“And I’m still choosing!” Her voice rises. “Alessandro, do you think I don’t know the risks? Do you think I’m naive enough to believe loving you will ever be safe or easy? I know what I’m signing up for. Stop treating me like a child who can’t make her own decisions.”
“This isn’t about your ability to decide. This is about keeping you alive.” Standing puts us face to face. “Greco won’t stop. And even if we eliminate him, there will be others. There are always others. Rivals, enemies, people looking for any weakness they can exploit. And tesoro, you’re my biggest weakness.”
“Good.” She steps closer, becoming more defiant. “Let them know. Let them all know that hurting me means facing The Shadow’s wrath. What you did to those men yesterday, make it a message they can’t ignore.”
“You don’t understand what you’re asking—”
“I understand perfectly. You want to send me away, put me in witness protection or ship me off to Italy or whatever plan you’ve concocted in the last six hours.” Her hand presses against mychest, right over my heart. “But here’s the thing, I’m not going. You can’t make me. And if you try, I’ll just find my way back.”
“Elena—”
“No. My turn.” Her eyes are fierce and determined. “I love you. Not the sanitized version, not the parts you think are acceptable. All of you. The man who makes me breakfast and the monster who kills without hesitation to protect me. The Shadow and Alessandro. I love all of it, and I’m not walking away because loving you is hard.”
“Hard doesn’t begin to cover what this will be.”
“Then let it be impossible. Let it be terrifying and dangerous and completely insane.” Her other hand comes up to frame my face. “But let it be us. Together. No more trying to protect me by pushing me away. No more making decisions for my own good. Just you and me against whatever comes.”
The words should be easy to argue against. They should be simple to dismantle with logic and reason and the cold reality of what tomorrow will bring.
But looking at her, fierce and stubborn and absolutely certain, arguing becomes impossible.
“You’re going to drive me insane,” the observation comes out rough.
“Probably. But you’ll never be bored.”
“Insane is a significant step beyond bored, tesoro.”
“You love me anyway.” It’s not a question.
“Cristo, yes. I love you anyway. Despite my better judgment, despite every logical reason not to, despite knowing this will probably end in disaster.” My hands find her waist, pulling her close. “I love you enough to burn the entire world down for you.”
“Then stop trying to send me away and let me stay.” Her arms wrap around my neck. “Let me be your weakness and your strength. I want to stand beside you instead of behind you.Let me love you the way you deserve to be loved, completely, recklessly, and without reservation.”
“You have no idea what you’re signing up for.”
“Then show me. Teach me. Make me yours in every way that matters and stop second-guessing whether I can handle it.” She rises on her toes, mouth brushing mine. “I’m stronger than you think, Alessandro De Luca. Strong enough to love a monster. Strong enough to survive your world. I’m strong enough to be exactly what you need.”
The kiss that follows erases any remaining resistance. She’s right, has been right all along. Sending her away won’t keep her safe. It will only separate us while enemies circle. Better to keep her close, protect her properly, make sure everyone knows that touching Elena Harper means death.
When we finally break apart, both breathing hard, the decision solidifies into certainty.
“Okay,” the word comes out rough. “Okay. You stay. But Elena, there are conditions.”
“Of course there are.”
“Security detail. Non-negotiable. Wherever you go, you have protection.”
“Agreed.”
“Training continues. Self-defense, weapons handling, situational awareness. You need to be able to protect yourself if I’m not there.”
“Also agreed.”
“And—” This part is harder. “You need to understand that what I do, the decisions I make, they’re not always going to be pretty. Sometimes I’ll have to do terrible things. Things that will give you nightmares. Can you live with that?”
She’s quiet for a moment, considering. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“Depends on the promise.”
