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Chapter Twenty-One

Viviana

The room feels like it’s closing in around me, the tension suffocating as I sit beside Romeo in a chair far too grand for how small I feel. The venue is stunning, a stark contrast to the dangerous men filling it.

High ceilings with gilded chandeliers cast soft light over marble floors, and dark wood paneling lines the walls. The place screams wealth and power, yet it feels like a gilded cage.

Romeo sits tall beside me, every inch the confident Mafia kingpin. His hand rests lightly on the armrest, though I can feel the tension radiating from him. Every movement, every glance is calculated, a silent warning to the men across the table.

Salvatore sits opposite him, his sharp, angular face twisted into a smirk that sets my teeth on edge. His silver hair gleams under the chandelier, a cruel contrast to the shadows in his dark eyes.

“Romeo,” Salvatore says smoothly, leaning back in his chair. “I must say, you’ve gone to great lengths for this meeting. Bringing such...delicate company.” His eyes flick to me, lingering too long, and my skin crawls under his gaze. “I’m surprised that you agreed to my terms.”

Romeo doesn’t react outwardly, but I see the slight twitch in his jaw. “Say your piece, Salvatore. We both know you didn’t call this meeting to waste my time.”

Salvatore chuckles, the sound low and mocking. “Always so direct. Then, you’ve always been predictable. The boy who thought he could rewrite the rules of the game.” He tilts his head, his smile widening. “You’ve done well for yourself, I’ll admit. Now, however, you’ve made yourself vulnerable.”

Romeo leans forward, his voice cold. “If you think you’re going to walk out of here unscathed, you’re more foolish than I thought.”

Salvatore waves a hand dismissively, his smirk deepening. “Here I thought you brought her to soften me up. No, I see it now.” His eyes lock onto mine, and I fight the urge to look away. “She’s not leverage. She’s your weakness.”

My breath catches, but Romeo doesn’t flinch. His hand brushes mine under the table, a silent reminder of his presence, of his control.

“You’re mistaken,” Romeo says coolly, his voice a blade cutting through the room. “You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“Oh, but I do,” Salvatore counters, his tone gleeful. “I know about your brother. Carlo, wasn’t it? The one who died trying to protect you. You’ve been carrying that guilt for years, haven’t you? Now, you’re doing the same thing with her.”

The room goes deathly silent. Romeo’s body stiffens, his fingers curling into fists on the table. The air feels charged, like a storm about to unleash its fury on us.

“You don’t get to speak his name,” Romeo says, his voice low and deadly.

Salvatore leans forward, his smirk fading into something colder. “Why not, because it reminds you of your failure? Because it reminds you that no matter how much power you amass, you’ll never be able to protect everyone you care about?”

Romeo doesn’t respond, but I can feel the tension radiating from him, the barely contained rage simmering just below the surface. My pulse quickens, the danger in the room suddenly feeling very real.

“You think you’re untouchable,” Salvatore continues, his voice a venomous whisper. “You’ve tied yourself to someone fragile. Fragile things...they break.”

I can’t stay silent anymore. “Enough,” I snap, my voice shaking but strong enough to cut through the tension. All eyes turn to me, and I force myself to sit straighter, meeting Salvatore’s gaze. “You talk a lot for someone who’s clearly desperate.”

His smirk returns, but there’s a flicker of irritation in his eyes. “The fire. I see why you’re so smitten with Vivianna, Romeo.”

“Say her name again,” Romeo growls, his voice ice-cold, “and it’ll be the last thing you do.”

The threat hangs in the air, but Salvatore seems unfazed. Instead, he leans back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he studies Romeo. “You’ve always been ruthless,” he says, almost conversationally. “But now? Now, you’re reckless.”

“And you’re running out of options,” Romeo counters smoothly, regaining his composure. “Your smuggling routes are compromised, your men are turning on you, and your accounts are bleeding money. You’re desperate, Salvatore. That’s why you’re here.”

Salvatore’s smirk falters, just for a moment, before returning with more venom. “You think you have the upper hand?”

“I know I do,” Romeo replies, leaning forward, his voice calm but cutting. “You’re finished. And when this is over, you’ll wish you had stayed in whatever hole you crawled out of.”

The tension in the room escalates, the men on either side of the table shifting subtly, their hands moving closer to their weapons. My heart pounds in my chest, and I fight to keep my breathing steady. This is a powder keg, seconds away from exploding.

Salvatore’s smirk fades completely, his eyes narrowing as he studies Romeo. Then, suddenly, his gaze shifts back to me, and something cruel flashes in his expression. Before I can react, he moves.

In an instant, Salvatore rises from his seat and reaches across the table, his hand clamping around my wrist in a vice-like grip. I gasp, instinctively pulling back, but his hold is unyielding.

“Salvatore,” Romeo growls, his voice low and deadly, “let her go.”

Salvatore doesn’t let go. Instead, he pulls me closer, his cold smile sending a chill down my spine. “Isn’t this what you wanted, Romeo? To show off your prize? To prove you can keep her safe? You were offered to me, too, girl. Did you know that? Your scumbag father offered you to both of us, to settle his debts. He didn’t care which of us he appeased with your beauty. Do you want to stay with him? What if I could promise you a better deal?”

Romeo rises slowly, his movements controlled, but the fury in his eyes is unmistakable. The room feels like it’s about to detonate, every man on edge, every breath heavy with anticipation.

The tension in the room suddenly explodes like a coiled spring, snapping in an instant. Salvatore’s grip tightens painfully around my wrist, and before I can process what’s happening, the sound of chairs scraping against the marble floor and guns being drawn fills the air.

“Let. Her. Go.” Romeo’s voice is low, cold, and lethal, each word carrying the weight of a death sentence.

Salvatore smirks, but his eyes flicker with something—uncertainty, perhaps. “This is the problem with attachments, Romeo. They make you reckless.”

Romeo moves faster than I thought possible. One second, he’s standing stiff and calm, the next, his hand is around Salvatore’s throat, yanking him away from me with such force that Salvatore’s chair tips over, crashing to the ground.

Salvatore releases my wrist, his nails scratching my skin, and I topple to the floor with bruising force. My hands fly up to protect my belly, mentally apologizing to the tiny life within me.

Chaos erupts.

Gunfire cracks through the air, deafening and chaotic.

Salvatore’s men react first, raising their weapons and firing indiscriminately, the sharp pops of bullets ricocheting off the marble walls and shattering the elegant space. Romeo pulls me down with him, shielding me with his body as he shoves me beneath the heavy table.

“Stay down!” he snarls, his voice cutting through the chaos.

From my vantage point under the table, I see Romeo draw his gun, his movements fluid and precise as he fires into the fray. Two of Salvatore’s men fall instantly, blood pooling beneath them, and my stomach churns at the sight.

The air is thick with smoke and the acrid scent of gunpowder, and my pulse races as the sounds of violence echo around me.

“Romeo!” Matteo’s voice cuts through the noise as he dives into the melee, taking out another of Salvatore’s men with a shot so clean it’s almost surgical.

Romeo moves like a predator, his presence dominating the room. His gun is an extension of him, every shot deliberate, every movement calculated. Salvatore’s men begin to falter, their earlier confidence replaced with panic as Romeo tears through their ranks.

I press my back against the table’s pedestal, my knees drawn to my chest as I try to make myself as small as possible. The world outside the table is a blur of shouting and gunfire, and my ears ring from the noise.

My breath catches as I see Romeo emerge from where he had taken cover, his suit spattered with blood as he fires at a man charging toward us.

The man falls with a grunt, and Romeo turns, his eyes locking onto mine. For a brief moment, the chaos seems to pause. His expression is fierce, his dark eyes blazing with an intensity that sends a shiver down my spine.

“You’re safe,” he growls, as if daring anyone to challenge his claim. “I won’t let them touch you.”

Another round of gunfire snaps me back to reality, and Romeo ducks, grabbing my arm and pulling me out from under the table. “We’re leaving. Now.”

I nod, my legs shaky as I scramble to my feet, clutching his arm as he leads me toward the exit. Matteo and the remaining guards form a barrier around us, their weapons raised, cutting down anyone who stands in our way.

Salvatore’s laughter stops me cold.

“Leaving so soon, Romeo?” His voice is hoarse but defiant, and when I glance back, he’s standing, blood trickling from his temple. “You’ll never win. You know that.”

Romeo doesn’t answer. Instead, he raises his gun and fires without hesitation. The shot is loud, precise, and final. Salvatore collapses, his body crumpling to the ground as silence falls over the room.

For a moment, all I can hear is the pounding of my heartbeat, loud and insistent in my ears. Then Romeo grabs my arm again, pulling me forward. “Move.”

We burst out of the building into the night air, the sounds of the city strangely distant after the violence inside. I gulp in deep breaths, my lungs burning, my legs trembling beneath me. Romeo doesn’t stop until we reach the car, shoving me inside before climbing in after me.

Matteo slams the door shut, his face grim as he takes the seat beside the driver. The car speeds off, leaving the chaos behind, but the tension lingers, heavy and oppressive.

The interior of the car is silent, save for my ragged breathing. Romeo sits beside me, his hands stained with blood, his jaw tight as he stares out the window. His calmness unnerves me more than the violence.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore. “You risked everything,” I say, my voice trembling. “For me.”

His head turns, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “You’re mine,” he says simply, his voice low but unwavering. “I’ll risk it all again if I have to.”

The weight of his words settles heavily between us, and I don’t know how to respond. My mind is a whirlwind of conflicting emotions—fear, anger, gratitude, and something far more dangerous.

“You killed them,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “You didn’t even hesitate.”

“They would’ve killed you,” he replies, his tone unapologetic. “I don’t ever hesitate when it comes to you.”

The intensity in his gaze makes my stomach twist. I want to hate him for what he’s done, for the blood on his hands, but I can’t deny the truth in his words. He risked everything—his life, his empire—to protect me.

Despite the terror of what just happened, I can’t ignore the flicker of safety I felt knowing he was there.

This isn’t just about me. It can’t be. My hand instinctively moves to my stomach, a gesture so subtle I pray he doesn’t notice. The child growing inside me makes this even more complicated, and the lines between protection and control blur further with every moment I spend with him.

As the car speeds into the night, I lean my head back against the seat, my mind racing. Romeo Valenti is a monster, a man who destroys anyone who crosses him.

But tonight, he was something else—a shield, a savior, a force of nature that no one could stop.

That terrifies me even more than the danger we just escaped from.