Chapter 111: 111 ~ Jace
"I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you." I breathed out.
Maybe I was becoming too soft and vulnerable but there was nothing else I could have done.
When my spy informed me that men had broken into her apartment, I felt my heart drop.
After losing my father and brother in a gruesome manner, I couldn’t cope with the death of anyone close to me, especially not Mira.
The relief that flooded my veins when I found out that she was safe cannot be explained.
"I’m fine," she groaned, trying to get away from my hold.
I held her tighter.
The moment she stiffened in my arms, I thought she would push me away. That would’ve been typical Mira. She could be spiteful, stubborn, always ready to draw blood when she felt cornered. That was one of the many things I loved about her.
But then, slowly, I felt her melt. Just a fraction. Just enough for me to know she wasn’t running. Not tonight at least.
And God, the weight that slid off my shoulders in that moment was something I hadn’t felt in years.
I buried my face in her hair, inhaling that familiar scent I’d almost forgotten. Sweet, clean, like vanilla laced with gunpowder. Mine. She was still mine, no matter how much she tried to deny it.
"I should kill him," I muttered before I even thought about it. The words vibrated against her temple.
She stiffened again. "Kill who?"
I pulled back, holding her by the shoulders, my thumbs brushing over her collarbones as I stared her dead in the eye. "Massimo."
Her brows furrowed, lips parting like she wanted to argue, but I didn’t let her. "He sent those men after you. Don’t even try to tell me otherwise, Mira. I know his kind. I am his kind. And the only reason you’re breathing right now is because you’re mine."
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked like she wanted to call me dramatic, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her.
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, softer than I meant to. "Don’t ever scare me like that again."
She scoffed, finally finding her backbone and sarcasm.
"Scare you? I was the one being hunted in my own apartment, Jace. Forgive me for not prioritizing your feelings."
I almost smiled at that. Almost. God, even when she was half broken, she still had that fire. That sharp tongue. And yet the sight of her, pale under the glow of the streetlights, her jacket slipping off one shoulder, made something in me ache.
I shrugged out of my own suit jacket and draped it over her before she could protest. "Get in the car."
"Don’t tell me what to do."
My jaw clenched. "Mira. Don’t test me tonight."
Her lips parted like she wanted to push back, but the fight drained from her. She looked exhausted. So she nodded once and slipped into the passenger seat.
I circled around, slid behind the wheel, and slammed the door shut harder than necessary. My hands tightened on the leather, fighting the urge to turn this car around and drive straight to Ricciardi’s doorstep so I could kill him with my bare hands for trying to harm my woman.
But instead, I forced myself to drive slow, controlled, every ounce of rage coiling in my veins. Mira sat silent beside me, clutching my jacket tighter around herself like armor. She wouldn’t look at me, but I kept stealing glances at her anyway.
She was safe. That was all that mattered.
For now.
The silence stretched until it felt like it strangling me. I wasn’t a man who begged for conversation, but with her, silence meant distance. And distance was dangerous especially with everything going on in our complicated lives.
"Why did you even go back to that apartment?" I finally asked.
Her head turned sharply. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." My voice dropped lower, steadier. "I know that what that place is. Massimo gave it to you, didn’t he? But you should have just stayed with me when I told you to. It’s safer."
Her eyes flickered, just a fraction, and that was all the confirmation I needed.
He was the one who told her the truth. I could see it now.
I cursed under my breath, slamming my palm against the wheel. "Of course he did all this on purpose. He’s been circling you like a vulture ever since. Feeding you lies, making promises he’ll never keep. You think he wants to avenge your parents? No, Mira. He wants to use you to get to me."
"Maybe he’s not the only one who uses me," she shot back, voice sharp.
The words cut, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I slowed the car, pulling onto a quieter street, and turned to face her fully.
"You really think he cares for you?" My laugh was humorless. "You saw what happened tonight. If he wanted you alive, those men wouldn’t have stepped foot in your apartment. He was done with you the moment you stopped being useful. That’s who Massimo is. That’s who he’ll always be."
I didn’t know what exactly he was using her for but he seemed impatient. Mira had let down her guard and he thought that the best way to get to me was harming her. The bastard.
Her lips trembled, but she bit down hard to stop it. I knew her too well. I knew the truth hit harder than she wanted to admit.
I leaned in, close enough that my breath fanned her cheek. "But me, Mira? I’m not letting you go. Not to him. Not to anyone. I won’t let any harm come to you."
Her eyes snapped to mine, blazing. "You don’t get to make that choice."
"Yes, I do." My hand slid to her jaw, forcing her to look at me. "Because whether you like it or not, you’re my wife. And I don’t share what’s mine. I protect the ones I love with everything in me."
She tried to shake me off, but I held steady. For a heartbeat, our eyes locked, her fury clashing with the desperation I couldn’t hide anymore.
Then she whispered the words that gutted me. "You’ll never understand, Jace. You can chain me to your side, you can lock me in your penthouse, but you’ll never undo what your father did to mine. Never."
The words hung heavy between us. Poison and truth wrapped together.
I felt my grip falter, my chest tighten. For once, I had nothing to say. Nothing to fight back with. Because she was right.
And maybe that was why I pressed my forehead to hers instead, shutting my eyes against the storm in hers. My voice came out raw, almost pleading. "Then hate me if you have to. But stay alive. Stay where I can see you."
She exhaled shakily, but she didn’t answer. Not with words. Just silence.
And for me, silence was enough. At least for now.
We pulled up to my penthouse minutes later, the city sprawling below us in glittering lights. I parked, cut the engine, and sat there with my hands on the wheel. Mira stared straight ahead, refusing to look at me.
I finally broke the quiet. "I’ll deal with Massimo."
Her head snapped toward me. "And then what? You kill him, and the cycle keeps going? Someone else steps in? How long until it’s me caught in the crossfire again?"
I turned to her, my expression hardening. "I don’t care about the cycle. I care about you."
She laughed bitterly. "You don’t know how to do that."
That stung more than I wanted to admit. But instead of arguing, I got out of the car, came around, and opened her door. She hesitated, then stepped out, brushing past me without a glance.
I watched her walk toward the elevators, every sway of her hips equal parts defiance and exhaustion.
And I swore to myself quietly, and violently that I’d burn Massimo Ricciardi’s empire to the ground before I let him touch her again.
That night, when she finally slipped into the guest bedroom and shut the door, I stood alone by the window of my penthouse, staring down at the city. My reflection stared back, gray eyes sharp, jaw clenched, haunted.
I had faced enemies who’d tried to gut me, betrayals that should have broken me. But nothing... absolutely nothing felt as dangerous as the way Mira’s voice had cracked when she spoke of her father. The way she looked at me like I was both the devil who ruined her life and the only man who could keep her safe.
I didn’t know which truth would kill me first.
But I knew this much: I wasn’t letting her slip through my fingers again.
Not to Massimo. Not to anyone.
Even if it meant burning myself alive to keep her close.