I TEXTED MY BEST FRIEND, “YOUR DAD IS OBSCENELY HOT”... THEN HIS MAFIA BOSS DAD REPLIED

I didn't ask what happened to Marcus.

I didn't need to. When Alessandro walked into the safe house three hours later, his knuckles were bruised, and his bespoke suit was ruined. He smelled of rain, smoke, and a metallic tang that I refused to identify. He walked straight into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stayed there for forty-five minutes.

When he emerged, wearing clean sweatpants and a t-shirt his men had procured, the demon was gone. The aristocratic, composed man I was falling in love with had returned.

He found me sitting on the edge of the bed, a bandage taped over the cut on my forehead. I was shaking, the delayed adrenaline crash finally taking its toll.

Alessandro didn't say a word. He climbed into the bed, pulled the blankets back, and dragged me against his chest. He wrapped his massive arms around me, burying his face in my hair, inhaling deeply.

"He is gone," Alessandro murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "He no longer exists. No one will ever find him. He will never haunt your dreams again."

I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall silently onto his shirt. The anchor of fear that had weighed down my soul for two years suddenly snapped. I was free. I was truly, irrevocably free.

"He hurt you," Alessandro whispered, his fingers tracing the bandage on my forehead. The anger was still there, vibrating beneath his skin. "I failed to protect you at the gate. I underestimated his desperation. That will never happen again."

"You saved me," I corrected him, looking up into his dark eyes. "You saved my neighbor. You gave me my life back, Alessandro. I'm not afraid anymore."

He stared at me, the terrifying mob boss completely disarmed by the truth in my words. He leaned down, capturing my lips in a kiss that tasted of salvation and ruin. It was slow, deep, and impossibly tender. The barriers between us dissolved entirely.

That night, in the quiet safety of the hidden room, I gave myself over to him completely. There was no hesitation, no residual trauma holding me back. Alessandro worshipped my body with a reverence I had never experienced. He treated my scars as if they were medals of survival, kissing every inch of my skin until the memory of Marcus's hands was burned away by his fire. He was demanding, powerful, and completely consuming, but he constantly checked my eyes, ensuring I was with him every step of the way.

"Mine," he rasped, driving into me as I cried out his name, my nails biting into his broad shoulders. "Only mine."

"Yours," I gasped back, shattering into a million pieces against his chest.

The next morning, we returned to the main compound. Leo was waiting in the driveway, looking frantic. The moment I stepped out of the car, Leo tackled me in a hug.

"If you ever do that again, I am locking you in a walk-in freezer," Leo scolded, tears in his eyes. "Don't you ever walk out of a safe zone again."

"I'm sorry, Leo," I laughed, hugging him back tightly.

Leo pulled away, looking at his father. There was an unspoken conversation between the two men. Leo nodded once, a gesture of absolute respect and understanding. Alessandro had handled the threat. The family was safe.

"Mrs. Donnelly?" I asked, looking between them.

"She is fine," Alessandro answered smoothly. "She is currently recovering in a luxury suite at the Ritz, courtesy of the Valente family, with round-the-clock protection. She believes she was the victim of a random mugging that I happened to intervene in."