The first gunshot shattered the quiet.
Glass exploded from the cabin windows, scattering across the floor like rain. Isabella flinched, her scream caught in her throat.
Before she could move, Damian grabbed her, pulling her to the ground, his body shielding hers completely.
"Stay down," he hissed, his voice rough with command.
Outside, engines roared to life. Tires skidded. Then another shot closer this time splintered the wooden door.
Luca was already moving, rolling behind the sofa, gun drawn. "They've surrounded us!"
Damian's eyes flicked toward him, cold, calculating even through the chaos. "How many?"
"Two on the left, three in front. One circling back."
Damian cursed under his breath. He reached for his weapon hidden beneath his jacket but blood still trickled from his earlier wound. Isabella saw it, panic flaring in her chest.
"You're hurt," she whispered.
"Not enough to stop me," he snapped, rising to his knees. "Move when I tell you."
The next blast came from the back wall. A bullet tore through the wood inches from Isabella's head.
She gasped but Damian was already there, firing back two clean shots. Two shadows fell outside.
Silence followed. Then voices shouting orders in Italian.
Luca reloaded. "They're not amateurs. Whoever sent them wants you dead for real this time."
Damian's eyes narrowed, his voice deadly calm. "Then let's disappoint them."
He moved with predatory precision, grabbing Isabella by the wrist and dragging her toward the hallway. "Go. Now."
"But.."
"No questions!" His tone cracked like thunder.
The cabin shook as another round hit the door. Isabella stumbled, her heart slamming against her ribs.
Damian pushed her into the narrow storage room, his hand gripping her jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"You don't leave this spot unless I come for you," he said. "You hear me?"
Her throat tightened. "But what if.."
He leaned in, his voice a dangerous whisper. "I'll always come for you."
Then he was gone.
Gunfire erupted sharp, deafening, relentless. Damian moved like smoke and fire, every motion precise, every shot fatal.
The flashes lit his face through the crack in the door, his expression carved in steel, his eyes burning with rage.
Luca covered his flank, firing through the shattered window. "Two down!"
"Keep them away from the girl!" Damian barked, ducking behind the overturned table.
The chaos outside grew louder shouts, footsteps crunching over broken glass, then the deep rumble of a vehicle.
Isabella's hands shook as she clutched the door handle, desperate not to cry out.
She could hear Damian's voice through the storm of bullets, sharp orders, curses in Italian, the sound of violence that felt like a heartbeat.
Then a sudden silence.
Her breath caught.
And then… the unmistakable sound of boots approaching the hallway.
One step. Two. Three.
She pressed a trembling hand over her mouth.
The door handle turned.
Before she could scream, the wood splintered open and a man appeared, gun raised.
He wasn't Damian.
Isabella froze. Her blood ran cold.
The stranger grinned. "Pretty little thing. You're worth more alive."
Her back hit the wall. Her heart thundered until a shadow moved behind him.
A gunshot.
The man dropped, his body collapsing before her.
Damian stood in the doorway, chest heaving, eyes blazing. Smoke curled from the barrel of his gun.
His voice was low, shaking with restrained fury. "I told you to stay quiet."
Isabella trembled, tears burning her eyes. "He…he almost…."
"I know," Damian rasped. He reached for her, dragging her against him, his heartbeat a violent drum against her ear. "You're safe. I've got you."
Outside, the last shots echoed,Luca finishing off the survivors.
But Damian didn't move. He just held her there, breathing her in like she was oxygen, his hand tangled in her hair, his lips brushing the top of her head.
"You're mine, Isabella," he whispered hoarsely. "And I swear to God, no one touches what's mine."
She clung to him, unable to stop shaking. The smell of smoke and blood wrapped around them, a dark promise in the night.
Smoke still hung heavy in the air when Luca kicked the last shell casing aside. "We need to move now. That won't be the last wave."
Damian's jaw clenched, eyes scanning the shattered room.
"I know." He turned to Isabella, who stood pale against the wall, her hands trembling. "Can you walk?"
She nodded shakily, even though her legs felt like paper.
"Good. Stay close."
Without waiting, Damian wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her outside into the cold night.
The forest around the cabin glowed faintly with moonlight, the air thick with the metallic scent of gunpowder and pine.
A black SUV was hidden in the trees, one of Luca's precautions.
Damian opened the passenger door, helping her in with rough tenderness.
As the engine roared to life, Isabella glanced back.
The cabin, their fragile refuge, was burning, flames licking the walls, sparks scattering into the dark sky.
She swallowed hard. "They found us so fast… how?"
Damian's hands tightened around the wheel. "Someone talked."
Luca's voice was grim from the backseat. "Could be one of our men. Or Antonio's allies."
At her father's name, Isabella's heart twisted painfully.
She turned to Damian, but his expression had gone completely cold, eyes like obsidian, jaw sharp with fury.
"Don't," he said flatly. "Not now."
The silence that followed was suffocating. The only sound was the hum of the engine and the distant echo of sirens that never dared to come this far.
Isabella leaned her head back, exhaustion washing over her. But then Damian's hand slid from the wheel, resting on her thigh. Firm. Grounding. Possessive.
She froze, pulse racing.
"Breathe," he murmured without looking at her. "You're shaking."
"I'm fine," she whispered.
His thumb traced slow circles over her skin. "You're lying."
She turned her face away, trying to ignore the heat building between them the awareness that had been simmering since the night she first wore his silk dress.
Luca cleared his throat softly. "We'll reach the villa in twenty minutes. I'll call ahead."
Damian nodded once, his hand still on her leg, his touch never wavering.
When they finally pulled through the iron gates of a secluded villa hidden in the hills, Damian stepped out first, scanning the perimeter like a wolf scenting danger. He opened her door, offering his hand.
She hesitated. "Are we safe here?"
"For tonight," he said. "But safety doesn't exist in my world, Bella. Only control."
His voice was softer than before but it carried a weight that made her chest ache.
Inside, the villa was smaller than the mansion stone walls, flickering candles, the faint smell of leather and smoke. It felt raw, isolated… intimate.
Damian turned to Luca. "Secure the perimeter. No one in or out."
Luca nodded, disappearing into the night.
And then it was just the two of them.
Isabella stood in the quiet, her heart still racing. "You should rest," she said softly. "You're bleeding again."
He glanced down, as if just realizing the crimson stain on his sleeve. "It's nothing."
"Damian…"
Her voice cracked, and that broke something in him.
In a blur of motion, he caught her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. His eyes were dark fire. "Don't you understand?
Every time you look at me like that like I'm human it makes it harder to keep you alive."
Her breath caught. "I didn't ask you to protect me."
"No," he said, stepping closer, his voice a low growl. "But I will. Even if it kills me."
The air between them burned. His breath mingled with hers, his hand still gripping her jaw, thumb brushing her lip as though fighting the urge to claim it.
She trembled. "Damian…"
He exhaled sharply and turned away, slamming his fist against the wall hard enough to make the candles flicker. "Get some rest," he ordered hoarsely. "You'll need it."
But as he walked toward the door, she whispered, "Why did you come for me?"
He froze, back tense, voice quiet but raw.
"Because, Isabella…" He looked over his shoulder, eyes shadowed with something dangerously close to confession. "You're the only thing in this godforsaken world that makes me feel alive."
And then he was gone leaving her in the glow of candlelight, heart racing, unsure whether to fear him… or the way her soul reached for him.