Mimi_sola25

Ayla never expected the man she’d fall for—Leon—to be a cartel leader. Nor did she expect to discover that her long-lost father is Leon’s sworn enemy, Viper. Torn between love and blood, Ayla is forced to choose between the man who owns her heart and the father she never knew. But when she’s abducted by a mysterious enemy seeking revenge, Ayla becomes the center of a deadly game. In a world of betrayal, secrets, and forbidden love, her next choice could cost everything.

His forbidden flame

Ayla sat on the hospital bed, the white sheets too clean for the chaos still echoing in her chest. Her shoulder was bandaged, the wound shallow but aching. Leon sat across from her, arms folded, unreadable. Viper stood by the window, back turned, stiff with tension.

No one spoke for a while. Only the quiet beeping of the monitor filled the room.

"You shouldn't have come after me," Ayla whispered at last.

Leon looked up, eyes sharp. "I didn't come for permission, Ayla. I came because I love you. And I would've walked through fire twice for you."

Her throat tightened. Guilt gnawed at her. "I didn't ask you to," she said softly, but the words tasted bitter. Because she had hoped. Hoped he would still care.

Viper finally turned around, arms crossed. "You were taken by one of mine. Someone who wanted to hurt me through you. That makes this war personal."

Leon stood. "It was already personal the day you took her."

"And I was trying to protect her."

Ayla closed her eyes, overwhelmed. "Stop," she said quietly, but they didn't listen.

"She was safer away from you," Viper snapped. "You bring death with you."

"She was happier with me!" Leon shot back.

"Both of you…" Ayla breathed. Her voice rose. "You're not listening to me!"

She looked from one to the other. "I'm not a prize. I'm not a pawn. I'm not something to be fought over like I have no say."

Leon's gaze softened. "I never saw you that way. I came because I couldn't bear the thought of you gone."

Viper stayed silent, his expression unreadable.

Ayla looked at her father. "You kept the truth from me. All this time, you knew—and said nothing."

"I was afraid," he admitted. "Of losing you the way I lost your mother."

"I lost her too," she said. "And now I'm losing myself."

Leon stepped closer. "Then come back. To who you are. With me."

Viper's voice cracked. "Or stay. And learn who you were meant to be."

Ayla looked between the two men. Her heart ached with the weight of choice.

Two fires burned in her life—one that consumed, the other that kept her warm.

And she was still standing between them.

BETWEEN TWO FIRES