Chapter 39
Aurora POV
I blink. Hard.
“What?”
“Think about it,” she urges, continuing on. “If you’re dead, there’s no marriage. They’ll have to find another way to fix the alliance but it won’t be by using you. You’ll finally be free to do whatever you want.”
“Gianna,” I croak. “That’s insane.”
“Is it?” she counters. “You said it yourself: Dominic wouldn’t let you go. If you’re married to him, you’ll be trapped forever. At least this way, you’d have a chance to start over somewhere he can never find you.”
I stare at her for a full three seconds before I burst out laughing. It’s messy and borderline hysterical due to my nerves fraying as the weight of everything crashes down on me all over again.
Gianna just watches me, one eyebrow arched, completely unbothered by my reaction.
“You’re serious?” I manage between gasps of laughter, clutching my stomach. “Fake my death? Gianne, be serious. Even if we could actually pull that off, how am I going to get anywhere? I have no money and not even a bank account with my name on it.”
She shrugs, unbothered. “I’ll smuggle you some. My dad won’t ask what I need a loan for as long as I act like I’m using it for something useful.”
I wipe at my eyes, trying to catch my breath. The absurdity of it is just too much. “Even if that’s the case, this would require a hell of a lot more resources either of us have. Forget about the money part, I have nowhere to go. No connections. No hidden family over in Europe willing to take me in. Nothing. Plus, I can’t leave you behind.”
Gianna’s expression softens, but there’s a steely glint behind it that makes me pause. “If you decide to do it… I’ll come with you.”
My mouth falls open. “But…”
“I mean it,” she cuts me off before I can argue. “If you run, I run. We’ll stick together. We’ll figure it out. I won’t let you go out there alone.”
Something tight and painful coils around my chest at the sheer loyalty in her voice.
God, how did I ever get so lucky with her?
I smile weakly, feeling the burn of tears rise behind my eyes again. “That’s… that’s really sweet. But what about your dad? You can’t just leave him behind.”
Gianna’s smile falters, just slightly.
For a beat, she’s silent. I watch her closely, noting the slight tremor in her hands while she thinks my words over, and the way her jaw tightens when it hits her that I’m right. Finally, she sighs, sitting back on the bed with a heavy thud.
“We’ll figure it out,” she says quietly. “When the time comes, we’ll find a way to make sure he’s okay, too. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But you’re important enough for me to leave here if it comes down to it.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, torn between gratitude and guilt. The fact that she’s even willing to make a choice like that for me makes my chest ache in the best way.
Without thinking, I lunge forward and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. Gianna freezes for half a second before she hugs me back just as fiercely.
“Thank you,” I whisper into her hair. “For always being by my side no matter what happens. Even… after what happened with Dominic.”
She pulls back just enough to look me in the eye, her hands firm on my shoulders. “Hey, it’s all water under the bridge now, okay? We survived that entire apocalypse level mess. That’s what matters.”
I nod, feeling the first real sense of hope I’ve had in days spark to life inside me.
“If we’re gonna survive this crazy world, we have to stick together. No matter what.” She says.
I nod again, feeling the promise settle deep in my bones.
Stick together no matter what.
I can get behind that one-hundred percent.
Dominic POV
The sun had barely crested over the city skyline when Romero found Dominic in the study.
Dominic stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area, nursing a hot cup of coffee while watching the city stretch and come alive under the bruised-pink morning light. He didn’t turn when the front door’s alarm disengaged and closed quietly, or at the footsteps making their way to where he was.
He didn’t have to.
Romero’s presence was heavy when he found him, the kind of stormy pressure Dominic had long learned to anticipate when it came to matters they disagreed on. It was always a rare instance that they found themselves at impasses like this, though as of late, these situations were becoming far more frequent.
Dominic wasn’t sure what that said about their future.
“You’re serious about marrying her?” Romero said after a moment, his voice taking on a hard-edge. “She’s only caused trouble since she’s come into your life, Dominic.”
Dominic smirked faintly at his reflection in the window, taking a slow sip of his drink. “Is that what you really think?”
“Yes,” Romero said, pacing closer. “It has me questioning your motives.”
That got Dominic to turn, just slightly, enough to catch Romero’s scowl before he could properly smother it.
“You told the Carusos and Leonardo’s men it was to preserve the alliance but you and I both know you don’t give a damn about that.” Romero continued. “So what was the point in volunteering yourself? The quicker they tear each other apart internally, the less work we need to do to take them all out.”
Dominic tipped his coffee toward him mockingly. “Perhaps I’m trying to lull them all into a false sense of security before striking.”
Romero’s stare didn’t waver.
Dominic sighed, setting the glass down on one of the side tables closest to him. “I told her the truth. Marrying her ensures the Carusos stay loyal and keeps the alliance intact. With my father’s men already panicking, it gives them something familiar to latch onto. A new marriage. A new power structure. It gives me time to shift everything I need to without anyone doing something stupid in the meantime.”
Romero’s frown deepened. “Again, all of that can be accomplished without tethering yourself to a wife. You should be more worried about her feeding information back to her family.”
Dominic shrugged, his expression carefully blank. “I don’t agree with that. She has nothing to do with any of his father’s dealings or the Carusos in general. She’s merely a means to an end.”
He didn’t admit—couldn’t admit—that there was something else.
Something deeper that had little to do with alliances and bloodlines and power. Something that twisted in his gut every time he thought of someone else having Aurora or owning her the way he refused to let Leonardo—or anyone else—do.
Possessiveness was dangerous in this world.
It clouded judgment. It got people killed.
An exposed underbelly did nothing but cause trouble.
Dominic knew better than to let feelings dictate strategy but somehow, with Aurora, logic always seemed to slip just a little.
Romero crossed his arms, clearly unconvinced. “You’re still playing a dangerous game… Marrying her puts her closer to everything, even if you don’t think she’ll talk. She’ll still see and hear things she shouldn’t. You really think you can control her?”
Dominic’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “You’re forgetting one thing.”
Romero raised an eyebrow in response.
“She chose this life the minute she agreed to marry Leonardo. She knew what marrying into our world meant. Now, she doesn’t get to back out just because the face of the devil changed.”
Romero grunted. “Maybe. Or maybe you’re underestimating her like you did before she threatened you with those files.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing. A part of him knew Romero wasn’t wrong.
Aurora was different.
She wasn’t just another simpering mafia daughter groomed to smile and wave and stay quiet. She had fire in her that burned bright and if Dominic wasn’t careful, she could burn him from the inside out too.
Romero moved over to the window, staring out at the city for a moment before speaking again. “There’s another problem.”
Dominic snorted softly, turning to look out as well while shoving both hands into his pockets. “Isn’t there always?”
Romero ignored the sarcasm. “Leonardo’s men are still hunting for the Russians.”
Dominic’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Let them. They won’t find anything.”
“You’re being reckless.”
“No, I’m being realistic.” He argued. “The bratva I hired are professionals. They’re probably already back in Russia by now, if not buried under six different layers of new identities. I hired them because I knew they were good at their job and knew how to not get caught.”
“That’s not the point,” Romero sighed. “All it takes is one slip. One loose end. One idiot bragging in the wrong bar even if it’s halfway across the world from here. If they connect you to the bratva, you’re not just looking at losing your seat at the table. You’re looking at a bullet in the back of your head.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
Dominic met his second-in-command’s gaze evenly.
As sharp as Romero’s words were, they were said from the desire to keep Dominic safe and alive. Both of them were loyal to each other to their very core, forged in the blood of their fallen comrades. Nothing would get in the way of their bond with each other, and this kind of pushback was the exact thing Dominic expected from his second in the first place.
While they might not agree on the conclusion to this argument, Dominic at least knew Romero was willing to fight for his safety through any means necessary.
“They won’t find anything,” he repeated calmly. “And if they do... I’ll deal with it. We both will.”
Romero shook his head, sighing once more. “I don't get it… You’re risking everything you built.”
Dominic pushed away from the window. “Yes. I am. If marrying Aurora makes taking over my family easier, then so be it.”
Romero studied him for a long moment, his jaw flexing. Then he stepped back, giving a curt nod.
“Understood.”
Dominic smiled slightly. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Make sure the girls have enough supplies at the safehouse to last them the week.”
“I’ll head out now to check on them.”
