Ana's breathing was still uneven, chest rising and falling beneath the rumpled sheets. The lingering heat of their bodies clung to the air, mixing with the soft sound of Hayden's slow, calculated breathing beside her. Outside, Rome glittered under the velvet night sky, unaware that war was quietly igniting behind penthouse walls.
She rolled over, facing him.
"You're thinking again," she whispered, brushing her fingers down his chest. "It's loud."
Hayden didn't answer at first. His arm was thrown behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling as if it held the blueprint of revenge. The rawness of their lovemaking had momentarily soothed his demons, but now the shadows crept back in.
"I don't get to stop thinking, Ana," he said, voice low, graveled. "Not until he's dead."
"Anton?"
A nod.
She drew in a breath. "Then tell me everything. I'm not the girl you stalked from a distance anymore, Hayden. I'm here. In this. With you."
That made him turn.
He looked at her like she'd just said something forbidden, something intimate in a language only they spoke. His hand reached up, brushing her damp hair from her face. His touch was softer than his expression, which still bore the weight of a man born from fire and blood.
"Anton Rossi isn't just some threat in the shadows," Hayden said. "He's strategic. Dangerous. He was once my father's second in command. He knows our infrastructure. And he just declared war."
Ana blinked. "You're sure?"
"I'm never unsure."
His voice had sharpened again. That cold edge she once feared was returning, wrapping itself around his words like barbed wire.
Ana sat up, wrapping the silk sheet around her. "So what do we do?"
"We bait him," Hayden said. "He wants power, so we show him a fracture. You."
She stiffened. "Me?"
"He knows you're the weakness. My... obsession," he said bitterly. "He'll come for you again."
"You want to use me as bait?"
"I want to end this," Hayden said. "I've lost too many people already."
Ana didn't speak. Her heart pounded, but not from fear—this time, it was from understanding. Hayden wasn't trying to hurt her. He was trying to protect her in the only way he knew how. By fighting. By controlling the chaos before it swallowed her whole.
"I trust you," she said quietly.
Hayden blinked. The words hit him harder than bullets.
She leaned closer, whispering against his mouth, "But you'll owe me."
"Oh?" he said, voice rough as her lips trailed down his neck.
"Mm-hmm," she hummed, settling into his lap, the sheet falling away. "You'll owe me another round."
His hands slid around her waist instantly. "Greedy."
"Hungry," she corrected, grinding down onto him. "For you."
Their mouths collided—desperate, hot, full of tangled emotion. His hands gripped her thighs as she moved, slow at first, then rougher. The urgency between them was electric, a storm in motion. This wasn't just lust. It was claiming. Devouring. Mourning.
She bit down on his shoulder, leaving a mark. His hands dug into her hips as he met her rhythm. The pleasure curled around pain—an aching blend of control and surrender. When they finally shattered together, it felt like a vow sealed in flesh.
Ana collapsed against him, breathless, skin slick with sweat.
Hayden didn't let go.
He kissed the side of her head, holding her tighter than he ever had.
"I need you alive," he whispered.
"I'm not going anywhere," she replied, pressing her palm against his chest. "We end this together."
Hours Later – The Hidden Basement
Hayden's private security headquarters was hidden beneath the penthouse—off-grid, state-of-the-art, and equipped for war.
Ana followed him inside, now dressed in all black. Her hair was tied up, her eyes sharp. No longer a passive witness to Hayden's war, she was stepping into it.
Dante, Hayden's head of security, turned as they entered.
"She's coming?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She is," Hayden replied. "And she's not a liability. She's a weapon."
Ana didn't flinch. "I want Anton's face burned into memory."
Dante nodded, impressed. "We've pulled footage from the hotel cameras. Two men posing as maintenance workers planted the explosives. They were ex-KGB. Clean, professional, and expensive."
"Anton has deep pockets," Hayden muttered.
"Deeper now," Dante added. "He's been buying up influence—judges, customs officials, ports in Palermo. He's not just coming for your empire. He wants to replace you."
"Let him try," Hayden said. "We'll draw him out. I'll leak intel that I'm transferring Ana to a secure safehouse in Tuscany. He'll bite."
"And when he does?" Ana asked.
Hayden's mouth curved into something wicked. "We burn everything he loves."
That Night – The Setup
The decoy caravan rolled out of the underground garage at midnight. Three bulletproof SUVs, flanked by motorbikes and drones. Ana wasn't in them. She and Hayden watched from a high vantage point as the convoy disappeared into the Roman hills.
"He'll track the heat signatures and think it's me," Ana said. "You really believe he'll attack tonight?"
"I'd bet my soul," Hayden said.
Ana turned to him. "And if he does?"
"I kill him."
She stepped closer, looking him dead in the eye. "Don't die trying."
He cupped her face, kissed her like it could be their last. "Not tonight. I've got too much to live for."
Their eyes locked.
Then the radio buzzed.
Dante's voice: "We've got movement. Two choppers. East quadrant. They're coming."
To Be Continued in Chapter 65...