The city blurred past as Matteo drove, his hands gripping the wheel like a vice. The car's interior was thick with tension, the silence between him and Valeria nearly suffocating. The weight of what had just happened pressed down on them.
Moretti had set a trap.
Moretti had tested them.
And now, Moretti had declared war.
Valeria sat in the passenger seat, her breathing still Heavy, her fingers curled into fists against her lap. The adrenaline hadn't fully left her system yet, and her body still buzzed with the residual need to fight.
She turned to look at Matteo. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark with thought. He wasn't just angry. He was calculating.
She knew that look.
He was already planning his next move.
Finally, she broke the silence.
"You knew he would pull something like that, didn't you?"
Matteo's grip tightened slightly. "I had a feeling."
Valeria breaths out. "And yet, you still walked us right into it."
Now, his eyes move to her, sharp and assessing. "Are you questioning me, princess?"
She didn't blink. "I'm questioning whether you value your own life."
Matteo with a slow and wicked smile, but it didn't hold any real amusement. "Oh, sweetheart, if I didn't, we'd both be dead right now."
He turned his eyes back to the road, the city lights flashing across his face. "Moretti wanted to see if I was scared of him. If I'd back down. If I'd fold."
Valeria frowned. "And what did you show him?"
Matteo's smirk deepened, this time laced with something darker. "That I don't play by his rules."
She inhaled slowly, turning her eyes back to the window. The problem wasn't whether Matteo had passed Moretti's test.
It was what came next.
And they both knew what was coming.
War.
The Safehouse
Matteo didn't take them back to his penthouse.
That was expected. That was predictable.
Instead, he took a series of narrow roads until they pulled up to a nondescript building in the outskirts of the city. It looked abandoned, but Valeria knew better. Matteo never kept his real safehouses in obvious places.
He killed the engine, stepping out first before she followed. The air was crisp, the quiet almost eerie compared to the chaos they had just escaped.
Matteo led her inside without a word, punching in a code at the door before it clicked open.
The inside was simple, but functional. A stocked bar, a leather couch, a desk with multiple screens flashing security footage from different locations across the city.
Valeria crossed her arms as she leaned against the back of the couch. "So what's the plan?"
Matteo poured himself a drink, swirling the amber liquid before taking a slow sip. His eyes moved to her over the rim of the glass. "What makes you think I have one?"
She gave him a flat look. "Because you're Matteo DeLuca. And Matteo DeLuca doesn't lose."
That earned her a smile, but he didn't confirm or deny it.
Instead, he sat down, one arm resting on the back of the couch. "Moretti's mistake was thinking that just because he set the stage, he controlled the game."
Valeria raised a brow. "And you're saying he doesn't?"
Matteo leaned forward, his eyes shining. "I'm saying he has no idea what I'm capable of."
She held his looks. "So what now?"
His smile was slow, deliberate. "Now? We make him regret ever thinking he could challenge me."
Unspoken Truths
Valeria knew what that meant.
Violence.
Bloodshed.
Moretti had drawn a line in the sand. Matteo had never been the kind of man to sit back and let someone threaten him without consequences.
But this wasn't just about Matteo.
This was about her, too.
She had been at that table, had been targeted just as much as he had. Moretti had tested her. Had watched her. Had seen her fight and measured her worth.
And that meant she wasn't just an afterthought in this war.
She was a player.
"You should let me help," she said finally.
Matteo didn't react right away. He finished his drink first, his expression unreadable. Then, he leaned back, tilting his head slightly as he studied her.
"You already did."
She frowned. "That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant," Matteo said smoothly. "And I'm telling you, princess—you've already proved your place at my side."
A pause.
Then, his voice dropped lower.
"But don't mistake that for an invitation to throw yourself into the fire."
Valeria tensed. "I'm not some helpless woman who needs saving."
Matteo's lips jerked. "I know."
"Then—"
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to let Moretti use you as leverage," he interrupted, his tone sharp now. "He already tried to test you once. He won't get another chance."
Valeria's breath jerked.
Not from fear.
From something else.
Something dangerous.
Something she couldn't afford to name.
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to hold his looks. "So what do you need me to do?"
Matteo smiled. "Get some rest."
She frowned. "That's it?"
"For now."
Her jaw squeezed, but she knew arguing would get her nowhere.
So instead, she pushed off the couch, heading toward the guest bedroom without another word.
She didn't see the way Matteo watched her as she walked away.
Didn't see the way his smile faded, replaced by something far more dangerous.
Because he wasn't just planning his next move.
He was planning how to keep her safe.
And if that meant burning the whole city down to do it?
Then so be it.