Se connecterThe following day Aria brought him to a private clinic. Dante kept the lower half of his face hidden behind a mask. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes as he scanned every corner of the street with sharp attention.Nothing raised alarm.When he noticed the security camera fixed above the entrance he immediately dropped his head.“Come on.” Aria slipped her arm through his and guided him inside.“Aria?”She turned at the sound of her name. Her face brightened at once.A man in a tailored white coat walked toward them. Tall, polished, and self-assured, he wore an easy smile.“Ben.” She stepped forward. “You vanished after graduation. Then I heard you opened this clinic. You never even called.”Ben laughed. “Years have passed and you still lecture people the same way you did in school.”Aria returned the laugh. “And you still know exactly how to provoke me.”Watching them speak with such easy familiarity made something tight and uncomfortable settle in Dante’s chest.“How have you been?” Ar
Aria traced her fingertips lightly across his chest. The injury along his ribs had begun to heal cleanly. She touched the mark with careful attention.“When I first found you I never imagined we would end up here,” she said quietly. “You were simply a wounded stranger who needed help. As a doctor I could not leave you to die on the roadside. That is why I brought you home.”Her hand moved to his arm, still wrapped in gauze. She brushed her fingers over the bandage.The muscles beneath her touch tightened. A dull ache remained, but it no longer controlled him.“I will admit something, though. I felt drawn to you from the very first day.”Dante turned his head to look at her. He had noticed the lingering glances and the way her hands had lingered longer than necessary while she treated him. He had chosen to ignore every sign.Hearing her speak the truth aloud stirred something fierce and possessive inside him.It meant she had not chosen him out of spite toward Julian. She had not used
The moment Julian vanished from sight, Dante lifted Aria into his arms.She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Put me down.”“I am carrying you.”She let out a soft laugh. “The neighbors will see.”“That is the least of my concerns.” He walked forward without slowing.He might not care, but she did. This was the building where she had lived for years. She knew every face. Many of the residents were her patients.How would she face them after this?Embarrassment made her bury her face against his shoulder. That proved to be a mistake.The scent of his cologne wrapped around her, rich and intoxicating.The elevator doors closed. She drew a slow breath against his skin. “You smell incredible,” she whispered, letting her lips brush the side of his neck.His entire body went still.“Aria.” His voice held a clear warning. “Do not test me. I will take you right here. Then do not accuse me of being shameless in front of your neighbors.”“You are the one who insisted on carrying me.
The sudden impact left Julian stunned. For a second he could not understand what had happened.One moment his mouth had been on Aria’s. The next he was lying on the ground. The force that had ripped him away was unmistakable.Someone had pulled him off her and thrown him aside as though he weighed nothing.He clenched his teeth and looked up. The same stranger he had seen inside Aria’s apartment earlier stood over him.Shock vanished. Rage took its place.“You again?” His face twisted as he scrambled to his feet. “I am speaking with my girlfriend. Get out of here.”“Speaking?” Dante’s voice rolled like thunder. “You were forcing yourself on her.”“Who the hell do you think you are to interfere?” Julian advanced on him. “You are nobody. Leave.”“You are the one who needs to leave,” Dante answered, cold and absolute. “Do not make a scene. Or I will give you a reason to regret it.”That final warning snapped the last of Julian’s control. He swung a fist, certain the blow would land the w
Dante’s fist remained suspended in the air, still shaking. Only then did the lifeless body register fully. The man’s face was unrecognizable.He stepped back and dropped into the chair, lungs working hard.Rafael signaled the others to remove the body.Once the floor was clear, Rafael offered him a glass of water. “Enzo has grown stronger,” he said with careful restraint. “We should rethink the timing of the attack.”“No.” Dante stared straight ahead, eyes burning. “I am done hiding. We move according to the original plan.”Rafael held his gaze a moment longer, then gave a single nod.Later that same day Dante returned to the apartment under cover of dusk. Aria had not yet come home.He went straight to his room, turned on the tap, and let cold water run over his bloodied knuckles. He scrubbed until the stains disappeared, changed into clean clothes, and stepped onto the balcony. A cigarette flared to life between his fingers.Everything he had learned earlier replayed without mercy.
After Aria left, Dante’s phone vibrated against the table. Rafael’s name lit the screen.“We cannot keep him any longer,” Rafael said the moment the call connected. “Enzo is turning the city upside down looking for him. If he learns the man was taken from that bar, he will start asking the wrong questions. We cannot risk that.”Dante’s jaw worked hard.“We are running out of time,” Rafael added, tension clear in his voice. “We need to end him.”“I still want answers from him first.”“But—”“I am on my way,” Dante cut in, ending any further protest.“Understood. Be careful.”The line went dead.Dante pulled on a hooded jacket, fixed a mask over the lower half of his face, and left the apartment.Several minutes later the warehouse stood cold and silent around him.The captive sat bound to a metal chair at the center of the room. Sweat soaked through his shirt. The poison Dante had forced into him earlier was already moving through his system. It would not kill him quickly, but it weake







