The mafia boss owns me

CHAPTER 12

Trent’s POV

Trent shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and started his slow walk home. The night air was cool against his face, carrying the faint metallic scent of the city after rain and streetlights cast long gold streaks across the sidewalk

Riley’s apartment door had closed behind him only minutes ago, but somehow it felt like he’d left a part of himself standing there, like a shadow still lingering on her doorstep, waiting.

She had stepped inside, after watching him for a while, she was tired and quiet, her movements heavy with something she wasn’t saying. She’d smiled at him, small, soft, and too brief. That smile had been enough to twist something in his chest. Relief, mostly. But also that ache he’d been carrying for years, the one that came every time she looked at him without realizing how much he loved her.

He kicked at a loose pebble on the sidewalk, sending it skittering into the gutter. His heartbeat had only just begun to slow down from the chaos of the night.

He couldn’t shake the image of her standing there blood on her lip, the fear she’d tried so hard to hide. The moment he’d seen her like that, something inside him had snapped.

He thought he could lose her some day.

The streets had been spinning with blue lights and echoes, men shouting, cars screeching, that pulse of danger that still hadn’t left his bones. He didn’t even remember when he made the choice to grab her, to pull her against him and carry her home. It had been instinct, like breathing.

He could still feel it, her weight in his arms. The way her head had rested against his shoulder, how fragile she’d felt, even though she’d never allow herself to look it.

He’d carried her through the dark, down the narrow streets toward home. Her hand had been cold, fingers slack against his chest. And when she'd closed her eyes, for a moment, he’d thought she wouldn’t open them again. And that thought, that single, unbearable thought, had made his heart feel like it was tearing itself apart.

He’d called her name once, quietly, almost afraid to hear no answer. But she’d stirred, muttered something faint and defiant like “put me down”, and he’d almost laughed through the relief. That was Riley, even half-broken, she still fought.

Now, as he walked under the flickering glow of a streetlamp, he exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face.

He didn’t know what scared him more, what had happened tonight, or how much it had shown him what she meant to him.

He’d always known he cared. He’d known it since the day they’d met, since that first argument, that first laugh, that first time she’d looked at him like he wasn’t just another face in the crowd. But tonight… tonight had stripped away all the denial he’d been hiding behind.

He loved her.

Not in the easy, harmless way people talk about love. Not the kind you can say out loud over coffee or jokes. His was the kind that burned quietly, the kind that made your chest feel too tight, and your thoughts too loud. The kind you didn’t speak, because if you did, it might ruin everything.

Trent looked up. The moon was a complete circle behind slow-moving clouds. The streets were empty except for the distant hum of a car somewhere down the block. Every step echoed. He passed the old bakery on the corner, closed now, shutters down. He’d once walked Riley there on a Sunday morning, just to make her laugh over the stale croissants the owner had insisted were “fresh.”

She’d teased him then, called him “too nice for this city.” He’d shrugged it off, but now, thinking back, he wondered if maybe that’s what she liked about him. Or maybe that’s what she pitied.

He sighed, the sound curling in the cold air.

He’d seen enough tonight to know that the world they were caught up in wasn’t safe, but of course he already knew that. I Senza Volto', the worst of the worst

They were the kind of me that could take her from him in a heartbeat.

His jaw clenched as he turned down another street. The thought of her being hurt again made his stomach twist. He’d been powerless for too long.

But not anymore. He did save her once, but is that all?

He didn’t care what she was involved in, who she’d angered, or what it might cost him. He wasn’t going to let her face it alone again. If it meant putting himself in danger, so be it, even if it meant crossing lines he’d never planned to. Fine.

He’d made up his mind the moment he carried her in his arms. He was going to protect her. Whether she wanted him to or not.

His boots scraped against the pavement as he reached the end of the street. The city had quieted now no sirens, no shouts, just the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of traffic.

He glanced up at the sky again. The clouds had thinned, revealing a scatter of stars faintly visible through the city’s haze.

It reminded him of the way she’d looked tonight, exhaustion written all over her, but still… beautiful. Fierce, even in her silence.

She hadn’t said thank you. She didn’t need to. The look in her eyes had been enough, a mix of stubborn pride and something that almost looked like trust.

He could live on that look for a long time.

Trent shoved his hands deeper into his pockets as he turned onto his street. His apartment was only a few blocks away now. A small place, quiet, nothing like the storm of thoughts in his head.

He tried to tell himself to stop, to stop thinking about her, stop imagining what it would be like if she ever felt the same. But it was useless. Every thought circled back to her, her voice, her laughter, the fire in her eyes when she was angry, the rare softness when she wasn’t.

He wanted to tell her. God, he wanted to tell her.

But what would he say? I love you, Riley. Have for a long time now. I can’t sleep when I think of you, I can’t breathe when you’re hurt.

No. She’d look at him the way she looked at everything that threatened her balance, with suspicion, then with a careful distance. He couldn’t risk that. Not now.

He needed to wait. To be there first. To make sure she was safe, no matter what came next. Then, maybe one day, when the fear had faded and the world stopped spinning around danger, maybe then he’d tell her.

Until then, he’d stay close. Watchful. Silent.

As he reached his apartment building, he paused, glancing back down the street. From here, he could just barely see the direction of Riley’s place.

He whispered into the night, voice low, almost to himself.

“Be safe, Riley.”

The wind carried it away before it could reach her, but it didn’t matter. He meant it. Every word.

Trent climbed the steps, unlocked his door, and stepped inside. The quiet hit him like a wave. He dropped his keys on the counter and leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair.

His chest still hurt, with that strange mix of exhaustion and something deeper, heavier. Love, fear, longing, all tangled together.

He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. He only knew one thing for certain:

Whatever happened next, he wasn’t walking away.

He’d already made the promise in his heart silent, unbreakable.

To always protect her.

To always find her.

And maybe, someday, when the world wasn’t so cruel, to finally tell her how much she meant to him.

For now, that was enough.

Trent let out a slow breath, closed his eyes, and let the night settle around him.