I stared at the laptop screen, my stomach twisting into knots. The flash drive clicked once, and the files opened in a neat, cold list of names. Dozens of them. Some crossed out in red, others left untouched. Victims. Targets. People who had been in Rafael's way.
And then I saw it.
Aurora.
My own name. Written in black letters, with a red circle around it. No cross-out line. Still active.
I felt the air leave my lungs. It was as if someone had punched me straight in the chest. My hands shook so hard the mouse slipped from my fingers and clattered against the desk.
It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't someone else. It was me.
My throat went dry. "What the hell…" I whispered.
Behind me, the door creaked.
I slammed the laptop shut so fast my fingers stung.
"Aurora," Rafael's voice came low, careful. The kind of careful he used when he already knew something was wrong.
I forced myself to turn around. He stood in the doorway, hair wet from the shower, shirt open at the chest. He looked like sin wrapped in silk—beautiful and deadly at the same time. His eyes locked on me, then on the laptop.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it. "Nothing," I lied.
His jaw tensed. "Don't lie to me."
I wanted to scream. To shove the laptop in his face and demand an explanation. But fear kept my lips pressed shut. I didn't know if he'd kill me, or kiss me, or both.
"Rafael…" My voice trembled. "Was I ever just another name on your list?"
His eyes darkened. He stepped inside the room and closed the door softly behind him. That softness was worse than a slam. It meant control. It meant danger.
"Where did you hear that?" he asked.
I swallowed hard. "Just answer me. Was I?"
He moved closer. Slowly. Like a predator circling prey. "You think I could ever hurt you?"
"I don't know what to think anymore." My hands clenched at my sides. "I don't know who you are. One moment you protect me, the next you terrify me. And now—now I find my name among people you wanted dead."
His nostrils flared. He stopped just inches from me, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Listen to me," he said, his voice sharp as a blade. "Yes, your name was there. But do you know why? Because when you were first brought into my world, I didn't trust you. I didn't know if you were bait. A spy. A weakness planted by my enemies. And in my world, anyone who might betray me goes on the list."
My chest rose and fell in fast bursts. "So I was a target from the start."
"You were," he admitted. Then his hand shot out, gripping my chin, forcing my eyes to his. "But I never touched you. I never could. The moment I saw you, you stopped being a name. You became mine."
Anger burned through my fear. "Do you hear yourself? You're saying you spared me because you wanted me in your bed."
"Not just my bed," he growled. "My life. My blood. My future."
I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. His breath was hot against my face, his eyes wild with something between fury and desperation.
"Say it," he demanded. "Say you believe me."
"I don't know if I do."
Something inside him snapped.
In one swift motion, he lifted me onto the desk, papers scattering to the floor. His mouth crushed mine, rough and hungry. I shoved at his chest, but my body betrayed me, melting into the heat of him, into the fire that only he could set ablaze.
His hands tore at my clothes, pulling my hoodie over my head, yanking my jeans down my legs. I gasped, half in anger, half in need.
"Rafael—stop—"
"No," he growled, spreading my thighs wide. "Not when you look at me like I'm the enemy. I'll show you what I am. What I'll always be to you."
He slid into me hard, forcing a cry from my throat. The desk creaked beneath us as he moved, deep and unrelenting. My fingers dug into his shoulders, torn between shoving him off and pulling him closer.
"You think I'd ever kill you?" he panted, thrust after thrust stealing my breath. "I'd burn the whole world before I lost you."
Tears stung my eyes. Pleasure and pain tangled until I couldn't tell them apart. He pushed me closer and closer to the edge, his hand sliding around my throat, his thumb pressing lightly under my chin.
"Mine," he whispered harshly. "Say it. Say you're mine."
"I'm yours," I gasped, the words spilling out as my climax tore through me, leaving me trembling and weak beneath him.
He groaned, burying his face against my neck as he came inside me, his grip on me so tight I thought he'd never let go.
For a moment, silence filled the room. Only our ragged breaths remained.
Then he pulled back, eyes blazing with an intensity that made my stomach twist.
"You were never meant to be a target, Aurora. You were meant to be my salvation."
My body still shook from the aftershocks of his claim, but my mind screamed with questions. I touched his cheek, searching his eyes for truth.
And for the first time, I saw it—the smallest flicker of fear in Rafael Costa.
Not fear of me.
Fear of losing me.
Before I could speak, my phone buzzed on the desk.
A new message lit the screen.
Unknown Number: He'll never tell you the full truth. But I will. Meet me tomorrow at midnight. Alone.
My heart froze.
I looked up at Rafael, his eyes still locked on me, his body still caging mine.
And I knew—
The war between truth and lies had only just begun.