Chapter 4 - Under His Roof
Matteo and four heavily armed enforcers burst through the penthouse doors twenty seconds later, weapons drawn, their eyes widening at the carnage before them.
“Boss!” Matteo shouted, taking in the bodies on the floor and Marco’s lifeless form. “The basement team was ambushed. Carlo personally cleared Marco’s lockup and disabled the comm relays.”
“I know,” Adrian said, without looking back. “Marco is dead. Carlo is heading to the Lake Michigan logistics docks to finalize the transfer of the port shares to the Valentis.”
Matteo’s face went pale. “Boss, if they take the docks, they control the city’s entire supply grid. It will take a full-scale war to dislodge them.”
“Then we go to war,” Adrian replied. He turned to Matteo. “Get a cleanup crew up here immediately. Clear the penthouse. And assemble every soldier we have at the South Loop compound. We move in twenty minutes.”
“Understood,” Matteo said, quickly giving orders to the men behind him before sprinting back toward the stairwell.
Adrian turned to me. His eyes swept over my hands, which were still stained with his brother’s blood. The hard, murderous edge in his face softened just a fraction.
“Come with me,” he said, gently taking my arm and leading me toward his private bathroom.
He turned on the gold faucet, letting the warm water fill the basin. Without a word, he took a soft white washcloth, soaked it, and gently took my hands in his.
I stood there, trembling slightly from the shock of what had just transpired. Adrian carefully, methodically, washed Marco’s blood from my skin. His touch was reverent, almost sacred. He cleaned each finger, each knuckle, his thumb gently smoothing over the silver bracelet on my wrist.
“You shouldn't have had to see that,” Adrian said softly, his voice thick with unexpressed sorrow.
“He was your brother,” I whispered, looking up into his dark, tormented eyes. “Even after what he did... he was still your blood.”
Adrian paused, his hands still holding mine beneath the running water. “Blood means nothing if there is no loyalty. My father taught me that family is everything. But my father was wrong. Loyalty is everything. And Marco traded his for scraps from a traitor.”
He dried my hands with a clean towel, then looked down at me with an intensity that made the breath catch in my throat.
“I won't let Carlo take what your father died protecting,” Adrian said, his hand rising to cup my jaw, his thumb tracing the curve of my cheekbone. “Roberto gave his life so that this city wouldn't fall into the hands of animals like Carlo and the Valentis. And tonight, I’m finishing what he started.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said, looking directly into his eyes.
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Absolutely not. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”
“Adrian, you need the master digital key to freeze the port transfer!” I insisted, stepping closer until my chest brushed against his. “Marco stole eighteen million, but Carlo needs to execute the smart contract on the blockchain platform using the master authentication code. That code is buried inside the encrypted audit file on my laptop. If you just go in there shooting, they’ll execute the transfer before you even breach the warehouse! You’ll win the battle, but you’ll lose the city!”
Adrian stared down at me, his eyes blazing with a mixture of fury, admiration, and fierce possessiveness.
“You are out of your mind,” he whispered, his face inches from mine.
“I’ve spent seven years being cautious, Adrian,” I fired back, my voice unwavering. “Caution got my father killed. Tonight, I want justice.”
Adrian let out a low, ragged breath. Before I could process the shift, his hand slid into my hair, pulling me toward him, and his lips crashed down onto mine.
The kiss was fierce, desperate, and intoxicating. It carried all the suppressed tension of the night, the taste of danger, bourbon, and raw desire. I let out a soft gasp against his mouth, and Adrian deepened the kiss, his arm wrapping around my waist, pulling me completely flush against the hard, muscular line of his body. For a heartbeat, the chaos outside ceased to exist. There was only the fire of his touch, the warmth of his mouth, and the undeniable truth that our fates had been intertwined long before tonight.
When he finally pulled back, his chest was heaving, his dark eyes burning with a possessive fire that made my knees weak.
“If you stay beside me, Elena,” Adrian growled against my lips, “there is no going back. The moment we walk out that door together, you belong to this world. You belong to me.”
I met his smoldering gaze, my pulse roaring in my ears.
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“I was never afraid of your world, Adrian,” I whispered. “Let’s go take it back.”
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