3:03 AM , Pier 9
Sirens bleed through fog. My eyes squinted. Red and blue lights on Alessio's bloodied face. Red light attacking my neck with three marks which told whom I belonged to.
Car doors opened. Feds swarm. Agent shouts " Hands! On your head , De Luca!"
Alessio didn't move. Still holding my hand with the bullet casing between them.
He kissed me for the last time.
The first thing they took was his hands.
Zia steps between Alessio and rifles. Shotgun still warm from Matteo. Cold.
" You arrest my nephew , you arrest 40 years of this city. Hope your pension's worth it."
Officers ignored and grabbed his arms.
He didn't resist. That scared me more than violence.
One cop shoved him toward the cruiser.
" Alessio De Luca , you are under arrest for re–"
" Careful," Alessio said softly.
The officer stopped. Not because Alessio raised his voice.
Because he didn't.
The fog shifted behind them as De Luca men slowly appeared from the darkness. Silent. Armed. Watching.
Then Zia Maria stepped forward.
Her veil was ruined from the rain. Mascara stained beneath her eyes. But somehow she looked more terrifying like that.
" You touch my nephew again," she said quietly. " And you won't see the next morning."
The older detective stared at he ," Is this a threat?"
" No," Zia replied. Calm . " I'm foreseeing your future."
I almost smiled despite the panic choking her lungs.
Another siren wailed closer now.
Too many.
Someone had called everyone.
Alessio's jaw tightened. He tooked at me. Long enough to say everything he wouldn't say aloud.
Run.
I shook my head instantly.
No.
The detective noticed. Smiled. " Cute," he murmured. " Your wife's loyal."
Wife.
That word always hits hard in the chest.
Alessio stepped closer despite the officers gripping him. " Listen to me carefully, Principessa."
" No. "
" Adriana. "
That stopped my breathing.
He only used her name when something inside him broke.
" They want me, " he said calmly. " Not you."
" That's the problem. "
Rain started falling harder. Cold drops mixed with blood on his collar. One of his stitches had reopened beneath the black shirt.
I saw it immediately.
So did Zia.
Zia cursed him in Italian and grabbed Alessio's arm. " You are bleeding again."
" I've had worse."
" Not tonight."
The detective looked irritated now. Nervous too. Too many armed men. Too many witnesses. Too much power standing in one place.
" You are coming. "
Several De Luca men laughed under their breath.
One even lit a cigarette.
The detective's face reddened. " You think this is a joke? "
" No." Alessio said. " I think you came here without any permission."
Silence.
The detective stepped forward aggressively. " Your era is over, De Luca. "
Alessio smiled again.
Slowly.
Almost pitying him.
" My grandfather hear same line . Then my father . Now you are saying it to me while standing on a pier my family owns. "
The detective's hand moved towards his gun.
Every De Luca weapon lifted instantly.
Click.
Click.
Click.
My heart slammed against my ribs for a second.
One wrong movement and this harbour would become a graveyard.
" Enough! " I shouted.
Shock flickered across several faces.
Including Alessio's.
I walked between them before anyone could stop me. Rain soaked my hair instantly. The police stared at me. So did the De Luca soldiers. I looked directly at the detective.
"You don't want a war tonight, " I said.
" And your husband does? "
"He wants survival. There's a difference. "
The detective studied my face carefully . " You are Adriana De Luca."
The name sounded strange from strangers.
Still too new.
Still dangerous.
" Yes."
You understand your husband is a criminal?"
Behind me , Alessio laughed once. Low and dark.
I ignored him.
" I understand, " I said carefully. " That you arrived thirty minutes after a public shootout. Which means either your department is incompetent or someone wanted us dead before you arrived."
The detective's expression shifted slightly.
Good.
That hit somewhere.
Alessio watched me like I'd lit the entire harbour on fire by myself.
One younger officer suddenly approached the detective fast. Whispered something urgently into his ear.
The detective went still.
Then pale.
Very pale.
" What? " I asked sharply.
The detective looked at Alessio differently now.
Not victorious.
Afraid.
" There's been another attack, " he said slowly.
Zia stiffened.
" Where? " Alessio demanded.
No answer.
The detective hesitated too long.
Alessio moved so fast the officers barely reacted. He grabbed the detective by the throat and slammed him against the cruiser.
" Where? "
"Villa De Luca!"
Everything stopped.
I felt the blood leavingmy body.
The hidden house.
Impossible.
Nobody knew about it.
Nobody except–
My thoughts snapped towards the SUV instantly.
Towards the driver.
Towards the traitor.
Alessio realized it at the same exact second.
His eyes turned murderous.
Not angry anymore.
Not human.
The detective choked against Alessio's grip.
" Your house is burning. "
Zia made a broken sound behind them.
Alessio released the detective violently.
" Move," he ordered his men.
Nobody argued.
Chaos exploded instantly.
Doors slammed open. Weapops loaded. Engines roared alive through the fog.
I grabbed Alessio's arm before he entered the SUV .
" Your stitches– "
" I don't care."
" You could die."
His gaze snapped to me.
" Then I die at home. "
That one shattered something inside me.
Zia Maria climbed into the vehicle beside them , shotgun still in her lap like a queen marching toward war.
Rain hammered the windshield as the convoy tore through the sleeping city.
Nobody spoke a word for almost five full minutes.
Only sirens behind them.
Then I noticed it.
Blood.
Too much blood.
Alessio's hand pressed harder against his side now. His breathing uneven.
I grabbed his wrist. " You are reopening everything."
" Later."
" There may not be a later."
Finally he looked at me.
Exhausted. Furious. Terrified.
" For ten years," he said quietly. " Everyone I have ever loved has ended up buried."
My throat tightened.
" I will burn this city alive before I bury you too."
Silence filled the SUV after that.
Even Zia looked away.
Then suddenly–
BOOM.
The ground shook.
Ahead of them , red flames exploded into the sky.
Villa De Luca burned against the night like hell itself.