A CAGE OF VELVET AND STEEL
1066 Words
The world outside was quiet.
Too quiet.
Elena had spent ten years hiding from the ghosts of this life, but she should have known,
Ghosts never stayed buried.
Now, standing in the dimly lit room with Killian Moretti in front of her and Luca DeLuca in the doorway, gun in hand, she realized something chilling.
She had never truly escaped.
Killian didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
His entire body was carved from stone—calm, controlled, dangerous.
Luca, however, was all amusement.
A slow smirk tugged at his lips as he twirled the gun between his fingers.
“Well, well.”
Dark eyes flicked between them.
“Look at this. Just like old times.”
Elena’s stomach twisted.
No.
Not like old times.
Because the last time she had seen Luca,
She had been bleeding.
Killian’s voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“Put the gun down.”
Luca chuckled. “Why? You nervous?”
Killian’s lips curled at the edges, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“If I were nervous, you’d already be dead.”
The room thickened with tension.
Elena’s heart pounded.
She knew what Killian was capable of.
She had seen it.
Luca was playing a game.
Killian was not.
Luca took a step forward, his polished shoes clicking against the floor.
He moved like a man who didn’t fear death—
Because he had danced with it before.
His attention turned to Elena.
“And you,” he murmured, something cruel curling at the edge of his lips. “You just couldn’t stay away, could you?”
Elena forced herself to meet his gaze.
“I didn’t come for you.”
Luca’s smirk widened.
“Ouch. And here I thought we had history.”
History.
If that’s what he wanted to call betrayal, broken ribs, and bloodstained hands, then sure.
They had history.
Elena curled her fingers into fists, nails biting into her palms.
She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of fear.
Killian took a slow step forward.
“You have sixty seconds to tell me why you’re here.”
Luca tilted his head. “And if I don’t?”
Killian’s smile sharpened.
“Then I’ll assume you came to die.”
The silence stretched—taut, suffocating.
Then—
Luca laughed.
“God, I missed you, Moretti.”
Elena’s stomach clenched.
Killian’s patience was razor-thin.
Luca sighed, as if bored, and slid the gun into his jacket.
“Relax. I didn’t come to start a war.”
Killian didn’t look convinced.
“Then why are you here?”
Luca’s smirk faded.
Just enough for something colder to slip through.
“I came to give you a message.”
A warning.
Elena knew it before he even said it.
Luca’s gaze flicked to her.
“You shouldn’t have come back, sweetheart.”
A chill slid down her spine.
Killian moved before she could react.
One second, he was beside her.
The next—
He had Luca shoved against the wall, a knife pressed to his throat.
Luca didn’t even flinch.
“Elena isn’t your concern.”
Killian’s voice was a quiet, deadly promise.
Luca grinned.
“Oh, but she is.”
The blade pressed harder.
A thin bead of blood appeared against Luca’s skin.
But he just smiled wider.
Killian’s patience snapped.
“Explain.”
Luca exhaled slowly, as if savoring the moment.
“Word on the street is there’s a bounty on her head.”
The room turned ice cold.
Elena’s breath stilled.
A bounty.
On her.
She barely registered the way Killian went still, his entire body locking with tension.
His voice dropped to something lethal.
“Who?”
Luca’s smirk was slow.
“Who do you think?”
Only one name mattered.
Only one name had haunted Elena’s nightmares for ten years.
Killian’s jaw clenched.
“Dante.”
Luca’s smirk widened.
“Bingo.”
Elena felt the floor tilt beneath her.
No.
Dante couldn’t know she was back.
She had spent years making sure of it.
And yet—
If he wanted her dead, that meant one thing.
He had never stopped looking.
She pressed a hand to the wall, trying to steady herself.
Killian noticed.
His gaze snapped to her, dark and assessing.
Then, without a word, he pulled the knife away from Luca’s throat and turned to her.
“Elena.”
Her chest rose and fell too fast.
“Look at me.”
Killian’s voice was firm. Commanding.
She forced herself to.
He stepped closer, fingers brushing her wrist.
“You’re safe.”
But they both knew that was a lie.
Luca adjusted his jacket, unfazed.
“Safe? Not for long.”
Killian shot him a deadly look.
“Get out.”
Luca smirked.
“Whatever you say, boss.”
With a wink at Elena, he strolled out the door.
The second he was gone, the air shifted.
The silence felt heavier.
Killian turned back to her.
“We need to leave.”
She blinked.
“What?”
His voice was steel.
“Now.”
Elena shook her head.
“No. I came back for a reason.”
Killian’s jaw tightened.
“And now you have another one—to stay alive.”
A lump formed in her throat.
“I can’t just run.”
His eyes darkened.
“You don’t have a choice.”
The words echoed exactly what he had said before.
She let out a shaky breath.
“This is my fight.”
Killian’s expression hardened.
Then, before she could react, he closed the distance between them, fingers tilting her chin up to meet his gaze.
“No, Elena,” he murmured.
His touch was gentle.
His voice was not.
“This is war.”
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Elena gasped, her head snapping toward the door.
Killian was already moving.
He yanked her to the side, pressing her against the wall just as another shot rang out.
The bullets barely missed them.
Footsteps pounded in the hall.
They weren’t alone.
Killian cursed under his breath, reaching for the gun at his hip.
His eyes met Elena’s—dark, furious.
“You still think you have time?”
Her pulse thundered.
She had just stepped back into a world she had fought to escape.
And now,
It was coming for her.
Again.
Killian grabbed her wrist.
“No more waiting,” he growled.
Elena’s stomach clenched as he pulled her into the fire.
- Writer
