"Where would you go?" she asks. "If you could disappear tomorrow and start over. If none of this existed."
I lean back against her headboard, pulling her closer into my side. It's dangerous to dream, but I allow myself to imagine it just for tonight.
"Spain," I say after a moment. "A little house on the Mediterranean, where the ocean stretches forever and nobody knows me."
She smiles. "You'd get bored without a gun in your hand."
"Not if you were there.”
She looks up at me, and my insides yearn to make this dream come true.
“What about you?” I ask. “Where would Valentina Dante go to escape?"
Her eyes close, dreaming. "A beach sounds nice. Or maybe New Zealand. I’ve heard how lovely it is there.”
And it's on the other side of the earth from all this.
I kiss the top of her head. "We could do both. Summers in Spain, winters in New Zealand since I think winter is their summer climate."
"A beautiful dream," she murmurs.
I tighten my arms around her, wishing I could give her the dream and whatever fucking thing she wanted.
"It doesn't have to stay a dream," I say, even as I know our future is hopeless.
Valentina tilts her face up to mine, her gray eyes searching. "Cristian…"
My name on her lips makes my heart swell. I lower my mouth to hers, tasting the sweetness of her surrender. She responds instantly, her fingers tangling in my hair as she presses herself against me.
This isn't like the hotel. That was desperation, hunger, the need to seize something before it slipped away. This is slower, deeper, a promise that neither of us can keep.
I pull back just enough to see her face, to memorize every detail of this moment. "I'm going to find a way out of this for you."
She shakes her head. "There is no way out."
"There's always a way." I press my forehead against hers. "I don't care what it costs me."
Her fingers dig into my shoulders. "Don't say that. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you because of me."
I kiss her again, pouring everything I can't say into it.
How I'd tear apart heaven and earth to keep her safe, how I'd face down her family and the entire fucking Bratva single-handedly if that's what it took.
When we break apart and I look into her beautiful eyes, I accept the truth.
I might not survive this, but Valentina will.
Even if it means challenging Alessandro directly.
Even if it means my life.
Some prices are worth paying.
And she's worth them all.
23
VALENTINA