Chapter 13 - Whispers in the Dark
We returned to the mansion in the small hours of the morning, the adrenaline still humming through my veins like liquid fire. Adrenaline had become my second language since the day Camila held a gun to my head. I sat at the kitchen island, nursing a cup of black coffee while Massimo poured two fingers of aged bourbon.
He slid a glass across the marble counter toward me. I didn’t drink it, but I let my fingers trace the cool rim of the crystal.
“You didn't have to come to the docks, Tessa,” Massimo said quietly, leaning against the counter opposite me, his dark gaze unreadable under the kitchen lights. “It’s a dirty world. You don't belong in it.”
“I saved your life, Massimo. I think that qualifies me to watch you protect it,” I retorted, looking up to meet his intense stare. “Besides, after Camila, I trust my own instincts more than your perimeter guards.”
A low, rich chuckle rumbled in his chest. He pushed off the counter, stepping around the island until he was standing right beside my stool. The scent of cedar, cold winter air, and gun oil wrapped around me like a physical embrace.
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“Your instincts are lethal, Doctor,” he murmured, his face inches from mine. “Almost as lethal as your bedside manner.”
The air between us grew thick, charged with an unspoken gravity that had been building since the day I told him he was too rude. For a heart-stopping second, the dangerous abyss of his world vanished, replaced by the raw, consuming warmth of his hand resting gently on the back of my neck.
