Florence had never felt more like a trap.
Hayden moved through the villa like a soldier again — calculating, sharp, and utterly focused. His phone buzzed constantly. Men came and went at his orders. Every move he made was deliberate, every glance over his shoulder just a little too sharp.
Ana watched him from the doorway of his office, wearing black leggings and a fitted sweater that clung to her like second skin. Her hair was damp from a quick shower, tied back messily. She looked like someone who hadn't slept, because she hadn't.
Neither of them had.
"You trust them?" she asked as she stepped inside.
Hayden glanced up from the plans spread across the table. Maps. Building layouts. Security rotations.
"No," he said bluntly. "But I trust that they fear me more than they love my father. That buys us time."
Ana walked over and touched the edge of the table. Her fingers brushed over the blueprint of Moretti's Rome estate.
"You really think we can take him down?"
Hayden leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "Not in one blow. But I can hit where it hurts. His accounts. His ports. His men. Make him bleed."
"And then?"
"And then I kill him."
The words landed like a blade between them.
Ana didn't flinch.
"I want to help," she said.
Hayden's jaw tensed. "You are helping. By staying safe."
She raised an eyebrow. "That's not your choice to make."
Hayden stepped closer, his voice low. "You think I care about control anymore? Ana, I'm not trying to cage you. I'm trying to keep you breathing."
"Then stop treating me like glass." She pressed a hand to his chest. "If we're in this together, then we're *in* it. All the way. No walls."
For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Something unguarded. Then it was gone.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him. Hard.
"You want to play in the dark?" he murmured against her neck. "Then don't cry when it consumes you."
Ana didn't back away.
"Maybe I've already been consumed," she whispered.
And then his mouth was on hers — brutal, hungry, desperate. She gasped against him as he lifted her onto the desk, sweeping maps and documents to the floor in one rough motion.
"I should be planning a hit," he growled.
"Then consider this your motivation."
His hands roamed under her sweater, hot and impatient. She wasn't sure what scared her more — the way he touched her like she was oxygen, or the way she needed him just as fiercely.
The office door creaked open behind them.
Hayden's gun was in his hand before the intruder had fully stepped inside.
"Boss," the man said, holding up both hands. "Sorry. Just urgent."
Hayden didn't lower the weapon.
"Speak."
"It's… Leo."
Ana stiffened.
Hayden's right-hand man. His childhood friend.
"What about him?" Hayden asked, eyes narrowing.
The guard swallowed. "He was seen in Rome. Meeting your father."
The silence that followed was deadly.
Ana felt the chill first, even though Hayden hadn't moved.
When he finally spoke, his voice was ice. "You sure?"
"Yes. Got it from two sources."
Hayden holstered the gun slowly.
"Where is he now?"
"We don't know. Disappeared after the meeting."
Ana stepped down from the desk. "You think he sold you out?"
Hayden didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
---
That night, Hayden sat alone in the wine cellar, a bottle of whiskey half-empty at his feet. The silence was heavier here — sacred in a way the rest of the house wasn't. It had been his father's once. Now it was his.
Ana found him there, hunched over a crate, elbows on his knees.
"I thought you were going to shoot someone," she said softly.
"I might still."
She walked over and sat beside him.
"Leo?" she asked.
He nodded once.
"Do you think he told your father about me?"
"Of course he did."
Ana looked down at her hands.
"Then we don't have time."
"No," Hayden said. "We don't."
---
Somewhere in Rome, Leo stepped into the shadows of a cathedral, dialing a number he shouldn't.
"It's done," he said. "She's still at the villa. But not for long."
On the other end, Enzo Moretti smiled.
"Good. Make sure she stays unaware. I want her alive."
"And Hayden?"
Enzo's voice turned cold.
"My son will die like all traitors. Alone."