Sienna was starting to think that the walls around the property were stronger than what she feared.
The days were calm, meals were enjoyed in the bright dining room, she took protected walks in the garden, and the evenings were quiet, with Dante acting like he wasn't watching over her and Lorenzo acting like he wasn't always watching her.
It wasn't how things usually were, but it felt secure.
And feeling secure was a rare treat for her.
She had even begun to sleep through the entire night again.
This is why the attack felt like the world reminding her that she couldn't have peace for very long.
It all happened very quickly.
Too quickly.
She was walking back from the training area with two guards at her side, a normal thing, and nothing seemed out of place.
The air felt nice, and dust slowly floated up from the stone path.
She was halfway to the main building when the guards suddenly became tense.
"Ms. Alexis, please stay behind us."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Why? What's going on?"
The sound of gunfire broke the silence.
It was close.
Too close.
Sienna stopped moving as the guards pushed her down behind a stone column.
"Stay down!" one of them yelled.
Her hands were shaking really badly. She heard footsteps, running, and then a loud curse from one of the guards.
"Two enemies. They're trying to get to her!"
She gasped for air.
No. No, not again. Not running away. Not hiding. Not being hunted like an animal.
The guards shot back, yelling orders into their radios.
More shots were fired. Branches snapped. People crashed through bushes.
Then a voice loudly called her name.
"Sienna!"
It was Dante.
He ran toward her with an intensity she'd never seen before.
He slid down next to her, using his body to protect her.
"Are you hurt?" He held her face in his hands, looking worried.
"I, I'm okay," she said quietly, but her vision was blurry. "Dante, what is happening?"
"Someone is trying to take you," he mumbled, his jaw tight. "They were waiting behind the hill."
"For me?"
"Of course, for you." His voice broke. "Who else would they be here for?"
Before she could think about it, Lorenzo was on her other side, looking crazy.
"Did they hurt you?" he asked. "Sienna, did they hurt you?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm fine."
Lorenzo breathed out heavily, shaking with anger.
He put his hand on her cheek, gently touching her skin as if to make sure she was really there.
Matteo's voice cut through the chaos as he got there with more guards.
"Secure the area! Get the injured people inside!"
He got down beside her, quickly looking her up and down.
"Can you stand up?"
"Yes," she said quietly.
Dante helped her stand, keeping his arm around her like he thought another bullet would hit her at any moment.
Once they were inside, away from the noise, Sienna finally felt her legs give way.
Dante caught her before she fell, holding her tightly.
"It's okay," he whispered in her hair. "You're safe. I've got you."
She held onto him tightly, breathing heavily. "This is happening because of me."
"No," he said strongly. "This is happening because of them."
Matteo came inside, closing the door. "They weren't Micassos."
Everyone looked at him.
"How do you know that?" Lorenzo asked quickly.
Matteo spoke right away. "How they fight. The vehicle they had.
What their symbol was. It was a different group trying to get money for her by selling her."
Sienna was shocked as she looked at him. "Sell me?"
Matteo spoke in a softer way, but what he said was still true.
"Once people knew your name, many understood that taking you would help them control us. Or get them a big payment."
Her insides hurt a lot.
She made herself swallow. "So… everyone wants to get me?"
"No," Dante said very quickly. "Not everyone. Only fools who want to die."
But she could see what was really happening by looking at Matteo.
It was not going to end.
This was just the start.
They switched her room later that night. It wasn't a more protected part of the house. It wasn't a secret place.
It was where the brothers lived.
Sienna stood in the hall, looking at the door Dante pointed to.
"This is… where you live."
"Yes," Dante answered. "And Lorenzo also lives here."
She blinked her eyes. "Isn't that… a little too much?"
Lorenzo stood in front of her, and his eyes were softer than usual. "Someone tried to take you. That will not happen again. Never."
"I just can't live in your rooms."
"You can," he said plainly. "And you will. At least until we get rid of this danger."
She looked back and forth between them, at two men she never thought she would care about, and now they were looking at her like she was the most important thing to them.
"This is too much," she said quietly.
"Everything is already going crazy."
Dante spoke more quietly. "It's already gone crazy. At least this way, you will be safe."
Sienna didn't know what she could say to that.
She went into the room slowly, with Dante following behind her like her shadow.
The door made a soft clicking sound.
She suddenly couldn't breathe again, but this time it wasn't because of danger, but because she understood the truth and it felt heavy.
She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands were shaking.
"It's my fault," she whispered. "I should not be here."
Dante went down on one knee in front of her, and lifted her face up.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Don't say it's your fault when someone else is violent."
Her lips shook. "If I weren't here, they wouldn't be,"
"They would come no matter what," he said softly. "In a different way, with a different reason. That's how our world is. Not yours."
She shook her head. "It's becoming mine. That's what I'm afraid of."
Dante breathed out quietly, and moved some of her hair away from her face. "I know."
Lorenzo came to sit next to her on the bed.
He didn't touch her, but he was close enough for her to feel how warm he was.
"You think we would be better if you weren't here," he said in a quiet voice.
She did not say anything.
"You're wrong."
She looked up at him, and her eyes were filled with tears. "Lorenzo,"
"You helped us," he said. "You made this house feel like people lived here again.
We were just staying alive before. Now we're really living."
She tried not to cry. "You're making it harder."
"Good," he said quietly. "Stay here."
"But I'm making you get more involved in a war," she whispered.
"You saw what happened today. That was only the first time they will try."
Dante's jaw got tight. "We've been through worse."
"But not because of me."
"No." He spoke softly. "Because of what we decided to do."
She glanced between them, her heart hurting badly. "I don't want any of you to go away."
Lorenzo's fingers touched hers very gently. "You will not go through that."
"You cannot be sure of that."
"Yes, I can," he replied. "And that is what I am doing."
Matteo walked in quietly then, his arms crossed, and his face hard to read.
"I need to talk to her by ourselves."
Dante and Lorenzo looked at each other, but they both got up without a fight.
Dante squeezed her hand before he left.
Lorenzo stopped in the doorway, his eyes staying on her for one last second.
Matteo sat down next to her, not too close, and not too far away.
"You look like you have to carry all of this by yourself," he told her quietly.
"Don't I have to?"
"No," he said back. "You do not need to."
She took a breath. "Matteo… I did not want this to happen."
"I understand."
His calm demeanor made her feel tight in her chest. He was not upset. That made her feel worse somehow.
"Today was like a warning," Matteo continued.
"Our enemies feel brave enough to get close to where we live. That means they are getting ready to do something bigger."
Her stomach dropped. "Because of me."
"A little bit," he said, being honest. "But mostly because we have become too strong. You just make it easier to start something."
She looked down, moving her fingers in her lap. "I don't know how to make things better."
"You cannot," Matteo said simply. "Your only job is to stay alive."
"That sounds like being trapped."
"That is better than being dead."
She closed her eyes tight. "I do not want to bring fighting to your home."
"You did not," Matteo said. "The fighting was already here. You just changed the reason why we fight."
His honesty broke something inside of her.
He stood up and touched her shoulder.
"Get some rest tonight. Things will be harder tomorrow."
After he left, Sienna sat by herself for a long, quiet moment.
Footsteps came back after a few minutes.
Dante. Then Lorenzo.
They did not say anything.
They did not ask anything.
They just sat with her, one on each side, their warmth making her feel safe in a way that no
thing else could.
She leaned into them, feeling tired, overwhelmed, and scared.
And really, really not wanting to go away.
Because she knew now very clearly and sadly:
She loved them.
Both of them.
And that love might ruin everything.
But she could not leave.
Not anymore.