Chapter 101

Aurora POV

The scent of strong coffee drifts into the room before I even open my eyes.

I hear the faint clatter of silverware against plates, quiet conversation muffled by the thick walls of the safehouse kitchen. My stomach turns, not from hunger, but from the ache of dread that’s been coiled there all night.

I sit up slowly, blinking against the soft morning light filtering through the thin curtains. My hair is a mess, tangled from restless sleep, and my throat feels raw.

I must have spent half the night rehearsing what I needed to say, whispering words to myself in the dark like some desperate prayer.

The burner phone Alek gave me is still tucked beneath the mattress, practically burning a hole through the bedding. It’s almost funny how something so small can feel more overwhelming than a gun pressed to my forehead.

Though, I suppose in retrospect, it practically is in its own right.

I get dressed quickly, throwing on a long-sleeved shirt that still smells faintly of laundry detergent. The hotel room feels too quiet for how many people are inside.

I can’t tell if that’s good or bad thing.

When I step out into the living area, all three of them are already seated at the table. Dominic is at the head with his broad shoulders tense but deceptively casual. He’s reading something on his phone, thumb scrolling absently.

Romero sits across from him, his hair brushed back from his forehead messily, nursing a mug of black coffee. The twins are beside him, identical expressions caught somewhere between boredom and wariness as they push half-eaten food around their plates.

I hesitate in the doorway, my fingers curling against my palm.

“Morning,” I manage, though it comes out smaller than I mean for it to.

Three pairs of eyes lift to me. Dominic’s gaze lingers a little longer than the others, unreadable as ever.

“Morning,” Luca says first, tone lighter.

I force my legs to move, sitting down in the empty chair next to one of the twins. For a moment, the clinking of forks against plates is all that fills the room.

I wrap my hands around a mug of coffee someone’s left out for me—most likely Dominic if I had to take an educated guess. It’s still warm. The heat seeps into my fingers, grounding me just enough to finally pull in a few breaths.

“There’s… something I need to tell you.” While the words are mumbled, three pairs of eyes turn to me once again.

I really don’t want to do this but the longer I sit on the information, the worse all of this is going to get. Not just for me but for Dominic and the rest of them too. The guilt is eating me alive with each passing minute. Trying to pretend for another second that everything is okay may actually kill me.

I swallow hard. “Alek gave me a burner phone before I left.”

“He what?” Romero demands.

“He wanted me to stay in contact with him while… while I was here. To give him updates about what you’re all doing so he can plan his next move against you.”

The silence stretches taut over us. I brace myself for the shaky peace that has been forged between us to suddenly shatter. I’d confessed my sins to them about playing as a double agent but not to actively feeding the enemy up-to-date information as it had been happening.

What if that changes things?

Admitting to working with Alek is one thing. It’s another to have been spied on. There’s no telling how much it will take for me to gain their trust back, if ever.

Dominic leans back in his chair. “Where is it?”

I blink. “What?”

“The phone.” His voice is strangely calm.

I hesitate before getting up and heading back to the bedroom to retrieve it. When I come back, they’re all still there waiting for me. No one speaks when I set it on top of the table, sliding it across the table like an offering.

Dominic picks it up without a word and turns it on, scrolling when it reboots.

Marco leans over his shoulder to peek at the screen. “Well, shit. We could use this to our advantage. He has no idea we know, right?”

I blink at him. “About what?”

Luca shoots me a slightly amused look. “That you flipped sides.”

“You’re… not angry?” I ask cautiously.

“Angry?” Dominic finally looks at me again. “No. Alek made the mistake of giving this to you. He should’ve known better. We’re going to make him regret it.”

Romero leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “If we play this right, we can use it to lure him out. Get him isolated by setting up a fake rendezvous. Take him out before he knows what hit him.”

Marco smirks. “Like he tried to do with us. Genius.”

Luca’s grin mirrors his brother’s. “I like the sound of that.”

I sit there, stunned, as their attention shifts from me to working out another strategy. It’s not the anger I’d expected… it’s something far more interesting: calm and calculated intent.

This is a better outcome than I expected. “Maybe I can do that—text him about plans to meet with me to discuss details of what I’ve discovered? He has no reason not to believe I’m not still on his side.”

Dominic doesn’t answer right away. His thumb swipes over the screen, scrolling slowly, methodically. Something in the texts catches his interest because he soon turns it to Romero to show him the screen.

Both of them nod to each other, a knowing looking passing between them.

Romero turns to me again. “Can you sound convincing enough when you text him? Maybe it would be better if you called so he can hear your voice.”

“Could be too risky,” Dominic cuts in, setting the phone face down. “If she were still hiding this from us, she wouldn’t risk being caught talking to someone while the rest of us could overhear.”

“True.”

“I can text him,” I say, grabbing the phone again.

Dominic nods at me. “Good. We’ll help you draft it before you send it. What does Gianna know?”

I blink, surprised about the question. “Not much. Why?”

“You haven’t told her you’re no longer working for Alek?”

I give him a half shrug. “I haven’t had time to explain anything since all of this happened. Things have been moving fast on our end.”

He grunts softly to himself. “Is she going to be a problem? If she’s kept in the dark, she’ll be more inclined to fight us when we extract her from Alek. Perhaps it would be in your best interest to get her up to date for when that time comes.”

I flinch.

As much as I want to… I’m scared. Not at all about her telling Alek about me switching sides—she’d never betray me like that—but I’m terrified of her hating me. One two many times has my indecisiveness led us into dangerous situations.

It’s no secret my head’s been a mess since Alek first came to visit us in the States, flipping everything upside down. Going back and forth—loving Dominic, hating Dominic, swearing I’m done with him only to end up back where I started—has left Gianna and me both with emotional whiplash.

Now I’m terrified she’ll finally hit her breaking point and tell me to fuck off for good.

Losing my best friend would shatter me in a way nothing else could.

“I… I don’t know. I want to believe she’ll come with us without a fight, but I’ve poisoned the water when it comes to you, Dominic. She doesn’t trust you or your intentions. She’ll probably think I’m brainwashed again.”

He sighs heavily.

Romero suddenly clears his throat. “I’ll drag her out of there by her hair.”

My head snaps to him.

“I’ll be the one to extract her,” he continues. “She can fight me all she wants. It’ll be a losing battle.”

Dominic raises a brow. “We’ll most likely need to infiltrate during a raid. You’re volunteering to abandon your post at the helm to grab Gianna?”

His stoic face twitches slightly. “It wouldn’t be abandoning so much as pivoting. As long as Mikhail’s men can handle the front with the guards, the distraction will give me enough cover to get to Gianna’s room and take her. Even if she fights me about it.”

I exhale shakily, gratitude swelling in my chest. “Thank you, Romero.”

Romero just gives a small shrug. “Don’t thank me yet. We still need a plan.”

Dominic nodded to me and then lifted his chin toward the phone. “Let’s give Alek exactly what he wants. Set up a meeting and tell him you’ve convinced me to join so he thinks he’ll have another opportunity to assassinate me. Once he agrees, we’ll take everything from him.”

I smile and pick the phone up again. “Okay.”

For the first time since waking up, I almost believe this plan will actually work.