Page 10 of Silent Night With Adrian

Chapter 8 Mia

The storm rages outside, the kind of blizzard that transforms everything into a swirling, white prison. Five feet of snow predicted, with more piling up every hour. The walls are thick, but even in here, you can feel the weight of the storm pressing down, trapping us.

I sit on the couch, my wrists still cuffed behind me, feeling the ache in my shoulders but refusing to let Adrian see my discomfort. Every time his gaze flickers over to me, there’s something in his eyes—curiosity, or maybe it’s just the thrill of having me here against my will. It’s irritatingly infuriating.

“So, Mia,” he says, breaking the silence, “how did you get yourself tangled up in all this?”

I roll my eyes. “Well, it all started when a couple of thugs in an SUV wouldn’t stop tailing me…”

He smirks, not taking the bait. “I meant the bigger picture. This life. You’re clearly not thrilled with it.”

“No,” I snap. “I’m not. I’ve never been. But that doesn’t mean I had a choice. I’m here because of family, because that’s what’sexpected. I didn’t sign up to be someone’s pawn. I had my own plans.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Plans?”

“Yes. Law school, independence, a life away from all this,” I say, frustration seeping into my voice. “But this life doesn’t let anyone go, especially not the daughter of a Vitale.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of resentment about that,” he murmurs, watching me carefully.

“Resentment?” I scoff. “You make it sound so tame. It’s not resentment. It’s more like…” I pause, my voice dropping to a whisper. “It’s like being trapped in a cage I’ll never escape from, no matter how hard I try.”

The storm howls outside, a reminder of how isolated we are, and for a moment, the silence hangs heavy between us.

He leans forward, elbows on his knees, and the flicker of a grin touches his lips. “Maybe that’s what we all are, Mia. Trapped. You think I chose this life?” His voice has an edge to it, something dark and weary.

“You’re here, aren’t you? You’re doing the Luciana’s’ dirty work. Seems like you’ve accepted your role,” I challenge, raising my chin defiantly.

He narrows his eyes, clearly not used to someone talking back. “I’m doing what I need to survive. Same as you.”

“Except survival means very different things for us,” I murmur. “For you, it’s following orders and spilling blood. For me, it was supposed to mean a life beyond all this…until you dragged me here and buried my plans under five feet of snow.”

There’s a flicker of something in his gaze—a momentary crack in his armor. “You think your family would’ve let you go that easily? You’d have to fake your own death to be free from that kind of life.”

I force a bitter laugh. “Don’t think I haven’t thought of it. But it wouldn’t matter. Even if I left, they’d track me down, bringme back, or worse.” My voice catches. “If Dante doesn’t come for me, then…then maybe that’s it. Maybe I’m just as expendable as the rest of them.”

Adrian’s face hardens. He leans back, crossing his arms, studying me. “So you really believe he won’t come for you?”

I look away, swallowing the knot in my throat. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I just know I’m sick of being a pawn in someone else’s game.”

“Funny,” he says quietly, almost to himself. “I thought you’d be tougher than that.”

I whip my head back toward him, fury bubbling up. “Tough? I’m tougher than you’ll ever know. But toughness doesn’t mean I have to be happy about being here.”

The storm outside picks up, the wind screaming like some kind of furious beast. Adrian glances toward the window, then back at me, his gaze a mixture of defiance and something softer. Maybe sympathy, maybe something else.

“Well, like it or not, we’re both trapped here for now,” he says, his voice rough. “And no one’s digging us out anytime soon.”

I stare at him, unyielding, forcing my fear and frustration to simmer beneath the surface. But inside, I’m crumbling. The man in front of me isn’t my savior; he’s my captor, my enemy. And yet, there’s a part of me that almost…understands him.

The snow continues to fall, sealing us into this silent, isolated world. For better or worse, Adrian Luciana and I are here, alone in this prison of snow and silence, and the only thing left between us is the uncertain, electric tension that fills the room.

Chapter 9 Mia

Adrian has a way of filling the entire room, his presence commanding without even trying.

While the winter storm outside rages, swallowing the world in snow and sealing us inside this cabin, Adrian sits across from me, relaxed and completely unfazed by the blizzard. I try to keep my distance, maintain a wall of hostility, but as the hours pass, my gaze drifts to him more than I’d like to admit.

He’s a presence that’s impossible to ignore. His jaw is all hard angles, framed by a day-old scruff that only adds to his rugged allure. Shadows dance across his face in the dim cabin light, accentuating the sharp lines and hollows that make up his harshly handsome features. His eyes—striking, almost impossibly blue—are intense, flickering with a sharpness that reveals a mind constantly at work.

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