--## **Chapter Four: A Leash of Smoke and Fire.
*
### **Inside the Armored Car*
*Kael was still coughing when the car doors slammed shut. Smoke clung to his lungs, his mind swimming from the blast, but his fury cleared it fast.
"You *knew*," he growled. "You knew they were waiting for me.
"Aurora sat across from him, her black coat sharp against her skin, her gaze sharp enough to wound.
"Of course I did."
"You let me walk straight into a death trap.
""No, Kael. *You* walked into it. I just let reality happen.
"His hands clenched. "I could've died.""And yet you didn't," she said, leaning forward. "You're welcome.
"There was a beat—a breathless moment between rage and something far more dangerous.
Kael's eyes locked on hers, heat rising between them like static before a storm.
"You think saving me again earns you obedience?""No," she said smoothly. "I think it earns me *clarity*.
Now you know what happens without me."He leaned back, jaw tight.
"This isn't protection. It's possession."She smiled. "Not yet. But it will be.
---### **Aurora's Estate – One Hour Later*
*The moment Kael was alone in the guest suite, he didn't sit. Didn't rest. He stalked the room like a wolf in a trap, the weight of everything closing in.
He glanced toward the security camera in the corner.She was watching. Always.Kael stepped forward, stared directly into the lens.
"This isn't over," he said, voice quiet but certain.He didn't know if he meant it as a threat… or a promise.---
---
### **Aurora's Estate – Later That Night**
Kael sat on the edge of the luxurious bed, his clothes damp with sweat and soot, muscles still coiled with adrenaline. He stared at the floor, jaw clenched, a hundred thoughts thundering through his mind—none of them useful. None of them offering a way out.
The door clicked.
He turned sharply, only to see a butler-like figure enter with gloved hands and perfect posture. The man set down a tray of food—something warm, aromatic, too elegant for the night Kael had just lived through.
"I need a phone," Kael said immediately.
The man didn't flinch. "Miss Vale instructed me not to—"
"I'm not asking for permission," Kael interrupted, voice cold. "I'm asking if you want to explain to her why you denied the man she just saved a chance to finish his business."
The butler gave a slight pause. Then a nod.
"I will notify her."
---
### **Ten Minutes Later – In the Lounge**
Aurora reclined in a leather chair, a glass of something dark and expensive in her hand, when Kael was brought in. She didn't offer a smile. Not tonight.
"You want a phone," she said, without preamble.
"I want to call Elias Crane. I need to know if he found anything—if there's somewhere safe I can go."
"Still clinging to that world," she murmured. "It won't save you."
"I'm not asking it to," Kael said. "I just want answers. Then I'm gone."
She held out a sleek, black phone. It looked simple—but Kael could feel the weight of eyes on it, even before he touched it. He knew better. It was monitored. Probably recorded.
Still, he took it.
Dialed.
Elias answered on the third ring, his voice low and cautious.
"Kael. Jesus. Are you okay?"
"Define okay," Kael muttered.
"I was just about to call. I pulled what you asked—Moretti's crew movements, encrypted chatter between a few ghost names on the black web. Kael… your name's on some of those lists."
Kael's blood turned cold. "Hit lists?"
"Contracts," Elias confirmed. "Bounties. Not just you either. *Your mother's address came up.* Someone accessed sealed family records."
Kael swore under his breath.
"And the court file for the DiStefano case?" Elias continued. "Tampered with. Photos deleted. A judge you know filed for early retirement today—under pressure, I think."
Kael felt the walls closing in.
"I'm trying to get you a safehouse," Elias added quickly, "but there's movement on all the usual spots. I think your cover's blown. Every option I have is compromised."
Kael closed his eyes, jaw clenching.
"I don't know what to tell you, man," Elias finished, voice heavy. "You're not just in deep. You're already under."
Kael ended the call and dropped the phone onto the table, his hand trembling just slightly.
Aurora took a sip from her glass. "Satisfied?"
He looked at her, breathing hard.
"You were right."
Her brow arched. "That must've tasted like poison."
"It did."
She stood, walking slowly toward him, each step deliberate and commanding.
"I don't want your pity," Kael said roughly, standing as well.
"What makes you think I feel anything like pity?" she whispered, close now—too close. "This isn't about sympathy. This is about inevitability. Your world is gone. They sold you out. I'm the only one left who didn't put a bullet in your head."
He stared at her, that coiled tension between them sparking again.
"You think I owe you for that?"
She touched the side of his face, slow and cool. "No. I think you belong to me *because* of that."
Kael didn't move. Didn't speak. His pride was a chain, but her gaze was a blade.
Outside, thunder rolled again.
And somewhere deep in Kael's chest, something gave way—silent, but irreversible.
---
---
### **Elsewhere in the City – Moretti's Private Club**
The smell of cigars and blood hung heavy in the air.
Under crimson light, Don Enzo Moretti stood before a long oak table, a half-dozen of his top enforcers waiting in grim silence. The last one who had failed him—Gino, the sharp-eyed brute who'd promised Kael would be dead by now—was still on his knees, breathing shallow, one eye already purple and swelling shut.
Enzo paced slowly, dragging a ringed finger across the polished surface of the table. He spoke low. Controlled.
"I told you I wanted it quiet."
"I—I didn't know she'd get involved," Gino rasped. "We didn't see her until it was too late—"
Enzo's fist slammed onto the table, silencing the room. The man on the floor flinched.
"You never *see* her until it's too late," Enzo hissed. "That's why she wins. That's why you're bleeding into my rug."
He turned to the others, eyes cold and sharp.
"No more amateur hits. No more public shows. We don't want Kael dead."
The room tensed.
Enzo leaned in.
"We want him *alive*."
One of the men spoke cautiously. "Alive? Why?"
The Don smiled, but it wasn't kind.
"Because someone who survives *twice* under her roof is no longer an enemy… He's a piece on the board. And I want to know if he's hers—or if he's still a man who bleeds when you squeeze him the right way."
He stepped over Gino's trembling form and gave a nod.
"Bring me the lawyer."
And just like that, Gino screamed as the guards dragged him away—to a punishment no one in the room dared to watch.
---
### **Back at Aurora's Estate – Moments Later**
Kael sat alone in the suite, staring at the untouched food. The call with Elias still echoed in his ears.
No safehouse.
No options.
Even the law had abandoned him.
He dragged a hand down his face, then looked up again—right into the black glass of the security camera.
He whispered once more, more to himself than to her this time:
"This isn't over."
But now the words tasted hollow.
---
**
**