Chapter 51: My Worship

9The tension in the room was unbearable—thick, electric, and alive. Every breath felt heavy, every second stretched taut like a wire about to snap. Ortega stood at the foot of the bed, shirtless, his chest rising and falling with barely restrained hunger. His dark eyes devoured Ravenna where she lay, hair spilled across the pillows, torn top barely clinging to her skin. The air between them crackled with everything unsaid, everything they’d denied themselves for far too long.He moved like a man possessed by devotion and desperation. Slowly. Deliberately. As if rushing would shatter the sacred weight of this moment. When he finally crawled over her, his body hovered just above hers, close enough that she could feel the heat rolling off him, but not yet touching. The anticipation was smothering deliciously, achingly so.“Ravenna,” he whispered, voice low and rough, like velvet dragged over gravel. His forehead pressed to hers, their breaths mingling. “Look at me.”She did. And the inte

Chapter 52: No Trust in The Cartel

The morning light filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting a golden haze over their tangled bodies. Ortega hadn’t moved far from Ravenna all night. He kept her wrapped in his arms, still buried deep inside her even after they’d both drifted into exhausted, sated sleep. Now, as consciousness returned, he pressed soft kisses along her shoulder, his hand lazily stroking the curve of her hip.“You’re mine,” he murmured again, voice husky with lingering emotion. “Every inch of you.”Ravenna smiled, turning her face into his chest. “And you’re mine, Ortega Finally.”They lingered like that for a while; lazy touches, quiet laughter, the kind of peace that had returned after month that it had been stolen, after nearly a year of denial and danger. Eventually, the sounds of small feet pattering down the hallway pulled them apart with reluctant smiles.“Mamá! Papá!” came the bright voices of their twins five-year-old Luca and Luna. The door burst open and the children tumbled in, still

Chapter 53: Always Together

The storm outside broke with a crack of thunder, rain lashing the tall windows like accusatory fingers. Inside the mansion, the silence after Santiago’s call was heavier than the downpour.Ortega held Ravenna as if she might dissolve into nothing. Her sobs tore through him sharper than any blade he’d ever wielded. He could still smell their children on her; Luca’s strawberry shampoo, Luna’s faint scent of crayons and milk. The absence carved a hollow in his chest so vast he wondered if he could physically bleed from his heart.“We’re wasting time,” Ravenna whispered, pulling back just enough to look at him. Her eyes were swollen, red-rimmed, but something fierce flickered behind the tears. The same fire that had once made her stand against him in the beginning. “Every second they’re with that traitor could..."“I know.” Ortega’s voice was like gravel and broken glass. He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, then pressed a hard kiss to her forehead. “I’m calling everyone in. No one sleep

Chapter 54: We Don’t Strike Until I say so

The rain had slowed to a drizzle by the time they emerged from the warehouse. Ortega carried Luca in one arm while keeping his other hand firmly on Ravenna’s back. She held Luna tight against her chest, the boy’s small fingers twisted into her shirt like he’d never let go again. Their loyal men surrounded them in a tight formation, bodies still humming with adrenaline.“Home,” Ortega murmured into Ravenna’s hair as they climbed into the reinforced SUV. “No more detours. No more risks tonight.”Luca’s head rested heavy on his shoulder, his breathing finally evening out into exhausted sleep. Luna whispered, “Papá, the bad lady said you were gone forever,” and Ortega’s jaw clenched so hard Ravenna heard his teeth grind.“I will never be gone,” he vowed softly, meeting Ravenna’s eyes over their sons’ heads. “Not from you. Not from them. This ends tonight.”Ravenna leaned into him, her free hand sliding over his thigh, seeking the solid warmth that had grounded her through every storm. “We

Chapter 55: Burnt Mansion, Burning Passion

Ortega moved like lightning despite the heavy exhaustion weighing on his bones. In one fluid, decisive motion, he scooped Luca into his arms while barking at Ravenna, “Take Luna, now!”Ravenna’s heart hammered violently against her ribs as she snatched Luna from the bed. The little boy stirred with a sleepy whimper, rubbing his eyes in confusion. The beeping from the black box grew louder and more insistent, its red digital timer counting down with merciless precision: 00:08:12… 00:08:11… 00:08:10…“Gale!” Ortega roared toward the door, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.The loyal man burst in seconds later, pistol already drawn, his eyes widening in alarm at the sight of the sinister device. “Madre de Dios…”“Evacuate the east wing immediately. Get Mariana out if she’s still breathing. Then clear the lower floors,” Ortega ordered, his voice forged of steel and ice. “This is no bluff. Pedro wants blood tonight.”Gale nodded sharply, his expression hardening with grim

Chapter 56: Silence

The candlelight danced across the heavy oak table like golden fireflies, casting soft shadows on the exposed brick walls of the private dining room tucked away in a quiet corner of Ravenna’s favorite hidden trattoria. The world outside Bologna’s narrow streets, the simmering war, the blood debt 4felt a thousand miles away.Ravenna laughed, a low, melodic sound that wrapped around Don Diego Ortega like warm silk. She leaned forward, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder, the neckline of her deep burgundy dress catching the light. “You’re staring again, Diego.”“I’m not staring,” he murmured, reaching across the table to take her hand. His thumb traced slow circles over her knuckles, the same hands that had pulled triggers and signed death warrants now felt gentle, almost reverent. “I’m memorizing you. Trying to take you all in." He said without breaking his gaze.She smiled, that dangerous, knowing smile that had been his undoing since the day he met her at Matoe's office. “You’ve m