Aria Romano had gotten under my skin in a way no one ever had. She made me want things I couldn't have. Made me willing to risk things I shouldn't risk.
Made me feel like burning down the entire world was worth it if it meant keeping her.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
Because I'd spent years being patient. Being strategic. Building a case against my father methodically, carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But now? With Aria? I was losing that patience. That careful calculation.
I was becoming reckless.
And reckless people in this world didn't survive long.
I texted Marco one more time: Keep working the case. Push Father Benedetto harder. We need this wrapped up fast.
How fast?
Before my father gets back. Before I do something we'll all regret.
That's less than two weeks, Kai. That's not enough time—
Make it enough time. Please.
He didn't respond immediately. When he finally did, his message was simple: I'll do what I can. But you need to do your part. Stay away from her.
I'll try.
Try harder.
I pocketed my phone. Looked around my destroyed office. Evidence of how close Aria and I had come to crossing a line we couldn't uncross.
Luca was watching. My father would be home soon. The case wasn't ready yet.
Everything was falling apart.
And all I could think about was how good Aria had felt in my arms. How right it had felt to finally touch her again.
How I wanted nothing more than to find her right now and finish what we'd started.
Fuck. I was so screwed.
Chapter Eleven
ARIA
The book in my lap might as well have been written in French for all I could comprehend was nothing. Words blurred together, meaningless shapes on paper while my mind replayed the scene in Kai's office on an endless loop.
His hands on my skin. His mouth hot against mine. The way he'd looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
I'd tried to stay away. Really tried. Spent yesterday locked in my room, forcing myself to read, to sleep, to think about anything except him.
Complete failure on all counts.
Footsteps crunched on the garden gravel. My entire body recognized the sound before my mind caught up—the deliberate pace, the confident stride.
Kai. He didn't ask permission. Just dropped onto the bench beside me, close enough that his shoulder pressed against mine. Warm. Solid. Real.
Everything inside me that had been wound tight since yesterday suddenly loosened. The knot in my chest unraveled. My shouldersdropped from where they'd been hunched around my ears. Even the headache that had been building behind my eyes eased.
