Ethan's POV
The cold outside was nothing compared to the cold in Luciano's eyes.
He stared at me as if he already knew the decision I was about to make.
And in a way, he did.
Men like him understand men like me..
LETHAL
DANGEROUS
OBSESSIVE
not because we are similar,
but because we both learned early that mercy is a luxury you never afford your enemies.
"What will it be, Hale?" he asked.
I stepped closer.
Close enough to smell the lingering cigar smoke on his coat.
Close enough to remind him I wasn't a man he could threaten from a distance.
"You're leaving," I said.
He smirked.
"And the Russians?"
"They won't touch her."
My voice was steel.
"I'll handle them."
At that, Luciano's mask cracked...just a fraction, but enough.
"You think they fear you?" he asked quietly.
"No," I said.
"They remember me."
Luciano's brows lifted just slightly.
Curiosity flickered...dangerous, cautious.
"You're too well-connected for a tech billionaire," he murmured.
"More well-connected than you know."
That's when he understood.
Truly understood.
This wasn't just business for me.
This wasn't obsession.
This was lineage.
Blood.
History.
A shadow moved behind him...one of his masked men shifting uneasily.
Luciano exhaled, turned toward his SUV, and tapped the roof twice.
"We're stepping out of this," he said.
"Whatever happens next, Hale… it's between you and the Bratva."
"What's between me and the Bratva," I said quietly,
"is older than you."
Luciano froze for half a second.
Then he nodded..slowly..and left without another word.
The Italians withdrew.
Which meant one thing:
The Russians were coming next.
I walked back toward the farmhouse...
muscles screaming, ribs aching, blood drying on my jaw..
But the pain was nothing compared when I saw Rai helpless in my arms..I can smell the rose and vanilla,
and the moment I stepped inside the house after leaving the Luciano from the hall to the lobby to his SUV,
something felt wrong.
Mike wasn't at his usual post.
The house was too quiet.
Then...
THUD.
My head snapped up.
Not outside.
Not near the gate.
Inside.
I ran.
Pain flared through my ribs but I ignored it.
The sound came from the hallway near the bookshelf..
the corridor that led toward the hidden bunker.
"Mike!" I shouted.
No answer.
I rounded the corner..
And saw him.
Mike on the floor.
Blood pooling under his shoulder.
One hand gripping the wall, struggling to push himself up.
A red smear dragged across the wallpaper.
My heart clenched...
then turned to ice.
"Mike."
I knelt next to him.
"Talk to me."
He panted, voice thin but steady.
"Ethan… inside the house… one of them got in."
"Russian or Italian?"
"Russian."
He winced in pain.
"He didn't attack me to kill me.
He hit me so I couldn't reach her."
My eyes darkened.
"And Raina?"
My voice was barely human.
"He didn't go after her," Mike whispered.
"He stood outside the panic room wall… pressed his hand against it… and whispered something."
My chest tightened.
"What did he say?"
Mike swallowed.
"He called her… malishka."
A Russian endearment.
A Russian claim.
A Russian threat.
My blood boiled.
Raina must have heard him.
She must be terrified inside the bunker right now, thinking I...
No.
I stood up so fast Mike flinched.
"Sir...he left," Mike said quickly.
"He didn't stay. He didn't try to break in."
"Of course he didn't," I growled.
"He wasn't here for her body."
Mike looked up at me.
"He was here to leave a message."
I didn't respond.
Because I already knew the message.
He wanted her to know he was alive.
He wanted her afraid.
He wanted her memories cracked open like old wounds.
And he wanted me to know...
he'd been inside my house.
Inside my security.
Inside her fear.
I pressed the code to the panic room.
The steel door slid open.
Raina stood inside, trembling so violently it broke something inside me.
Her hair was a mess, her eyes wide, her face pale.
The pressure in my chest was unbearable.
"Rai—"
She ran toward me.
Her knees buckled halfway.
I reached out instinctively...my arms catching her before she hit the ground.
She collapsed against me with a sob so quiet it stabbed straight through my ribs.
"Ethan…"
Her voice cracked.
"He was here. He was in the house. I heard him. I know that voice."
I tightened my arms around her, every protective instinct in me waking like a beast.
"I know," I whispered into her hair.
"I know who he is."
She stiffened.
"You..you do?"
I closed my eyes.
There were truths I wasn't ready to give her.
Not yet.
"Yes."
Her breath hitched.
"What is happening to my life?" she whispered.
"What did I do to deserve this? What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing," I said sharply...too sharply.
I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me
.
"You did nothing. This isn't your fault.
This is about the people who wanted you as currency.
As leverage.
As punishment."
She shook her head.
"No… no, Ethan… it's the necklace."
My breath stopped.
She reached into her coat pocket..
and pulled out the small velvet pouch.
My jaw locked.
"You still have it," I whispered.
"I didn't know what else to do," she cried softly.
"I kept thinking… if I returned it… if I gave it back… maybe they would stop."
"They won't."
My voice was so low it frightened even me.
"They never stop."
She stared at me, horrified.
"Why?" she whispered.
"What is this necklace?
What did he...
What did my husband get involved in?"
I took a breath.
A slow.
Steady.
Controlled breath.
And I let her see a fraction of who I really was.
"Your husband," I said quietly,
"stole something from the Russians."
Her eyes widened.
"T-the necklace?"
"No."
I shook my head.
"The necklace was the cover.
The distraction."
"Then what did he steal?"
I looked at her with a truth that could break the ground under her feet.
"Information, Rai.
Something dangerous.
Something worth killing over."
She pulled back an inch.
"Information about what?"
I hesitated.
Too early.
Too dangerous.
But I gave her a piece...
"About someone in the Russian mafia," I whispered,
"who I share blood with."
Her lips parted.
Her pupils dilated.
"Ethan…" she breathed.
"What are you saying?"
Before I could answer..
A loud crack echoed outside the farmhouse.
A gunshot.
Close.
Too close.
Raina clutched me.
"Ethan..!"
I pulled her behind me in one motion.
Mike staggered into the doorway.
"Sir," he hissed, "they're circling the house.
Two Russians.
Maybe more."
My chest went cold.
Raina's nails dug into my arm.
"Ethan..don't go out there..please.."
I turned back to her.
Her fear wasn't a weakness.
It was the thing that made me alive.
"Call him?" I whispered.
"lets have a chat, now is the time."
I lifted her chin.
"I can if I'm the one writing the ending."
And then...
I stepped outside.
Straight into the mouth of the Russian mafia.