Chapter 16
Sera
I see Adrian before he sees me.
He bursts through the elevator doors like a man possessed. His eyes are wild. Frantic. Scanning the penthouse until they land on me.
Then he's moving.
Three long strides and he's dropping to his knees in front of me, his hands cupping my face, tilting my head up to look at him.
"Seraphina." His voice is rough. "Are you hurt?"
I try to answer. Try to form words. But nothing comes out except a sob.
And then I'm collapsing into him.
His arms come around me immediately. Strong. Solid. Safe.
I bury my face in his chest and let myself break apart.
It comes pouring out in ugly, gasping sobs that make my whole body shake.
"I've got you," Adrian murmurs against my hair. "I've got you. You're safe now."
But I don't feel safe.
I feel shattered.
I don't know how long we stay like that. Him holding me. Me falling apart. Leo somewhere in the background, talking quietly on the phone. He's been steady. A rock. I'm grateful for him.
And yet, the moment we escaped the carnage, all I wanted was Adrian.
Funny how that works.
This morning, I wanted to stab the man, but after everything, he was the only person I wanted.
Finally, the sobs slow. My breathing evens out, and I pull back slightly, just enough to look up at Adrian.
His face is pale. His jaw is tight. His eyes are darker than I've ever seen them. The silver is like molten steel, and I can tell that he's angry.
And yet, he's holding back his emotions for me. The knowledge that he's in control allows me to break, and I realize that this is the first time in my life where I can just feel instead of having to keep things together.
"What happened?" he asks quietly, caressing my jaw. "Tell me everything."
I swallow hard. Try to organize my thoughts. But they come in flashes—disconnected images I can't quite make sense of.
"Everything happened so fast," I begin, my voice shaking. "Leo gave me ten minutes with Gabe. We were arguing about the wedding when I heard something. Then bullets. Everywhere."
I'm trembling now, the memories crashing over me.
"Leo threw me to the ground. There was an explosion. Smoke. He got me to a bedroom and told me to hide." I close my eyes, but that makes it worse. "I thought everyone was dead. The gunfire was so loud, and then it stopped, and I just waited."
Adrian's hands tighten on my shoulders, grounding me.
"Leo came for me. He was covered in blood—so much blood—but he said it wasn't his. We ran through—" I gag. "Through bodies. Everywhere. One was missing half his face. Blood on the walls. The couch was on fire."
I have to stop. Have to breathe.
"There was an attacker in the stairwell. Leo killed him. Just—so fast. One second the man was there, the next he wasn't."
"Did he hurt you?" Adrian's voice is deadly quiet.
"No. Leo didn't let him get close." I inhale the scent of him—leather and mahogany. It calms my nervous system. "We ran to the car. Leo drove like we were being chased. Maybe we were. I don't know. Everything was blurry."
"And Gabriel?"
The question makes me flinch. "Gone. Jumped out a window during the attack. Just jumped."
Adrian's expression darkens.
"Is he alive?" I ask. "Do you know?"
"Not yet. But if he is, we'll find him."
It sounds like a threat.
I pull away from Adrian, wrapping my arms around myself.
Everything smells like smoke. It's probably us, and the scent is making my headache.
"Leo got you out," Adrian says. "That's what matters."
I close my eyes. Take a breath. Try to center myself.
But all I can see is blood. Bodies.
"They came for me," I whisper. "Didn't they? The attackers. They came for me." Adrian tried to warn me, but I didn't want to listen, and for the second time in just three days, I've almost gotten myself and my child killed.
"We don't know that yet."
"Don't lie to me, Adrian." My voice hardens. "I'm not stupid. A safe house gets attacked the same day I'm there. The same day you let me see Gabe. That's not a coincidence."
He doesn't answer. Which is answer enough.
"So, who was it?" I demand. "The Morozovs? Someone else?" I'm not going to crack under the pressure of this. I refuse. I want answers.
"I don't know yet."
"But you'll find out." It's a statement not a question because I can see it in every line of Adrian's body. He wants to destroy something.
"Yes."
"And then what?" The blanket falls away as I stand. "You'll kill them? Start a war? Put me in even more danger?"
"Seraphina—" He stands slowly, cracking his neck, as though he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Don't say my name like that," I snap. "We had one night together. Now my entire life is falling apart."
I expect him to snap at me, remind me that Gabe put my life in danger. It would be a fair point, but he doesn't say it.
"This won't happen again," he says. "I swear to you."
I laugh. It's not a pleasant sound.
"You can't promise that."
"I can. And I will."
"How?" I spread my arms. Gesture at myself. At the blood. At the mess I've become. "How can you possibly keep me safe when people are willing to attack a guarded safe house in the middle of the day? When my own brother is a criminal?"
"I'll figure it out."
"That's not good enough! We are having a child!" I step forward, putting a finger in his face. "I will not allow my child to live like this. I won't."
My voice echoes in the too-quiet penthouse. Leo has disappeared somewhere. Probably giving us privacy. Or maybe he just can't stand to watch this.
Adrian takes a step toward me. I take a step back.
"I will protect you," he says. Each word deliberate. Weighted. "You and our child. Whatever it takes. No matter the cost."
"Even if it means I hate you for it?" The question comes out quieter than I intend. "Even if the cost is locking me away so completely that I might as well be in prison?"
Something flickers in his expression. Pain, maybe. Or guilt.
A beat. Then: "Even then."
At least he's honest.
"I don't believe you," I tell him. "I don't believe you can keep me safe. Because you couldn't keep me safe today. Your guards couldn't keep me safe. Leo barely got me out alive."
"But he did get you out."
"This time." I wrap my arms around myself. "What about next time? What happens when they come back? When they try again? Because they will try again, won't they?"
Adrian doesn't answer.
Because we both know the truth.
This isn't over.
Whatever this is, whether it's the Morozovs or someone else or my brother's schemes coming home to roost, it's just beginning.
"I want to take a shower," I say quietly. "I want to wash off this blood and pretend for five minutes that my life isn't falling apart."
"Sera—"
"Please." I look at him. Really look at him. See the fear in his eyes. The guilt. The determination. "Just—please. Let me have this."
He nods slowly. "I'll have clothes brought up. And food. You need to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"You're eating anyway." His voice hardens slightly. "For the baby."
Right. The baby.
The tiny life growing inside me that I need to protect. A child I have failed even before they were born.
I place a hand on my stomach. Still flat. Still showing no signs of what's coming. I want to crumble to the floor.
"Fine," I say. "I'll eat."
"And then we're talking. Really talking. About what happens next."
"What's there to talk about? You've already decided. You're going to lock me down. Keep me under guard. Make sure I never leave this building again."
"That's not—"
"Isn't it?" I meet his gaze. "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you're not already planning exactly how to keep me trapped here."
He doesn't deny it.
Of course he doesn't.
"Go shower," he says instead. "We'll talk after."
I nod. Turn toward the bedroom.
Then pause.
"Adrian?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you." The words taste strange in my mouth. "For—for coming. For caring. Even if I don't believe you can keep me safe, I—" I swallow hard. "Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me." His voice is rough. "You're my wife. Protecting you is—" He stops. Starts again. "You're mine to protect."
The possessiveness should grate. Should make me want to fight.
But I'm too exhausted to care what he calls me. As long as he keeps his word.
I just nod and walk away.
The bathroom is pristine. White marble and chrome. Completely untouched by the chaos that's consumed my life.
I strip off my clothes—they reek of smoke and blood—and step into the shower.
The water runs red at first. Then pink. Then finally clear.
I scrub my skin until it's raw. Until every trace of today is gone.
But I can still smell it.
The smoke. The gunpowder. The copper tang of blood.
I sink down onto the shower floor and let the water pound against me.
And I think about Adrian's promise.
This won't happen again.
But promises don't mean anything when you're married to a man like Adrian Nero.
When your brother is a thief and a coward.
When you're carrying the heir to a mafia empire.
Promises are just words.
And words can't stop bullets.