The clock read 11:02 PM.
Raven stood at the window of Dante's penthouse, naked beneath one of his shirts, watching the streets below.
She hadn't gone home in two nights.
She couldn't.
Because if she did, she wouldn't come back.
Because if she did, she'd have to finish what she started.
But tonight... tonight she didn't feel like a weapon.
She felt like a woman who had made the biggest mistake of her life.
Behind her, Dante's voice cut the silence.
"You gave them everything?"
She turned. He was shirtless again, gun holstered at his back. The muscles in his jaw pulsed with something between restraint and rage.
"I gave them what they needed to justify the mission," Raven said carefully. "Not the full picture."
"Meaning?"
"I protected you more than I should have."
His eyes burned through her. "Don't do me favors, Evelyn."
That name still sounded foreign from his lips.
"You want the truth?" she said.
"I want everything."
She stepped closer. "Then here it is. I was supposed to take you down. But now I don't know how to breathe without you."
🖤 11:13 PM – Inferno's Underground VaultLuca watched the screens from the private surveillance room, teeth grinding.
"They're watching," he muttered. "Van parked across the street. Russian plates."
Dante appeared beside him, eyes locked on the grainy footage.
"How many?"
"Three we can see. More inside. Waiting for the go."
Dante folded his arms. "They think I'm sleeping."
"You're not?"
He smiled darkly. "Not tonight."
He pulled his phone out and texted one word:
"Burn."
Luca blinked. "You serious?"
"I want the Bratva's surveillance truck off the map in the next ten minutes."
"And the girl?"
Dante paused.
"Anyone touches her," he said coldly, "dies screaming."
🕯️ 11:24 PM – Rooftop BalconyRaven sat on the edge of the penthouse rooftop, legs dangling off the edge, cigarette trembling between her fingers.
She'd barely smoked in years.
But something about tonight begged for old sins.
"Do you regret it?"
She turned.
Dante had joined her, suit jacket now replaced with a black tactical vest.
Gun strapped to his thigh.
She stared. "You're going to war."
"I was born in war."
He sat beside her, surprisingly quiet.
"You never answered my question," she said.
"What question?"
"Do you regret letting me in?"
He didn't look at her.
Just exhaled.
Then: "Yes."
Her chest cracked.
"But I'd do it again."
She blinked rapidly.
Then whispered, "I never wanted to fall for you."
"I never gave you a choice."
He stood and extended a hand.
"Come with me."
🩸 11:37 PM – The Inferno Loading DockThey moved like shadows.
Three men.
Black masks. Russian accents. Suppressed pistols.
They slipped through the back hallway, past the emergency exit, unaware of the red laser already targeting the lead man's head.
BANG.
The first man dropped.
The second turned—too late.
BANG.
Blood splattered the wall.
The third tried to run.
A figure emerged from the smoke—tall, silent, and deadly.
Dante.
He didn't even raise his voice.
"Welcome to Hell."
BANG.
🖤 11:59 PM – The ConfessionThey were back in the vault now.
Not for sex.
Not for punishment.
But for truth.
For something rawer than either.
Raven stood with her hands pressed to the mirror, breathing hard, Dante behind her.
He hadn't touched her yet.
He was just watching.
"You're still holding something back," he said.
Her voice was tight. "I told you everything."
"No," he whispered, coming closer. "You told me what you thought I'd forgive."
She turned around.
Eyes locked.
"I was engaged once," she said.
Dante's brows lifted.
"He was one of yours. A soldier. Dominic Vale."
His face darkened.
"He died three years ago," Raven continued. "Killed during a crossfire your crew initiated. He wasn't supposed to be there. He was off-duty."
"I remember," Dante said grimly.
"You should," she whispered. "Because I joined the mission because of that."
The silence between them stretched like wire.
Then—
"You wanted revenge."
"I wanted justice."
Dante stepped closer, caging her against the mirror.
"You think you have it now?"
She shook her head.
"I think I have you."
He kissed her.
It wasn't gentle.
It wasn't soft.
It was punishment.
And it tasted like mercy.
💣 12:04 AM – ExplosionThe Bratva van erupted in flames two blocks away.
Smoke painted the sky black.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
From the penthouse balcony, Dante and Raven watched the chaos unfold.
"They're going to send more," she murmured.
"Let them."
He turned to her.
"You're mine now. There's no going back."
She swallowed hard.
"I'm not afraid of dying."
He leaned down, mouth brushing her ear.
"You should be afraid of how far I'll go to keep you alive."