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It would be wise of me to pay heed to his warnings and stay away, but I don’t. Even though I know he was the one responsible for burning down Eden and killing Rocco. Not even after witnessing the bloodied carnage he left behind that night he rescued me from Nicolai Moretti.

The way he looked at me, eyes dark and perilous, the way he pressed me against the wall like I was something reckless and dangerous, like he was.

But all I can feel is heat .

It coils deep in my belly and wraps around my spine, this slow, pulsing ache that won't let me breathe right. My legs are still weak. My pulse won’t slow. And my lips… God, my lips feel swollen from a kiss that never even happened.

The sound of his voice echoes in my head.

“And if you ever storm into a place with my name on it again like you own the fucking right… I won’t be so lenient next time...”

Every word is a warning, but it feels like a claim. Like somewhere inside that threat is the truth neither of us will say out loud.

I watch him as he pulls away, his eyes lock onto mine for a second before he withdraws his hand from around my throat and walks away. But the second I step outside that room, I know something’s changed.

Not in him.

In myself.

Because whatever line I crossed with him back there, I want to cross it again. I want to know what he will do to me if I push him enough. If he cares enough to burn down a club for me then it means I’m already under his skin.

I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But one day, he’ll look at me like I’m not a risk he shouldn’t take… but a fire he needs to burn in.

Golden light streams through the towering windows of the sunroom. Outside, birds chirp and a soft breeze carries the scent of honeysuckle through the open doors. Bianca is curled up on the cream settee, a coffee in one hand and a magazine resting in her lap, the picture of serenity.

God, she is so impervious to everything around her. Or is she fully aware that something isn’t right with the family she married into and plays it off like she’s clueless? Either way, she’s blissfully happy.

But there’s no serenity in me.

My pulse is too fast, my thoughts too loud.

I’m perched on the edge of a chaise lounge, one leg tucked beneath me, the other bouncing restlessly.

My phone is in my hand, thumb scrolling mindlessly through apartment listings, then switching to job boards.

One rejection after another. Places I know I could work.

Places that suddenly stop responding the moment I give them my name.

Annoyance blossoms in my chest.

I catch movement beyond the glass from the corner of my eye. Ares. Enzo. Dante.

Their pace is purposeful, expressions unreadable. All three dressed in tailored suits, moving like shadows across sunlight.

They’re headed to Luciano’s office.

I stand, brushing invisible creases from my jeans and pad across the room to where Bianca is seated.

“B,” I say, lowering myself beside her. My voice is low, cautious. “How much do you know about Enzo?”

She glances at me over the rim of her mug, brow raised. “What do you mean?”

“I mean... about the Russos. About what they do.”

Bianca shifts slightly, straightening. “Well, you already know, Enzo owns a high-end fashion line and luxury imports. And they have a couple of hotels, one here in Sicily, one in Milan and one in London and... some clubs. Why?”

I hesitate, studying her face. There’s no deceit in her eyes, just honest confusion and a flicker of concern.

“Don’t you ever wonder?” I murmur. “I mean, look around. The security, the people, the way everyone tiptoes around Ares like he’s some kind of… executioner or something.”

Bianca lets out a small laugh, trying to brush it off. “Oh, Ares is intense, sure, but he’s just... brooding. You know, the whole tortured-soul thing.”

I look at her like she’s sprouted a second head.

“No,” I say quietly, shaking my head. “It’s more than that, B. There’s something underneath… something very dark and dangerous. And I think they’re hiding something.”

She sets her mug down slowly, watching me more carefully now. “What are you talking about? What happened, Jordyn?”

I exhale through my nose, lowering my voice.

“You know I started working at Eden, right?” She nods, cautious.

“Well… Ares showed up one night. Saw me working. He didn’t say much at the time, but later that night, he told me to quit.

Said the place wasn’t safe, not for someone like me.

That I had no idea what kind of men walked through those doors. ”

Bianca’s brows knit, worry creeping into her expression.

“I didn’t listen,” I continue. “And a few nights later… something happened. With a guy named Nicolai Moretti.”

Her entire body stiffens. “Nicolai Moretti?” she repeats, voice tight.

I nod. “Do you know him?”

“No,” she says quickly. “But I’ve heard the name. Around here, once or twice. He’s... not someone you want to cross. From what I’ve picked up, there’s some kind of bad blood between the Moretti’s and the Russo’s.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, chewing at the inside of my cheek. “That’s putting it mildly. I had a run-in with him at Eden. He hired me, asked for me personally to serve him at one of his private events. And if Ares hadn’t shown up when he did, I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened to me.”

Bianca’s eyes go wide, her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you mean? What did he do, Jordyn?”

I sigh and tell her everything, the way Nicolai cornered me, the things he said, how trapped I felt. Bianca listens in silence, her eyes glued to mine, not interrupting once.

“…and then out of nowhere Ares came in. He threatened Nicolai and then he just went for him. And Ares got me out of the VIP lounge, right outside there were at least five of Nicolai’s men lying in a blood-soaked heap on the floor. I’m not even sure all of them were still breathing.”

Bianca’s hand lifts to her mouth, her brown eyes growing wide. “Oh my God, Jord, why didn’t you tell me all of this before?” she asks, and shuffles closer to me and reaches up to take my face into her soft hands. “You must have been terrified.”

I nod, but the truth is so much more complicated than fear alone.

“I was,” I whisper. “At first. But of what Nicolai would do to me, not of him .”

Bianca’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I should’ve been terrified of Ares,” I murmur.

“After what I saw, what he did. But in that moment all I felt was… safe. Like nothing could touch me as long as he was there.” Bianca stares at me like she’s trying to make sense of that.

Like it doesn’t compute that a man soaked in violence could somehow be a shield.

“He looked at me differently that night. Like I wasn’t just some girl working a bar shift.

He looked at me like I mattered.” I pause, heart thudding in my chest. “And then he told me to quit. Said that place wasn’t safe for someone like me.

That I didn’t belong in a club like that and if he saw me there again he would burn the place down. ”

“What?” Bianca’s voice is hushed now, like even saying it too loud might invite trouble. “You think he did it.”

“I know he did. I can’t prove it, but...

I know.” I sit back against the couch, eyes fixed on a crack in the tiles.

“Just like I know he’s had me blacklisted me from every bar, every restaurant, every hotel in this damn island.

I can’t get a job anywhere, Bianca. The moment they hear my name, they lose interest or I never hear from them. ”

Bianca goes quiet for a long beat. Then, softly, she says, “That’s not normal, Jord. That’s not just someone being protective. That’s…power. Dangerous power.”

I meet her eyes. “I know. And the worst part?” My voice catches. “He did it all because of me.”

Bianca exhales slowly, her fingers still resting on my arm. “Jord, I love you, but you need to hear me when I say this.”

Her tone has changed. It’s no longer comforting, no longer curious. It’s edged with something harder. Protective. “You need to stay away from Ares. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

I blink. “What?”

“I’m serious,” she says, lifting her gaze to mine. “I don’t care how many people he took down to get to you, or what he said to you after. Maybe he did it because you’re part of the family. Maybe it was duty, not you. But that doesn’t make him safe .”

I blink at her, stunned into silence.

Bianca exhales slowly, her expression torn between fear and reason.

“Whatever kind of man walks through a lounge and leaves a trail of broken bodies behind him like it’s nothing, he doesn’t belong anywhere near you, Jordyn.

That kind of violence, that kind of control?

It changes people. You can’t be close to someone like that and walk away untouched, do you understand.

A guy like that has a long list of enemies. ”

She leans in slightly, her voice dropping lower. “Whatever they’re hiding, or whatever’s going on in that world of theirs… I don’t want you anywhere near it. You will not get pulled into it, do you understand?”

I look away, but she reaches out and cups my chin gently, turning my face back toward her.

“I’m saying this because I care about you.

You’ve been through enough already. The last thing you need is to fall into something you can’t crawl back out of.

I’m not saying he’s bad and I’m grateful that he protected you,” she adds quickly.

“I just... I don’t want you caught up in something you don’t understand.

He plays by rules no one talks about. That much is obvious.

” Bianca lets her hand fall, her eyes searching mine.

“Please, just...promise me you’ll stay away from him. ”

I’m sorry B, but that’s one promise I don’t think I can keep.