His Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 2:Burn It With Me

*- : Burn It With Me*

The alarm was screaming.

Red lights painted Lorenzo’s face. Smoke crawled down the hallway and licked at the ceiling.

His hand was still wrapped around Malia’s.

“Let. Go. Of. My. Sister.”

Aiden’s voice cut through the noise like a blade.

He stood in the doorway with 12 men behind him. Guns up. Face carved from stone.

And behind him, in a silk dress that was too clean for a burning house, was *Monica*.

Fake tears. Real smile.

Malia’s heart stopped.

Lorenzo didn’t let go. He pulled her behind him, shifting so his body blocked hers. His other hand went to the gun at his hip.

“Back up, Scott,” Lorenzo said, voice low and deadly. “She’s under my protection now.”

Aiden laughed. It wasn’t a nice sound. “You? You think you can keep her? I raised her.”

“From what I heard, you raised a cage,” Lorenzo shot back.

For a second, no one moved. The only sound was the fire eating the walls.

Then Monica stepped forward and touched Aiden’s arm. “Baby, please. Let’s just take her home. She’s confused.”

_Confused._ Like Malia was a child. Like she didn’t have a choice.

Something in Malia snapped.

She stepped out from behind Lorenzo. “I’m not going back.”

Aiden’s eyes flicked to her. Pain flashed there, then rage. “Malia. Don’t do this.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she said. Her voice shook, but she didn’t back down. “Not anymore.”

That was when the ceiling beam crashed down between them. Sparks flew.

“Move!” Lorenzo grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward the back exit.

Mateo was already there, kicking the door open. “Boss! Car’s out back!”

They ran.

The safehouse was burning behind them. Lorenzo shoved Malia into the passenger seat of a black SUV and slid in after her. Mateo floored it the second the doors closed.

In the rearview, Malia saw Aiden standing in the firelight. Watching.

And Monica, beside him, wiping fake tears with real satisfaction.

No one spoke for 10 minutes.

Finally, Lorenzo let go of her wrist. His palm was burning from gripping her too tight.

“You okay?” he asked. Not looking at her.

“No,” Malia whispered. “Are you?”

He finally looked at her. Jaw tight. Eyes dark. “I will be.”

Mateo’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and cursed. “Boss. They hit one of our docks. Marco’s men.”

Lorenzo dragged a hand down his face. “Of course they did.”

Then Mateo’s phone buzzed again. He frowned. “It’s *Diana*.”

He put it on speaker.

Mateo’s voice was rough. “Diana? Baby, are you—”

“Where are you?!” Diana cut in, breathless. She was crying. “There were men here, Mateo. At my apartment. Asking for you. They had guns. They said Aiden sent them. They said if you don’t bring the girl back, they’ll take me instead.”

The car went dead silent.

Mateo’s knuckles went white on the wheel. “Diana, listen to me. Pack a bag. Go to Elena’s sister’s house. Now. Don’t wait for me.”

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know,” Mateo said. “I’m coming. I promise.”

He hung up and looked at Lorenzo in the mirror. “Boss—”

“Go,” Lorenzo said. “Take two men. Get her safe. Then come back.”

Mateo nodded and swerved off at the next exit without another word.

Now it was just Lorenzo and Malia.

She pulled out her old phone. The one Elena had given her. No service, no way to call.

But there was one new text. From a number she didn’t have saved anymore.

*Unknown:* `I heard you ran. I’m back in the country, Malia. We need to talk.

- D`

*Damian.*

Her ex. The one Don Cole picked for her 3 years ago. The one she ran from.

Her stomach dropped.

Lorenzo saw her face. “Who is it?”

“No one,” she lied, and locked the phone.

Lorenzo’s jaw ticked. He didn’t push. But his hand flexed on the steering wheel.

They drove in silence to a new safehouse. Smaller. No windows. One door.

Elena was waiting with tea and blankets. She didn’t ask questions.

That night, Malia couldn’t sleep. She stood at the door listening to Lorenzo pace in the hall.

A knock.

It was him. Hair messy. Shirt wrinkled. He looked exhausted.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She nodded.

He didn’t sit. He just leaned against the wall and watched her.

“You shouldn’t have stepped out there,” he said finally. “With Aiden.”

“I’m tired of hiding,” Malia said. “Tired of being traded and caged and protected.”

Lorenzo’s eyes darkened. “I’m not trying to cage you.”

“Then what are you doing?” she asked.

He didn’t answer. He stepped closer. Close enough that she could smell rain and gunpowder on him again.

“You remind me of someone,” he said quietly. “My brother. Before Aiden killed him.”

Malia’s chest hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Lorenzo said. “He’d have liked you. Stubborn.”

A ghost of a smile. Then it was gone.

His phone buzzed. Don Cole.

Lorenzo answered on speaker.

“Last offer, Reyes,” Don Cole said, smooth as poison. “Send my daughter back by morning. Or I send Monica to collect her. And you know what Monica does to girls who take what’s hers.”

Monica. The fake angel. The snake.

Lorenzo hung up. He looked at Malia. Really looked at her.

“You have 3 months,” he said. “After that, I can’t protect you.”

“Why are you protecting me at all?” Malia asked. “This was supposed to be revenge.”

Lorenzo was quiet for a long time.

“Because the first night you were here,” he said, “you didn’t beg. You didn’t cry. You said ‘kill me.’

My brother begged.”

He turned to leave, then stopped at the door.

“Get some sleep, Malia.”

“Are you going to sleep?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “Someone has to watch the door.”

He left.

Malia lay down but didn’t sleep.

Outside, in the dark, *Marco* watched the safehouse through binoculars. He smiled.

He radioed Don Cole. “She’s with Reyes. But the girl won’t last the week. Monica’s already on her way.”

And in the LAS ESPADAS mansion, *Monica* was packing a small bag. A knife. Zip ties. Lipstick.

She looked in the mirror and practiced her sad face.

“Poor Malia,” she whispered. “She shouldn’t have gotten in the way.”

*TO BE CONTINUED...*

---