"How long?" I cut through his explanation. Needed the truth. Needed to understand if any hope actually existed. "How much time do you need to finish this case?"
He hesitated. That single beat of silence told me everything.
"Kai. How. Long."
"I don't know." The admission seemed torn fromhim. "Father Benedetto wants more concrete evidence. Marco says maybe another month. Possibly longer—"
"The wedding is in less than two months." Tears spilled down my face. "We don't have another month. We don't have time."
His hands moved from my shoulders to cup my face. Tilted it up, forcing eye contact.
"I will figure this out. I promise, Aria. I will find a way—"
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Sobs choked me. "Don't promise things that might get us both killed."
"Then what?" His voice cracked too. "Give up? Let him have you? Watch you marry him and pretend I don't feel what I feel?"
"I don't know!" Full breakdown now. Complete collapse. "I just know this—us—it won't end well. It can't. And pretending otherwise will only make it hurt more when everything falls apart."
He pulled me against his chest. Arms wrapped around me—solid, warm, everything I needed despite being the last thing I should want.
"Listen." His voice rumbled against my ear. "I've spent eight years planning this. Eight years gathering evidence, building alliances, waiting for the perfect moment. And I'm close. So fucking close. I just need a little more time."
"We don't have time—"
"Then I'll make time. I'll push harder. Take bigger risks. Whatever it takes." His grip tightened. "But I'm not giving up. And I'm not letting him have you. That's non-negotiable."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to think he could actually pull off the impossible. That somehow we'd find an exit from this nightmare.
But all I could think was how volatile this was. How dangerous. How our love, because it was love, I couldn't deny that anymore would get us both killed.
His promise wouldn't save us. It would destroy us.
And I was too far gone to stop it now.
"Promise me one thing." I pulled back enough to meet his eyes. "If this goes wrong, if your father discovers us, you protect Lia first. Before me. Before yourself. She needs to survive this."
"Aria—"
"Promise me."
He stared at me for a long moment. Then nodded slowly. "I promise."
A lie. I could see it written clearly in his eyes. He'd try to save all of us or die trying.
Which was exactly what I was afraid of.
Our love was volatile. Explosive. The kind that destroyed everything it touched.
And we were both too far gone to walk away.
Less than two weeks until Salvatore returned. Less than two months until the wedding.
The clock was ticking. And I had no idea if Kai could actually pull off the impossible.
Or if we were both just counting down to our own destruction.
Chapter Twelve
