Page 23 of Silent Night With Alessio

I nod, leading her toward Sophia’s stand. Sophia is a staple in this market. And Sophia herself is a woman filled with an infectious energy that gets even me smiling sometimes. But she’s also pretty smart and keeps her ears and eyes open. I’ve got some very useful information from her a few times.

Sophia spots me as we approach her stall and grins, her voice loud and warm. “Well, hello there! Don’t you make the perfect picture…” She winks at Isabella. “What can I get you two today?”

Isabella laughs, the sound soft and warm, and my heart tugs in a way I’m not prepared for. She talks with Sophia easily, laughing as they watch a couple of kids racing past, and something about her joy, her openness, tugs at a place in me I’d thought I’d closed off long ago.

Once we have our cocoa, I turn to her, clearing my throat. “Listen… about this morning. I didn’t handle things right.”

Her eyes meet mine, her expression guarded, uncertain. I push forward; the words tumbling out.

“I… don’t know what this feeling is, Isabella. But I know it’s strong. And I don’t want to see you get hurt. Seeing you in danger, it…” I pause, feeling the weight of my vulnerability, hating it. “It terrifies me. I don’t want you involved in this life, not in a way that puts you at risk.”

Her gaze takes a turn, a look of fierce determination shining in her eyes. “Isn’t it too late, Alessio?” Her voice is quiet but firm, her words sinking into me like a knife. “I’m already involved. And I’m not afraid. Don’t be afraid for me, either.”

For a moment, we just stand there, the crowd moving around us, the noise of the market a distant hum. It’s a charged moment, one that leaves me wordless, with no response. She turns and moves ahead, walking to a shop with Christmas decorations in it, and I follow.

And as we continue to walk, buying decorations, I catch glimpses of families, parents with their children, laughing, smiling. A part of me wonders…. could I ever have had that? A life of peace and warmth, one that isn’t clouded by violence and shadows?

When we have everything we need, we walk through the bubbling streets, as we turn a corner to the part of the market steeped in the carnival atmosphere, the joyful energy that seems to engulf the entire market reaching its peak here

Isabella’s gaze lands on a banner being raised, a flaming phoenix, the symbol of the Luciana family, its wings spread in a brilliant blaze. She stares at it, a look of awe in her eyes.

“That’s… beautiful,” she murmurs.

I nod. “The phoenix symbolizes hope, rebirth. The Luciana family has deep roots in this city. We’re… meant to be a guiding light… that’s why it’s a phoenix on the signet ring.”

She’s silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on the banner. Then, she whispers, almost to herself, “Did I mention the phoenix at the shop?”

It’s a question that makes little sense, not with what I’ve just said, anyway. I feel a frown form on my face, the confusion clear on my feature. “What do you mean?”

She turns, facing me, but just before she can answer, my eyes narrow into a glare over her shoulder as I spot two hooded figures in the crowd, their eyes locked on us. I can tell that they know I’ve seen them, because they move in our direction. My blood runs cold.

“Isabella,” I say, my voice tight. “We need to leave. Now.”

“What?” Before the word was fully out of her mouth, I’ve grabbed her hand and pulled her off after me.

We make a quick dash for the car. Dom sees us approaching and is alert immediately, starting the car and flinging open the back door so we can jump in. He’s used to this.

As we speed back to the Lodge, Isabella turns to me, her expression tense.

“Alessio… I never told Tomasso, the jeweler, about the phoenix engraving on the ring. But he joked about it.”

I frown slightly. “What are you talking about?”

She seems impatient. “Think, Alessio! I never mentioned that it was a perching phoenix on the original ring. Even at the market just now, the banners were all of a phoenix in flight. How did he learn that the phoenix on the ring was perched?”

I stare at her in confusion for a few seconds, and then it hits me. Only someone who’d seen the Luciana ring would know the exact design of the phoenix…

Have we been played?

10

Isabella

Ican’t believe Ididn’t catch it the moment he said it.

I know it’s just a suspicion, but I completely believe it’s Tomasso who did this now. They probably took Bruce the jeweler as a distraction.

Snow blurs past the windows, streetlights casting brief glances of light and shadow over Alessio’s face. He’s sitting beside me in the back seat, eyes distant, like he’s lost somewhere in the whirlwind of what I just said.

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