Chapter Four – When Fire Sleeps
1058 Words
The room was warm, heavy with the weight of what they had done. Moonlight filtered through sheer curtains, casting silver on bare skin, secrets, and a bed tangled with truth.
Aeris lay still, eyes open, listening to the steady rhythm of Luca’s breathing behind her.
She hadn’t expected the kiss. She hadn’t expected to let it happen. And she definitely hadn’t expected to feel safe in his arms.
That scared her more than the missions ever did.
Because safety was always an illusion. Especially in the arms of a man like Luca Moretti.
Luca stirred, one hand sliding over her waist like he’d done it a thousand times before. It wasn’t possessive. It wasn’t even seductive. It was... gentle.
As if he didn’t want her to vanish.
“Are you awake?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
Silence.
A thousand unsaid things hung in the air between them.
Luca rested his forehead against the curve of her shoulder. “I’m not sorry.”
Aeris exhaled. “Neither am I.”
She turned to face him, and for a moment, they weren’t heir and spy. Mafia prince and government ghost. Just two people tangled in something too real to name.
“I don’t know what happens next,” she whispered.
“You stay.”
“And if I can’t?”
His jaw clenched. “Then I fight harder to make you want to.”
The next morning, reality returned with sharp edges.
Aeris dressed quickly, sliding into her black slacks and fitted blouse, braiding her damp hair with military precision. Luca remained shirtless, still leaning against the headboard, watching her like a silent storm.
“Don’t start acting like a stranger,” he said.
“I’m not. I’m just remembering who we are.”
“You’re not my enemy.”
“Then what am I?”
He stood, crossing the space between them in three measured steps. When he cupped her face, she didn’t pull away.
“You’re mine,” he said quietly.
And damn her, a part of her wanted that to be true.
Downstairs, the Moretti estate was already alive with motion.
Guards rotated shifts. Maids carried trays of documents disguised as breakfast. Eva stood in the war room, eyes fixed on a projection screen.
When she saw Aeris walk in, she didn’t blink.
“You left his room after sunrise. That’s not very discreet.”
“Didn’t think you’d be taking attendance.”
Eva smirked. “I take inventory. And if you’ve compromised him, I want to know how bad it is.”
“Compromised him?” Aeris crossed her arms. “You think I’m using him?”
“I think you were. Now I’m not so sure.”
Aeris didn’t respond.
Eva nodded, satisfied. “Then I was right. You’re the kind of threat that makes people forget who they are.”
Luca entered a few minutes later, looking crisp in a charcoal-gray suit, his hair slightly damp.
“Briefing?” he asked Eva.
“Yes. Movement on the southern docks. Three shipments went cold. Cruz is sending men to intercept, but I think—”
“I’ll go,” Luca interrupted.
Aeris raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust Silas anymore?”
“I trust that he trusts no one.”
Luca turned to Aeris. “Come with me.”
It wasn’t a question.
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Two Hours Later — En Route to the Docks
The car smelled like leather, pine, and tension.
Aeris sat beside Luca, one leg crossed, her eyes trained on the passing streets.
“Do you bring all your almost-brides on field trips?”
Luca chuckled. “Only the dangerous ones.”
She cracked a smile, but it faded quickly. “Why are we really going?”
“I need to know where your loyalty lies.”
“You could’ve asked.”
“I did,” he said. “But I don’t trust words anymore.”
That stung—but she didn’t blame him.
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Port of Manila — Warehouse 17
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Aeris stepped in first, Glock drawn.
Crates lay half-opened. No bodies. No guards. Just the scent of salt, oil, and betrayal.
“This is a trap,” she whispered.
“I know.”
A bullet shattered the air before Luca could reply.
Aeris shoved him down, rolling behind a crate.
Three more shots. Close. Precise.
She peeked out. Two men. Unfamiliar faces. Silencers. Tactical gear.
Professional.
“They’re not mine,” Luca said. “Or my father’s.”
“Then they’re mine,” Aeris said bitterly.
Agency cleanup.
Her former allies wanted her dead.
They moved like instinct.
She fired from behind, Luca flanked from the side. Two bodies dropped, but a third emerged from the shadows—a woman, tall, blonde, calculating.
Agent Nora Vale.
Aeris froze.
“Valdez,” Nora said coldly. “Your leash got too long.”
Luca pointed his gun. “You have ten seconds.”
“Don’t bother,” Aeris said. “She won’t talk.”
But Nora did.
“Did you really think you could fall for a target and walk away clean?”
Luca’s eyes snapped to Aeris.
Fall for?
Nora smirked. “She was supposed to get close. Infiltrate. Destroy. Then leave.”
She stepped forward.
“But she got soft. Got attached. And now she’s just another loose end.”
Aeris fired before she could say anything else.
One shot. Between the eyes.
Clean.
No emotion.
But when she turned to Luca, his face was unreadable.
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That Night — Moretti Estate
Neither of them spoke on the drive back.
In the silence, the truth hung heavy.
Aeris had killed one of her own.
And Luca had heard the one thing she was terrified to admit:
She had fallen.
Inside the estate, Luca went to his room. Alone.
Aeris didn’t follow.
Not yet.
Instead, she went to the rooftop. Stared out at the city. Let the night swallow her.
When he finally found her, she didn’t turn.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“For all of it.”
He stepped closer, voice low. “Did you love me?”
She nodded once.
“Do you still?”
She turned, meeting his eyes.
“Yes.”
And he kissed her like her answer saved his life.
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End of Chapter Four
- Writer
