was still trembling in my hand. Smoke drifted from the barrel, and for a moment, the world went quiet. Just me, the gun, the blood, and the man I just killed.My knees gave out from under me, and I collapsed, dropping the weapon in the process. It fell to the ground with a loud sound. I kept staring at it like it didn’t belong to me. Like I hadn’t just pulled the trigger and taken a life to protect the man I loved.Dante groaned beside me.“Dante!” I ran over to him despite my weak arms and knees, and took his face in my hands. His skin was already sweaty and he was pale. But then he blinked his eyes open slowly, trying to focus.“I’m here…” he said. “Flora…”“I’m right here, baby. You’ll be okay.” I touched his chest, his shoulders, and his face. Blood had stained his shirt, but the bullet didn’t look like it had hit anything major.Dante’s eyes moved to Giovanni’s body. He blinked hard, as if he was trying to rid
DANTEThe old Romano restaurant looked nothing like it used to. It was now burned and abandoned, and all that was left of it were just the charred remains from the fire. The air was filled with the thick smell of smoke Pieces of broken glass crunched under my heavy boots as I walked in through the shattered glass door. Then I saw him.He stood at the center of the dining room like he owned the place, wearing a long black coat that was now damp from the rain. His silver hair was plastered to his forehead. He looked smaller than I remembered. Not physically, but there was something about him that wasn’t quite the same anymore.He didn’t speak at first. He just kept staring at me with those judgmental eyes of his. I didn’t raise my gun. No, I wouldn’t do that yet.“You came alone,” he finally said.“Of course I did.” My voice was steady, and my hands were balanced at my sides. “Where’s Flora?” he asked.“She’s fine. But this isn’t about her,” I replied.He turned away, “It’s always abo
FLORAEverything felt numb as soon as I woke up.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I blinked my eyes open, and all I saw was white. A machine was beeping softly in the background. My throat was dry. My lips felt cracked. My whole body ached like I had been torn open and stitched back together with fire.When I blinked again, I realized I was in a hospital.The ceiling was plain and white. The lights above were dimmed slightly. A soft breeze from the air conditioner brushed over my skin. My arms were strapped with tubes. My stomach… My stomach was wrapped in layers and layers of thick white gauze.I tried to move my hand to touch it, but it was too heavy.My mind raced.The last thing I remembered was fighting Dalia. Her face had been filled with hate and rage. Then she’d whispered the words, “Let’s see if they can live without a womb.” I remembered how she had slashed at me, and the pain that followed right after as her knife cut into me.Then I remembered the twins.No! No, no,
MARCUSThe first thing I noticed when we stormed into the train station was the silence.It wasn’t the kind of silence that meant peace. No, this was the kind of silence that meant something had already gone wrong.I raised my gun higher as we moved through the broken-down building with Sofia and Agent Harrison beside me. Behind us, a few of Harrison’s trusted men walked through the hallways. We didn’t bring along any backup from the FBI because we had to make sure this was an inside job.The hallway smelled heavily of gas and smoke. Somewhere, a chandelier lay on the floor in pieces. The floorboards groaned under our feet as we kept walking.But as we moved along, I couldn’t push away the feeling that we were too late.“We should check the east wing,” I suggested. Harrison signaled to his men and as they quickly moved away, their boots echoed through the hall. Sofia didn’t wait for orders. She was focused as she moved forward with her gun raised slightly, and I couldn’t help but not
FLORA“Dante!” I screamed as he fell on the floor.I didn’t even think. I rushed to his side and grabbed his face with shaky hands. His eyes were still open, but they weren’t focused on anything. The blood that was gushing from his side had soaked through his shirt and was now spreading onto the floor.“No, no, no. Dante, no,” I whispered.Then I saw movement in the gas.It was the masked figure. And now they were holding a gun instead of the knife.I reacted purely on instinct. I grabbed the gun from my thigh, aimed, and fired.The masked man moved to the right, dodging the shot. I aimed again, and was about to pull on the trigger, but then the figure paused.Something about him struck me as familiar immediately. I think it was the way he moved… or the way he was holding his gun as he aimed it at me.And then the realization hit me suddenly. I knew that body. The way they were standing was really familiar.“Lorenzo?” I whispered and he froze instantly.The gas was all around him, mak
DANTEAn hour later, I was loading my gun in silence. The feel of it in my hand was the only thing I could focus on right now. I had already made up my mind. There would be no FBI, and no backup either.This wasn’t some sort of mission. It was personal. Giovanni made it personal the moment he sent that blood-soaked ultrasound. He crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.And I was going to end it.Now I stood in the middle of our bedroom, fully dressed in black. My gun was strapped at my waist, and I had a knife hidden in my boot, plus extra ammo in my coat. Every move I made would be calculated. Flora walked in just as I was about to open the door.“You’re going now?” she asked.I nodded.I could feel her eyes on me. “Where’s everyone else?”I looked at her. “There’s no one else.”“What do you mean? You called Enzo and asked him to assemble the men.”“I’ve decided to go alone.”Her eyes widened. “What?”“I’m not risking anyone else’s life. Not after what happened to Marcus. Not