Blood on the crown
The storm didn't come with thunder.
It came with silence.
That eerie stillness before a bomb goes off. Roman could feel it. In the way his men double-checked their weapons. In the way Victor scanned every shadow like it could bleed.
Enzo had vanished from his usual haunts. No calls. No sightings. Just static on the wires. That meant one thing.
He was ready to make his move.
Roman stood in his office, staring out over the city. His city. He'd built it on control, calculated risk, and ruthless decisions. And now, for the first time, something truly *unpredictable* was in the mix.
Love.
Amara.
She was in the next room, sketchbook in hand, headphones on, trying to stay grounded. Roman knew she was scared. He also knew she'd never admit it.
Victor entered the room without knocking.
"They're coming tonight."
Roman turned, slowly. "You're sure?"
"Confirmed. Enzo's sending people we don't know. Outsiders. This isn't about power anymore. It's about erasing you."
Roman's jaw tightened. "Then let him try."
---
Amara didn't know what war looked like until she saw how Roman prepared for one.
Victor handed her a sleek black bag.
"Change of clothes. Keep the phone on you. If something goes wrong, get to the elevator and press the emergency panel. Roman doesn't want you anywhere near this."
She looked him in the eye. "And what do you want?"
Victor didn't blink. "I want him to survive."
She nodded. "Then you better let me stay close. Because if he thinks I'm gone, he'll break before they get a shot off."
Victor didn't argue.
---
The first hit came at 11:47 PM.
Not a bullet.
A blackout.
Power across the entire block went out. The penthouse backup generators kicked in instantly, flooding the space with red emergency lights.
Roman stood at the center of the living room, jacket off, gun in hand. Calm. Collected. Deadly.
Victor moved to the controls, barking orders. "Roof access secured. East stairwell triggered—motion sensor. They're in."
Roman's voice was ice. "Lock it down."
He turned to Amara.
Her breath caught. He didn't speak.
He just kissed her—fast and rough, like it might be the last time.
Then he handed her a second phone. "If I don't make it out—"
"Don't," she whispered.
He touched her cheek. "Then stay alive."
---
The first wave hit fast.
Four men. Dressed like ghosts. Silencers, night vision, military precision.
Roman and Victor moved like one mind. Headshots. Disarms. Efficient.
Blood on marble floors. Gunpowder in the air.
Amara stayed hidden behind the reinforced door in the panic hallway, watching through the camera feed Roman had activated for her.
She hated every second.
Hated the sounds of gunfire.
The flashes.
The bodies.
And most of all—the fear.
Not for herself.
For *him.*
---
By the time the second wave hit, Roman had taken a shot to the shoulder.
He didn't stop.
He didn't slow.
He bled… but he *kept moving.*
Victor took down two more.
Then came the voice.
Over the building's intercom.
Enzo.
"Roman Casso. Your empire ends tonight."
Roman looked up, rage flickering behind his eyes.
"This isn't war, Enzo," he muttered. "This is suicide."
---
Amara couldn't stay hidden any longer.
She grabbed the emergency med kit and slipped out the side exit of the panic room just as the last round of gunfire cracked through the penthouse.
She found Roman slumped against the wall near the fireplace, shoulder soaked in red, gun still in his hand.
"Roman!"
His head snapped up. "I told you to stay back—"
"Shut up."
She dropped beside him, ripping open the kit.
Victor covered the hallway while she cleaned the wound, hands shaking but focused.
Roman groaned. "You've done this before?"
"No. But I googled it once."
He laughed. Then winced. "Of course you did."
---
The final fight came quick.
Enzo himself entered, flanked by two armed men.
Roman tried to stand, but Amara grabbed his hand.
"I've got this," she said.
He blinked. "What?"
She stood up, hands raised, stepping between Roman and the enemy.
Enzo paused. "Look at that. The girl really does have fire."
"You think this makes you powerful?" she said, voice steady. "Coming here, attacking from the shadows? Roman didn't fall in love with me because I'm weak."
"You think love saves him?" Enzo sneered. "Love *ends* him."
"No," she said. "It *changes* him."
And that's when Roman fired.
One shot.
Straight through Enzo's knee.
The older man screamed, dropped to the ground.
His guards turned.
Victor handled the first.
Roman—bleeding, half-conscious—handled the second.
Then silence.
Then… stillness.
---
Amara fell to her knees beside Roman, pressing harder on the wound.
"You idiot," she whispered. "You *absolute* idiot."
He smiled weakly. "Still worth it?"
She leaned in and kissed his forehead.
"You were always worth it."
---