As we race away in the car, a storm of anger and fear swells inside me. How could she be so reckless? How could she risk everything like that?
When the empty road stretches before us, I slam on the brakes, my heart pounding in my chest. I throw the...
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The past two days had been a relentless pursuit. Ever since Chiara’s idea led Matteo to uncover a trail, the search for Gio intensified. There was finally a clue—something solid—leading us to a man Gio met before tailing the FBI informant who ended up dead. I ordered my men to track him down immediately. The air in the house felt charged with tension, but somehow, amidst the chaos, Chiara managed to keep me grounded.
That night, the world outside faded, and I found myself holding her close in bed, the familiar warmth of her body pressed against mine. Her head rested on my chest, her breath steady, and for the first time in days, I felt a brief moment of peace. She shifted slightly, tilting her head up to look at me.
“What’s the feud between you and Gio?” she asked, her voice soft, but her curiosity evident.
I stiffened for a moment, my mind already pulling back to memories I had tried to bury. But there was no avoiding it. Chiara deserved to know the truth, and in some strange way, I wanted her to know. I wanted her to understand why Gio’s return had shaken everything to the core.
I took a deep breath and began, my voice rough with emotion. “Gio and I… we weren’t always enemies. He wasn’t always this monster he’s become.” My mind drifted to the past, and as I spoke, it felt like I was reliving it all over again.
---
**Flashback** The Romano mansion in Florence stood tall and grand, nestled in the Italian countryside. Vincent Romano, the former boss, had been more than just a mafia leader to us. He had adopted Gio and me, taking us in as his sons after we proved our loyalty to the family. We were close, like family, bonded by blood, power, and loyalty.
One evening, the sun was setting behind the mansion’s stone walls, casting long shadows across the grounds. Gio and I were by Vincent’s side, discussing the future of the family. But then, everything changed in an instant. A rival mob launched an unexpected attack on the mansion, and chaos erupted.
Bullets flew, men screamed, and blood stained the ground. I can still hear the deafening sound of gunfire, the way it cut through the air, sharp and merciless. We fought our way through the chaos, but we were outnumbered. In the end, they got to Vincent. They shot him, right there in front of us, his lifeless body collapsing in a heap.
I remember the way Gio’s eyes darkened as he knelt beside Vincent’s body, cradling him like a child lost in a storm. The bond we shared with Vincent ran deep, deeper than blood. The world blurred in those moments. Rage surged in both of us, and we retaliated with everything we had. Every man responsible for the attack fell at our hands, one by one.
All but one.
One man managed to escape, and I was the first to give chase. Gio, without hesitation, followed close behind me. The hunt was furious and brutal, our hearts filled with vengeance. I remember the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the sound of our footsteps pounding against the ground as we pursued the final attacker through the woods.
But when we finally caught up to him, it wasn’t just the enemy we found. Lying in the dirt, a few feet away from the attacker, was Aurora.
Aurora, Gio’s fiancée. She was the love of his life, the one person who made him believe there was something more outside of this violent world. But in that moment, as I stood there staring at her lifeless body, a bullet wound in her heart, everything shattered. Aurora was dead. The woman who made Gio human—who made him believe in a life beyond this—was gone.
Gio dropped to his knees beside her, his hands trembling as he touched her cold skin. His eyes, once full of warmth when he looked at her, turned into something hollow, something terrifying. For days, he was silent, his grief festering into something darker.
He didn’t just mourn her. He became obsessed with revenge. One by one, he tracked down anyone he thought was responsible for her death. His rage consumed him until one day, he brought the man—the one who escaped—to our villa.
I remember that moment like it was yesterday. The man was tied up, bloodied and bruised, begging for his life. Gio stood over him like a judge, his eyes cold and merciless. The man claimed that I was behind Aurora’s death. He said I believed Aurora made Gio weak, that I had her killed to keep him sharp.
It was a lie, a twisted, cruel lie, but Gio… he believed it. He didn’t even hesitate. Without a second thought, he shot the man in the head, silencing him forever.
I tried to reason with him. “Gio, that’s not true. I loved Aurora like a sister. I would never—”
But he didn’t hear me. His eyes, darkened to near black, locked on mine, filled with a hatred I’d never seen before. His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion as he spoke. “I won’t kill you, Gabriel. But I’ll make you suffer. I’ll give you the same pain I feel by taking the most precious person from your life.”
And with that, he walked away. The brother I had once known was gone. In his place stood a man consumed by vengeance, a man who would stop at nothing to destroy me.
**End of Flashback**
---
I shook my head, pulling myself back to the present. Chiara’s hand rested on my chest, her eyes wide with shock and sadness. "That’s the last time I saw him. Until now."
She blinked, processing everything I had told her. “So… Gio’s after you. He’s… he’s trying to take me away from you.”
I nodded, my heart heavy. “Yes. He’s playing a game, and the stakes are you.”
Chiara swallowed hard, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she looked up at me, her eyes filled with something I didn’t deserve—trust. “I trust you, Gabriel. You’ll protect me. I know you will.”
I cupped her face in my hands, my chest tightening with emotion. “I’d die before I let anything happen to you, Chiara. I swear it. I’ll keep you safe, no matter what. No one will take you from me, especially not Gio.”
She leaned into my touch, her lips brushing mine in a soft, tender kiss. "I know, Gabriel. I believe you."
And in that moment, as I held her close, I knew that no matter what happened, no matter how dark the road ahead might be, I would protect her. She wasn’t just my lover, or my tuono. She was my reason to fight, my reason to survive. And no one—*no one*—was going to take her from me.
