The morning after the inferno, the estate smoldered like a beast barely surviving the hunt. Smoke curled lazily into the sky, carrying the scent of gunpowder, blood, and scorched metal. Bella stood on the steps, surveying the ruined perimeter, every sense sharpened.
Crystal leaned against the shattered balustrade, arms crossed, eyes dark with the residue of battle and something more primal. When he caught her gaze, a slow, dangerous smirk spread across his face. "You could have died," he said, voice low, almost a growl.
Bella tilted her head, letting her lips curve in a teasing, feral smile. "And missed this?" She gestured to the devastation below the smoking wrecks, the groaning mercenaries, the chaos she had orchestrated with both precision and flair. "I wouldn't. Not for the world. Not for anyone."
Crystal's gaze roamed her like a hunter assessing its prey. "You're insane," he murmured, but there was a note of admiration beneath the warning. He stepped closer, closing the distance between them, the heat from his body brushing against hers. "And reckless. And beautiful when you are."
Before Bella could answer, Christian appeared beside her, moving with that controlled, deliberate grace that always set her pulse racing. His hand brushed her back as he guided her past a pile of twisted metal toward the inner courtyard. "And dangerous," he added, his voice low, edged with both frustration and something else something hot, possessive. "You make me lose control."
Bella's heart skipped. Two men, two forces of nature, each claiming a part of her attention without permission, without compromise. Her fingers brushed Crystal's hand, intentionally, a spark igniting between them, while Christian's presence pressed against her side, taut with the unspoken warning that he could and would consume any hesitation.
"Choose," Crystal growled under his breath, close enough that his words grazed her ear, his lips nearly touching her skin.
Bella didn't answer. She let the tension coil like a living thing, letting both of them feel the power she had cultivated not just over the battlefield, but over desire itself. She leaned into Christian's side, just enough to feel his heartbeat against hers, the taut strength of his body ready to shield her.
"You don't get to command me," she whispered, letting her breath ghost over Crystal's jaw. "And you don't get to claim me. Not yet. Not until I decide."
Christian's hand tightened slightly on her back, a silent claim, a tether of dominance that promised protection and fire. "Then I'll wait," he murmured, low, dangerous. "But know this I never wait for long."
Crystal's grin widened, dark and possessive, his eyes molten. "Neither do I."
The war outside was far from over. Russo's men were scattered but not defeated, regrouping in pockets around the city. Bella's ledger had exposed the inner workings of the syndicate, cutting paths into the very heart of the enemy's empire. But the war inside the estate, the war of control, desire, and dark allure between her and the brothers, was more intense, more consuming than any bullet or blade could be.
Bella stepped back, taking a deliberate breath, letting the smoldering heat of both men press into her awareness. She was no longer just a participant in their chaos she was the axis around which it spun.
Crystal's hand brushed hers again, intentionally lingering, protective and possessive. "You're mine," he said, low, threatening, and yet longing threaded through the growl.
Christian leaned closer, pressing the heat of his body against hers. "No," he countered, voice rough, dark, a storm in human form. "You're with me."
Bella's chest tightened. She let her gaze shift between them, letting the pull of both men ignite something wild within her. "Not yet," she whispered, a smile tugging at her lips. "But I will choose. In my own time. And when I do… you'll know why fire fears nothing."
The brothers exchanged a glance, each recognizing the truth in her words: she was the storm incarnate, a force that neither of them could control, and yet both desired fiercely.
From the shadows of the estate, Anthony's laugh carried, smooth and knowing, a reminder that the Abaddon empire had more battles ahead, both external and internal. Bella's eyes flicked toward him, lips curling. "Let them come," she said softly, voice deadly and seductive. "They'll learn what it means to stand against fire."
Crystal and Christian flanked her, heat and desire coiling like a living entity around all three of them. Bella stood at the apex, untouchable, unstoppable, and utterly in command.
The city was still a battlefield, but Bella knew this: no man could own her. She commanded fire, chaos, and desire alike. And soon, both brothers would learn that surviving the storm was different from controlling it.