Page 44 of Bound to the Enforcer

Domenico's men.

The realization hits me like a punch to the gut.

"Matteo," I say sharply. "What did you do?"

He doesn't answer, but his face says everything. He won't meet my eyes, and then he finally speaks.

"I didn't have a choice, Sophia."

"You son of a—" Alessio steps forward, his gun raised in an instant, but Matteo holds up his hands.

"Stop!" Matteo says quickly, desperate. "You think I wanted to do this? Domenico got to me. He's got people on my family. Mysister, Alessio. I couldn't…" He trails off.

"I could have protected your family, had you only told me. Fucking hell, Matteo," Alessio growls, his finger steady on the trigger.

"I'm sorry," Matteo replies, though he doesn't sound like he believes it himself.

I feel sick. Everything we've planned—everything I've been fighting for—it's been turned against us. Matteo sold us out, and Domenico is waiting for us inside.

"Get out of here," Matteo whispers. "Before they close in. You can still?—"

A gunshot cuts him off. The sound is deafening in the stillness, and Matteo staggers back, his eyes wide with shock before he collapses onto the ground.

Alessio spins toward the alley, firing two quick shots into the shadows.

"Move!" he yells, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the warehouse entrance.

Bullets tear through the air as Domenico's men close in, the crack of gunfire echoing off the steel walls. I run, my heart pounding, only one thought in my head:Matteo betrayed us.

I will have his head for what he has done to us. If I live after this, that is.

Alessio shoves open the warehouse door, pulling me inside as bullets ping off the metal frame. The door slams shut behind us, plunging us into darkness. I press my back against the cold wall, trying to catch my breath, my gun shaking slightly in my grip.

Alessio stands beside me, his face shadowed but hard, his breathing ragged. "Are you hit?"

"No," I manage, forcing the word out. "You?"

"I'm fine," he mutters, peeking through a crack in the door. "We don't have long. They'll be inside any second."

The betrayal still sits heavy in my chest, but I push it down. I can't afford to think about why he did it or what it means. Right now, all that matters is survival.

Alessio turns to me, his expression unreadable in the dark. "We change plans. We get Domenico tonight. He will be here, I'm sure of it."

I nod, steadying my breath, my hatred for Domenico burning hotter than ever. He didn't just take my sister. He didn't just betray my family. Now, he's taken someone else from me—Matteo, a man I trusted.

"This ends tonight," I whisper, the words more of a vow than a promise.

"Let's finish it."

We are on a suicide mission. But as long as I take Domenico with me, then it doesn't matter.

Chapter Thirteen

Sophia

The darkness inside the warehouse feels alive, pressing in on me as Alessio and I move between the towering stacks of crates. My breaths are shallow, the air thick with dust and the faint scent of oil. Every noise—footsteps, the click of a gun being loaded—feels sharper, like a knife cutting into my senses.

I tighten my grip on the gun in my hand, the weight of it grounding me. Domenico is here. He's close. And with every step I take, the fury burning in my chest grows hotter.

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