CRIMSON IVY

Chapter 13: The Silent Guardian

​"I’m not your soft spot," Sloane said, her voice dropping to a register that made Dante’s head snap up. She didn't pull her hand away; instead, she squeezed his knuckles, grounding him. "I am a Vitali. We don’t break under pressure; we turn into diamonds. If my father can’t be here to advise you, then I will. You didn’t just marry a debt, Dante. You married the smartest mind in this business."

​Dante stared at her, the exhaustion in his eyes flickering out to be replaced by a slow, predatory fascination. He leaned closer, his shadow swallowing her whole against the headboard. "You’ve been reading those law books too long, Sloane. You think you can talk our way out of a m******e? This isn't a mock trial. This is street war."

​"No," she said, standing up and crossing the room to the desk where her suppressed 9mm lay beside her textbooks. She picked it up, the weight familiar now, and turned it over in her hands. "I think I can find the legal loopholes in the Sokolovs' shipping manifests to freeze their offshore assets while you handle the 'clean-up.' We hit them from the cloud and the concrete at the same time. We don't just kill them, Dante. We bankrupt their legacy."

​Dante stood, his presence filling the room. He walked toward her, his movements fluid despite his fatigue. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her flush against his heat. The tension between them was no longer just about the contract or the fear; it was an electric, dangerous attraction that thrived on the chaos outside.

​"You're a brilliant, terrifying woman," he whispered, his lips grazing the sensitive skin of her neck. "I almost feel sorry for them."

​"Don't," Sloane murmured, leaning back into him. "Just make sure they never get close enough to see the color of my eyes again."