The sun had barely risen when Alejandro’s phone buzzed against the nightstand. The soft vibration should have been easy to ignore, but years of survival had trained him to always be alert. His eyes flickered open, scanning the dimly lit room. Beside him, Aria lay curled against his chest, her steady breathing a rare moment of peace.He exhaled slowly, reluctant to disturb her. But the buzzing continued.Carefully, he reached for the phone, swiping across the screen. Jace’s name flashed on the display.Alejandro answered, his voice low. “This better be good.”Jace’s response was sharp. “We have a problem.”Alejandro sat up instantly, his muscles tensing. “What kind of problem?”Jace hesitated for half a second too long.“The kind that doesn’t end with Miguel.”Alejandro’s jaw tightened. “Talk.”“Someone’s making moves. Fast. They’re picking up the pieces Miguel left behind, but not just that they’re wiping out anyone associated with him. His former lieutenants, his allies, even the men
The drive back to the estate was silent, except for the low hum of the engine and the occasional screech of tires on wet pavement. Alejandro gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity, his mind calculating every possible scenario. Aria sat beside him, her lips pressed into a tight line as she stared out the window. The tension between them was thick, not because of anger but because of the impending chaos they were about to face.Santiago Herrera wasn’t just another enemy. He was the kind of man who didn’t just kill he destroyed.When they reached the estate, Jace was already waiting for them at the entrance, his stance rigid, his hand resting on the gun at his hip. The second Alejandro stepped out of the car, Jace’s sharp gaze met his.“You heard?” Alejandro asked, shutting the door with a controlled slam.Jace nodded, his jaw clenching. “Luis called me after you left. If Santiago is really alive, then we’ve got a problem.”Aria stepped forward, her voice firm. “Not jus
The deafening sound of gunfire shattered the silence, echoing off the steel walls of the warehouse. Alejandro barely had time to shove Aria behind a stack of crates before bullets tore through the air, splintering wood and sending metal debris flying."Stay down!" he barked, drawing his gun and returning fire.Jace and Valentina had already taken cover, their weapons spitting lead at the unseen attackers. Shadows flickered in the dim light, movement barely perceptible as Santiago's men tried to flank them.Aria’s breath came in short gasps as she pressed herself against the cold surface of the crate. Her fingers itched to reach for a weapon, but Alejandro had made it clear she was not to take unnecessary risks. Still, she wasn’t the kind of woman to sit and do nothing.She peered through a small gap between the crates, her sharp eyes scanning the area. There a flicker of movement. She barely had time to react before she saw a gunman creeping toward Alejandro’s blind spot.Without thin
Alejandro lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to Aria’s steady breathing beside him. She had fallen asleep in his arms after their intense moment, exhaustion finally taking over. But his mind wouldn’t rest.Santiago’s attack tonight had made one thing clear this war was reaching its peak. Either he took Santiago down first, or they would all end up in graves.His fingers brushed over Aria’s bare shoulder, tracing small patterns on her skin. She shifted slightly, murmuring something in her sleep, before settling again.She had changed everything.Alejandro had spent years building his empire, making decisions without hesitation. He never cared about collateral damage, never second-guessed his instincts. But Aria made him pause. She made him think about the consequences, about what he stood to lose.And now, for the first time in his life, losing wasn’t an option.He carefully slid out of bed, throwing on his jeans and grabbing his gun from the nightstand. He needed air, needed
The black SUV sped through the dimly lit streets, slicing through the silence of the night. Alejandro sat in the passenger seat, his fingers drumming against his thigh as the weight of what was to come pressed down on him. The air inside the vehicle was thick with tension, and for once, even Jace was quiet, his usual sarcasm absent.Aria sat between Valentina and Jace in the backseat, her face illuminated by the glow of the city lights flashing past. Her hands were clasped tightly together, but Alejandro could tell she wasn’t afraid. She was preparing herself.“We go in silent,” Alejandro instructed. “No unnecessary noise, no distractions.” His eyes flicked to Aria through the rearview mirror. “That includes you.”She met his gaze without hesitation. “I know.”Jace exhaled sharply. “I still think this is a terrible idea.”Valentina smirked. “You always think everything is a terrible idea.”“This time, I’m right,” Jace shot back.Alejandro ignored them, his focus shifting back to the r
The docks erupted into chaos.Gunfire echoed across the water, flashes of muzzle fire illuminating the night. Alejandro dove behind a stack of metal crates, dragging Aria with him as bullets whizzed past. Jace and Valentina split off in opposite directions, using the darkness to their advantage.Santiago stood calmly at the end of the pier, watching with amusement as his men closed in.Alejandro peeked around the crate, firing two quick shots. One of Santiago’s men crumpled, but more took his place.“Too many,” Jace shouted from behind a shipping container. He was still bleeding, but he was moving like the wound didn’t exist.Valentina took out another attacker with a clean shot to the throat, but they were being cornered. The only way out was the water or through Santiago.Alejandro made his decision in a heartbeat.“Jace, get Aria out of here!”Jace hesitated, but one look at Alejandro’s expression told him there was no arguing.He grabbed Aria’s arm, pulling her toward the edge of
The boat cut through the dark waters, its engine humming steadily. The city lights had long disappeared behind them, leaving only the vast ocean stretching ahead. A heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by the rhythmic crashing of waves against the hull.Alejandro leaned against the railing, his mind still racing. His hands gripped the cold metal tightly, as if trying to ground himself. The adrenaline from the fight still pulsed through his veins, but beneath it was something deeper something unsettling.Aria stood beside him, watching his profile. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the storm in his eyes. Gently, she reached out, placing a hand over his.“We made it,” she whispered.Alejandro let out a slow breath, turning his hand over to lace his fingers with hers. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just held onto her as if she were the only real thing in a world that had been nothing but chaos.Miguel, still pale from blood loss, leaned against a crate, his eyes hal
Gunfire echoed across the dark ocean, the sharp cracks slicing through the night like a deadly symphony. The boat rocked violently under the weight of chaos, each bullet tearing through wood, metal, and flesh. Alejandro moved like a ghost through the fightfast, calculated, ruthless.He fired another shot, dropping one of Santiago’s men before he could reach Aria. His mind screamed at him to check on her, but he couldn’t afford a distraction. More enemies were boarding. This wasn’t a simple ambush. This was a death trap.Jace ducked behind a crate, reloading his gun with sharp, practiced movements. “They’re trying to sink the damn boat!” he shouted over the gunfire.Alejandro gritted his teeth. Santiago wasn’t just trying to kill themhe wanted to leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere, vulnerable and easy to pick off.A body dropped beside him. Miguel. He was still bleeding, but he had managed to shoot one of their attackers at close range. His breathing was heavy, but his grip o
The night was thick with silence, but Aria’s heart was anything but still. She sat by the large bay window in her room, knees pulled to her chest, watching the stars blur through the film of unshed tears. Alejandro’s words from the garden echoed in her mind like a song she couldn’t stop humming. She wanted to believe him, God knew she did, but believing meant opening herself again to the kind of pain she wasn’t sure she could survive twice. It meant risking everything she had become, everything she had built inside herself since the moment he turned her life upside down. And still, some small, stubborn part of her ached for his touch, for the warmth that only he ever made her feel. That was the cruel truth her body still remembered what her mind was trying to forget.Down the hallway, Alejandro stood in front of his bedroom door, hand raised, knuckles grazing the surface but never knocking. He had said what he needed to say, and she had asked for time. He had to respect that. But pati
Alejandro sat in the darkened study, the amber glow of the fireplace casting flickering shadows across the walls. His hand gripped the edge of the desk, knuckles white, heart thundering like a storm trapped inside a cage. Aria’s face haunted him, her eyes no longer filled with trust, now brimmed with doubt and pain. And it wasn’t just about the secrets. It was about the silence. The silence that had widened the gulf between them until he couldn’t recognize the bridge they once stood on together. He had promised to protect her, yet the world he built to keep her safe had become the very thing tearing her apart. Alejandro could almost hear her voice, the tremble, the crack when she asked him if he ever truly loved her, or if she’d just been another pawn in his empire’s twisted game.Outside the door, Valentina paced like a storm cloud, her heels sharp against the marble floor. She had seen enough of men like Alejandro cold, controlled, calculating. But this time was different. She had s
The forest was eerily quiet as dawn bled through the twisted silhouettes of trees. A thick mist hugged the earth, softening the edges of bloodshed and ash that had stained the night. Alejandro sat by the fire they barely had time to light, his eyes locked on the flames like they might offer absolution. Across from him, Aria wrapped a torn blanket around her shoulders, shivering not from the cold but from the storm inside her chest. Jace was resting nearby, his wound stitched with trembling hands and the pain dulled by makeshift medication. For now, they were alive. But they were cornered.Aria's mind wouldn’t rest. Dario’s words echoed relentlessly: "She doesn't even know what she's carrying." What did it mean? She stared at the data drive again, holding it as if it might explode with answers. Somewhere within its encrypted layers lay a truth powerful enough to drive a cartel mad. A truth they were now willing to kill for.Alejandro noticed her grip tightening and stood, walking to he
The night air was thick with tension, so much that it clung to Aria’s skin like a second layer. The distant crunch of footsteps on gravel made her grip the pistol tighter. Every shadow seemed to pulse with danger, every sound a possible threat. From where she crouched beside the jagged cliff edge, she could make out the dark shapes of their enemies disembarking from the boat, weapons drawn, eyes sweeping the terrain.Beside her, Alejandro’s breathing was calm, calculated. He crouched low, his back against the rocks, a rifle balanced on his knee. Though the moment was dire, there was a stillness in him, like the eye of a storm. His hand brushed Aria’s shoulder gently a silent promise that they would survive this. Not just for themselves, but for everything they had endured together.She turned to look at him, their eyes locking in the darkness. His gaze held fire, but beneath it, she caught something unexpected. Regret.“Alejandro,” she whispered, “if we don’t make it ”“We will,” he c
The moon hung low in the sky, casting a pale glow over the water, but the night felt darker now heavier. Aria’s breath came in shallow bursts as the boat jolted through the waves. Every second felt like an eternity as the engines of their pursuers roared in the distance. The sound was a constant reminder of the danger they were in. But even as they neared the narrow mouth of the cove, there was a sense of urgency in the air. This was it the moment of reckoning.Alejandro stood tall, his figure unwavering against the pressure that weighed down on them. His eyes never left the distant horizon as he clutched the wheel, steering them with precision and determination. He was a man used to fighting for survival, but Aria had seen enough of his vulnerability over the past weeks to understand that even he didn’t know if they would make it out of this alive."We’re almost there," Jace called out from the back of the boat, his voice strained. "But they’re right behind us. We won’t have time to
The boat rocked gently in the moonlight, its hull cutting through the water like a knife slicing through soft fabric. The soft sound of waves was a stark contrast to the chaos that had unfolded hours before. Aria stood at the edge, her hands gripping the cold metal of the railing as she looked out over the vast ocean. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, much like the storm that raged inside her.Alejandro stood behind her, his presence solid, unwavering. He hadn’t spoken much since the ambush, his mind undoubtedly weighed down by the same fears and worries that gripped her chest. But he had said one thing that had lingered in her mind: "We can’t keep running."She couldn’t help but wonder if he was right."We need to face him," Alejandro had said earlier, his voice low but certain. "Santiago will never stop. He’s too dangerous, and now that we’re marked, there’s no escaping it."But how did one face a man like Santiago De La Cruz? A man who had no morals, no hesitation, and no fear in h
The morning crept in like a thief, casting a faint glow over the broken windows and dust-covered floors. Aria sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as if she could wipe away the exhaustion that clung to her bones. She hadn't slept not really. She'd closed her eyes, listened to Alejandro’s soft, steady breathing beside her, and tried to convince herself they were safe. But her mind had spun in endless circles, haunted by what might come next.Alejandro was already up, pacing near the window. His shirt was wrinkled, his jaw unshaven, and his eyes had that dark gleam again the one that made her nervous, the one that said something had shifted inside him overnight.“What are you thinking?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.He didn’t turn to look at her. “I’m thinking we might not have as much time as I hoped.”Aria swung her legs off the bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor. “Why? What happened?”“There was a black SUV parked on the road this morning,” he said. “It wasn’t there
Aria stood by the car, her heart racing as Alejandro moved toward the house. The darkness around her felt suffocating, and the air, thick with silence, seemed to press in on her from every side. She watched Alejandro’s silhouette disappear into the shadows, his movements deliberate, confident, but there was something about his presence that felt fragile, as though the weight of everything that had been left unsaid was finally beginning to break through.Her mind churned with questions—questions she couldn’t yet answer. Why this house? Why was it abandoned? Who was he running from, really? And why was she, too, caught up in this whirlwind of chaos and danger? She had no answers, and the uncertainty gnawed at her, making her feel more isolated than ever.She hugged her arms to her chest, her eyes scanning the property. The house loomed before her, its broken windows and decaying structure standing like a silent sentinel in the night. The wind howled through the trees, a mournful sound t
The night seemed to stretch on forever, the hum of the engine becoming a low, constant reminder of the tension that hung thick between Aria and Alejandro. They were driving into the unknown, each mile taking them further from the world they had once known, but closer to something darker, something that Aria couldn’t quite understand.Alejandro’s grip on the steering wheel was tight, his knuckles pale as he navigated the road with a precision that spoke of years of experience. But despite the calm exterior, Aria could see the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror every few seconds. They were being followed—she could feel it. And she had a sinking feeling that this was just the beginning.The phone call had left a bitter taste in the air, and Alejandro hadn’t spoken since. He had only snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto the passenger seat beside him, his gaze locked on the road ahead.Aria, unsure of what to say, sat in silence, her fingers nervously