Page 94 of Ruthless Desire

She looks up at me, a small, enigmatic smile playing on her lips. “With you? For the first time, I think that’s a yes.”

I grin, feeling something warm and dangerous unfurl in my chest. "That's what I like to hear."

As we fly off into the unknown, I can't help but laugh. Let them come. Let the whole fucking world try to take her from me.

They'll learn. Everyone always does.

You don't fuck with Dante Corleone. And you sure as hell don't touch what's his.

Game on, motherfuckers. Game on.

Chapter 27 Natalie

The taste of blood and gunpowder lingers on my tongue as the helicopter blades whir to life. My ears ring, drowning out everything but the frantic pounding of my heart. Dante's arm is an iron band around my waist, his breath hot against my neck as he shouts orders I can barely hear.

We're alive. Somehow, against all odds, we've survived the assault on the villa. But at what cost?

The ground falls away beneath us, the burning ruins of Dante's empire shrinking into the distance. I should feel relieved, triumphant even. Instead, a cold emptiness gnaws at my insides. How many people died today because of me? Because Dante Corleone decided I was a prize worth killing for?

"You okay, solnyshko?" Dante's voice cuts through the fog in my head. His dark eyes search my face, concern etched in the hard lines of his features. It's jarring to see genuine worry there, a crack in his usual mask of cool control.

I open my mouth to respond, but the words catch in my throat. Am I okay? I don't even know what that means anymore.

Instead, I nod, not trusting my voice. Dante's grip on me tightens, and I hate how safe it makes me feel. How, even now, some traitorous part of me craves his touch.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he says, his lips brushing my ear. "But I've got you. Nothing's gonna touch you, understand?"

The possessiveness in his tone sends a shiver down my spine. It should repulse me, this claim he's laid on my very existence. But the heat pooling low in my belly tells a different story.

I turn to look out the window, unable to meet his gaze. The Mediterranean stretches out beneath us, a vast expanse of blue that seems to mock the chaos we've left behind. For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like to slip into those cool depths, to let the waves wash away the blood and sin that stains my skin.

But Dante's presence beside me is an anchor, tethering me to this new reality whether I like it or not.

A burst of static from the cockpit makes me jump. Dante tenses, his hand moving to the gun at his hip.

"Boss," the pilot's voice crackles through the speaker. "We've got company. Two bogies on our six, closing fast."

"Fuck," Dante snarls, his face hardening into a mask of cold fury. "How the hell did they find us so quickly?"

My stomach drops as the implications sink in. "You think someone betrayed us?"

Dante's laugh is bitter, devoid of humor. "In this business? It's not a question of if, but when." His eyes lock onto mine, dark and intense. "But don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll handle it."

I bristle at his patronizing tone. "I'm not some damsel in distress, Dante. I can handle myself."

His smile is all teeth, a predator's grin that sends a thrill of fear – and something darker – through me. "Oh, I know you can, solnyshko. That's what makes you so fucking irresistible."

Before I can respond, the helicopter banks sharply to the left. My stomach lurches as we drop altitude, skimming dangerously close to the waves.

"Hold on tight," Dante growls, pulling me flush against him. "This is gonna get rough."

The next few minutes are a blur of terror and adrenaline. The pilot weaves through a series of heart-stopping maneuvers, trying to shake our pursuers. I cling to Dante, my face buried in his chest, inhaling the scent of gunpowder and expensive cologne.

Just when I think we've lost them, a deafening explosion rocks the helicopter. Alarms blare as we start to spin, the world outside becoming a dizzying kaleidoscope of sea and sky.

"We're hit!" the pilot shouts. "Brace for impact!"

Dante's arms tighten around me, his body curling protectively over mine as we plummet towards the unforgiving sea. In those final seconds, a strange calm washes over me. If this is how it ends, at least I'm not alone.

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