Chapter 138: 138 ~ Jace
The air at Lake Como was crisp, cleaner than anything I’d tasted in years, but it still carried that faint salt-and-green scent of water and pines. It should have been enough to calm the storm in my chest, to erase the weight of empire and blood that never seemed to leave my shoulders.
But some storms don’t go away.
I stood on the balcony of our villa, watching Mira with a wineglass in her hand, the late sun turning her hair into a sheet of fire. She was laughing at something a vendor had said down by the dock earlier, still replaying the memory for herself, and the sight hit me harder than any bullet could. That laugh...it anchored me. It reminded me that there was something in this world untouched by deceit and death, something pure I’d fought tooth and claw to keep.
And she was mine. She would always be.
For days now, it had been just us. Stolen mornings in the villa kitchen where she insisted on making espresso and nearly burned her fingers. It was also where she baked sweet treats along with our assigned cook. In the afternoons, we were walking along cobbled streets, her arm hooked through mine and her voice spilling questions about every church, every sculpture, every damned fountain we passed. Our nights were us tangled in bedsheets, her whispers soaking into my skin like absolution as I claimed her with every thrust.
It was dangerous how much I craved her. Dangerous how easy it was to forget everything else when she looked at me like I was her only world. It was such a relief to finally look in her eyes and see nothing but love for me. She didn’t resent me anymore and I was more than thrilled about it,
But forgetting wasn’t an option.
Behind every laugh, every kiss, every gentle touch, there was the reminder of what waited across the ocean. Ricardo. Giulietta. Massimo. Parasites gnawing at what was mine. They thought their whispers and plots could corner me. They had no idea they were dancing to a rhythm I had already composed and they were waiting to fall into my trap one after the other.
Mira turned from the railing and caught me watching her. "You’re brooding again, Romano."
"Am I?" My lips curved, but the weight didn’t shift.
"Yes," she said firmly, crossing the balcony to poke my chest. "That face is the one you wear when you’re five seconds away from disappearing inside your own head."
I caught her hand before she could pull it back, pressed a kiss against her knuckles. "Can you blame me? Look at where we are. Look at you."
Her cheeks warmed, but she still narrowed her eyes. "Flattery won’t work. Talk to me."
She always wanted to strip me bare, peel away the armor I’d built since I was old enough to hold a gun. And God help me, she was the only one who could.
Before I could answer, my phone vibrated against the table. Tomas.
Mira frowned. "Business?"
I didn’t answer, just squeezed her hand once before letting go and stepping inside. She didn’t follow. She knew better when I wore that expression.
I shut the balcony doors and answered. "Tomas."
"Boss." His voice was steady, efficient. "It’s working. Ricardo and Giulietta are at each other’s throats. Our guy inside says she confronted him with accusations about Enzo , and he threw it back in her face with her past sins. They’re bleeding each other dry in words. But..."
"But?" My jaw tightened.
"They still meet Massimo. Whatever their differences, they agree on one thing—you’re the threat. They’re pointing everything toward your downfall." He said solemnly.
My reflection in the glass stared back at me, sharp and cold. I’d expected no less.
"Let them," I said finally, my tone a razor. "That’s the beauty of it, Tomas. They think they’re hunting me. But the longer they circle, the deeper the noose tightens around their necks. Keep feeding them just enough. Make sure the suspicion doesn’t die out. They need to stay busy tearing at each other while I prepare the strike."
"Yes, Boss."
"Good." I hesitated. "How’s New York?"
"Quiet, for now. But quiet means dangerous." He remarked.
A humorless smile twisted my mouth. "Exactly. Keep the men sharp. Call me the moment anything shifts."
"Yes, Boss."
The call ended, leaving me staring at my own reflection until the glass blurred. I could almost see my father’s face in mine. He was the ruthless shadow I swore I would surpass.
I squeezed on my phone as the thoughts swarmed through my mind again.
Divide and isolate. The plan was in motion. One piece already broken with Enzo’s death, the others unraveling under their own greed. Soon, it would be time to draw blood again.
But as I slid the phone into my pocket, Mira’s silhouette appeared in the doorway.
"Jace."
Her voice was softer this time, hesitant, and it pierced me deeper than Tomas’s news.
She stepped closer, barefoot on the hardwood, her brows furrowed. "Was it bad?"
I shook my head. "Nothing I can’t handle."
Her lips pressed tight. She didn’t believe me. She never did when I answered like that. But she didn’t push. Instead, she came closer, looping her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek against my chest.
For a moment, the storm receded. Her heartbeat against me was steady, grounding.
"You’re here with me," she murmured. "Don’t let them steal that from us, not even in your head."
I kissed the top of her hair, inhaling the strawberry scent that had branded itself into me. "I’m here," I promised. And in that moment, I meant it.
Later, when the sun dipped and the lake glittered with a thousand golden shards, I took her hand and led her down to the dock. A boatman was waiting, just as I had arranged. We slipped into the water, the oars steady, the silence around us thick except for Mira’s laughter when the spray caught her skin.
It was our last day in Lake Como before moving to France. I missed this view already. I was sure she missed it even more.
She leaned into me, her head resting on my shoulder. "This is paradise," she whispered.
And for her, I wanted to believe it.
For me, paradise was temporary. A reprieve before the bloodshed resumed. But sitting there with Mira in my arms, the lake reflecting the stars, I let myself breathe.
Because soon enough, I would drown the empire in fire. But for now, I was hers, and she was mine and that was all that mattered.