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"I thought—" His jaw clenches and he looks away for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "I thought I'd lost you."
"Why would that matter?" I say, needing to hear him say it.
Noah's hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone with unexpected tenderness. "Because I would burn the entire world to find you if necessary, Evelyn.Every building, every street, every city—I'd reduce it all to ashes until you were back with me."
My breath catches. The intensity in his eyes makes my knees weak. "You walked into the devil's house for your sister," he continues, his voice dropping lower. "And I walked into hell itself for you. Don't you understand yet? There's nowhere you could go that I wouldn't follow. No one who could take you that I wouldn't destroy."
His words should terrify me. This possessive, all-consuming devotion should make me want to run. Instead, something inside me—something I've been fighting since the moment he took me—finally surrenders.
"I didn't think anyone would ever fight for me," I admit, my voice barely audible.
"I'll fight for you until my last breath," Noah promises, his forehead touching mine. "You're mine to protect. Mine to cherish. Mine to keep safe, even from yourself."
His words wrap around me like a cloak, making me feel safer than I have in years. Despite everything—the danger, the violence, the impossibility of our situation—I find myself leaning into him, drawing strength from his certainty.
I'm pressed against Noah's chest, his arms wrapped around me like a fortress. For the first time since walking into Ivan's townhouse I feel a flicker of hope. Noah came for me. He actually came.
"This is so sweet. Really, it warms my heart." The cold, accented voice slices through our moment like a blade. Noah's body tenses against mine, his arm tightening around my waist as he turns us both to face the sound.
Ivan Volkov stands in an opening where moments ago there was only a solid wall. A hidden door, perfectly camouflaged in the concrete. His ice-blue eyes gleam with amusement, his thin lips curve in that permanent, eerie smirk I've come to dread.He looks immaculate as always—not a hair out of place, his expensive suit unwrinkled despite the chaos happening in his home.
"The feared Il Fantasma," Ivan says, stepping fully into the room, "reduced to this... sentimental display. How disappointing."
Noah pushes me behind him, his body becoming a shield between Ivan and me. I grip the back of his shirt, peering around his bicep as the door to the cell slams shut with a metallic clang. The lock clicks into place.
We're trapped.
"I knew you would come for her," Ivan continues, his accent thickening with pleasure.
I keep my body angled between Evelyn and Ivan, my mind calculating every possible move. The concrete cell suddenly feels like a coffin except– I'm not planning on dying today.
Ivan's gun doesn't waver, his eyes locked on mine with that permanent fucking smirk. The hidden door he emerged from stands open behind him—a potential escape route if I can just get Evelyn through it.
"You're so predictable, Rivera," Ivan says. "I knew exactly which path you'd take."
"Then you should've known I'd kill you when I found you," I reply, voice steady despite the rage boiling inside me. I feelEvelyn's fingers dig into my back, her body trembling against mine.
I need time. Time to assess the angles, time for Matteo and Alessio to realize something's wrong.
"You've gone through a lot of trouble for one girl," I say, deliberately keeping my tone conversational. "Is your ego really that fragile?"
His eyes narrow slightly. Good. He's taking the bait.
"This was never about ego or a contract," Ivan says, gesturing with his free hand while keeping the gun trained on us. "It was about respect. About boundaries."
"Boundaries?" I laugh, the sound harsh in the small space. "You sent men to abduct her from her home."
"After you inserted yourself where you don't belong," Ivan counters. "The Ferettis have forgotten their place. And you... you're just a dog who doesn't know when to heel."
I shift my weight slightly, testing how Ivan reacts. His finger tightens on the trigger.Not yet.
"If it's about territory why not come after me directly?" I ask. "Why involve civilians?"
"Because taking what matters to you hurts more than bullets," Ivan says, his gaze flicking briefly to Evelyn. "I didn't expect you to care quite so much though. The infamous Phantom, brought to his knees by a pretty face with a violin."
I feel Evelyn's breath against my back, the warmth of her reminding me what I'm fighting for.
"You've made a mistake," I tell him, watching for any opening. "You think you understand me."