Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Dominic’s POV
All information had been gathered by Julian, which I was proud of. But it turned out to be false fabricated scraps Mikael and Nico had planted. A trail designed to waste our time while they moved her somewhere else.
Julian had been sulking for the past hour.
He sat across from me at the long conference table, arms crossed, jaw clenched, pride clearly bleeding. I didn’t blame him. He’d worked around the clock, combed through every encrypted comm and drone sweep, only for it to lead us to an empty warehouse with burnt papers and the stench of gasoline.
They played us.
Aria was still out there. Alone. Injured. Caged.
And I was here, trapped in another room with too many men and not enough time.
I stood near the far wall, staring at the pinboard full of maps, satellite captures, handwritten notes, and photographs. Red string connected dozens of points that now felt pointless.
Every second she spent in that house was another second she’d suffer. And I’d seen the kind of suffering Mikael could
cause.
“Tell me something useful,” I muttered, eyes narrowing at the latest satellite image.
Luca stepped forward, flipping a file open. “There’s another property–hidden under an alias linked to one of Mikael’s dead shell companies. On the outskirts of the city. Forest border. Isolated.”
“Surveillance?” I asked.
“Not much. It’s shielded well. No drone coverage, no heat signatures. But a car matching the description of Nico’s was spotted outside that perimeter.”
Julian stirred but didn’t speak.
I looked back at the board, pulling the pushpin from the decoy location and shoving it into this new one with more force than necessary.
“We move by nightfall,” I said coldly. “Whether she’s there or not, we’re burning it down.”
The men in the room stilled for a moment. They knew what that meant. This wouldn’t be a quiet snatch–and–run. This
would be a storm.
Julian finally spoke, voice low. “They knew I was tracing them. They fed it to me too easily. I should’ve seen it.”
I turned to him, stepping close. “You did what I asked. And when we get her back, you’ll be the one to put a bullet in Nico’s skull, understood?”
His eyes lifted. A silent agreement passed between us.
Luca tapped the folder again, drawing my attention back. “I’ve got teams rerouting. Intel is thin, but our people in the underground say Mikael’s been stockpiling weapons. Possibly in preparation for a siege.”
“He knows I’m coming.”
Luca nodded. “And he’s betting you’ll break protocol to get her back.”
“I will.”
“Then he’s waiting to bleed you.”
I smiled. Cold. Sharp. “He’ll need a bigger knife.”
Julian stood and rolled his neck, his sulking replaced with a growing sense of control. “I’ll prep the vehicles.”
“Good,” I said. “No delays. We move in silence. All comms go dark once we’re within ten miles.”
Luca hovered for a second longer, fingers tapping on the edge of the table. Then he cleared his throat.
“Can I say something?”
I glanced at him, my voice flat. “Say it.”
He shifted his weight, shoulders tense, like he knew what he was about to say wouldn’t sit well. “You’re moving fast. Too fast. I’m not saying don’t go for her, but… is this war you’re walking into for love or for control?”
The air in the room went still.
Julian stopped mid–step behind him.
I stared at Luca. “You think I don’t know what I’m doing?”
Chapter 145
“I think,” Luca said carefully, “you haven’t stopped long enough to think at all.”
I didn’t reply immediately. Instead, I turned back to the table and stared down at the map. The red pin marking the possible location. The web of routes, escape paths, guard rotations. I stared until the lines blurred.
And I hated that he had a point.
Was I doing this because I loved her?
Or because I hated the idea of losing her?
Because I couldn’t stomach the thought of Nico touching what was mine?
My hands curled into fists.
When I’d first seen Aria, she was all fire and sharp edges. She didn’t flinch when I threatened her. Didn’t beg or crumble. She glared at me like I wasn’t a goddamn kingpin, like I was just another man she didn’t trust.
I liked that.
No–I craved it.
But somewhere along the line, between the late nights, the silence, the way she cried in her sleep and didn’t know I watched–something shifted.
It stopped being about control.
I saw her bruises. The brokenness she tried to cover with lip gloss and smart remarks. I saw the way she held everyone at arm’s length and how she flinched when someone said her name too gently.
And I wanted to be the one who made her feel safe again. Wanted her to sleep without fear. Laugh without faking it. But I didn’t know how to love in pieces. I only knew how to take.
So I caged her. I wrapped her in silk and steel, gave her everything except freedom.
And still… she looked at me like I was the enemy.
She kissed Nico.
I gritted my teeth, chest tightening.
But I left her first. I pushed her away before she could walk. I told myself it was to protect her, but really, it was because I didn’t trust myself not to destroy her.
And now she was gone.
In enemy hands.
Possibly broken.
Possibly hurt.
Possibly-
No.
My mind recoiled from that image.
I leaned both palms on the table, breathing hard.
Julian spoke up, voice softer than usual. “Dom. You love her. We all know it. But you’ve got to be sure this isn’t about proving something. If you’re going in there to get her back–do it because she’s your heart. Not your ego.”
I looked up at him, and for a second, I saw the boy again. Not the soldier. Not the strategist. Just the kid who used to drag me out of fights I didn’t start and patch up my bruises with stolen band–aids.
“I don’t know what this is,” I admitted.
It was the closest thing to a confession I’d given in years.
“Sometimes,” I said, voice low, “I think I want her to choose me freely. And other times, I want to keep her locked away where no one can ever touch her again.”
Julian was quiet for a moment. Then: “That’s not love.”
“I don’t think I was ever taught what love is supposed to feel like.”
“You weren’t,” he said without hesitation. “None of us were.”
Luca leaned against the doorframe now, arms crossed, watching me. “But maybe she’s the one who teaches you.” The silence stretched.
I finally straightened, running a hand over my face. My jaw felt tight, shoulders coiled like wire.
I wasn’t the guy who begged. Who hoped. I took what I wanted. Burned anything that got in the way. But Aria… she never
Chapter 145
stayed in one box long enough for me to understand where she fit.
She wasn’t mine.
But I wanted her to be.
I wanted to deserve her.
I reached for my gun and checked the clip. Fully loaded.
“She might hate me,” I said. “And I might deserve it.”
Julian didn’t argue. That said enough.
I clipped the holster into place and pulled on my gloves. The black leather fit tight against my skin, like armor. Then I looked between the two men who’d stayed with me through everything–every betrayal, every bloodbath. “Once we get her out,” I said quietly, “we’re disappearing. She gets to choose where we go. Who we become.” Julian arched a brow. “You sure you’re ready for that?”
“No.” I slid the comm unit into my ear. “But she’s worth trying for.”
Luca exhaled, and something like approval flickered across his face.
Then came the knock.
Three sharp raps on the steel door.
No one in this house knocked without reason.
Luca moved first, yanking it open with practiced caution. One of my men stepped in, face pale but eyes alert. His name was Cairo–lean, efficient, rarely spoke unless it mattered.
He handed Julian a folder. “A new location just pinged. Not on any of the official records.”
Julian’s brow furrowed as he opened the folder. “Where?”
“Old military outpost,” Cairo replied. “Technically off–grid, bought under a fake real estate firm linked to one of Mikael’s shell corps. No electricity usage for the last year–until forty minutes ago.”
I stepped forward and took the folder. Aerial shots. Paper trails. And the timestamp of power surging back to life. “She’s there,” I said without hesitation.
Julian nodded once. “It fits. Remote, isolated. If you wanted to hide a queen piece, that’s where you’d do it.”
“Security?”
“Unknown. We’ll assume heavy.”
Good.
I wanted heavy.
I wanted a reason to unleash everything I’d been holding back.
My voice came out steady. Cold. Final.
“We attack at dawn.”
I looked around the room, at every man present, then back at the board.
“Be cruel. Be wicked. Remember who we are.”
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