Blood Vows

Collisions

Alora’s hands were shaking as she closed the file. The weight of the information inside it was crushing, but it wasn’t the only thing that was weighing her down. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Enzo had looked at her, the way he’d accused her of playing him, of manipulating him. It had been a hit to her pride, to her soul.

But what stung even more was that a part of her understood why he’d said it.

She had been keeping secrets—keeping parts of herself hidden from him. And maybe, just maybe, she had been pushing him into a corner with every new revelation. But that didn’t give him the right to treat her like an enemy. Not when they were both in this together.

⸻

Enzo paced across his office, his hands tightly clenched at his sides. He couldn’t shake the image of Alora—her face, her words, her anger. He had been so sure she was hiding something. So sure that she was playing a part in all of this. But the more he thought about it, the more he questioned his own reasoning.

He couldn’t afford to question himself. Not now. Not when everything he had worked for was on the line. He couldn’t afford to trust her. Not completely.

Yet, something in him still wanted to. Something in him still felt pulled toward her, despite the walls he had built around himself.

⸻

Alora’s feet moved silently through the hallway, her heart beating faster with each step. She knew she had to confront him again. She couldn’t leave things unresolved—not when there was so much at stake. And especially not when her feelings for him were becoming harder to ignore.

She reached his door and paused for a moment, her breath catching in her throat. She had been avoiding him, avoiding the tension that simmered between them. But there was no more running. If they were going to survive this, they had to face each other head-on.

She knocked, her fist landing softly against the wood. She didn’t wait for a response before pushing the door open. Enzo was standing by the window again, his back to her, lost in thought.

“I need to talk to you,” Alora said, her voice firm but calm.

Enzo didn’t turn around immediately. His hand rested on the edge of the desk, and he stared out the window as though trying to gather his thoughts.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, his tone colder than she expected.

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” she replied, stepping into the room. “I’ve been trying to figure things out—things that concern both of us. And I can’t do that if I’m constantly second-guessing everything.”

“You think you can just walk in here and expect everything to be fine?” Enzo’s voice was edged with frustration, but there was a flicker of something softer in his eyes—something he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

“No,” Alora said, her voice steady despite the tension. “But I need you to understand something. I’m not playing you, Enzo. I’m not trying to manipulate you. I’m trying to find the truth. About my father. About everything that’s going on. We’re both in this mess, whether we like it or not.”

He finally turned to face her, his gaze intense and calculating. “I don’t trust you, Alora. Not after everything that’s happened. And I don’t know if I ever will.”

She felt the words hit her like a slap. But she didn’t flinch. She had heard worse. “Then why are you still here?” she asked, her voice quiet but cutting.

“Because I don’t have a choice,” Enzo replied, his eyes narrowing. “You’re part of this now. And no matter how much I try to push you away, I can’t.”

The words hung between them, thick with unspoken meaning. For a moment, neither of them moved, neither of them spoke. It was as though the world outside had faded away, leaving only the two of them standing in the middle of a storm.

Alora swallowed hard, trying to push past the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. “I never wanted any of this,” she said, her voice softening. “I never asked for your world. I never asked for the lies, the danger, or the games. But now that I’m here, I can’t just turn my back on it.”

Enzo took a step toward her, his expression unreadable. “Then you’re just as trapped as I am.”

Alora met his gaze, her eyes fierce. “Maybe we’re both trapped, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find a way out.”

⸻

The words hung between them, charged with the tension that had been building for days. Enzo’s breath came a little faster as he stood in front of her, his eyes searching hers for something—anything—that might explain the pull he felt toward her.

But Alora wasn’t offering him any answers. Not yet.

She stepped back, her mind racing. “I don’t know what you want from me, Enzo. I don’t know how to fix this. But I’m not the enemy here.”

“You’re not the enemy,” Enzo murmured, his voice low and almost hesitant. “But you’re still hiding something.”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Alora snapped, frustration bubbling to the surface. “I’m just trying to survive this—trying to understand it.”

Enzo took another step toward her, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t know if I can believe you.”

Alora’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at him. “You don’t have to believe me,” she said, her voice rising with the intensity of the moment. “But you need to understand that I’m not your enemy. I’m just trying to figure out what’s really going on.”

Enzo’s eyes softened for a moment, but before he could say anything, the sound of a door slamming echoed through the hallway.

⸻

The interruption was jarring. Both of them turned toward the door, the moment of tension between them broken as they realized they weren’t alone.

Someone was coming.

Enzo’s hand immediately went to the gun at his side, his eyes narrowing as he moved toward the door. Alora stood frozen, her pulse quickening. The danger they had been dancing around was suddenly too real, too close.