Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 27

Chapter 21: Road to the Compound (Luca’s POV)The highway north out of the city was almost empty at this hour—just long stretches of wet asphalt reflecting headlights, the occasional truck roaring past in the opposite direction.I drove the lead SUV myself. Alessio sat shotgun, silent, staring out at the dark blur of trees. In the rearview, I could see the two trailing vehicles—four of my most trusted men left after Enzo’s arrest. No one spoke on comms. The weight of what we’d just learned sat heavy in the car like smoke.Vittorio.My father’s brother. My uncle. The man who taught me how to shoot when I was twelve. The man who stood beside my father at every family meeting, every funeral, every deal. The man who’d looked me in the eye at our wedding and called the marriage “a disgrace that would weaken us.”I gripped the wheel tighter until my knuckles ached.Alessio’s hand settled over mine on the gear shift—warm, steady.“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.I hadn’t noticed.I forced

Chapter 23: Meatpacking Storm (Luca’s POV)Hunts Point was a maze of brick warehouses and rusted chain-link at the edge of the city perfect place to hide someone you didn’t want found.We rolled in three vehicles again, lights off, parking a half-mile out in a deserted lot behind an abandoned cold-storage building. Rain had started again light but steady, turning everything slick and reflective. Good for cover. Bad for footing.I checked my vest, magazine, comms routine movements to keep my hands busy so my mind wouldn’t spiral.Alessio was beside me in the back of the lead van, checking his own gear with the same quiet focus he used when setting up a canvas. Every motion precise. No shake.He looked up, caught me staring.“I’m okay,” he said before I could ask.I reached over, squeezed his knee once.“I know.”Enzo’s replacement Rico, one of the few men I still fully trusted turned from the driver’s seat.“Thermal drone shows six heat signatures inside. One stationary likely bound.

Chapter 25: Quiet Drive Home (Luca’s POV)The rain had stopped by the time we left the docks.The city lights smeared across the windshield in long golden streaks as we drove back toward Manhattan. No sirens. No tail. Just the low hum of the engine and the soft rhythm of Alessio’s breathing beside me.He sat with his head resting against the window, eyes half-closed, one hand still loosely holding mine on the center console. O’Malley’s blood was still drying on the pier behind us. Marco had been taken to a safe clinic. Enzo had vanished into the night with a promise he’d never break again. Maria was stable, already asking for him.And yet the silence in the car felt heavier than any fight we’d just survived.I glanced at him.His profile was soft in the passing streetlights—dark lashes, the faint bruise on his cheekbone from the warehouse scuffle days ago, lips still swollen from the desperate kiss we’d shared before walking into O’Malley’s trap.He looked exhausted.Beautiful.Alive

Chapter 26: The Stranger in His Bed (Alessio’s POV)The penthouse was too quiet when we got back from the clinic.Luca walked in ahead of me — slow, stiff, like he didn’t trust the floor to hold him. The doctor had discharged him against my better judgment, but Luca had refused to stay another night in that sterile room. “I want to go home,” he’d said, voice flat. He hadn’t looked at me when he said it.I followed him inside, locking the door behind us. Three new deadbolts. New cameras. New codes. The security team had been here while we were gone — the place looked the same but felt like it belonged to someone else.Luca stopped in the middle of the living room, looking around like he was seeing it for the first time.He turned to me.“Where’s my room?”The question hit like a slap.I swallowed.“Our room is down the hall. First door on the right.”He stared at me for a long second.“I’ll take the guest room.”My chest caved.“Luca—”“I don’t know you.” His voice was calm. Too calm.