Page 21 of Celestial Combat

Her eyes flashed.

She swung.

I caught her wrist mid-air.

Before she could react, I moved – twisting, shifting,taking her down.

In a blink, she was on the mat beneath me.

Caged.

Her back pressed against the floor, her breath uneven. My hands braced on her wrists, on either side of her head, my body inches from hers, close enough to feel her pulse racing beneath my grip.

She was still. So was I.

“Told you to not fight angry.”

The air between us burned.

The tension coiled tight, thick enough to suffocate.

Her lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling uneven. I felt the way her body tensed beneath mine, but not from fear. No.

Something neither of us wanted to name.

My gaze flickered to her mouth.

Her breath hitched.

For a moment, I didn’t move.

Then the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the cage.

Tony.

I exhaled sharply and pushed off her, standing. My expression gave nothing away, but my fingers curled into a fist once at my side before I forced them to relax.

Meisa stood too, her dark siren eyes tempting me.

I nodded toward the door. “Go clean yourself up. You’re bleeding on my floor.”

Something sharp flickered across her face before she shoved past me without another word, stalking toward Tony.

I watched her go.

And for the first time in years, I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to do with the feeling gnawing at my chest.

“I need a favor.”

My office was quiet.The walls were dark-stained hinoki wood, polished to a dull shine. Behind my desk, a single ink painting of a bonsai tree. Precision and calm.

Which is why Gìovanni DeMone looked out of place.

“I told you I’m done doing your familyfavors,” I replied, not looking up from the blade I was sharpening on the desk. Maria was now Francesca’s, Gìo’s younger sister, point of contact.

“I’m supposed to be crownedCapo di tutti capiby the end of the year,” he said. “But Chicago, Philly, and Boston are out for blood. Old men with grudges. They don’t like that I wasn’t raised to kiss their hands.”

“Or that you weren’t born in Italy,” I muttered.