Chapter 5: An unexpected encounter

The city never truly slept, and neither did those caught in its endless web of power struggles. Under the glow of dim streetlights, Isabella Rosetti walked with careful steps, her hand instinctively brushing against the hidden blade beneath her jacket. She had survived another night, another mission, but the weight of it all was starting to settle in her bones.

The streets at night were quiet, but Isabella never let her guard down. She had learned long ago that silence could be the deadliest warning. The weight of her concealed weapon was reassuring against her hip as she stepped out of a dim alley, the cold night air cutting through the thin fabric of her jacket.

She had come here for a clan deal—one that should have been simple. But simplicity didn't exist in her world.

A shadow moved at the edge of her vision. She tensed, her instincts kicking in as her hand hovered near her weapon. But before she could react, a familiar voice cut through the silence.

"You're a hard one to track down."

She froze. That voice. That presence, the one she had learned to recognize even without seeing him.

Slowly turning, Isabella met Luca Moretti's gaze. He stood casually against the wall, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The dim glow of a nearby streetlamp cast shadows across his sharp features, highlighting the contrast between his composed demeanor and the storm brewing in his dark eyes.

Her heart lurched—but she masked it instantly. She hadn't seen him up close since that night. The night everything changed.

"Didn't think you'd be the type to go looking for me," Isabella said, keeping her voice steady, her fingers twitching against her side.

Luca tilted his head, his smirk holding no humor. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see me."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "You thought wrong."

The tension between them thickened, the air growing heavy with unspoken words.

Luca Moretti stood at the other end of the alley, leaning casually against a wall, cigarette between his fingers. His dark eyes flickered with something unreadable as he regarded her.

"You look tired," he said, exhaling smoke into the cold air.

She scoffed. "And you look too relaxed for someone who's supposed to be my enemy."

"Relaxed?" Luca chuckled, pushing off the wall. "Maybe. Or maybe I just don't see the point in wasting energy on something that's already decided."

Isabella narrowed her eyes. "And what's already decided?"

He stepped closer, slow, deliberate. "That sooner or later, one of us will have to make the choice. Kill or be killed."

She hated that he said it so easily, as if it was as simple as flipping a coin. As if they weren't two people with history, with memories that refused to fade.

Luca took a step forward, and instinctively, Isabella stepped back. Not out of fear—but because being too close to him made things dangerous.

For both of them.

"You always looked like a soft person," Luca murmured, eyes locked onto hers. "But you're anything but."

"Tell me how much of you was real, Isabella!" Luca drawled looking straight into her soul

Isabella's breath hitched, a flicker of something old and unwanted stirring in her chest.

"As real as you were when you pretended to be in love with me," she countered, lifting her chin.

Luca's smirk faltered for just a second. A second too long.

"The past changes nothing," she said, forcing her voice to be cold.

Luca held her gaze for a moment before finally stepping back. "No, it doesn't."

The crack of a gunshot split the night. Isabella's instincts kicked in as she ducked, the bullet narrowly missing her shoulder. But it wasn't aimed at her alone.

Luca had moved at the same time, barely dodging the second shot that ricocheted off the alley wall.

Another shot followed, missing Isabella's shoulder by a breath. Luca instinctively lunged forward, yanking her aside as they tumbled behind a stack of rusted metal crates. The air reeked of damp concrete and gunpowder, the echoes of gunfire bouncing off the alley walls.

"Are they your men?" Isabella hissed, breathless.

"If they were, you'd already be dead," Luca snapped back, eyes scanning the darkness. "Your?"

Isabella grit her teeth. "Would I be running if they were?"

For a split second, their eyes met—shock, confusion, and then cold realization dawning.

They were both the targets.

No time to think. No time to blame.

Isabella spun on her heel, gripping her weapon, but the assailants were well-hidden. More shots rang out. Too many.

Luca grabbed her wrist. "Move!"

For once, she didn't resist.

They sprinted through the maze of alleyways, their breath ragged, boots hitting the pavement in synchronized urgency. The world blurred around them—gunfire, shouts, the scent of smoke and metal filling the air.

A broken fence. A collapsed staircase. An abandoned building looming in the distance.

He was too close. Close enough that she could smell the faint trace of steel and rain on him. Close enough that for a split second, she almost remembered the way he had once whispered her name like a prayer.

His fingers brushed against her pulse. She knew he could feel how fast it was beating, and she cursed herself for it.

"You're afraid," he murmured.

"Of you?" She tilted her chin up, defiant. "Never."

They didn't stop running until they crashed inside, slamming the rusted door behind them.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

Luca exhaled sharply, pressing his back against the cold concrete wall. "Hell of a way to reunite."

Isabella wiped a streak of blood—probably not her own—from her cheek, her heartbeat still hammering. "I should've shot you when I had the chance."

"Yeah?" His voice was quieter now, but no less sharp. "And yet here we are, hiding together."

She clenched her jaw, but the truth in his words settled between them like an unwanted guest.

Outside, their enemies were still searching.

Inside, the ghosts of their past whispered between them.

Isabella could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The close proximity with that black haired man making her dizzy.

'No', she reminded herself as she jumped and created some distance between them, Luca just looked at her with an unreadable expression.

'The person inside was also the enemy!'