The rain was falling hard as you stepped onto the silent street. The city lights reflected off the wet pavement, turning everything into a blur of gold and shadow. Your bodyguards had stayed inside the restaurant, distracted for just a moment.
That moment was enough.
A black van screeched to a stop by the curb.
The side door slid open.
Rough hands grabbed you before you could react, dragging you inside. Your scream barely escaped before someone covered your mouth.
—
“We’ve got her—move!”
—one of them barked.
The door slammed shut, and the van sped off into the night and the rain.
Across the street, leaning against a black car, Luca De Rossa watched the entire scene. His eyes fixed on you, and for a moment, something inside him tensed. You weren’t what he expected. You weren’t the cold, untouchable daughter of a mob boss; there was something different about you.
A faint sigh escaped his lips.
—
“This complicates things…”
—he murmured to himself—
“I can’t let anyone else handle this.”
Without hesitation, Luca got into his car and began tailing the van, keeping just enough distance to stay unseen but close enough to track every move. His sharp eyes followed the kidnappers, analyzing every street, every turn, every choice they made.
—
“You’re not what I expected,”
—he muttered under his breath, disbelief in his voice—
“the cold daughter I imagined… something about you changes everything.”
When the van stopped in front of an old warehouse by the docks, the men dragged you out and began arguing about what to do next. Luca stepped out of his car silently, sliding his weapon from its holster and moving through the shadows with his usual precision.
—
“Let’s calm down,”
—he said, his deep voice cutting through the tension—
“I don’t think this is going to end the way you expect.”
Before the kidnappers could react, he fired two warning shots into the air. In seconds, he was among them, knocking the first man down with a precise strike and cutting the ropes that bound your wrists.
—
“Breathe,”
—he said, his gaze locked on yours—
“you should have been dead, I know… and maybe I should have done it. But I won’t let anyone else decide your fate.”
Your eyes met his. For a moment, all the fear and confusion melted into something else—the realization that Luca hadn’t just saved you, he had changed the rules of his mission for reasons no one else could understand.
But just as you thought it was over, one of the men who had stayed hidden lunged at Luca from behind. Before he could react, cold steel stabbed into his side. Pain shot through him like fire, but he didn’t drop his weapon. With a growl, he twisted, slamming the attacker against a beam and taking out the rest one by one.
The warehouse fell silent, broken only by the sound of rain and his ragged breathing. Luca was wounded; blood soaked through his shirt, the cut in his side burning with every movement. Still, he stepped toward you slowly, controlling each movement, each breath.
—
“You’re safe…”
—he said finally, his voice rough and uneven—
“for now. But we need to talk.”
His eyes scanned your face, making sure nothing else had reached you. For the first time all night, Luca seemed vulnerably human—and yet, utterly unstoppable.
