I use my own weight to plow through the stampede, fighting against the crowd as I force my way toward the front door.
The smoke is beginning to billow from the ceiling vents now, thick and black, forcing the entire manor to evacuate into the midnight air and effectively breaking up Luca's treasonous meeting before a single contract can be finalized.
From the speakers overhead, a robotic, piercing announcement cuts through the blaring alarm, ordering everyone to immediately evacuate the manor grounds. The emergency lights flash an ominous red against the marble walls as I finally reach the door, stepping into the crisp, cool midnight air.
Outside, the manicured lawns are a war zone of panic. Women kick off their heels and sprint across the grass, clutching designer handbags and flowing skirts. Men shout over one another as they race toward the circular driveway, desperate to reach their vehicles before the fire trucks seal off the gates.
Valerio is leaning against the car, waiting for me. The moment he spots me, he pushes off the vehicle, circles to the driver’s side, and slips behind the wheel. I open the rear door and slide into the back seat beside Sienna. She refuses to look at me.
The door slams shut, cutting out the screaming crowd, and the tires immediately squeal against the asphalt as Valerio guns the engine, driving us back out through the iron gates and into the quiet safety of the dark.
We’re heading straight to the Caruso estate, where I’ll drop Sienna off before heading back to my own territory to assess the fallout of tonight's aborted deal.
It’s been more than ten minutes, and the interior of the car is a tomb. No one has spoken a single word. The silence is heavy, suffocating, and thick with the lingering scent of smoke clinging to our clothes.
Valerio keeps his eyes locked on the dark road ahead, driving with a precision. Just as he turns the sedan through the gates of her father’s estate, the quiet snaps.
"Did you do it?" Sienna asks suddenly.
I freeze, my fingers stalling against the fabric of my trousers. I know exactly what she’s asking. I’ve never been ashamed of my methods, and I’ve never apologized for the wreckage I leave in my wake, but something about the sharp, piercing tone of her voice has me freezing up.
I pull my mask back into place, my face completely unreadable as I look over at her. "Do what?"
"Start the fire, Alessandro," she commands, turning her body fully toward me, her eyes flashing in the dim light of the dashboard. The lights also catch her hair and it looks like there’s fire in the strands. Beautiful.
“Did you do it?"
I feel Valerio’s heavy gaze immediately flick to me through the rearview mirror, tracking my reaction. I ignore him entirely, leaning my head back against the leather seat as I lock eyes with her. "Yes. I did. What’s the issue?"
"What’s the issue?" Sienna echoes, her voice cracking with a furious heat.
She stares at me like I've lost my mind, her chest heaving beneath the champagne silk of her gown. "You endangered hundreds of people! There was a stampede, Alessandro. Women were being crushed, the smoke was blinding—anyone could have died in there! You are a monster."
She yanks her gaze away from me, shaking her head as a raw, bitter laugh slips past her lips. "I don't want this. I don't want to marry a man who is that casually cruel. I hate this world, Alessandro. I hate every single part of it. I just want to be normal."
I stare at her, my jaw tightening as her words strike a raw, dark nerve inside me. I lean forward, closing the distance between us until she's forced to look at the harsh, unyielding reality in my eyes.
"Normal?" I rumble, my voice dropping into a dangerous, low register that commands the space between us. "Look around you, Sienna. Look at the bloodline you carry, the name you bear, and the man sitting right next to you. You were born into the elite of this syndicate. You are a Caruso, and in less than two weeks, you will be a Gallo."
I reach out, my thumb roughly catching her chin to hold her gaze, preventing her from turning away from the truth. "You can wish for a quiet life all you want, sweetheart, but you are anything but normal. You belong in the dark with me."
Valerio parks the car in front of her house, the engine purring to a silent halt. The second the tires stop moving, Sienna wrenches her chin from my hand with a sharp, angry twist of her head and turns to push the door open.
She thinks she can just walk away from me after a conversation like that. Wrong.
Before she can slide out, I reach across the seat, wrapping her glossy ponytail tightly around my fist. With a firm, unyielding tug, I yank her head back, forcing her to look at me. She gasps, her eyes flashing with pure rage, and her free hand fires out in an angry blur, aiming to slap the shit out of my mouth.
I predict the move easily. I snap my other hand up, capturing her wrist mid-air, and yank her body flush against mine. Before she can scream, I slam my mouth down onto hers, claiming her lips in a brutal, punishing kiss.
God, she drives me completely insane.
Right now, feeling the heat radiating off her skin, I want to tear that champagne-gold silk to shreds. I want to do the nastiest, filthiest, wickedest things to her right here on the leather.
But we’re parked right in front of her family's house, and Valerio is sitting right up front. I can't do a damn thing. I’d have to kill him if he heard a single one of her sweet, broken moans.
Those sounds belong to me alone.
No one else gets a piece of her.
