Page 16 of Sworn to the Enemy

Serafina

“Fina, Luis is missing. My men think Enzo took him. I don’t want a war, not now, but I need you to find out if it’s true.” His frail voice crackles through, low and urgent.

My heart sinks. He isn't calling to hear from me. He’s calling to break bad news. He doesn't care if I'm dying in this marriage to Enzo. The only thing he cares about is his men and his legacy. As much as that angers me, what angers me the more is the news he's just broken to me.

I grip the phone tight, my nails digging into my palm. “I’ll handle it,” I say, voice steady, even though I'm raging inside. At Papa. At the world. At Enzo. I don't know what game Enzo’s playing, but I’m caught in the middle and I want out.

I hang up, my mind racing. I don't care much for Luis. He'd always challenged me. Even now, I think back to when Aida had suggested that perhaps he was smitten with me. That day now feels like eons ago.

I shouldn't care about Luis being abducted by Enzo. But, despite my reservation towards him, he’s always loyal to Papa, and his disappearance feels personal. It's like a slap to my face, to Papa's face. It's Enzo drawing a line in the sand.

I pull on a grey sweater and pants, my movements sharp and quick.

My boots are heavy as I lace them up. Time to sniff around for the truth.

Enzo’s been gone since the wedding night, out on some mission, but he’s back now.

I heard his car pull in at dawn. He’s hiding something, and I’m not waiting to find out what.

The manor is quiet as I stealthily walk through.

I can smell the secret in the air, and I’m ready to tear it apart to find answers.

I head downstairs, my boots thudding against the marble.

The manor’s walls are closing in like a trap.

The portraits of dead Mancinis glare down, their eyes cold, judging. I ignore them, my focus razor-sharp.

Giulia, my maid, catches me in the hall, her auburn hair tucked under her cap. “Signora, breakfast?” she asks in her usual timid voice. I shake my head, brushing past her.

“Not now,” I say, my tone clipped. She shrinks back, and I feel a pang, but I’m too wound up to care. I need to find Enzo, to know if he’s stupid enough to snatch one of Papa’s men under my nose.

The study’s my first stop, its heavy door ajar, the scent of whiskey and smoke lingering. It’s empty, the hearth cold, but I feel him here, his presence like a living, breathing thing. He'd been here, but not anymore.

I move on, checking the garage, the library, every room in this damn fortress, but he’s nowhere to be found. My anger grows. It's like a fire licking at my veins. If Enzo’s holding Luis, I definitely won't let it slide.

I head down to the cellar, a place I’ve avoided. Its iron door is tucked in a dim corridor. The air’s damp, smelling of mud and blood, and my gut tells me this is where I’ll find answers.

The door creaks as I push it open, the stairs descending into darkness.

My boots echo, the sound swallowed by the stone walls.

At the bottom, a single bulb swings, casting jagged light over a concrete cell.

And there he is—Luis, chained to a pipe, wrists bound, his face bruised, blood dried on his lip.

He looks up, eyes wide, then smirks, that old cocky grin. “Fina,” he says, voice rough. “Come to save me?” My stomach churns, rage and disgust mixing. He’s here, in Enzo’s cellar, and it’s no mistake. Enzo did this, and he kept it from me.

“Shut up,” I snap, stepping close, my voice cold. “What happened?”

Luis laughs, wincing as it pulls at his split lip. “Your husband’s a bastard, that’s what. Grabbed me at a bar, locked me here. Thinks he can use me against Domenico.”

My fists clench, my nails biting my palms. Enzo’s playing a dangerous game, and I’m the one caught in it. I turn, ready to hunt him down, but heavy footsteps echo above. I know it’s him before I see him, his presence like a storm rolling in. I turn in a whirl.

Enzo fills the doorway, his broad frame blocking the dim light. The air crackles, heavy with his presence, and my skin prickles in remembrance.

His eyes are dark and unreadable. His hair is tousled, like he ran his fingers through it one too many times.

He looks like he hasn’t slept. His shirt is rumpled and upon closer look, his eyes are bloodshot.

My gaze shoots to his hand on the knob and I notice his knuckles are red, scraping raw.

I mentally wince. Whoever had been on the receiving end of his wrath has to be the unluckiest person in the world.

I want to go to him and cradle his head against my chest. I want to lay soft kisses on his knuckles and ease the pain I know he doesn't feel away. My heart aches just to see him.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I should get a grip. I’m not some lovesick puppy. I’m angry at him, for Christ’s sake!

But still, I let my gaze roam over him. The man could be in a sack, and he'd still be gorgeous. Damn him for stirring something in me. This heat between us is something I can’t kill. Even now, it sizzles.

“Fina,” he says in a low voice , like he's tasting my name on his tongue. Like it’s his to own. “What the hell are you doing down here?” His gaze flicks to Luis, then back to me. His eyes narrow, like he’s peeling me apart, seeing how much I know.

“Don’t play dumb,” I hiss, stepping forward.

My chest is tight with fury. “You took him. Papa’s man.

You think you can pull this shit under my nose?

” My voice trembles, not from fear but from rage, from the way his eyes burn into mine, forcing me to remember memories I'd rather forget.

“Unless you want a war, Enzo, let him go. Now.”

Luis chuckles behind me. The sound is low and taunting. Petty asshole. I want to smash his face, but Enzo’s my target. I see a tick in his jaw as if he's trying to rein in his temper. What stupid temper? I should be the one angry, not him.

He steps closer, towering over me. His nearness makes my skin tingle, and my brain short-circuits. The man has a stour effect on me.

“You think you can order me around in my own house?” His voice is a growl.

But it's not anger I sense in it, it is hunger. His eyes are communicating his wants to me. It sends a shiver through me, my body betraying me with a rush of heat. Am I going mad? He continues. “Luis fucked with my docks, Fina. He’s leverage. You don’t call the shots.

” His eyes drop to my lips, and my breath catches.

He's deliberately doing it. He's trying to unnerve me. Fuck him. Why can't I seem to remember that he's my enemy when he's close? He can't know how much he's affecting me.

“Bullshit,” I spit as I close the gap between us, our faces now inches apart. “You want leverage? You’re starting a war you can’t win. You're lighting a fire. Papa’s men are itching for a fight, and this?” I jab a finger toward Luis. “This is the match.”

Luis laughs again, mockingly, and it’s like gasoline on my rage. “Shut up,” I snap at him, not breaking eye contact with Enzo, who’s watching me like a predator, his lips twitching, like he’s daring me to make a move.

“You’ve got some nerve, Fina,” Luis rasps, his voice rough, dripping with sarcasm. “Barging in here, playing hero for your papa. You think Mancini’s gonna listen to you?” His words sting, and I whirl on him, my fists clenching, nails biting my palms.

“I said shut up, Luis. You’re here because you fucked up, so don’t lecture me.”

He grins, wincing as it pulls his split lip, but his eyes gleam, like he’s enjoying this too much.

I turn back to Enzo, my rage flaring hotter. “You’re making a mistake. Papa’s not some street thug you can push. Keep Luis, and you’re begging for blood.”

Enzo’s eyes narrow, his jaw working, but he doesn’t budge, his silence infuriating. “You’re in my world now, Fina,” he says finally, voice low and cutting. “My rules.”

His words hit like a slap, and my blood boils. I’m not his to control, not his to cage, and I’ll be damned if he thinks he can break me. Luis snickers, and it’s the last straw, my control snapping like a brittle thread.

“You’re both fucking idiots,” I snarl, my voice echoing off the stone walls. “You think this is a game? You’re tearing everything apart, and I’m the one stuck in the middle.”

Enzo’s eyes flash, something shifting in them—anger, maybe, or something hotter, and it’s like a match to my own fire.

My heart’s pounding, my skin buzzing, and I’m too close.

His scent—sweat, smoke, him—floods me. I should back off, but his eyes remain intent on mine.

God, the desire in them, the need. I hate him so much, but fuck, I want him, and the line between the two is blurred, it makes my sight hazy. It makes me delirious.

Before I can stop myself, I grab his shirt and yank him down.

I see the way his eyes widen in surprise.

I slam my mouth into his hard. It's desperate. It's a collision of lips and fury. It’s not a kiss—it’s a fucking explosion.

My lips bruise against his, my teeth grazing his lower lip. I taste the whiskey on his tongue.

He freezes for a heartbeat, then growls.

The sound is low and feral as his mouth claims mine hungrily.

His tongue pushes in roughly and tangles with mine.

I don't fight it. I let him take the lead.

I let him wreck my mouth with his tongue, my nails digging into his chest through his shirt.

The kiss is raw, a war of need and rage, my body igniting as his heat seeps into me, my core throbbing and so wet, despite the anger still burning.

I pour every ounce of betrayal, every spark of hate, into it.

My tongue swirls against his, tasting that dark, addictive edge that’s all Enzo.

His lips are relentless, sucking my tongue, his teeth nipping, sending fire through my veins.

I tilt my head, deepening the kiss, my mouth open, greedy.

My fingers twist tighter in his shirt, pulling him closer.

He responds, his mouth harder, like he’s trying to consume me, to erase every thought that isn’t him. It’s too intense, my lips swelling, my breath stolen, and I’m drowning in it, in him, my body screaming for more even as my mind screams this is wrong.

Luis’s laugh sounds faint, distant, but I don’t care, not now, not with Enzo’s mouth on mine, his tongue fucking my mouth like he fucked me that night.

My heart’s a riot, my skin buzzing. I press closer, my chest against his, feeling his fast heartbeat that matches mine.

His lips move with mine, urgent, unyielding, and it’s like the world’s burning down around us—the cellar, Luis, everything fading into the heat of this kiss.

It’s a mistake, a surrender, but I can’t stop, not when it’s this raw, this explosive, my body alive with him, my lips locked with his, lost in the fire we’ve ignited.