Page 26 of Bound By Honor

Dominic’s eyes move from me to his sister, and I watch the transformation happen—shock bleeding into understanding, understanding hardening into rage. The sound of his gun clearing leather seems impossibly loud in the sudden silence.

“Dom, no—” Enzo starts, but the crack of the gunshot drowns him out.

White-hot pain explodes in my shoulder, the copper smell of blood filling my nostrils. Aurora’s scream pierces through everything, the sound carrying all the horror I feel. Warm crimson seeps between my fingers as I press my hand against the wound, each heartbeat pushing out more life, more betrayal.

“Luciano!” Aurora launches herself toward me, but Marco catches her, the sheet I’d used to shield her now tangling around her thrashing limbs. Her scream turns feral, primal.

“Dom, what have you done? Let me go!”

Through the growing haze, I meet Dominic’s eyes. His gun remains trained on me, unwavering, but I see the hurt beneath his fury. The brother I’ve known since childhood looks at me like a stranger.

“You were my brother,” he says, his voice carrying all the winter’s chill. “And this is how you repay my trust?”

The last thing I register is Aurora fighting against Marco’s grip, tears streaming down her face as she reaches for me. Her skin glows golden in the lamplight, beautiful even in despair.

“Perdonami, principessa,”I whisper, the taste of copper flooding my mouth as darkness claims me.

11

AURORA POV

The leather seat is cold beneath me, but the ice in Marco’s voice cuts deeper. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. Luciano could be dead, and I might never know the truth.

My chest constricts with each ragged breath, hands trembling as I press them against my thighs. The taste of copper fills my mouth—I’ve been biting my lip so hard it bleeds.

“For Christ’s sake, Aurora, stop crying.” Marco’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel. “What did you think would happen? That Dom would just accept this?”

I press my forehead against the tinted window, watching Chicago’s lights blur through my tears. “Just tell me if he’s alive.”

“Why? So you can run back to him?” His laugh is bitter. “Look what good that did either of you.”

“Marco, please.” My voice cracks. “I need to know.”

He’s silent for so long I think he won’t answer. Finally, he sighs. “He’s enroute to the hospital. That’s all I know.”

Relief floods me, followed immediately by crushing guilt. “This is my fault.”

“Damn right it is.” But his voice softens slightly. “What were you thinking,piccola? Luciano of all people?”

“I love him.”

The words hang in the air between us. Marco curses under his breath.

“Love?” He shakes his head. “You’re twenty-one. You don’t know what love is.”

“I know it feels like my heart’s being ripped out.” I wrap my arms around myself, fighting fresh tears. “I know I can’t breathe thinking he might?—“

“Stop.” Marco’s tone brooks no argument. “Just... stop. Dom’s waiting at the mansion. He needs to handle this before word gets out.”

Fear coils in my stomach. “Handle what?”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” He meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “This isn’t just about you and Luciano. The Rossis are looking for any excuse to break the peace treaty. An affair between the consigliere and the Don’s sister? That’s ammunition.”

“It wasn’t an affair?—“

“No?” His voice turns sharp again. “What would you call fucking your brother’s best friend in a safe house?”

Heat floods my cheeks. “It wasn’t like that.”

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