Chapter 93

Aurora POV

Oh fuck.

The walls are closing in.

I need to do something to distract them, get them off my trail before they barge their way into this room and snoop around and find something that will absolutely get me into deeper shit than I already am with them.

This is my one shot to get Gianna and me out of this mess alive, one chance to play the pieces I’ve been given before the whole board is flipped and we’re both swept off into the dark, which means I can’t afford to let anyone derail that.

Especially these damn nosey twins thinking they’ve got me pegged.

I press my fingers to my temple, swaying while pretending to grow dizzy from the lack of sleep I’ve had over the past few days. I can feel Marco and Luca watching me like vultures, their eyes following every subtle move I make as they take in my performance.

This needs to be convincing.

“What are you doing, bella?” Marco asks.

The dizziness turns into a stagger, my legs buckle and I pitch forward hard enough that my knees hit the floor with a dull thud. I let my body go slack, let my breathing grow shallow.

“Aurora?” Luca’s voice, sharp with alarm.

A faint whimper escapes my lips as my head tilts awkwardly to the side.

“Shit,” Marco hisses. “Dominic!”

There’s a rush of movement, footsteps pounding toward me before hands are suddenly gripping my shoulders and lifting me carefully into a set of steady arms. Someone curses under their breath—Dominic.

“Get her to bed,” he orders, his voice tight with barely restrained panic.

I’m cradled against his chest like I weigh nothing. The mattress dips beneath me when I’m placed on it, a set of fingers checks my pulse. Someone brushes hair from my face.

“She’s burning up.” Luca murmurs.

“She needs rest. Stay with her,” Dominic says before striding out. “I’ll go get medicine.”

I keep my breathing even, my eyelids while Marco and Luca hover for what feels like hours, speaking in low tones in the corner of the room.

When they finally leave, I count thirty breaths before I move.

Sliding out from under the covers, I quickly head back over to the door and lock it again before retrieving the burner phone once more. The second it’s turned on, my fingers fly over the keyboard with a long text to Alek, explaining Dominic’s plans.

The reply to me is almost instant.

I’ll take care of it.

My fingers hover over the keys.

How?

I need to know. I can’t be left in the dark about any of this even though it’s not my place to ask technically.

What are you going to do?

He replies again, I will be contacting him with a place for him to meet me at under the pretense of another deal. He won’t refuse. Your tip is greatly appreciated. I will have him handled soon. Your freedom is very near.

Though his words are meant to uplift me with some kind of hope, they do nothing but strike fear into me.

Handling Dominic means killing him.

Just like the plan intended. Things were always meant to go in that direction. Yet now that it’s actually happening, the thought makes me sick to my stomach.

But there’s no going back now.

Things are already set into motion.

Later that night, I hear Dominic speaking with Romero just outside the bedroom. Their voices are low and tense. Not something unusual but tonight, I’m on edge from my text exchange with Alek.

My ear presses to the door to get a better grasp on what they’re saying. Their voices are still muffled but I can make out the gist of what they’re saying.

“He reached out,” Romero says. “Offered a trade.”

“I don’t like it. This has to be some kind of set up. Why offer a trade in the middle of packing up and leaving the country?”

“He could be planning on fleeing if this talk with you goes poorly.”

Silence follows.

“Do we have a choice in this?” Romero asks.

There’s another pause. Then Dominic answers, his voice steady but laced with something I can’t quite name. “We always have a choice, but this one isn’t one I’m willing to ignore. So, no.”

So it worked… Alek set the hook and Dominic bit down hard enough on the bait to bleed. My chest feels tight with guilt, almost suffocating me. I know what Alek is capable of, how he spins promises and how easily he turns leverage into bloodshed.

And now Dominic’s walking straight into his hands.

I press a fist to my mouth, trying to silence the rising panic.

When the door opens a few minutes later, Dominic steps back inside the bedroom.

I straighten instinctively from where I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. He looks tired. Not just physically, but in the way his shoulders are set and in the faint crease between his brows. Tired in a way that says he’s already carrying the weight of what’s to come.

“He’s meeting you somewhere?” I say quietly.

Dominic pauses mid-step, sighing while rubbing a hand over his face. “Yes. It’s… complicated.”

Complicated.

That’s an understatement.

“Then let me come with you.” I don’t know why I say it. The words slip out before I can stop them.

It’s not like I want to be there. Not like I want to be a witness to whatever Alek has planned or to Dominic dying. That’s the last thing I want, actually.

But for some reason, I’m compelled to go.

I need to be there.

I need…

I don’t even know.

He freezes. “No.”

“Why not?” I push gently.

“Aurora, you’re not going anywhere near Alek or his people again.” His tone is final, his jaw set in that infuriatingly stubborn way I’ve come to know all too well.

“You don’t trust him. I get that. But don’t you think having someone there who knows how he operates might help?”

Dominic’s jaw tightens. “I won’t risk you getting caught up in any of that.”

“If anything goes wrong, I can help negotiate. I know how Alek thinks. I can buy you time if things go wrong.”

Why am I fighting this so hard?

His dark eyes bore into me, searching, studying me with unnerving intensity. For what, I’m not sure. “You’re asking me to bring you into the lion’s den.”

“I’m asking you to trust me.”

His gaze softens slightly. “That’s not what worries me. What worries me is Alek using you against me again.”

“I’ll be careful.”

For a long moment, I think he’s going to actually let me come with him. But then he exhales slowly, his shoulders slumping with exhaustion again. “No, Aurora. It’s too dangerous. I promise I’ll get her back for you. You simply need to trust me.”

My chest tightens painfully. “Okay.”

He turns his head to look at me, something raw flickering in his eyes, an emotion too quick and complicated for me to pin down. I can’t help but wonder if this will be the last time I’ll ever see him alive.

For reasons I don’t want to admit to, not even to myself, that thought hurts more than it should.