Page 21

SERGIO

The road stretched out in front of us, illuminated only by the faint glow of the moon. Mirella sat beside me, quiet and focused, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. I could feel the tension radiating off her like heat from a fire. It wasn’t like her to be this quiet, and it unnerved me more than I cared to admit.

I reached under my seat and pulled out a gun, holding it out to her. “Take this.”

She glanced at it and then at me, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not planning on getting into a shootout tonight.”

“No one plans on it. That’s why you need it. Just in case things go south.”

She hesitated but eventually took the weapon, tucking it into the waistband of her jeans. “You better not get us killed, Sergio.”

I smirked. “You’ve got to trust me some time.”

She didn’t respond, but her silence was louder than any words. Mirella didn’t trust easily, and I wasn’t about to pretend I’d earned it.

When we arrived at the drop-off point, the air felt heavier. It was too quiet, too still. My instincts were screaming at me, but I pushed the unease aside. A job was a job.

The buyer was already there, flanked by four men who looked more like tanks than humans. Mirella stood a little behind me, her face calm but her eyes scanning the area like a hawk.

“We’re here for the shipment,” I said, keeping my tone neutral.

The buyer, a wiry man with a cigarette dangling from his lips, smiled. “Funny thing about shipments—they can get expensive.”

I stiffened. “We agreed on a price.”

“Prices change,” he said, flicking ash onto the ground.

I didn’t miss the subtle nod he gave to his men. They shifted, hands moving toward their weapons. Mirella’s hand brushed against mine, a small, almost imperceptible signal.

They were about to double-cross us.

“Duck!” I yelled, grabbing Mirella and pulling her down as gunfire erupted.

The next few moments were a blur of chaos. Bullets whizzed past us, pinging off metal and cracking into crates. Mirella pulled out the gun I’d given her and started shooting without hesitation.

I took out one of the guards but ran out of bullets before I could reload. “I’m out!”

“Just get to the shipment!” Mirella’s voice was sharp, commanding. “I’ll cover you!”

I hesitated. “I didn’t come this far to lose you, Mirella.”

“Move, Sergio! I can handle this!”

I didn’t have time to argue. I sprinted toward the crates, dodging bullets and using the scattered cover to my advantage. I reached one of the men, tackled him to the ground, and wrestled his weapon from him. With his gun in hand, I fired off two quick shots, taking out the others nearby.

Turning back toward Mirella, I froze.

She wasn’t just handling herself—she was fighting like someone who’d been doing this her whole life. She moved with precision, and her every action was calculated and efficient.

One of the guards, a man twice her size, lunged at her. Mirella sidestepped him with ease, grabbing his wrist and twisting until he dropped his weapon. Before he could react, she slammed her elbow into his face and followed it up with a shot to his chest.

Another man charged at her from behind. She spun, ducked under his swing, and drove her knee into his stomach. As he stumbled back, she disarmed him and put two bullets in him without flinching.

I stood there, stunned.

This wasn’t the Mirella I remembered. The girl who used to blush when she got caught sneaking out of her father’s house. The girl who always seemed to have her head in the clouds or the girl who got stuck in trees.

No, this Mirella was a force of nature. Fierce. Unstoppable.

When the last of the guards were down, she turned to me, standing tall with the gun still in her hand. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, but there was no fear in her eyes. Only determination.

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. I was not sure if I knew who she was.

She brushed past me, heading toward the shipment. “What are you staring at, Sergio? Let’s get this done.”

I followed her in silence, my mind racing. Mirella had always been a puzzle, but now she felt like a labyrinth. Every time I thought I had her figured out, she showed me another side of herself.

By the time we got back into the car, I still hadn’t said a word.

She noticed. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”

I shook my head, starting the engine. “You’re full of surprises, that’s all.”

She laughed, a short, humorless sound. “Just call it survival instincts.”

The drive back was quiet, but my thoughts were anything but. Mirella wasn’t the naive girl I’d thought she was. She was stronger, more resilient, and far more dangerous than I’d ever realized. This wasn’t just survival instinct when in danger. The way she moved, she was the predator, not the prey.

And yet, I couldn’t decide if that scared me or impressed me.

When we pulled up to her place, I watched as she got out of the car. She barely made it to the door before her phone rang.

“What is it, Enzo?”

My ears perked up at the name, and I narrowed my eyes.

She turned, noticing me still sitting there. “I am sorry, something urgent came up, and I need to go now. You can see yourself out, Sergio.”

Without waiting for a response, she disappeared to the garage and drove out in another car in a hurry, leaving me alone with more questions than answers.

Who the hell was Enzo? And what else was Mirella hiding? I decided to say hi to Alex and check up on him before I left.

Alex’s laughter filled the room before I even stepped inside. That laugh—it had a way of cutting through the noise in my head, slicing right into something softer inside me. It wasn’t a sound I heard often, not from a kid like him.

I walked into the living room and saw him kneeling on the carpet, surrounded by a scattered army of tiny toy soldiers and a bright red firetruck that looked like it had taken more than a few beatings. As soon as Alex noticed me, his eyes lit up, and he sprinted toward me, arms outstretched.

“You are back!” he shouted like I was his favorite superhero.

Before I knew it, he’d latched onto my legs in a hug that made me stumble back a little. For such a little guy, he had a strong grip.

“Whoa, kid, you’re gonna knock me over!” I chuckled, patting the top of his dark, messy hair. “What are you up to, huh? Waging a war in here?”

Alex stepped back, grinning. “Just playing. Wanna help me? You can be the captain!”

It was hard to say no to a face like that, so I crouched down, picking up one of the battered soldiers. But as I settled in, something nagged at me. The room was quiet—too quiet for a house with Alex in it. Was he here alone? Where was Dahlia?

“Where’s your mom?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

Alex shrugged, busy arranging his army into two neat lines. “She went out.”

I stiffened. “Out? And she left you alone?”

He didn’t even look up, completely unfazed. “No, Dahlia’s here. She’s making lunch in the kitchen.”

“Dahlia?” I repeated, frowning. The name felt wrong. “You mean your mom?”

Alex paused, tilting his head as if I’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. “No, Dahlia is here. She’s in the kitchen.”

I stared at him, trying to make sense of what he’d just said. The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, sent a ripple of confusion through me.

Mirella was protective of Alex—maybe even overly so. I’d seen it and felt it. She never let him out of her sight unless it was with someone she trusted completely. She said Dahlia was his mom. So why was he calling Dahlia by name instead of “Mom”? It didn’t add up, and the longer I thought about it, the more my head spun.

Before I could press him further, Alex grabbed my sleeve. “Look! The captain’s ready!”

He handed me another toy soldier, and I forced myself to focus on the moment. I played along, letting Alex direct the battle while my mind raced in a dozen different directions.

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps pulled my attention. Dahlia walked into the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her eyes landed on me, and her expression instantly hardened.

“What are you doing here, Sergio?”

Before I could answer, Alex beat me to it. He turned to Dahlia with a big smile. “Mama’s friend came to play with me!”

Her face went pale, and for a split second, I saw something flicker in her eyes. Panic? Maybe guilt? Whatever it was, it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

Dahlia’s tone was stern but gentle. “Alex, why don’t you go wash your hands? Lunch is almost ready.”

Alex hesitated, looking back and forth between us, but eventually, he got up and padded off to the bathroom.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Dahlia crossed her arms and glared at me. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I was checking in on Alex,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “He said you were in the kitchen. I didn’t realize Mirella wasn’t home.” I lied, trying to see if I could get Dahlia to slip up and help me make sense of the confusion brewing inside of me.

Her jaw tightened. “She had things to take care of. I’m here. That’s all that matters.”

I leaned against the doorway, not moving an inch. “What’s the deal, Dahlia? Why’s he calling you by your name like you’re the babysitter? What’s going on?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked at me like she was deciding whether I was worth the trouble.

Finally, she threw the dish towel onto the counter. “It’s none of your business, Sergio. Now, if you’re done asking questions, you can leave.”

Her words didn’t sting, but her tone did. This was the first ever conversation I had with Dahlia, and it wasn’t a friendly one. There was a finality in it that made me feel like I was being shut out of something important. And I hated that feeling.

“Fine,” I muttered, pushing off the doorway. “I’m leaving.”

But as I walked out, my mind was a whirlwind.

Something wasn’t right.

Alex wasn’t just any kid, and Mirella wasn’t just any other person in his life. She was too careful, too protective, too guarded. And the way Alex talked about her, the way he called Dahlia by name—it didn’t fit.

Pieces of a puzzle I hadn’t even realized I was trying to solve started clicking into place.

Mirella had always been a mystery to me. She could be sweet and soft one moment and cold and distant the next. She hid things—big things. I’d seen glimpses of the walls she kept up, but this felt different.

I drove back in silence, replaying the conversation with Alex in my head. The way he said “Mama’s friend” stuck with me like an echo I couldn’t shake.

Mirella was protecting Alex from something—or someone.

But what?

And, more importantly, why?

By the time I got home, my chest felt tight with unanswered questions. I knew one thing for certain: Mirella wasn’t the naive girl I used to know. She was hiding something, and whatever it was, it wasn’t small.

For the first time in years, I wasn’t sure if I truly knew her at all.