Alejandro sat in his car, parked in a dark alley on the outskirts of the city, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel. His entire body burned with the need for violence.Miguel had taken Sophia. The words echoed in his mind, fueling his rage. Every second that passed was a second too long. He wanted blood. He wanted to rip Miguel apart with his bare hands.The low rumble of an approaching car made his muscles tense. His gun was in his lap, ready. But when the car stopped beside him, he recognized it immediately.Aria.She got out first, followed by Juan, their faces set in determination.Alejandro pushed open his door, stepping into the cold night air. He barely gave Juan a glance before locking eyes with Aria. "You shouldn’t have come."Aria crossed her arms. "We both know you wouldn’t have waited if I didn’t."He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. He hated how right she was. He had been seconds away from going in blind, consequences be damned.Juan leaned again
Alejandro’s grip on his gun tightened as he stared at Miguel, his finger twitching near the trigger. The bastard had a gun to Aria’s head, and it took everything in him not to pull the trigger and damn the consequences."Drop your weapons," Miguel repeated, his smirk widening. "Or I put a bullet in her skull."Alejandro’s mind raced. His heart thundered against his ribs. He couldn’t risk Aria’s life, but giving up their weapons meant surrendering completely."Do it," Aria muttered under her breath, her eyes locking with his.His jaw clenched. He didn’t want to. Every instinct screamed at him to fight, to kill. But this wasn’t just about him anymore.Slowly, he lowered his gun and placed it on the ground. Juan did the same, his face twisted with rage.Miguel chuckled. "Smart choice." He shoved Aria forward, making her stumble toward Alejandro.Alejandro caught her instantly, his hands gripping her waist, steadying her."You okay?" he whispered, barely restraining the urge to turn and s
The drive back to the estate was tense. Alejandro sat in the backseat with Aria, his side throbbing from the knife wound Miguel had given him, but the pain barely registered. His mind was still racing, his knuckles raw from the beating he had given Miguel.Aria’s hands were clenched into fists on her lap, her lips pressed into a thin line. He could feel the anger rolling off her in waves. He knew she wanted to say something—probably yell at him for being reckless—but she was holding it in.Juan, in the front seat, kept glancing at them through the rearview mirror. "We should’ve killed him," he muttered. "That bastard won’t stop until one of us is dead."Alejandro exhaled sharply, looking out the window. "I know."They had left Miguel unconscious, but not dead. Alejandro wanted him to suffer, to know that his time was running out. Killing him instantly would have been too easy.Beside him, Aria shifted, finally breaking her silence. "You scared me back there," she admitted, her voice b
Aria swallowed hard, her body stiffening under Alejandro’s hold. The warmth of his breath against her neck sent an unwelcome shiver down her spine, but she forced herself to stay still. She didn’t know what would happen if she moved—if she broke this fragile moment between them.But she had to.Slowly, she shifted, trying to slide out of his grip. His arm tightened instantly, his fingers splaying over her stomach in a silent refusal."Stay," he muttered, his voice deep and husky from sleep.Aria's breath hitched.Stay?Her heart pounded wildly. He was dangerous, controlling, and everything she should fear—but right now, he was just a man half-asleep, holding onto her as if letting go was the last thing he wanted.She closed her eyes for a brief moment, gathering her thoughts. "Alejandro, I need to get up."His grip didn't loosen. Instead, he exhaled heavily, pressing his forehead against the back of her head. "Just a little longer," he murmured.Aria's resolve wavered.This wasn’t the
Aria’s hands trembled as she gripped the edge of the sink in her bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her lips were still swollen from Alejandro’s kisses, her skin still tingling from his touch.She needed to stop this.Whatever was happening between them, whatever emotions were trying to take root in her heart, she had to kill them before they destroyed her.A knock at the door startled her."Aria."Alejandro’s deep voice sent a shiver through her, but she clenched her fists and forced herself to breathe."I don’t want to talk right now," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.There was a pause. "Too bad."The door handle twisted. She gasped, stepping back as the door swung open. Alejandro stood there, his dark eyes locked onto hers, unreadable yet intense. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him."You can’t just—""I can do whatever I want." His voice was low, firm, leaving no room for argument.Her pulse pounded. "Ale
Aria sat on the bathroom counter, her body still buzzing from Alejandro’s touch. Her fingers curled against the cold marble as she forced herself to breathe. Her emotions were tangled—desire, frustration, fear—all mixing into one unbearable storm inside her chest.She shouldn’t have let him kiss her.She shouldn’t have kissed him back.But God, every time he touched her, she lost all sense of control.From the bedroom, she could hear Alejandro’s voice, sharp and commanding. Whoever had knocked on the door had clearly interrupted something urgent.She swallowed hard, pressing a hand to her chest as she listened."I don’t give a damn what Miguel said," Alejandro snapped. "Find out where the shipment went—now."Miguel.Aria stiffened.Agent Miguel had been playing a dangerous game, working with Alejandro’s enemies while keeping up the act of being his trusted ally. If Alejandro ever found out…Her stomach clenched.She had to talk to Miguel soon, before things spiraled out of control."Bo
The explosion had ripped through the underground facility with a force that shook the very foundation of the compound. In the ensuing chaos, smoke billowed into the corridors and the acrid stench of burning debris mingled with the iron tang of blood. For a long, agonizing moment, it was as if time itself had fractured into splintered fragments—a cacophony of screams, clattering metal, and the roar of collapsing walls.Aria’s mind swam in darkness as she struggled to regain consciousness. Her head pounded relentlessly, and her body, bruised and battered from the struggle earlier, throbbed in protest. She could barely distinguish sound from silence amid the turmoil. All she knew was that she had to wake up; she had to survive. Slowly, she opened her eyes and tried to focus. The room around her was dim and chaotic: fragments of concrete littered the floor, and the distant wail of sirens hinted at the impending arrival of reinforcements or perhaps the approaching authorities.Her wrists w
With a heavy sigh, she nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears that she refused to shed in front of him. Alejandro disappeared into the darkness, the door slamming shut behind him as he set off to reassemble his forces and lead the counterattack.For what felt like an eternity, Aria sat in the van, her mind adrift. The silence was oppressive, every sound magnified by her worry. She clutched the phone that Alejandro had left behind, refreshing it repeatedly in a desperate search for a message, a sign, any indication that he was safe. Time crawled by, each minute stretching into an eternity of uncertainty.Outside, the world was a tapestry of chaos—sirens wailed, distant gunfire echoed, and the estate loomed like a graveyard of shattered dreams and broken promises. Aria could only hope that Alejandro’s promise wasn’t empty, that the man who had risked everything for her would soon return.Suddenly, the van’s engine roared to life, jolting her from her reverie. Through the rear window, sh
The streets of the city blurred in a haze of dim light and looming shadows as Aria and Alejandro moved through the night. Her heart was still racing, her breath shallow, but she couldn’t afford to slow down. They had escaped the immediate danger, but the night was far from over. The enemies who had been chasing her—the ones who had now turned their attention to Alejandro—would not stop. They would hunt them down relentlessly until they had what they wanted.What did they want? That question had lingered in Aria’s mind for days. What did they want with her? What did Alejandro have that they were willing to risk so much? Each time she tried to think it through, she ended up with more questions than answers, but one thing was painfully clear: they were all caught in a game—a dangerous, deadly game—and the rules had changed.Alejandro’s hand was firm on hers, guiding her through alleyways and side streets as they moved with purpose. Every step felt like a race against time. His silence wa
The night sky stretched above like a canvas of black velvet, pierced only by the distant glow of city lights. Aria’s breath came in shallow gasps as she sprinted down the alley, the sound of heavy footsteps echoing behind her. She had never imagined she’d find herself in this position again, running for her life, her heart pounding with fear and adrenaline. The city, once a place of possibility and adventure, had become a maze of danger she could barely navigate. Every corner she turned seemed to bring her closer to the people who wanted to use her, hurt her. And no matter how fast she ran, it felt as though the shadows were always one step ahead.She could hear the footfalls behind her, the men closing in. Their laughter—cruel, taunting—reached her ears, sending a shiver of dread down her spine. She didn’t have time to think, to process. Her only goal now was survival. She darted down another narrow street, the walls closing in as if they were conspiring to trap her.She could feel h
The night air had grown colder as Alejandro paced the small, dimly lit room, the walls pressing in on him like a vice. His thoughts were a blur, spinning in every direction as he tried to focus on the task at hand—finding Aria. Every inch of him was tense, every muscle tight with a fear he hadn’t felt in years. The world was closing in around him, and the woman he loved was caught in the middle of it all. His grip on the gun tightened, the cool metal digging into his palm, grounding him in the chaos.He had been here before, had faced down countless threats, and walked away from death with nothing but a bloody history to remind him of the price of power. But this… this was different. Aria wasn’t just collateral damage. She wasn’t a pawn in a game he could control. She was everything. The thought of her being hurt, of losing her—he couldn’t bear it.“I’m going to kill him,” he muttered under his breath, the words tasting bitter as they left his mouth.Alejandro wasn’t sure if he was sp
Alejandro paced the length of the hospital hallway like a lion trapped in a cage, his fists clenched so tightly the veins in his arms bulged beneath the sleeves of his shirt. Every inch of him screamed fury and desperation. Aria had been taken again, and this time it wasn’t just a rival cartel—it was someone closer, someone who knew how to disappear without a trace. Sophia stood nearby, her arms folded across her chest, her face pale but determined. “He won’t kill her,” she said softly, watching Alejandro carefully. “He wants something else—something deeper.”Alejandro’s eyes flicked to her. “If he touches her, I’ll tear his heart out with my hands.”Sophia didn’t flinch. She had seen the carnage Alejandro was capable of when Aria was in danger. But this time felt different. Alejandro was unraveling, not because he couldn’t control the situation—but because he was scared. Deeply, undeniably scared. That was something even he didn’t want to admit.“He’s not acting alone,” Sophia contin
The night hung heavy over the estate, thick with the scent of rain-soaked roses and the kind of silence that only follows after chaos. Alejandro stood at the edge of the veranda, his broad shoulders taut beneath the weight of the truth he could no longer ignore. His eyes scanned the gardens below, where moments ago, Aria had stormed off, her eyes glistening with pain and betrayal. The memory of her trembling lips haunted him. She hadn’t just been angry. She had been shattered. And it was his fault.Behind him, the door creaked as Jace stepped out, his movements quiet, cautious, as though afraid to disturb the storm brewing inside Alejandro.“She’ll come back,” Jace said softly, lighting a cigarette he didn’t really need. “She always does.”Alejandro didn’t look at him. “Not this time.”Jace sighed, leaning against the railing. “You didn’t tell her the full truth, did you?”“She doesn’t need to know everything.”“She’s not a child, Alejandro. She deserves to know what you did. What we
The rain hammered against the glass walls of Alejandro’s private suite as if the sky itself mourned what was left of the night. Aria stood barefoot near the window, her silk robe soaked along the hem, her arms wrapped tightly around her body, not from cold—but from disbelief. The echo of Valentina’s broken voice still rang in her ears, the truth of what she’d uncovered hitting harder than anything she’d ever imagined. Alejandro had lied. Again. Not just about the past—but about the very blood that tied them all together. Alejandro and Jace were half-brothers. And everything was spiraling from that one tangled thread.Downstairs, Alejandro paced like a storm bottled in human form. He’d read Valentina’s message ten times over, but the weight of it refused to sink in. Aria knew. She finally knew. And there was no version of the truth that would make it right again. He’d spent years manipulating the shadows, but now the light was burning through his lies, stripping him raw. He was no long
The sharp scent of blood still lingered in the air, soaked into the floorboards of the safe house like a curse no fire could burn away. The room was silent, too silent except for the faint dripping from a busted pipe somewhere in the back wall and the occasional groan of pain from the injured men sprawled across makeshift cots. Alejandro stood in the center of it all, shirtless, his side bandaged but his face unreadable. The world was spinning on a new axis now, one tilted by betrayal, vengeance, and the crackling tension between him and the woman whose presence still lit a fire inside him even in the darkest of hours.He hadn’t spoken since the boat. Not since the last body dropped into the sea and silence returned. Not since he saw the horror in Aria’s eyes when the bullet narrowly missed her skull. His arms had wrapped around her then, not because he had to because he needed to. Because every breath he took without her felt like an echo in an empty room.Aria sat on the edge of the
The sky was bruised with the colors of dusk as the safehouse lights flickered to life one by one, casting long shadows across the polished wooden floors. The quiet buzz of electricity hummed through the air, but inside the living room, the tension was louder. Alejandro stood by the window, his silhouette sharp against the crimson-stained sky. His arms were folded across his chest, but his posture wasn’t calm. It was coiled like a storm waiting to be unleashed.Aria watched him from the couch, her fingers gripping the throw pillow tightly. She had seen him silent before, even cold but this was different. His silence wasn’t an escape from emotion it was soaked in it. His eyes weren’t empty; they were burning. And the fire in them made her own chest ache.Valentina entered the room with two mugs of tea, one for Miguel who was finally beginning to look like himself again and one for herself. She paused briefly, her eyes flitting between Alejandro and Aria. There was something simmering be
The gunfire had stopped, but the silence it left behind was heavier than any explosion. Smoke curled in the trees, the scent of scorched leaves mixing with the acrid tang of gunpowder. Alejandro stepped forward, scanning the tree line, his jaw clenched. His finger hovered near the trigger, ready for a second wave. But none came.Just the eerie stillness.“They’re retreating,” Jace murmured, lowering his rifle. “That wasn’t a full hit squad. Just scouts. They were testing us.”Alejandro nodded grimly. “Santiago’s gauging how far we’re willing to go. But he’s about to find out we don’t break.”He turned toward Aria.She was crouched behind the jeep, breathless but sharp-eyed, her hand still wrapped tightly around the grip of her pistol. Her hair was windswept, her clothes covered in dirt, but there was fire in her gaze.“You didn’t listen to me,” Alejandro said as he walked over.“I didn’t have time to,” she replied, standing. “They were aiming at Jace. You would’ve done the same.”He s