His Mafia Throne

Chapter 9

Aurora

The sun was just beginning to slip through the thick branches of the forest. Fog hung low above the cabin, like a silent omen. Inside, everything was quiet—too quiet for someone who knew what had happened just hours before.

Max lay on the large bed in the bedroom, his chest tightly bandaged. His face was pale but peaceful. He slept deeply, one hand clenched in the blood-stained white sheet. I sat at the edge of the bed, watching him like a shadow, my fingers tightly gripping the handle of his gun.

I had watched over him all night. I stayed close, counting his breaths, flinching at every groan of pain. I changed his bandages, cooled his forehead with water, and held his hand like death might take him if I let go.

I wasn’t a doctor. I didn’t know if the wound was fatal or just serious. All I knew was that Max was alive. And I would keep him that way at any cost.

The silence of the cabin was suddenly broken by a dull sound — wood creaking under weight. My whole body tensed.

We weren’t alone.

I rose from the bed slowly, taking the pistol with me. My heart pounded in my throat, blood roaring in my ears.

Another floorboard groaned.

I slid the bedroom door open, almost soundlessly, and stepped into the dim hallway, every nerve in my body on high alert. I knew the people who wanted Max dead wouldn’t give up easily. And I also knew that if they found him again, they wouldn’t give him time to shoot first.

In the kitchen, a shadow. A man dressed in black, armed, rummaging silently through the cupboards. Searching for something. Or maybe... just making sure Max didn’t survive.

I gripped the gun with both hands, breath caught in my throat. I didn’t shake.

— Turn around. Slowly. Hands where I can see them, — I said coldly, my voice steady and sharp.

The man turned suddenly. Young. Silent. Unmasked.

— You don’t need to shoot, — he said calmly. — I’m not one of them. I came to warn you.

— Really? You break in at night, armed, into a remote cabin, and that’s your excuse? — I snapped bitterly.

— Max is on their list. And now you are too. They know where you are. They won’t stop. You need to get him out of here.

— Who are you?

— Just tell him Gianni’s saving his life a second time. And that this time, I won’t be able to help if he doesn’t leave immediately.

Max appeared behind me, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

— Put the gun down, Aurora, — he said, his voice low but firm. — I know him.

I turned. His face was drawn, and he could barely stand, but that familiar fire still burned in his eyes.

— Gianni? What the hell are you doing here?

— Saving your life. For the last time.

— Whose orders are you following this time?

— My own. They’re coming for you, Max. You crossed the wrong line.

Max looked at me. And in that moment, I wasn’t the girl he protected anymore — I was his partner. Part of him. And we understood each other without saying a word.

This was just the beginning.

And the world was about to burn.