Page 39 of Knuckles & Knives

I look at him through my tears, this man who’s been protecting me from shadows I didn’t even know existed, who’s carried the weight of my father’s death and his own uncle’s betrayal for five years without ever asking for anything in return.

“How do you live with it?” I ask. “Knowing that your own family?—”

“The same way you’re going to live with it.” His thumb brushes across my knuckles, gentle despite the scars and calluses. “By choosing the family that chooses you back.”

He’s right, but I hate him for it. Hate that he can take something so devastating and turn it into a lesson about moving forward.

But I also love him for it, for the strength he’s showing me, for the way he refuses to let me drown in the darkness that’s threatening to pull me under.

“Show me,” I whisper.

“Show you what?”

“Show me how to heal.” I lean forward until our foreheads are touching, until I can see my reflection in his dark eyes. “Show me what it looks like to choose family instead of having it chosen for you.”

He’s very still for a moment, like he’s afraid any movement might shatter the fragile trust I’m offering. Then his hands come up to frame my face, his touch reverent, careful.

“Are you sure?” he asks. “Because once we cross this line, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours, and all the complications that come with that…”

“I’m already yours,” I tell him, the truth of it surprising me even as I say it. “I had the biggest crush on you back then.”

“I knew. Trust me. You weren’t exactly subtle.”

I almost laugh. “Since the night you told me I needed to choose… I just didn’t understand what that meant.”

When he kisses me, it’s different from all the others. There’s no hesitation, no careful restraint. Dom kisses me like he’s claiming something that’s always belonged to him, like he’s finally allowing himself to take what he’s been denying himself for years.

I kiss him back with equal fervor,. His hands tangle in my hair, holding me exactly where he wants me as he takes my mouth with thorough possession.

When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard, and his dark eyes are blazing with something that makes my knees weak.

“Bedroom,” he says, his voice rough with command and desire.

I stand on unsteady legs, taking his offered hand, and let him lead me toward my bedroom, but before we can make it halfway across the living room, my phone buzzes with an incoming text.

We both freeze at the sound. It’s after two in the morning. Nothing good comes from messages at this hour.

“Ignore it,” Dom says, but I’m already reaching for the phone.

The message is from an unknown number, but the words make my blood run cold.

Congratulations on your victory tonight. Your father would be proud. Too bad he won’t be around to see what happens next. The Silver Serpent remembers its debts. —V. M.

“Dom,” I breathe, showing him the screen.

His expression goes from desire to deadly alertness in the space of a heartbeat. “Victor Moreau. Head of the Silver Serpent.They’ve been dormant for three years, but if they’re reaching out now…”

“Who are they?” I ask, though I can already guess the answer won’t be good.

“Antonio’s former allies. The ones who helped him set up your father’s murder.” Dom’s voice is grim, professional. “They went underground after we eliminated Antonio, scattered to avoid retaliation, but if they’re surfacing now, making contact…”

“They know I’m back,” I finish. “They know I’m reclaiming my father’s empire.”

“And they’re planning to finish what they started five years ago.” He’s already checking the locks on my door and windows with military precision. “We need to get you somewhere safe. Now.”

But even as he begins making plans, coordinating with Marcus and the others through rapid-fire texts, I find myself strangely calm. The revelation about Antonio and Jacek, the threat from the Silver Serpent, the complexity of what I’m trying to build with four men who each want me in different ways should be overwhelming.

Instead, it feels like clarity. Like the pieces of a puzzle I’ve been trying to solve for five years are finally falling into place.