Page 45 of Bound to the Enforcer

"Stay sharp," Alessio murmurs.

Sharp? I'm sharper than I've ever been.

"Do you hear that?" Alessio whispers, pausing suddenly.

I freeze beside him, straining to listen. Something low, muffled, coming from deeper inside the warehouse. I can make out the sound of someone laughing—a cruel, familiar sound that makes my blood run cold.

"Domenico," I whisper, my teeth gritted.

Alessio nods, signaling for me to follow as we move silently between the crates. The voices grow louder, clearer, until we'reclose enough to see the faint glow of light spilling out from a large open area ahead.

Alessio crouches behind a stack of crates, pulling me down beside him. He glances at me, his dark eyes steady. "When we go in, don't hesitate. No second-guessing."

"I won't," I reply firmly.

"Good." He looks back toward the light, his jaw tight. "He's got guards, but we'll handle them. Stay on me."

I nod, my pulse quickening as Alessio rises slowly, his gun ready. I follow, my hands steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.

We step into the light.

The room opens up around us, a massive clearing surrounded by crates and old machinery. In the center, Domenico stands near a table covered in papers and maps, flanked by half a dozen of his men. He's dressed in a sharp black suit, his presence oozing confidence, like he's already won.

"Ah," Domenico says echoing through the space as he turns to face us. A slow, cold smile spreads across his face. "I was wondering how long it would take you to show up. I did tell you that everyone has a price. How is our friend by the way?"

The grip on my gun tightens. My eyes zero in their focus on his ugly face. My hatred crashes over me in waves, blinding and sharp.

I step forward before Alessio can stop me, my gun raised and pointed directly at Domenico's chest. "Hello, Uncle."

"Sophia, how have you been,cara? Long time no see." He bellows like the ogre he is. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me,piccola? I'm disappointed. You've inherited your father's temper, but none of his cunning."

The way he says it—so casual, so cruel—makes me see red.

"You killed my sister, you fucker," I say, trembling with anger. "You sold her. You used her. And you think you're going to walk out of here alive?"

Domenico's smile doesn't waver. "Your sister? Ah, yes." He shrugs, completely unbothered. "A regrettable necessity. But she was just one piece on the board, Sophia. The cost of business."

"Business?" I snap. "She wasfamily. We trusted you once upon a time."

Domenico's expression darkens slightly, his smile fading. "Trust is a weakness in our world. I'm teaching you that lesson now."

"Enough," Alessio growls beside me, his gun trained on one of Domenico's men. "Call them off, Domenico, or I'll drop every one of them where they stand."

Domenico's men shift, their hands hovering near their weapons, but Domenico raises a hand, stopping them.

"Careful, Alessio," he says smooth as silk. "You wouldn't want to get her killed, would you? You think you're protecting her, but you're just delaying the inevitable. Only one Romano can survive this fight."

Alessio tenses beside me.

"You've already lost," I say, stepping forward again, my gun never wavering. "The families will know what you are. We'll expose everything, the trafficking, the betrayals. You won't have anywhere to hide."

Domenico chuckles softly, shaking his head. "Go ahead and try, little one. You're playing a game that you don't know the rules to."

It happens fast. Domenico drops his hand, and his men move. Gunfire erupts, the sharp cracks echoing off the steel walls.

"Move!" Alessio shouts, shoving me behind a stack of crates as bullets tear through the air.

I hit the ground hard, my hands scraping against the concrete as I scramble for cover. Alessio fires back, his movements sharp and precise, taking down two of Domenico's men in seconds.

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