Adriana's pov
The silence lasted only a few seconds.
Then—
BOOM!
The windows shattered.
I screamed as Alessio yanked me down, covering my body with his.
Glass rained over us. Gunshots followed.
One after another.
Loud.
Relentless.
The walls shook with every impact.
"Stay down!" Alessio barked.
His voice was different now.
Cold.
Deadly.
The man I knew had disappeared.
The Don had taken his place.
I crawled behind the marble counter as another bullet tore through the wall above my head.
"Alessio!"
"I'm fine!"
He grabbed a gun from beneath his jacket and fired toward the windows.
A scream came from outside.
Then silence.
For half a second.
"More are coming," he muttered.
"How many?"
His eyes met mine.
"Enough."
My heart hammered.
But I wasn't afraid.
Not for myself.
I was afraid for him.
Footsteps thundered outside.
Dozens of them.
Alessio checked his magazine.
Then he looked at me.
"Adriana."
"I know."
"No."
He moved closer.
"If anything happens to me—"
"Don't."
His jaw tightened.
"Listen to me."
"No."
"Adriana—"
"I said no!"
I grabbed the front of his shirt.
"You don't get to stand there and talk like you're going to die."
His expression softened for the briefest moment.
Then his thumb brushed the blood on my cheek.
"You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
His eyes darkened.
"Anyone who touched you is going to regret breathing."
Despite everything, my heart skipped.
"Then make sure you stay alive long enough to punish them."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Bossy."
"Still alive, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately."
I almost laughed.
Another explosion shook the house.
The doors burst open.
Men flooded inside.
Alessio pushed me behind him.
The first attacker raised his gun.
Alessio fired.
The man dropped.
Another came from the side.
I grabbed the knife from the table and drove it into his shoulder before he could reach Alessio.
He cried out.
Alessio turned.
For a second, he simply stared at me.
"What?"
His lips curved.
"My wife."
"Focus!"
He laughed under his breath before firing again.
The room became chaos.
Gunshots.
Screams.
Broken glass.
Blood staining the marble floor.
Men poured through every entrance.
And Alessio and I fought like we'd been doing this together our entire lives.
He fired toward the doorway.
I ducked beneath a man's arm and slammed my elbow into his ribs.
He stumbled.
I kicked his weapon away.
Another man grabbed me from behind.
Before I could react, Alessio was there.
He tore the man away from me and slammed him against the wall.
"Touch her again."
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
The man tried to raise his gun.
Alessio's fist connected with his face.
Once.
Twice.
The man collapsed.
I stared at Alessio.
"Are you okay?"
He looked at me as if I'd asked the stupidest question imaginable.
"I'm fine."
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"You're bleeding."
"So are you."
I touched my cheek.
My fingers came away red.
He caught my wrist.
His eyes searched my face.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Tell me the truth."
"I'm fine, Alessio."
He exhaled.
Then pulled me against him.
Right there.
In the middle of the war.
His forehead rested against mine.
"For one second," he whispered, "I thought I'd lost you."
My chest tightened.
"You won't."
His fingers curled around mine.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
A gunshot exploded behind us.
Alessio pushed me down.
The bullet grazed his shoulder.
"Alessio!"
He stumbled.
I caught him.
Blood immediately soaked through his shirt.
My entire body went cold.
"You're hurt."
"I've had worse."
"Don't you dare."
I looked toward the shooter.
Something inside me snapped.
I picked up Alessio's fallen gun.
The man froze.
I fired.
He dropped.
Alessio stared at me.
"You just—"
"Saved your life."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Apparently you did."
"Don't sound so surprised."
"I'm impressed."
Another wave of men stormed through the doors.
Alessio straightened despite the blood pouring down his arm.
His expression hardened.
"Stay behind me."
I loaded another magazine.
"No."
He looked at me.
"Adriana."
"We're in this together, remember?"
His eyes held mine.
Then he nodded.
"Together."
We moved. Side by side.
He fired. I fired.
He ducked.
I covered him.
A man rushed toward me with a blade.
I barely managed to block the first strike.
The second cut my arm.
Pain flashed through me.
I kicked him backward.
Before he could attack again, Alessio shot the weapon from his hand.
The man stared at the shattered blade.
Then at Alessio.
Then at me.
Alessio stepped forward.
"You should've run."
The man smiled.
"You think this is a war?"
Alessio's expression didn't change.
"This is only the beginning."
The man laughed.
"You don't understand."
He spat blood onto the floor.
"They aren't coming for your territory."
His eyes moved toward me.
"They're coming for her."
Everything inside me went still.
Alessio's face changed.
"Who?"
The man smiled wider.
"The person who started this war."
A gunshot rang from somewhere above us.
The man's head snapped backward.
He collapsed.
Dead.
I stared at the body.
"Someone killed him.."
Alessio looked toward the ceiling.
His gun rose instantly.
"Everyone down!"
The lights went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
Then came the sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Coming from upstairs.
Alessio grabbed my hand.
I tightened my fingers around his.
"Someone is still here," I whispered.
"I know."
"Who?"
His gaze stayed fixed on the darkness.
"I don't know."
A figure appeared at the top of the staircase.
Just for a second.
Then vanished.
Alessio raised his gun.
"Show yourself!"
Silence.
Then a voice echoed through the house.
"You wanted a war, Don De Luca?"
A pause.
"You've got one."
My blood ran cold.
The voice continued.
"And this time…"
A red laser appeared on my chest.
"…she's the battlefield."
Alessio stepped in front of me without hesitation.
His body became my shield.
His voice was low.
Deadly.
"Then you just made the biggest mistake of your life."
And somewhere in the darkness—
someone laughed.