The estate still smoked like a wounded beast, but Bella felt alive in ways she never had before. The first wave of Russo's forces had been repelled, but she knew it was only the beginning. Danger pulsed through the city like electricity and so did desire.
Crystal was crouched behind a shattered column, rifle in hand, eyes dark with unspent anger and something deeper. When his gaze landed on hers, it lingered, heavy and feral. "You're reckless," he growled, low and intimate, his chest pressing close as he helped her adjust a sniper rifle. His fingers brushed hers again, deliberately, sending a spark up her arm. "You shouldn't make me want to die protecting you."
Bella's lips curved into a slow, wicked smile. "I don't want you to survive. I want you to burn," she replied, letting her breath ghost over his ear. The words were half promise, half challenge and she saw the storm ignite in his eyes.
Christian was behind her, steady as ever, his presence a tether in the chaos. He leaned close enough that she felt the heat of his body against her back, guiding her stance, the fingers of one hand brushing the small of her back with controlled dominance. "You don't play safe," he said, voice rough, half warning, half desire. "And you make it impossible to stay calm."
Bella tilted her head, letting the tension coil like a living thing between them. Two men, two different fires both claiming pieces of her without permission, both daring her to choose. And she didn't have to. Not yet.
The sound of engines announced the second wave of Russo's mercenaries. Black SUVs and armored trucks swarmed the estate perimeter. Bella's pulse quickened not from fear, but anticipation. She vaulted over the debris, gun raised, and fired, letting every shot carve a message into the morning air: she was the storm, and no one crossed her.
Crystal followed, lethal and fluid, moving like a shadow that matched her rhythm. At one point, he grabbed her wrist mid-motion, twisting her slightly to line up a clean shot. Their eyes met, and for a fraction of a second, the battlefield melted away. The fire around them was nothing compared to the heat between them.
"You're mine," he growled under his breath, dangerous and raw.
Bella's lips curved, sharp and teasing. "Not yet," she whispered, letting her words brush his ear like silk over steel. "But I like the way you burn."
Christian appeared to her side, hand brushing the small of her back, anchoring her even as adrenaline made her pulse race. His eyes were dark, intense, filled with unspoken promises. "One misstep," he said, voice low, dangerous, "and I'll make you regret it. But I'll protect you anyway. Because I can't help myself."
Bella's chest tightened. Two brothers, two fires, both threatening to consume her and yet she didn't step back. She leaned slightly into Christian's hold while letting her fingers brush Crystal's again. She didn't choose. Not yet. But she commanded both. A grenade rolled near the northern gate, and Bella reacted instantly, kicking it back toward Russo's men with precision. Sparks flew, metal clanged, men screamed but she felt nothing but the thrill of control. Crystal's chest pressed closer in the aftermath. "Every time you do that," he said, voice low, dangerous, "I lose a piece of myself."
Christian's hand tightened on her back, pressing her toward him, grounded and commanding. "And every time, I want to keep you safe. Even if it kills me." Bella let herself exhale slowly, the battlefield still raging around them. She smiled, feral and untamed. "Then you'll just have to keep up," she whispered, letting her voice wrap around both their hearts like fire.
Anthony watched from the shadows below, a smirk tugging at his lips, his eyes glinting with approval and amusement. "Beautiful chaos," he murmured. "All of you. All of her. This is only the beginning."
And Bella knew he was right.
She was no longer the pawn, the prize, or the protected. She was the storm, the fire, the chaos and she would bend the hearts of two men who had claimed her attention, if not yet her surrender, to her will.
The city burned, the estate smoked, and Russo's forces faltered but the real war had begun between desire, power, and dominance. Bella stood at the apex, untouchable, unstoppable, and intoxicatingly alive.
Because for Bella, the battlefield of love, lust, and loyalty was just as lethal and she intended to win on all fronts.