THE MAFIA KING'S DEADLY ENEMY

Chapter Four: The Shadow Behind Me

Aria's POV

"Aria, get hold of yourself," Lucas said, pulling me gently to my feet.

I stared at the edge of the cliff, my mind still struggling to process everything that had just happened. My hands were trembling, and no matter how hard I tried to steady myself, I couldn't.

"I killed someone," I whispered.

"You acted out of self-defense," Lucas reminded me, his voice calm as he tried to reassure me.

"I know, but I still pulled the trigger."

Anita stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Aria, you didn't have a choice. She was standing in front of him, and Damien was about to shoot you. I don't think either of them could have survived that fall anyway."

Her words were supposed to make me feel better, but they didn't completely erase the guilt sitting heavily in my chest.

More of our officers soon arrived at the scene. One of them approached us and said, "We've called the search team. They're going to climb down the mountain to see if they can find their bodies."

I nodded without saying anything.

Lucas gently guided me toward the car. My thoughts kept returning to the same moment, the second I pulled the trigger and watched the woman throw herself in front of Damien.

Damien must have loved his fiancée deeply. The way he'd cried while holding her had made that obvious. I'd expected him to be ruthless, the kind of man who cared about nothing except himself, but seeing him break down over her death had shown me another side of him.

I didn't want to feel sorry for him. He was still a criminal, still dangerous, still responsible for the lives he'd destroyed. But that didn't stop the image from haunting me.

Lucas started the car, and we drove back toward the station. Darkness had already settled over the city by the time we arrived.

Chief Carter was waiting with several other officers. He walked toward us with a smile.

"Mission accomplished," I said, forcing myself to sound composed. "Sir, I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back alive. He fell off the cliff, and I don't think he could have survived."

Chief Carter nodded. "Good work. I understand you only fired in self-defense."

Before I could say anything else, one of my officers approached us, something in his hands.

"Sir. We searched the whole mountain but couldn't find their bodies."

My heart skipped. "What?"

He lowered the item to the ground. A piece of clothing, soaked in blood.

"We found this," he explained. "Judging from the amount of blood, it looked like they may have been attacked or devoured by an animal. There was no sign of their bodies."

I stared at the bloodstained clothing, unable to breathe for a moment.

No bodies. That meant there was still a possibility, one I didn't know whether I wanted to believe.

Chief Carter's expression turned serious. "All right. Keep searching. Don't stop until we find those bodies."

"Yes, sir."

He turned to me. "You can go home now, Aria. Get some rest."

I nodded and walked toward my locker with Lucas beside me. My body felt exhausted, but my mind refused to rest. These hands had taken two lives today.

How did everything go this far? I'd always wanted to catch criminals and see them face justice. I'd never imagined I'd end a mission with blood on my hands.

"Tomorrow is our day off," Lucas said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I want to take you out for dinner."

I looked at him and managed a small smile. Even after a day like this, he was still thinking about how to make me feel better, and something about that steadiness was the only thing keeping me upright.

"Okay," I replied.

"Let me take you home."

We walked outside and got into his car. I had barely settled into the passenger seat when his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and sighed before answering. "Hey, Mom."

"Lucas, I need you to run an errand for your father. Tonight."

I recognized the sharpness in her voice even through the speaker.

"Mom, I'm actually with Aria right now, can it—"

"It cannot wait, Lucas. You know how your father gets."

He rubbed his temple, and for a second I saw something flicker across his face, tiredness, maybe, or the particular kind of exhaustion that came from being managed rather than asked.

"Fine. I'm coming."

He ended the call and dropped the phone onto the console, not quite meeting my eyes.

"You should go," I told him.

"I don't like leaving you like this."

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

He hesitated, then leaned closer and kissed me gently. "Lock your door the second you're home. Call me when you're in."

"I will."

I watched his car disappear down the road before I let myself really feel how tired I was. There wasn't a taxi in sight, and the street had gone quiet the way streets do right before a city fully surrenders to the night.

I adjusted my bag and started walking.

The air was cool against my skin. My footsteps echoed softly against the pavement, and I found myself glancing around without quite knowing why. Maybe it was the day catching up with me, an officer shot, two bodies gone over a cliff, a man's voice promising to make me beg for death. My mind had earned the right to be jumpy.

I walked faster anyway.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps, behind me, matching my pace exactly.

I slowed down. The footsteps slowed too.

I stopped and turned around.

Nothing. Just an empty road and a streetlight flickering weakly over the pavement.

"It's just my imagination," I muttered, and started walking again.

A few steps later, the footsteps returned. Unmistakable this time.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I quickened my pace, and the footsteps behind me quickened to match.

I looked over my shoulder.

A dark figure stood several meters back, still, watching, close enough now that I could see the outline of broad shoulders beneath a long coat, and something about the way he held himself, unhurried, almost amused, sent ice down my spine.

I had seen that stillness before.

At the edge of a cliff, right before two bodies vanished over it.

I stopped breathing.

"It can't be," I whispered.

The figure took a single step forward, and the streetlight caught just enough of his face for me to see him smile.