24. Lena #2
He slams the gear into park and drops his head against the steering wheel with trembling hands. I shift slowly, trying to test the door. To test my odds. He senses it instantly, and the gun jerks back toward me. I raise my hands without thinking. And that alone tells me how bad this really is.
“Lena, you don’t get it,” Mario says, his voice fraying. “People like us don’t matter to them. We don’t fight back. We don’t win. In their world, money rules. What we write doesn’t count for anything.”
“No, Mario. That’s not what you taught me. That’s not who you were. You used to be honest. Ethical. Smart. That’s why they promoted you. What happened to that guy?”
His jaw tightens. For a second, I think he won’t answer.
“You only saw what you wanted to see, Lena,” he mutters. “I wasn’t promoted. I was exiled. I made one mistake and took money to kill a story. They framed me. Blackmailed me. Since then, I’ve been theirs.”
I grip the seat, heart pounding. “But you can get out. Damn it, Mario, you don’t have to kill me over this. I thought it was something worse. That they’d taken someone from your family hostage, that it was life or death. But this? You can escape this.”
He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “No. I can’t. You can’t beat them, Lena. No matter what you try. When they’re done using me, they’ll cut me loose. And without my journalist card to protect me, they’ll kill me. Literally.”
He lets out a broken laugh that sounds raw, too close to tears.
“Whatever you did, there’s still a way out. Give me a chance, Mario. I’ll talk to Dominic. He’s got powerful friends. People in law enforcement, too. He can get you immunity. Just think about it. What if you could walk away from this without my blood on your hands?”
He scoffs. “Your precious Dominic is one of them. Billionaires don’t stop for one woman. Trust me, the minute you’re a problem, he’ll move on. I know guys like that. They’re ruthless. Selfish. Rinaldi, Monti, same breed.”
The urge to scream at him boils up. To defend Dominic. To punch Mario right in the mouth for saying that. But I take a deep breath. I find the calmer voice in me, the one that negotiates.
“Maybe. Or maybe not. But it’s still worth a shot. We could beat them. Trick them. You and me… we know too much. We could go public. Expose everything. We could write it all down.”
His eyes shift for a second. There’s a flicker of something, maybe hope. He doesn’t speak. Just looks ahead. Then his hand moves to the key. A quiet moment. The engine starts. I blink, stunned. Relief creeps in, cautious and slow.
“Mario? What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you back. I’ll turn around at the next exit.”
I exhale, finally, my whole body sinking into the seat. My shoulders drop. Maybe he needed to hear someone believed in him. Maybe that’s all it took. His eyes stay locked on the road. Focused, like he’s holding his breath.
“It’s going to be okay, Mario,” I say softly, studying his profile.
He doesn’t react. Doesn’t even glance my way. Then we pass an exit. He doesn’t slow down or signal. I sit up straighter. A chill slides down my spine.
“Mario. You missed it. That was the turn.”
Still nothing. His eyes stay fixed on the road, the gun angled just enough to remind me it’s still there.
No. I can’t die now. Not after everything that happened yesterday and last night. This was supposed to be the first day of the rest of my life.
Damn it. He speeds up. Ahead, I see a stretch of road flanked by forest on both sides. He pushes the gas again and suddenly leans over me, one hand fumbling at my seatbelt.
I take my shot. The second his hand’s off the wheel, I lunge. The gun's on the floor, near the seat. My fingers brush it, but Mario catches it. He turns sharply, snatches it up, clutching it with both hands, his fingers trembling.
“Don’t even think about it!” he growls, his voice unhinged, breath coming fast. “I swear I’ll shoot.”
“You really think I’m just going to let this happen? Watch the road, or we’ll both die,” I shout.
He barks a sharp and unhinged laugh. “Not both of us. You’ll go flying through the windshield and snap your neck clean. It’ll be a tragedy. I might break a bone or two. But I’ll live. You won’t.”
My stomach knots. He means it.
“What crash? What the hell are you doing? You’re not getting away with this. Dominic will kill you. I’m your only chance. Let me help you. Stop the damn car!”
He lunges toward me again, reaching for my seatbelt.
In the chaos, the gun slips from his grip.
I grab his wrist and dig my nails into his skin.
He yells and throws a punch. I jerk to the side, dodging it mostly, but he clips my shoulder, and my head slams into the window. White-hot pain flashes through me.
Then, out of nowhere, an explosion of sound blasts from behind. Horns. Tires screeching. Engines roaring. I whip my head around. Two black SUVs are bearing down on us, one on each side. I don’t recognize them, but their driving is dangerous. Mario curses and grabs the wheel with both hands.
“What the fuck?”
The two vehicles close in. The one on the left surges forward and cuts us off, forcing him to slow down. The other pulls up alongside, boxing us in. They’re herding us off the road. Literally. I’ve only ever seen stuff like this in movies.
“Mario!” I scream. “Stop the car!”
He doesn’t answer. Sweat beads on his forehead.
His lips tremble. Up ahead, there’s a dirt pull-off, no trees, only open ground.
The SUVs press harder. The one on the right bumps us.
We skid. The car jerks sideways. He’s slowing.
I take the chance and snap my hand up and strike him across the face, hard.
He jerks back, his foot slipping off the gas, while his hands scramble to recover.
I yank the handbrake. The car bucks, jolting off the road, and we crash into the field, spinning as tires dig into loose dirt.
One wheel lifts. The whole frame groans beneath us. Then, silence.
For a second, everything’s still. Mario stares in shock.
The SUVs close in, surrounding us. More cars arrive, blocking every escape route.
He dives for the gun. I slam my elbow into the back of his neck.
Then I fumble with the seatbelt. It clicks open, and I throw myself toward the door.
I pull the handle, but the door yanks open before I can move, metal screaming.
Strong hands grab my forearm as another slips under my knees. I’m lifted—fast, no hesitation.
“Lena!” someone yells. I know that voice. But everything is noise now. Blur and chaos.
“He has a gun!” I shout, my voice hoarse and raw.
The arms holding me pass me to the other hands.
I don’t see faces, just flashes of movement, crisp voices, organized chaos.
This has to be Gabriel’s team. They carry me away from the car, lay me down gently on the grass.
The car is surrounded. Every gun is aimed at Mario.
One SUV blocks his door. The only way out now is where they pulled me from.
From inside, I hear him curse. Seconds pass. Nothing.
“Mario! Step out with your hands on your head!” Dominic’s voice rings out. “I want to see empty hands in twenty seconds or I shoot!”
Mario steps out. Gabriel grabs him first, twists his arm back, and slams him against the car. Mario screams, but Gabriel’s fast, efficient. The cuffs snap shut. It’s over in seconds. That’s the moment I know I’m safe.
A warm trickle of blood slides down my cheek. My head throbs. I close my eyes, letting the noise fade, letting everything fade.
Then Dominic! I breathe him in, and it cuts through everything.
The pain, the fear, the static. All of it.
I blink. I’m in his arms. I blink again.
I’m back. We’re on the grass. I’m cradled in his arms, my cheek against his chest. His heartbeat is wild beneath my ear.
One hand brushes my hair, slow, steady, like he’s anchoring both of us.
He leans in, his voice threaded with something tender and wrecked.
“Welcome back, baby. Are you in pain?”
I touch my temple. It stings, but not enough to matter. He nods, eyes scanning my face like he’s still counting every breath. “Yeah. Looks like just a scratch. Probably the adrenaline that knocked you out.”
A pause. His voice softens. “The paramedics will be here any minute.”
I swallow. My voice comes out small. “How did you know where I was?”
He exhales slowly and rests his forehead against mine for a second. “The front desk told me you left with Mario. And you know I never liked that guy, Lena.”
I stay quiet. I know what’s coming. “Back when I first saw him hovering around you, I had Leo check him out. He was always close to Anton at that party. Too close. We found pictures. But I couldn’t prove anything.
And if I’d said something back then, you’d think I was just being jealous.
” He pulls back slightly, his jaw tight. “I thought he left town.”
He pauses, jaw clenched. “When I found out he came for you, I pulled the street cam footage around the hotel. I saw him shove you into the car. The way he grabbed you, the way you looked… I knew he had a weapon.”
He forces himself to breathe a little calmer this time.
“I called Gabriel. Gave him the plate number. And you know Gabriel. He owns this town when it comes to security. His teams were already out, stationed all over. They picked up Mario’s car near the city exit.
We tracked you from there until we caught up. ”
His hand squeezes mine. “We made it in time. What the hell was he thinking?”
I don’t answer. I can’t bring myself to say out loud that Mario was about to kill me in a staged crash. It feels surreal. I press my hand to Dominic’s chest. His heart’s still racing, like it’s still fighting for me.
His voice drops so low I almost miss it. “Sassy…” A breath. His eyes hold mine. “You need to learn to live with me, not hide from me. To trust me. To tell me everything. I promise I’ll take care of you. Always. I’m yours. No matter what you do, or what you need… I’m on your side. Always.”
For a second, I breathe him in. The scent, the warmth, the safety I didn’t know I craved.
No one’s ever said that to me. Not like this.
Not meaning it. Something settles in my chest, like a weight I’ve carried forever, just lifted.
I don’t have to fight alone. I don’t have to be the strong one all the time.
I nod. “I know. I believe you.”
And for the first time, I let it in. All of it. Him. Us. The terrifying, beautiful truth that I’m not alone anymore.