Chapter 5 A Dance with the Devil

A Dangerous Game

Sophia had always been good at pretending.

Pretending she didn't feel his touch burning through her dress.

Pretending she wasn't affected by the way his fingers gripped her waist.

Pretending she had control.

But with every step of the slow, hypnotic dance, that control slipped.

Luca was watching her too closely.

Reading her too easily.

It had always been this way between them-a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

And she wasn't sure who was who anymore.

His voice was low when he finally spoke. "Who are you really running from, princesa?"

She didn't pull away. Didn't hesitate. "Who says I'm running?"

Luca's grip tightened, just enough to remind her-he wasn't a man to be toyed with. "I don't believe in coincidences," he murmured. "You disappear for three years, come back out of nowhere, and suddenly you have enemies in the shadows?"

She smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "I've always had enemies, Luca."

His eyes moved quickly to the scar peeking from the edge of her dress. A mark from the past neither of them spoke about.

His jaw clenched. "Who hurt you?"

Sophia ignored the question, shifting in his hold. "Why do you care?"

Luca's expression darkened. "Because you belong to me."

A spark of something dangerous lit in her chest. "I never belonged to you."

His lips twisted into something almost cruel. "You did once."

She didn't let herself react. She couldn't.

Not when the past was so close to catching up with her.

The music slowed, but neither of them moved to separate.

"You shouldn't have come here," Luca said quietly.

Sophia moved to the side. "Afraid?"

His eyes burned into hers. "For you? Never."

She opened her mouth to reply-

But then she felt it.

That tingling at the back of her neck. The slight change in the air.

And she knew.

They weren't alone.

The Attack

It happened fast.

One second, she was locked in Luca's arms. The next, gunfire cracked through the air.

Screams erupted. Chaos followed.

But Luca didn't hesitate.

In a blink, he moved her behind him, drawing his weapon in one fluid motion.

Sophia's heart pounded, but she wasn't frozen. She had lived through too much, trained for too long.

Her heels hit the marble floor as she pivoted, scanning the crowd.

Shadows moved along the balconies. Snipers.

"Ambush," she murmured, reaching for the knife strapped to her thigh.

Luca looked at her, and something moved in his eyes.

Amusement.

Approval.

He always did love a woman who could fight.

Then, without warning, he grabbed her wrist and moved her toward an exit.

She struggled. "I can handle myself-"

"Not tonight." His voice was sharp, absolute. "We need to move."

More gunfire.

More chaos.

Sophia clenched her teeth but let him guide her through the panicked crowd, weaving past people and overturned tables.

Then-

A man stepped in their path.

Dressed in black. Masked. Armed.

Sophia didn't hesitate.

Before the attacker could fire, she twisted out of Luca's grip, running forward.

Her knife flashed.

The man barely had time to react before the blade sliced across his wrist.

His gun shattered to the ground.

Sophia didn't stop.

She grabbed his arm, twisted-

A sickening crack filled the air as he hit the ground.

Luca let out a sharp breath. "Damn, princesa."

Sophia shot him a smirk. "Told you."

But there was no time to celebrate. More footsteps. More trouble.

Luca's phone buzzed. He answered without glancing at the screen. "Talk."

Matteo's voice was tight. "Boss, you need to get out. Now."

Luca looked at Sophia.

"Agreed."

The Getaway

The black car was waiting in the alley.

Luca pushed Sophia inside, slamming the door behind him as bullets sprayed the pavement.

The driver hit the gas.

The city blurred past.

Sophia pressed a hand against her ribs, catching her breath. "You always did know how to show a girl a good time."

Luca's look was unreadable. "Who were they?"

She sighed, leaning back. "If I knew, I'd already be hunting them."

His jaw tightened. "Then you're staying with me."

Sophia laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Not happening."

He turned to her, voice lethal. "That wasn't a request."

Silence stretched between them.

Then-

A single, whispered confession.

"They want me dead, Luca."

For the first time, she let him see it-the crack in her armor.

The truth she had been hiding.

And Luca?

He didn't look surprised.

He just looked furious.

The car slowed.

They had reached one of Luca's private estates.

But as the doors opened-

Sophia froze.

A single envelope sat on the doorstep.

She knew that symbol.

She knew what it meant.

The past had found her.

And this time, there would be no running.