Sothing was off.
I couldn’t shake the feeling, even as I tried to focus on the mundane—folding the sheets, refilling the vase in the corner, watching the sunlight spill across the marble floor. Everything looked normal, almost too normal.
But deep down, my chest wouldn’t stop tightening.
Maybe it was the call.
Maybe it was Roberto’s voice still echoing in my head.
I kept replaying it, word for word. The desperation in his tone. The silence before he said my na.
I shouldn’t have answered. I knew better. I’d been warned a hundred tis to stay invisible, to not use my phone, to keep communication off every traceable grid.
And yet... I did.
Now the guilt was crawling up my throat like smoke.
I tried distracting myself. I took a walk through the courtyard, fed the koi fish in the pond but the air felt heavier today. The guards were tense. Conversations dropped when I walked by. Even Tomas’s usually calm face was unreadable, his hand glued to his earpiece as he spoke quietly into it.
Sothing wasn’t right.
By evening, the clouds rolled in, gray and low, pressing against the hills like a warning. I sat in the living room, pretending to read while my eyes kept flicking toward the door. Jace hadn’t co ho again. The house felt colder without him.
I tried calling him twice. No answer.
By the third attempt, my hands were trembling so bad I nearly dropped the phone again.
"Mira?" His voice finally ca through, sharp but steady.
"Where are you?" I asked imdiately.
"Why? Did sothing happen?"
His tone shifted in that instant—alert, commanding. It made my stomach twist.
"I don’t know," I said quietly. "It just... feels different today."
There was silence on the other end. Then, "Tell everything."
"I just—" I hesitated. "I got a call yesterday."
"A call?" His voice dropped an octave.
"Yes. From my brother."
The silence that followed was worse than yelling.
"You answered it." It wasn’t a question.
"I know what you’re thinking, but—"
"Mira." He breathed my na like a curse. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"
"I couldn’t ignore him! He’s my brother, Jace. He thought I was dead." I tried to stop myself from yelling.
"Good," he snapped. "That’s what was keeping him safe."
I froze.
The line went quiet for a long beat before I heard him sigh. It was tired and raw and it made feel a pang of guilt for adding to his stress.
"Did you tell him where you were?"
I shook my head quickly, like he could see . "No. I swear. I didn’t say anything. I just told him I was fine and hung up."
"Which phone did you use?" He asked again.
"The one you gave ." I muttered.
He muttered sothing under his breath in Italian. It was fast laced with frustration.
"I’m coming ho," he said. "Stay inside. Don’t answer any more calls, understood?"
The line cut before I could respond.
My heart pounded as I set the phone down, my mind spinning through a dozen worst-case scenarios.
What if the call had been traced? What if Massimo’s n were already on their way here?
The storm outside grew worse, wind howling against the glass. Every shadow in the room looked like movent. I turned off the lights, peering out through the blinds toward the main gate.
That was when I saw it.
Two n. n I didn’t recognize ... standing by the gate, their silhouettes barely visible through the rain. They weren’t part of Jace’s usual rotation. I knew every face here. I knew every pattern. And these weren’t it.
My pulse skyrocketed imdiately.
"Tomas?" I called out, stepping into the hall. "Tomas!"
He appeared within seconds, gun holstered but hand already reaching for it. "What is it?"
"There are two n outside by the gate. I don’t recognize them."
He didn’t waste ti asking questions. He grabbed his radio and started barking orders in rapid Italian. Within monts, the villa ca alive. There were boots against gravel, engines revving, radios crackling.
I stood frozen by the window with myheart thundering.
And then the sound ca.
Gunfire.
It was short, sharp and extrely loud .
"Get down!" Tomas yanked away from the window as glass shattered, raining across the floor. My ears rang. The echo of the shot seed to hang in the air forever.
"Tomas—" I gasped.
He pulled behind the couch, crouched low. "Stay down. Don’t move."
I did as he said, my breath coming in short, terrified bursts.
He peeked out the side window, murmured sothing into his earpiece, then looked back at . "It’s handled."
"What—what do you an handled?" I stuttered, blinking rapidly as I tried to focus my gaze.
"Two n. They’re down. They didn’t get far." He answered smoothly as he pulled up.
"Who were they?" I questioned.
He hesitated before answering. "We’ll find out."
The front door burst open just then, wind and rain sweeping in as Jace strode inside, dripping wet and furious. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on .
"Mira."
He crossed the space in three strides, grabbing my face in both hands, searching from head to toe. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, unable to find my voice.
His jaw clenched as he turned to Tomas. "Report."
"Two n approached the gate. They opened fire. They’re dead." Tomas said clippedly.
"Who sent them?" Jace fud.
"We’re checking."
Jace exhaled, his breath heavy and ragged. I could see the storm raging behind his calm. He turned back to . "This is why we stay quiet. This is why I told you no calls, no nas, no risks."
"I’m sorry." My voice cracked. "I didn’t think—"
He cut off, pulling into his chest. "Don’t," he muttered against my hair. "Don’t say you’re sorry. Just—don’t ever do it again."
My fingers gripped his shirt, the scent of rain and gunpowder clinging to him. I nodded against his chest, my throat too tight to speak.
He held for a long mont, then pulled back, his eyes softer now. "We have to move," he said quietly. "Tonight."
My eyes widened. "Move?"
"This place isn’t safe anymore. Soone knows where we are."
I swallowed hard, the weight of it settling in.
"Where will we go?"
"Sowhere they won’t find us," he promised. "Pack light."
He kissed my forehead and turned to Tomas. "Prepare the convoy."
As he walked away, I stayed rooted in place, the broken glass glittering on the floor around .
Everything had changed in a single night.
I’d thought the silence here was suffocating before but now it was sothing else entirely.
Now it was a warning.
And I had no idea what kind of storm we were walking into next.
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