Unraveled (Lorenzo's Perspective)
Days later
Lorenzo had made a mistake.
A fatal one.
Not in business, not in the world he ruled with a ruthless handâbut with her. Mia.
He should have walked away.
Hell, he had planned to.
But something about the way she looked at him, the way she touched him, soft but sure, had pulled him back in like a man sinking into deep waters.
Now, as he sat in his car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white, he realized that it wasn't just desire that was making him reckless. It was her.
The woman who should have never been part of his world.
The woman who was slowly becoming the only thing he thought about.
Lorenzo exhaled sharply and ran a hand down his face. He had left the restaurant, telling himself that was the last time. That whatever this wasâit had to stop.
But as he drove through the city, his hands mindlessly turning the wheel, his car pulled up to the last place he should be.
Mia's apartment.
What the fuck are you doing?
He had no answer.
All he knew was that he needed to see her. One last time.
Lorenzo stepped out, ignoring the voice in his head telling him to turn around. His steps were slow, deliberate, as he reached her door. He knocked twice.
Seconds passed.
Then, the door cracked open.
Mia stood there, wrapped in an oversized hoodie, her hair pulled into a messy bun. She looked tired. Beautiful. Untouchable.
His chest tightened.
She blinked up at him, eyes searching his face, and thenâwithout a wordâshe stepped aside, letting him in.
Lorenzo walked past her, hands shoved into his coat pockets, pretending like he hadn't just spent the last hour fighting himself over whether to come here.
She shut the door and leaned against it. "You left."
His jaw tensed. "I know."
Mia crossed her arms. "But now you're here."
He didn't respond right away. Instead, he turned to face her fully, taking in the woman standing before himâthe only person who had ever made him hesitate.
"I shouldn't be," he admitted.
Mia's lips pressed together, but she didn't look away. "Then why are you?"
Lorenzo exhaled through his nose, taking slow, measured steps toward her. "Because I can't fucking help it."
She inhaled sharply, but she didn't move as he stopped in front of her.
"Mia..." He reached out, fingers ghosting over her jaw, tilting her face up toward him. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
Her eyes darkened. "Then tell me."
His teeth clenched. He should. He should lay out every bloody, ruthless piece of himself and let her see the man he really was. The man she would be better off running from.
But when he looked at her, all logic disappeared.
"You want to know the truth?" His voice was low, edged with something dangerous. "I kill people, Mia. I make them disappear. I run this city not with a title, but with fear."
She didn't flinch. Didn't back away.
She just held his gaze and whispered, "I know."
Lorenzo sucked in a breath.
Of course, she knew. Mia wasn't stupid. She had been piecing it together from the moment she met him.
Still, she was here. Still, she was standing in front of him, waiting for something he couldn't give.
So why couldn't he fucking walk away?
His fingers curled against her cheek. "I should let you go."
Mia's breath hitched. "Then why don't you?"
His control cracked.
Lorenzo grabbed her, pulling her against him in a way that left no space between them. "Because I don't want to."
Mia gasped, but she didn't resist. She melted into him, her hands fisting the front of his coat as if she was just as lost as he was.
Lorenzo's forehead pressed against hers. His breathing was heavy, his body coiled tight.
"Mia," he warned.
She tilted her chin up, her lips barely brushing his. "I'm not scared of you."
His grip on her tightened.
She should be.
She should be running as far away from him as possible.
But as his lips finally crashed against hersâhungry, desperate, claimingâLorenzo realized something terrifying.
It was too late for either of them to walk away.