Chapter 152
Ara’s POV
The room was quiet now.
My heart was still beating fast, though not from fear or pain. It was the kind of fast that came from being completely overwhelmed by touch, by love, by the weight of everything I had felt in the past few hours. My body was sore, my legs tangled in sheets and limbs, my skin still buzzing where they had kissed me, touched me, worshipped me.
I was in the middle of them.
Dante’s strong arms were around my waist. Ilis chest was warm and solid against my back, rising and falling slowly, his breath brushing my hair. Matteo was close on my other side, fingers gently running up and down my arm like he was afraid I’d disappear. Enzo was sitting up slightly, brushing his thumb over my cheek, watching me with soft eyes.
I didn’t want to move.
I didn’t want to break this moment
–
this peace, this stillness.
“You okay, baby?” Enzo asked, his voice low and sweet.
low an My
–
I nodded. Or maybe I just breathed. I wasn’t sure. My throat felt tight, and my chest felt full too full. I blinked, and tears slipped out, sliding down my temples into my hair. I didn’t even realize I was crying until Enzo leaned in and kissed them away.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be,” Dante said from behind me, his voice deep and husky. “You feel whatever you need to feel.”
“We’ve got you,” Matteo added.
And I believed them.
Enzo stood and disappeared into the bathroom for a moment. When he came back, he had a warm cloth and a fresh bottle of water. Matteo sat up to help me drink while Enzo cleaned me gently. I blushed, but they didn’t laugh or tease. They were soft. Loving. Careful.
Matteo pulled one of Dante’s shirts over my head. It smelled like him – spicy and earthy and comforting. Dante pulled the covers up around me and kissed the back of my neck. I felt so safe. So small. But not in a bad way. I felt protected.
We lay there in silence for a while.
I stared at the ceiling, my fingers resting against Matteo’s chest, my foot tangled with Enzo’s under the blankets. Dante was tracing lazy circles on my hip. I could’ve fallen asleep like that. But there were questions in my chest, heavy and sharp, and I couldn’t hold them back anymore,
“What happens now?” I asked quietly.
The room went still again. My voice had cut through the calm.
Dante was the first to speak. “We stay here.”
“For how long?” I asked.
Enzo’s hand found mine under the blankets and squeezed. “As long as
“To keep you safe,” Matteo said.
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Chapter 152
I turned my head toward him. “You think they’ll come after me again?*
There was a pause. That silence was loud..
“We don’t know,” Dante admitted. “The Russian mafia… they don’t let things you’re with us…”
“They’ll see you as a threat,” Enzo finished.
I looked down at the sheet, my fingers twisting it. “So I’m just… supposed to hide?”
- go.
And now that they think you have something, and now that
“No,” I said suddenly, sitting up a little. “I don’t want to
hide.”
All three of them looked at me, surprised.
“I want to fight,” I told them. “I want to learn how to shoot. take me. I can’t feel like that again.”
How
efend myself. I don’t want to feel helpless the next time someone tries to
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Matteo let out a soft laugh. “Damn, she’s serious.”
“Dead serious,” Enzo grinned.
Dante looked proud. His fingers brushed a strand of hair from my face. “You really want to do this?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He leaned in, kissed my forehead. “Then we’ll teach you.”
“Everything,” Matteo said, stretching. “Shooting, knives, hand–to–hand. You name it.”
“I call dibs on gun training,” Enzo smirked. “You’re gonna look so hot at the shooting range.”
I rolled my eyes, smiling. “You’re all such men.‘
“We’re mafia,” Matteo corrected with a playful wink. “Big différence.”
I laughed. And then I got quiet again. “I just don’t want to be weak anymore.”
“You were never weak,” Dante said. His voice was low and strong. “Never. You were just unprotected. But now…”
“You’ve got us,” Enzo whispered.
“Always,” Matteo added, brushing his lips across my hand.
My heart squeezed so tight, it ached.
I bit my lip to stop more tears, but I couldn’t. I didn’t cry hard okay to let go.
–
– just those quiet, soft tears that slipped out when someone told you it was
Dante kissed my temple. Matteo wrapped his arms around me from behind. Enzo pulled the blanket up over all of us, and for a few seconds, I just breathed them in.
“What did I do to deserve you three?” whispered.
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Chapter 152
“Everything,” Dante said without hesitation.
Matteo chuckled. “You’re stuck with us now. No take backs.”
“I wouldn’t want to,” I said honestly.
“Good,” Enzo grinned. “Because we’re obsessed.”
“And starting tomorrow,” Matteo said, “we’re turning you into a little assassin.”
“Do I get a cool name?” I teased.
“We’ll think on it,” Enzo laughed.
“I’ll call you Trouble,” Dante said, and I laughed so hard I had to bury my face in his chest.
“Trouble’s gonna kick your ass if you don’t stop teasing her,” I mumbled.
Matteo raised a brow. “Oh? Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe.”
“We’ll see who ends up on their back first,” Enzo whispered against my ear, and I shivered.
I blushed and turned my head, burying my smile. My heart felt light. For once, I wasn’t weighed down by fear. I had them. And I was going to be stronger.
They were giving me everything I never knew I needed.
And tomorrow? Tomorrow we’d begin something new.
But tonight, I was right where I belonged – in the arms of three men who loved me like I was their entire world.
And I loved them back.
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