Chapter One — Vinny
I knew it was a dream, but that never stopped me from losing myself in it.
The air was thick with her scent—vanilla and citrus, warm and sweet, like home. My fingers traced the delicate lace of her nightgown, feeling the softness beneath, the steady rise and fall of her breath as she lay against me. Her hair spilled across my chest, dark and silken, and I buried my face in it, breathing her in as if she were the only thing keeping me alive.
"Vincente," she whispered, her lips grazing my jaw.
No one else ever said my name the way she did. Hers was the kind of voice that could make God forgive sins, the kind that made a man like me believe in redemption.
I cupped her cheek, my thumb brushing the curve of her bottom lip.
"Mi reina," I murmured, drinking her in.
Outside this bed, the world didn't exist. No blood. No death. No weight of past sins dragging me under.
Just her.
Just this.
Her laughter vibrated against my chest, light and teasing.
"You look at me like you know this is the last time."
I stiffened.
My gut twisted.
The dream always led me here—to the moment I lost her. The moment I failed her.
"Stay with me," I pleaded, my voice cracking.
I already knew the answer.
I already knew what came next.
She smiled, something dark flickering behind those doe eyes—the ones that saw too much and understood more than I ever could.
"You already know how this ends. See you tomorrow night, baby."
A gunshot shattered the air.
Then she was gone.
Her warmth.
Her scent.
The sound of her voice.
Vanished.
I shot upright, gasping, my chest tight as if I'd been drowning. My hands clawed at the sheets, searching for her, but there was nothing.
Just me.
The phone on the nightstand buzzed violently, its screen lighting up with a name I didn't want to see.
Lady of Rage.
