Jace was barely around these days.
If I was lucky, I’d hear his voice through a phone call or the faint click of his boots echoing down the hall long after midnight.
He always ca in when I was half-asleep and left before dawn just like a ghost.
Sotis, I’d roll to his side of the bed and press my palm against the cold sheets, pretending the chill was him. It never worked.
I missed his warmth. I missed his voice and the weight of his arm around when the world outside felt like it was falling apart.
But I couldn’t complain..Not now when this was the on of the most crucial point in everything he was fighting for.
He had too many enemies and too many moving pieces to worry about. I didn’t want to be another thing dragging him down.
So I smiled when he walked in, even when my eyes burned from crying.
I told him I was fine, even when the silence between us hurt worse than any gunfire I’d ever heard ever since I t him.
The villa was always quiet. It was even too quiet for who enjoyed silence and solitude.
I got so bored I studied the landmark. We were hidden sowhere deep in the hills, surrounded by tall cypresses and guarded gates, it was supposed to be safe. But to , it felt like a gilded prison.
The guards rotated in shifts. I morized their routes without trying.
Every hour, a shadow crossed the veranda. Every two, a truck pulled in to deliver food. And every night, when the lights dimd and the wind carried through the olive trees, the silence pressed too heavy on my chest.
I thought I’d gotten used to it until the nightmares ca back.
They started small: flickers of the night I pulled the trigger. The man’s face was a naless blur that haunted . It appeared in flashes and I saw the blood as I pushed him off the driver’s seat every ti. It felt like it was on my hand.
I thought I had forgotten about it, but lately, it had grown worse. The gnawing feeling of guilt pressed into my chest and I wondered how Jace was able to sleep at night knowing he had so much blood on his hands.
I sighed. That wasn’t the only nightmare that haunted .
Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw Jace.
Sotis he was bleeding out in my arms, his breath warm against my cheek as his gray eyes dimd. Other tis, it was that wa bound and dragged through darkness by n I couldn’t see, screaming his na until my voice broke.
The worst nights were the ones where I dreamt of both with Jace lying still and standing over him with the gun still in my hand.
I’d wake up choking back sobs, clutching the sheets like a lifeline, drenched in sweat and trembling.
And every ti, I’d reach out to his side of the bed only to find it empty.
The nightmares weren’t just dreams. They were mories and fears tangled together, replaying everything I’d tried so hard to forget.
I’d killed a man.
No matter how much I told myself it was self-defense, that I’d had no choice, that he would’ve killed first, the guilt still followed everywhere.
I saw his eyes whenever I blinked.
He’d been alive one second, and the next... gone.
That kind of thing changes you.
There were monts I’d catch my reflection in the mirror and wonder who I had beco.
I used to be a girl who baked bread for a living. Who smiled at strangers and prayed before bed. Now I was the wife of a mafia don, hiding from the world in a place that didn’t even feel like mine.
~
The next day...
It was around noon when my phone started to ring.
The sound startled so badly I nearly dropped the glass of water I’d been holding.
"Unknown number." I saw when I checked the caller ID.
My chest tightened.
No one was supposed to have my number. Not here. Not now.
But sothing... maybe it was instinct or maybe just stupid curiosity, made answer.
"Hello?"
There was a pause.
Then a voice I hadn’t heard in several weeks cracked through the line.
"Mira?"
My heart lurched.
"Roberto?" I called out softly.
I could hear the relief in his breath. "Thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you. Where the hell are you?"
"I can’t say." I gripped the phone tighter, glancing toward the door even though I knew no one was there. "It’s not safe."
"Mira—"
"No, listen." My voice dropped to a whisper. "You shouldn’t be calling. If anyone traces this—"
"I had to." His voice broke slightly. "You disappeared, Mira. You haven’t been seen in New York or LA. It’s like everything about you is gone. I thought... I thought sothing happened to you." I heard as the emotion clogged his throat.
Sothing did happen to .
But how could I explain that I was now living under a false sense of safety, surrounded by ard n and luxury I couldn’t touch?
"I’m fine," I lied. "I promise."
"You don’t sound fine. You sound... scared."
I pressed my eyes shut, willing the tears not to fall.
"I just can’t talk right now. Please trust , Robbie. I’ll call you when it’s safe." I said.
"Mira—"
"Promise you won’t try to find ."
Silence stretched through the line, broken only by our breathing.
Then he whispered, "He’s controlling you, isn’t he? Jace. He’s—"
"Stop." My voice ca out sharper than I ant. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Then tell ! Tell where you are! I’ll co get you—"
"I can’t!" I yelled before I could stop myself. The words tore out of , raw and broken.
The silence that followed was thick and painful.
Finally, Roberto sighed. "You’re my sister. I’m not just going to sit back while you vanish."
"I know." My voice was soft now, almost pleading. "But you have to trust . Please."
I hung up before I could change my mind.
The phone slipped from my fingers onto the couch, my pulse still racing.
I stared at it for a long ti, half-expecting it to ring again.
But it didn’t.
~
That night, the nightmares ca back worse than ever.
I was back in the warehouse. The sll of gunpowder wafted into my nostrils, the echo of footsteps, the deafening sound of the shot. Only this ti, it wasn’t the man I had killed falling out of the vehicle. It was Jace.
He looked at the sa way the man had, wide-eyed and betrayed.
Blood poured from his chest, staining my hands as I tried to hold him.
"Mira..." he whispered, his lips barely moving.
I scread for help, but no sound ca out.
Everything around blurred into darkness.
I woke up gasping. My throat hurt. My body was slick with sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
The room was dark except for the faint glow of the moon spilling through the curtains.
"Mira?"
The deep voice ca from beside .
I turned. Jace was there. He really there this ti. His brows furrowed as he reached for . "Hey... hey, what is it?"
"I... I saw you..." My voice shook. "You were bleeding. I couldn’t stop it."
His expression softened. "It was a dream, baby. Just a dream."
I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. "It felt real. So real."
He pulled into his arms, pressing my face against his chest. "I’m right here. Look at ."
His skin was warm. His heart was steady under my ear.
For the first ti in days, I let myself lt into him, gripping him like the world would end if I didn’t.
"I can’t lose you," I whispered.
"You won’t." He kissed the top of my head. "I’m not going anywhere."
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb brushing away my tears.
"Try to sleep," he murmured.
"I can’t," I said honestly. "Every ti I close my eyes, I see—"
"Then don’t close them," he cut in softly. "Just stay here. With ."
And so I did.
Wrapped in his arms, listening to the quiet rhythm of his heart, I finally let the tension drain out of . The storm inside my chest dulled to a slow, aching calm.
For the first ti in days, I wasn’t alone. He was right next to .
I was safe, or at least, I wanted to believe I was.
I drifted off into a peaceful sleep. It’s true what they say about sleeping next to the one you love. That’s the best sleep you can get.
But by morning, Jace was gone again.
The sheets beside were cold, but there was a note on his pillow.
"Had to take care of sothing. Don’t wait up. — J."
I traced the writing with my fingers, the ache in my chest returning like an old friend.
I didn’t know what kind of world we were walking into next.
But I knew one thing for sure sothing was coming.
And when it did, there would be no hiding.
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