Dante's POV
"Basement." I made the choice in seconds. "There's a tunnel. It leads to the neighboring land."
"That tunnel hasn't been used in years," Marco argued. "It could be collapsed—"
"It's our only option." I pulled Aria toward the basement stairs. "Elena, stay close. Marco, cover our exit."
Behind us, something crashed through the front window. sounds shouted—greedy, desperate sounds that made my skin crawl. These weren't professional crooks. These were ordinary people turned into hunters by the promise of five million dollars.
Which made them more dangerous. Professionals had rules. Desperate people had nothing to lose.
We reached the basement, and I yanked away the old bookshelf hiding the tunnel entrance. Dust and dust covered everything. The cave was dark, narrow, and smelled like rot.
"You want us to go in there?" Elena looked at the black hole.
"Would you prefer to face the mob upstairs?" I gave her a flashlight. "Move."
Aria went first, surprisingly brave. Elena followed, then Marco. I went last, pulling the shelf back to hide our escape route.
The tunnel was worse than I remembered. Low ceiling that made me crouch. Water falling somewhere. The walls felt like they were closing in.
"How far?" Aria's voice echoed.
"Three hundred feet. Straight shot to—"
A crack echoed through the tube. Dust rained down.
"What was that?" Elena squeaked.
"Structural damage." Marco shone his light up at the ceiling. "This tunnel's old, boss. It wasn't built for this much weight."
Above us, footsteps thundered. The bounty hunters were searching every room, their weight making the old tunnel shake.
"Faster," I ordered. "Before it collapses."
We moved as quickly as we could through the cramped space. My back screamed from crouching. My lungs burned from the dusty air. But we kept going.
Behind us, I heard screams. Someone had found the tunnel opening.
"They're following!" Marco pulled his gun. "Boss, I can slow them down—"
"No." If he started shooting, the tunnel would surely collapse. "We run."
More cracks echoed. The roof groaned like a dying animal.
"There!" Aria pointed ahead. "I see light!"
The exit was twenty feet away. So close. But the tunnel was falling apart around us.
"Go!" I shoved Aria forward. "Elena, Marco—run!"
We ran the final distance. The roof cracked open behind us, chunks of concrete crashing down. Dust filled the air, choking us.
Aria reached the exit first—an old metal door, rusted shut.
"It's locked!" She pulled at it frantically.
I slammed into the door with my shoulder. Once. Twice. The rusty hinges screamed but held.
Behind us, the tunnel was falling. Thirty feet away. Twenty. Ten.
"Move!" Marco added his weight to mine. Together we hit the door.
It burst open.
We tumbled out into a garage just as the tunnel collapsed fully behind us, sealing off our pursuers.
For a moment, we just lay there gasping, covered in dust and blood and fear.
"Everyone alive?" I managed.
"Unfortunately," Elena coughed.
Aria laughed—a slightly crazy sound. "We fled through a collapsing tunnel. We actually did that."
"Don't celebrate yet." I pulled myself up, every muscle protesting. "We're in the nearby property, but Alessandro's people will figure that out soon. We need a car."
The garage had one—a dusty car that probably hadn't run in years. But the keys were hanging on a hook, and when I turned the starter, the engine coughed to life.
"You've got to be kidding me," Marco grumbled. "That actually worked?"
"Don't question miracles." I backed out of the garage. "Just pray it gets us far enough to—"
A black SUV blocked our way.
I slammed the brakes. My hand went to my gun.
The SUV's door opened, and a man stepped out. Tall, stylish, wearing a suit that cost more than most cars.
Alessandro Castellano himself.
Isabella's heartbroken fiancé. The man who'd put a reward on Aria's head.
He smiled at us through the windshield—a predator's smile.
"Going somewhere, Mr. Salvatore?" His voice was smooth despite the chaos. "We need to have a talk. About the woman who killed my Isabella."
"I didn't murder anyone!" Aria shouted from the passenger seat.
Alessandro's eyes found her, and his smile widened. "Ah. The famous bastard kid. You're even prettier than your photos. No wonder Lorenzo kept you hidden."
He pulled out a gun.
"Here's what's going to happen," Alessandro continued quietly. "You're going to step out of the car. All of you. And we're going to talk what justice looks like for my dead fiancée."
"And if we refuse?" I asked.
Alessandro waved. Six more men emerged from behind the SUV, all armed.
"Then I kill everyone except Aria. Because I want her living." His eyes went cold. "At least for a little while."
Beside me, Aria shook. But when I looked at her, I didn't see fear.
I saw rage.
"Don't you dare get out of this car," she whispered to me. "Don't you dare let him win."
"Aria—" "Promise me." Her amber eyes blazed. "Whatever happens, you fight. You survive. You finish what we started."
Before I could stop her, she opened the car door.
"Wait!" I grabbed for her, but she was already stepping out.
"I'm Aria Morelli," she called to Alessandro. "The woman you want. Let them go, and I'll come quietly."
"No!" I started to follow her, but Marco grabbed my arm.
"Boss, he'll kill you the second you step out. That's what she's stopping."
Alessandro studied Aria with interest. "Brave. Stupid, but brave. Unfortunately, I don't make deals with dead women walking."
He raised his gun.
Time slowed down.
I saw Aria standing there, weaponless and alone, facing the man who wanted her dead.
I saw Alessandro's finger tighten on the trigger.
I saw my chance to save her slipping away.
And I made a choice.
I hit the gas pedal.
The old sedan lurched forward, heading straight for Alessandro. His men scattered. Alessandro dove aside, his shot going wild.
"Get in!" I screamed at Aria.
She ran, yanking open the back door and jumping inside as bullets shattered our rear window.
I spun the wheel, the car fishtailing. We crashed through the garage's side fence and onto the street beyond.
More shots. Our tires screamed. The engine made horrible grinding noises.
But we were going. Away from Alessandro. Away from the bounty hunters. Away from certain death.
"Everyone okay?" I shouted over the noise.
"Define okay," Elena gasped from the backseat, where she was cuddled with Aria.
In my rearview mirror, I saw Alessandro standing in the street, gun dropped, watching us escape.
But he wasn't angry.
He was happy.
Like this was all going exactly according to plan.
"Marco," I said quietly. "Why is he smiling?"
"I don't—" Marco's eyes widened. "Boss. The car."
"What about it?"
"We didn't check it. It was just sitting there, keys ready, engine starting properly despite not being used in years..." Marco pulled out his phone, opening a tracking app. "Oh no."
"What?"
He showed me the screen. A red dot blinked—our position, broadcasting to whoever was watching.
"The car's tagged," Marco said sadly. "Alessandro knew about the cave. He knew we'd end up in that garage. He wanted us to take this car."
My blood went cold. "He's tracking us."
"And leading every bounty hunter in the city straight to wherever we're going." Marco looked back at Aria and Elena. "We can't stop, or they'll catch us. But we can't keep going, or we're leading them right to us."
"So what do we do?" Aria asked.
I stared at the road ahead, at the city lights stretching into the distance, at the trap closing around us.
And I realized something terrible.
Alessandro Castellano wasn't just hunting Aria.
He was hunting all of us.
And we'd just driven straight into his net.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
Enjoying the chase, Salvatore? You have two hours before I start the backup plan. Tick tock. - Alessandro
"Backup plan?" Elena whispered. "What backup plan?"
The car's engine coughed. Sputtered. The fuel gauge dropped to empty incredibly fast.
Marco checked under the dashboard. "He punctured the fuel line. We're leaking gas. We've got maybe five minutes before this thing stops completely."
"And when it stops," I said quietly, "we'll be sitting ducks for every bounty hunter following the tracking signal."
Aria met my eyes in the rearview mirror. "Then we don't stop."
"Aria, the car is dying—"
"So we leave it before it dies. We split up, lose the trackers, and meet somewhere they won't expect." She leaned forward, her voice urgent. "Dante, you said you spent fifteen years learning to be a ghost. Prove it. Disappear. Take Elena and Marco somewhere safe."
"And leave you alone?"
"I won't be alone." She pulled out a phone I didn't recognize—one of those cheap burner phones you could buy at any corner shop. "Before we left the safe house, I grabbed this. And I know someone who can help. Someone Lorenzo and Alessandro would never expect."
"Who?" I asked.
The car shook. The engine died. We coasted to a stop in the middle of an empty street.
Headlights appeared in the distance. Multiple cars. Converging on our position.
"No time," Aria said. She kissed my cheek—quick, desperate. "Trust me. Two hours. Navy Pier. The carousel."
Then she threw open the door and ran into the darkness before I could stop her.
"Aria!" I tried to follow, but Marco grabbed me.
"Let her go, boss. She's giving us a chance. Don't waste it."
More headlights. Closer now. I heard engines, shouts.
"Move," Marco urged. "Now."
We abandoned the car and ran in the opposite direction from where Aria had vanished.
But as we fled into the night, one thought seized me: What if I never saw her again? What if letting her go was the biggest mistake of my life?
And who was she calling that she trusted more than me?