It's past midnight when I finally hear the knock.
Soft. Three taps. Familiar.
I freeze, a forkful of untouched food halfway to my mouth. I'd been trying to eat something, anything since Aiden walked out I have been in the kitchen for hours.
But my stomach's still in knots from that kiss.
That almost kiss.
That almost everything.
I walk to the door, heart pounding. No one should know where I am. No one except my brother.
"Leo?" I whisper as I open it.
He steps inside fast, eyes scanning the hallway behind him. He hasn't changed, same wiry frame, same jumpy energy. But his face is thinner. Harder.
"Jesus, Rina," he mutters, pulling me into a tight hug. "I thought you were dead."
Tears threaten, but I blink them back. "How did you find me?"
He pulls away just enough to look at me. "You called me. You don't remember?"
I stiffen. The phone. The mistake.
Before I can explain, Aiden's voice slices through the room like ice.
"She remembers."
Leo turns sharply.
Aiden stands in the hallway, shirt sleeves rolled, a gun tucked discreetly under his arm. Calm, unreadable, and terrifying as always.
Leo swears under his breath. "Who the hell is that?"
I move between them. "He's… he's the one keeping me alive."
Aiden's eyes flash, just once. "Your brother didn't come alone."
"What?" I spin to Leo.
"I had no choice," Leo hisses. "They followed me. They've been watching me ever since you disappeared."
"Who's they?" I ask, dread crawling up my spine.
Leo doesn't answer. He just glances at Aiden.
Aiden nods slowly. "Get away from the windows."
I do. So does Leo.
Seconds later I hear a loud sound.
Bang.
The sharp crack of a shot rings out. Glass shatters behind us.
I scream. Leo ducks. Aiden is already moving, calm and efficient.
He fires back once, twice. Then silence.
He lowers the gun, breathing steady. "They're not here to scare you anymore," he says to me.
"They're here to kill you."
Leo glares at him. "And what the hell are you? Her savior?"
Aiden's voice drops into something lethal. "I'm the reason she's still breathing."
"Yeah?" Leo steps forward. "Then maybe she'd be safer without you."
"Stop!" I yell.
They both look at me.
"I don't care who's right," I snap. "I just want to know what's going on. Why are they after me?"
Leo exhales guilt in every line of his face.
"I got involved in something," he admits. "Money. Debts. Then I heard you were spotted at that hotel. The people I owed thought I'd tipped you off. Thought we were both snitches."
My stomach sinks.
"They put a bounty on you," Leo says. "A big one."
"I'm the reason they're after her," he finishes quietly.
Aiden steps closer, every movement slow and controlled. "That bounty ends now. Anyone who touches her dies."
Leo stares at him. "You can't fix this with threats."
"No," Aiden replies. "I'll fix it with fear."
I stand between them, suddenly exhausted. "We need a plan. Not bloodshed."
Aiden glances at me, something unreadable in his eyes. "You don't understand, Serina. Blood was always the plan."
Leo sighs. "If I stay, they'll come for both of us."
"You're not staying," Aiden says.
"No," I cut in. "He is."
They both look at me like I've lost my mind.
"He's family," I say. "And I don't care how dangerous this gets—I'm not losing anyone else."
Aiden's jaw tightens.
But he says nothing.
Not yet.
And in the thick silence, I realize this:
The war isn't coming.
It's already here.
The quiet doesn't last.
Aiden's phone vibrates once in his hand. He glances at it, then locks the screen without a word.
"Was that one of your people?" I ask, still standing between him and Leo like some kind of reluctant buffer.
"No," he replies, voice even. "It was one of theirs."
Leo frowns. "You're tapped into their network?"
Aiden tilts his head just slightly, the kind of gesture that says more than words. "I am their problem. So yes. I listen in."
Leo mutters something under his breath, pacing toward the far wall. "This is insane. This whole thing."
Aiden watches him with the same kind of cold patience he uses when handling threats. And I realize he doesn't trust him.
Neither do I.
Not completely.
"You have twenty-four hours," Aiden says finally, addressing Leo. "Stay. Rest. Eat. But if you bring another bullet through my windows, I'll hand you over myself."
Leo's expression hardens, but he doesn't argue.
"Go," Aiden says to me. "I'll deal with cleanup."
"I'm not leaving him alone," I say.
"You don't have to," he murmurs. "But don't forget who's cleaning up the mess."
There's no threat in his tone, but the warning is clear.
This is the consequence of being close to him. Of trusting anyone.
Everyone becomes a liability.
---
Later, in the guest room, Leo sits on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands.
"This isn't how I wanted to find you," he says. "You've changed."
"So have you," I reply gently.
He lifts his gaze. "Is he hurting you?"
"No."
He waits, reading me. "But you're scared."
I nod.
"Then why are you still here?"
Because running doesn't work anymore. Because Aiden is the only thing keeping me alive. Because part of me is starting to see something in him I shouldn't.
"I don't know," I whisper.
Leo stands and hugs me again, tighter this time. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I never meant to."
"I know," I say into his shoulder. "But we can't go back."
"No," he agrees. "But we can burn the people who tried to ruin us."
A voice cuts through the room behind us. Deep. Controlled.
"You won't have to."
We turn.
Aiden stands at the doorway, watching us. This time, his gun isn't visible but the warning is still there, in his eyes.
He steps in, slow and calm.
"I made a few calls. The people hunting your sister?" he tells Leo. "They work for Tomaso De Luca. Italian, low-level, but nasty. He's doing this for leverage."
Leo blinks. "Leverage over who?"
Aiden's mouth curves into something dark. "Me."
Silence.
Aiden's eyes flick to me. "You asked why I won't let you go. Why I'm keeping you close."
My breath catches.
He steps closer, slow and deliberate.
"It's because they think you matter to me," he says, voice low and razor-sharp. "And maybe that's their mistake."
His gaze darkens, the room suddenly feeling smaller.
"But if they come for you again," he murmurs, "I'll show them what happens when someone tries to touch what's mine."
No warmth. No softness. Just brutal certainty.
And somehow… that terrifies me more than any bullet.
Because being hated by Aiden Hernandez is deadly.
But being wanted?
That might be worse.