Chapter 8 - INTO THE LION’S DEN
The kiss was fierce, desperate, and filled with a raw, consuming hunger.
It wasn't a gentleman's kiss; it was the kiss of a man who had walked through hell and found his salvation. I gasped into his mouth, my hands tangling into his thick hair, pulling him closer as the world outside melted away. All the fear, the confusion, and the chaos of the last twenty-four hours vanished, replaced by the white-hot heat of his touch.
When he finally broke the kiss, both of us were breathing heavily, our foreheads resting together in the dim light of the fire.
"If this war continues, none of us will ever be safe," Lorenzo murmured, his hands resting gently on my waist. "The Moretti family will not stop until Leo and I are dead."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
"I'm going to end it," Lorenzo said, his voice dropping into a ice-cold tone of absolute determination. "Don Moretti has invited the heads of all five syndicates to an emergency summit tonight at his coastal estate. He thinks he won. He thinks his traitors killed me tonight."
"It's a trap!" I panicked, clutching his jacket. "You can't go there alone!"
"I'm not going alone," Lorenzo said, a dark, calculating smile touching his lips. "I'm going with his worst nightmare. I'm going with the truth."
"What do you mean?"
Lorenzo pulled a small, encrypted USB drive from his pocket. "The traitor's phone contained all the financial records of the Moretti family—including proof that Don Moretti was the one who ordered the bombing that killed Elena fourteen months ago, violating the syndicate council's peace treaty. If I present this to the other four bosses at the summit, they will turn on Moretti in a heartbeat."
"Then let your men deliver it!" I pleaded. "Don't walk into his stronghold!"
"The council demands the head of the family be present to execute a rogue don," Lorenzo explained, taking my face in his hands. "I have to do this, Mara. For Leo. For Elena. And for you."
"Then I'm coming with you," I said firmly.
Lorenzo frowned. "Absolute not. It's too dangerous—"
"Moretti thinks Elena is dead," I interrupted, my eyes burning with defiance. "Imagine what happens when he sees her identical twin walk through those doors beside you. It will shatter his composure before you even open your mouth. You need me, Lorenzo."
Lorenzo stared at me, astonished by my courage. For a long moment, he didn't speak. Then, he let out a low, breathless laugh, his dark eyes brimming with pride.
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"You truly are nothing like your sister," he whispered, kissing my forehead softly. "Very well. But you wear bulletproof armor under your dress, and you stay behind my back at all times."
"Deal," I said.
