Chapter 1
Alessia's POV
The metallic taste of blood hung heavy in the air, mixing with the salty tang of sea mist and the acrid bite of gunpowder. I kicked the last body, confirming he was stone cold dead.
"Area secured. No survivors," I reported into my earpiece, voice steady.
Rapid footsteps echoed from outside the warehouse.
"Shit!" I quickly scanned the scene. Couldn't leave any traces—
The metal door burst open with a bang. Dante appeared in the doorway. Even in the dim light, I could feel the fury radiating from him like heat from a furnace.
"What the HELL did I tell you?!" His voice boomed through the empty warehouse. "NO solo operations without my direct orders!"
I looked up to meet his blazing dark eyes. "The situation was urgent, I couldn't wait—"
Before I could finish, he strode over and grabbed my collar, slamming me hard against the shipping container. The cold metal bit through my shirt and into my skin.
"Are you trying to get yourself KILLED?!" His face was inches from mine, his hot breath hitting my skin. "Do you have any idea what would happen to me if something happened to you? If I lost—"
He didn't finish, but I saw the fear in his eyes. Raw, genuine terror that made me almost forget my cover.
"Let me check if you're hurt..." His voice turned rough, calloused fingers beginning to examine my body for wounds.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Not from the fight, but from his touch. Damn adrenaline, damn this tense atmosphere, and damn... this man.
"Dante, I'm fine..." I tried to push him away, but his grip was iron.
His hands moved to my chest, starting to unbutton my shirt. "Don't talk. Let me see..."
NO!
The chest binder had loosened during the fight. If he kept going, if he discovered the truth—
"Goddamn it, Alex..." he murmured, voice shaking. "I thought I was going to lose you..."
My shirt tore open at the corner, exposing the edge of the binding. His hand was still moving downward—
I couldn't let him find out!
In desperation, I lunged forward and crashed my lips against his, stopping his exploration. Dante froze for a heartbeat, then responded with even more intensity. His hand moved away from my chest to cup the back of my head, deepening the kiss.
The plan worked, but the cost was drowning in the moment myself. His tongue pushed past my lips, claiming every inch of territory. I could feel his body's reaction, the burning heat transferring through our clothes.
His hands began to roam, caressing my back with a touch both gentle and possessive. I couldn't suppress a quiet moan, and that sound drove him wild.
"Fuck... Alex..." he panted against my ear, voice husky. "Do you know what you're doing to me?"
But reason screamed I had to stop. I shoved him away hard, chest heaving.
"This place isn't safe... someone might come..."
The fire in his eyes burned even more dangerously, his possessiveness not fading but intensifying.
"Damn it, I can't keep doing this!" He pressed closer again, eyes holding an almost manic hunger. "I need you, Alex. I need—"
I knew that look. Every time he gave me that expression, I couldn't refuse. Just like countless times over the past year, I'd use my hands... or other ways to satisfy his craving.
"Dante, don't..." My voice had lost all conviction.
But he wouldn't listen. He never listened.
Twenty minutes later, we sat in the black sedan heading back. I pretended to sleep against the window, but every nerve was wire-tight.
Dante held my hand in that possessive grip that made me feel both safe and terrified. One year. I'd lived beside him as Alex for one whole year, becoming his most trusted lieutenant, his most intimate... what?
My real name was Alessia Ross, the sole survivor of the Ross family. Seven years ago, my family was wiped out by unknown forces—the entire bloodline erased in a single night. To survive, I learned to masquerade as a "man" and became the right hand of Dante Black, heir to this powerful mafia dynasty.
But I never expected this ruthless heir to develop feelings for me as a "man." And I certainly never expected to fall for him...
A phone ring shattered my chaotic thoughts. Dante released my hand to answer.
"Tonight's business is handled... I'll be on time for tomorrow's engagement ceremony."
My heart clenched like a fist.
Ivy. He was talking to Ivy.
"I know, sweetheart... I miss you too..."
Every word was a knife to my heart. Right. Dante had a fiancée. Tomorrow was their engagement party. After all, he couldn't marry a "man."
I smiled bitterly to myself. Such was the cruel reality.
Twenty minutes later, the car climbed onto the Hudson River Bridge. The sunset bled crimson, painting all of New York in an ominous red.
Just as I was drowning in complex emotions, the window suddenly exploded with a sharp "CRACK."
"GET DOWN!" Dante instantly covered me as more bullets pelted the car body with harsh metallic impacts.
"Shit, sniper!" He drew his gun, rapidly assessing the situation. "Engine's dead. We need to get out and find cover!"
My pulse quickened, but not from fear.
"On my count, we run to the bridge support!" Dante commanded.
Just as we prepared to bolt from the car, I spotted the figure on the distant rooftop.
Everything was going according to plan.
"NOW!"
We burst from the car doors simultaneously. The moment Dante was exposed to the sniper's line of sight, I made what appeared to be an instinctive move—I shoved him aside.
The bullet struck my chest with surgical precision.
"ALEX! NO!" Dante's voice was soul-shattering.
I slowly fell toward the bridge edge, blood staining my white shirt crimson. In the last moment before plunging into the Hudson River, I saw the despair in his eyes.
"Goodbye... Dante..." I whispered with my final breath.
Then I fell into the icy darkness.
