LOGINThe glow of my phone lit the dark room, pale blue against trembling hands. My breath stuck somewhere between my chest and throat as I stared at the words.You can hide behind him all you want, Alina. But in the end, you’ll crawl back. You always do.And beneath it, the second message, colder, sharper.Check the window.The air left my lungs in a rush. My fingers almost dropped the phone, the weight of those words heavier than the device itself. He was here. Watching. Maybe close enough to see my every twitch.My body locked. I didn’t move. Couldn’t. It felt like if I so much as breathed too loudly, I’d give him the satisfaction of my panic.“Alina?” Dante’s voice sliced through the silence. Low. Alert. Awake in an instant, like he’d never really been asleep.I turned slowly, the phone still clutched in my hand, glowing like a secret I didn’t want to hold. He was already on his feet, eyes sharp, body coiled in that way he had when danger brushed the edges of the room.“What is it?”I c
The pounding on the door wasn’t Barry’s. I knew that much the second I heard it—too hurried, too frantic, too… desperate. Still, my body reacted the same way it always did: knees pulling tight to my chest, breath caught in my throat, waiting for the worst. Dante moved before I could process anything, stepping toward the door, shoulders tense like a coiled spring.“Stay here,” he repeated, voice low, sharp with command.I wanted to argue, but the words tangled. My tongue felt thick, heavy, like speaking would betray the fragile stillness holding me together. So I nodded, pressing myself into the corner of the couch.The knock came again, louder. “Dante! Please—it’s urgent. It’s about Barry!”The name hit me like a whip. I flinched. Whoever it was, they knew him. That meant danger, no matter what words they wrapped it in.Dante unlocked the door with careful precision, opening it only a crack. His body filled the gap, blocking my view.“What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped.The
The sound of my name through the door hollowed me out. My body went rigid, my skin buzzing with cold. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I could only hear him—Barry—his voice thick with possession, curling around me like chains I thought I’d broken.Dante’s shoulders squared. His hand gripped the edge of the doorframe, knuckles white. He didn’t open it. “You’re not welcome here,” he called, voice steady as stone.A chuckle slid through the wood. “Funny. I don’t remember asking your permission.”My stomach lurched. It was him. No doubt, no mistake. The years I’d spent memorizing that sound—a serpent wearing human skin—came roaring back. I gripped the edge of the table, nails biting into the wood.“Alina.” His voice softened now, coaxing, dangerous in its familiarity. “Sweetheart, I know you can hear me. You’re scared, aren’t you? Don’t be. Just open the door and come home.”My throat closed. The old reflex flared—I almost rose, almost obeyed, almost went back to the role he’d carved
The silence after his phone buzzed felt like a scream. I sat frozen on the couch, staring at Dante as if I could pull the truth from his eyes. He avoided my gaze, thumb tracing the seam of his jeans. The man who always met me head-on was suddenly looking anywhere but me.“It was him,” I said again, softer this time, as if whispering might make it less true. My chest squeezed, breath shallow. I hated how quickly my body remembered the old fear.Dante’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t confirm. He didn’t have to. The way his shoulders tensed was answer enough. The air between us shifted, sharp and heavy. I wanted to demand answers, to claw the phone from his hand, but part of me was too afraid to hear the words. If Barry knew where we were, if he was already circling…My stomach turned.“Alina.” Dante’s voice was low, careful. “Don’t spiral. Not yet.”I shot him a look. “Not yet? That sounds like a warning, Dante.”“It’s a precaution,” he corrected, finally meeting my eyes. His were steady
The sunlight had already found us by the time I rolled out of bed. It streamed through Dante’s thin curtains in wide golden slants, spilling across the floor and warming my bare feet as I padded toward the small kitchen. The townhouse was quiet - for someone like me, who was used to noise being a threat. But here, silence didn’t feel like a cage. I found Dante half-awake at the counter, fussing with the coffee maker like it had offended him. His dark hair was still mussed, his T-shirt wrinkled, and yet somehow he looked unfairly good.“Morning, menace,” he said when he noticed me, voice low with sleep. “Coffee’s taking its sweet time.”I leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “That’s because you’re glaring at it. Machines don’t like intimidation.”“Good thing you do,” he shot back, smirking.I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the tiny smile tugging at my lips. These little exchanges felt like air after being underwater. The kettle clicked, and he poured water into two mismatched m
Alina’s POVThe morning light spilled through the curtains like liquid gold, brushing against my skin as though it wanted to wake me gently. I blinked, stretching out beneath the covers, and found Dante watching me.That man.My heart still tripped over itself every time I caught him looking at me like that—like I was something rare, something worth holding onto. His hair was a little messy, his jaw shadowed with stubble, his eyes carrying that mix of danger and devotion that made me weak in places I’d never admit out loud.“You’re staring,” I whispered, my voice thick with sleep.“Am I not allowed to?” he asked, his mouth curving into that half-smile that ruined me. “I woke up next to the most beautiful woman alive. What else should I do—check my emails?”I groaned and shoved at his chest. “Smooth, Dante. Very smooth. You do realize flattery this early in the morning is suspicious?”He caught my hand before it landed and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, slow and deliberate. “Suspicious







