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I parked my car a hundred meters down the road from the Ajello compound but didn’t get out immediately. I watched the house with a pounding heart as I considered my options. The last time I spoke to Larissa, she said things I refused to believe.

Two weeks had passed, yet her words still left me sleepless and distracted.

I couldn’t get her out of my mind, nor could I believe that we meant nothing to her.

Somewhere in my heart, I had this inkling of doubt about whether she truly believed that, or if someone else had put those words in her mouth.

If I had to place a winning bed, I’d bet on the latter having happened.

The house was so close. She was so close. I could feel her calling to me, a moth to a flame, and when that call became louder, I could no longer sit here and wonder if I was making a mistake.

I stepped out of the car and inched along the wall to the compound. If she told me to my face that she wanted to leave me in the past, then I wouldn’t fight her. But even as I considered that option, I knew that wouldn’t be the outcome.

To truly know what happened, I’d have to get her alone.

The security around the Ajello estate was tight, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I placed my hand on the small of my back and checked to see if the gun was there. It was.

At last, I saw a small gate on the boundary wall, unmanned at this hour. Without thinking, I scaled it and dropped to the ground. Before me lay a vast expanse of green, and right at the center was the mansion.

Larissa.

I was almost there.

I bent low and ran through the garden toward the house, knowing this was a game of speed. Before the patrol came this way, I had to be pressed against the house walls and then I’d have to check for open doors, open windows.

I was almost at the wall at the back of the house when I sensed loud movement to my left, coming from behind a shed that happened to be my blind spot.

I pulled out my gun and whirled around just as four men were ready to jump me, then froze when I noticed who they were. Gastone, Carlo, and Dino—Larissa’s brothers. Behind them, Dom stood watch.

They all had their guns pointed right at me, my back cornered against the wall. There was no escape, and seeing how I was outnumbered, I lowered my gun to buy myself time.

“Gentlemen,” I said coolly, even though my heart hammered in my ribs. If they wanted, they could kill me right here and now, and I knew it.

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to regret my decision to come.

“You have exactly three seconds to explain why I shouldn't put a bullet between your eyes, Lebedev,” Gastone spat on the floor beside him.

I raised my hands slowly, calculating my chances against four armed men. “I came to see Larissa.”

“You fucking bastard,” Carlo lunged forward, only held back by Dino's grip on his shoulder. “You know exactly where she is!”

My stomach dropped. “What are you talking about?”

Dom stepped closer. “Stop playing games. Where is she?”

The confusion must have shown on my face because Gastone studied me with narrowed eyes. “You didn't take her?”

“Take her? What the hell happened to Larissa?” My voice came out rough and cracked as fear clawed at my throat. “I was trying to sneak in, to get a chance to talk to her.”

The brothers exchanged glances, and then Dom received a message on his walkie-talkie. “Boss,” he said to Gastone, “the guards checked. Lebedev came alone, and the car is empty.”

“Of course it’s empty!” I bellowed as the panic surged through me. “If I had her, I’d be out of here within seconds. If I had her, I wouldn’t be lingering here like a fool. Now, tell me. Where is Larissa?”

My voice had an edge to it, like an animal gone mad at the thought of losing its mate.

Dino was the first to put down his gun. “She's been missing for two hours. Her bedroom window was open, but no sign of trouble.”

My blood turned to ice. I shook my head slowly. “I had nothing to do with this. I came here tonight because...” I paused, unwilling to let them see just how much she meant to me. To see the depths of my love. I didn’t owe them the truth, not before I knew she felt the same for me.

Instead, I looked at them and met each gaze. “We have to get her back.”

“Let's go inside,” Gastone said after a moment of tense silence. “We need to figure this out.”

***

In Gastone's study, security footage played across multiple screens.

“This is from the street cameras,” Dino explained, pointing to a timestamp from earlier that night. A convoy of black SUVs passed slowly in front of the compound. The front vehicle bore a familiar insignia on its door.

“Casellis,” I murmured, recognizing the rival family's mark.

“What would the Casellis want with my sister?” Carlo demanded.

Gastone shifted uncomfortably, exchanging a glance with Dino that didn't escape my notice.

“What did you do?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.

“I might have...” Gastone cleared his throat. “When I found out about you and Larissa, I was furious. I made some calls, put out some feelers about potential retaliation against the Lebedevs.”

My vision blurred with rage. I acted before I could think, pinning Gastone against the wall with my forearm pressed to his throat. “You put a target on your own sister's back because you couldn't stand the thought of her being with me?”

Dom and the other brothers moved to intervene, but Gastone waved them off, his face reddening under the pressure of my arm.

“I never thought they'd go after her,” he choked out. “I was aiming for you or your brothers.”

I released him with a disgusted shove. “And now the Casellis have her to get to both our families. You know what they're capable of.”

The room fell silent as the implications sank in. The Casellis were notorious for their brutality, especially toward women.

“We need to move now,” I said, already pulling out my phone. “I'm calling my brothers.”

“We don't need Bratva help—” Carlo began, but Dino cut him off.

“Yes, we do. This is Larissa's life we're talking about.”

Without wasting a second, I was on a call with Caspian.

“Larissa’s missing,” I said, giving him the background of all that happened. “The Casellis have her. I need—”

“I’m gathering our brothers and our men,” Caspian said, without wasting a second.

I felt instant relief, his support so unconditional in that moment, that I felt as though my brother was carrying me in my pain.

He knew how much she meant to me. Not once did he reprimand me for getting involved, for trying to meet her.

“Keep us informed,” Caspian said with urgency as he ended the call.

“The Casellis have a warehouse by the harbor,” Gastone said when I hung up. “It's their most likely holding spot.”

“My brothers will meet us there,” I told them as I sent Caspian the location.

“We leave in five minutes,” said Dom. “The convoy’s coming up front.”

In that moment, a strange sense of calm washed over me. It wasn’t because I thought all was well. It was because Larissa had us all rallying for her, and I knew that her brothers and my family would do whatever it took to get her back.

***

The sun hadn’t risen yet, and it was still quite dark when we arrived at the warehouse.

Our convoy had only pulled up outside when another arrived.

We piled out of the Ajello cars as my brothers followed from theirs.

Caspian, Federico, Dante, and Achille—they had all shown up with their own little army in place.

“We sent some men on surveillance up ahead. East and west entrances covered,” Caspian informed us when he walked up to us, his voice barely above a whisper. “At least eight guards visible from our vantage points.”

“Any sign of Larissa?” I asked, filling up the chamber on my second gun.

Federico shook his head. “Not from the outside. But there's light coming from a room on the second floor.”

We divided quickly, Dante and Achille taking point with Carlo and Dom, while Caspian paired with Dino. I found myself with Gastone, a partnership neither of us was comfortable with.

“If anything happens to her because of your stupidity,” I told him as we moved toward our entry point, “I will make sure you live long enough to regret it.”

His jaw tightened, but he said nothing, acknowledging the truth of my words. I could sense the guilt spreading through him. He had riled up the other families and, for revenge against me, had unwittingly sacrificed his own sister.

Yet, at the same time, I knew I had crossed a line. I knew Gastone loved her, in his own way. Just before we took our positions, I felt the need to give him a nod. “She’ll be okay.”

“By god,” he nodded back.

And just like that, a small understanding formed. Despite our differences, we shared a common interest: Larissa’s well-being.

The first shots rang out near the east entrance, which meant Caspian had engaged. Gastone and I moved fast, taking advantage of the distraction. We kicked open the door and entered. Two guards came rushing toward us, and we each took one down with a single bullet.

Crew members entered through other entrances. Gunfire erupted everywhere. Crates tumbled in confusion, and containers were used as weapons.

But Gastone and I left the fighting to the others. We needed to get to Larissa first.

“Larissa?” I screamed as we made our way through the maze of crates and containers. “Are you here? Can you hear me?”

We navigated and screamed up the stairway, down the halls to the left first and then right, over and over again, trying to hear her through the gunfire.

Then I heard her. “Gio?” Her voice, filled with panic, echoed nearby. “Gio?”

My blood boiled as we raced down the hall toward the source of the sound. A Caselli guard appeared in our path, and Gastone shot him right in the head, not even giving him a moment to pull out his own weapon.