"THE STRUGGLING WAITRESS THOUGHT SHE WAS A GHOST UNTIL SHE THREW HERSELF OVER A CRIME LORD’S LITTLE BOY—AND WHEN THE CRYSTAL SHREDDED HER BACK, ENZO VALENTI DECIDED HER LIFE WAS HIS TO PROTECT"

I walked into the main foyer just as Enzo burst through the shattered front doors. He was covered in dirt, grease, and blood, his chest heaving with exertion. When he saw me standing there, unharmed but holding a weapon, he froze completely. The massive, ruthless crime lord dropped his rifle onto the marble floor. He crossed the room in three strides, dropping to his knees in front of me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He buried his face against my stomach, shaking violently. "I'm sorry," Enzo choked out, his voice breaking completely. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here." I dropped the handgun, letting it clatter onto the floor, and sank down to my knees to meet him. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling his face into my shoulder. "You came back to me," I whispered fiercely, kissing the side of his bruised face. "That is all that matters. You came back." "Russo is dead," Enzo told me, looking into my eyes with a desperate intensity. "I killed him myself. His empire is completely dismantled. It is over, Clara. It is finally over." I looked at my husband, seeing the heavy toll the violence had taken on his soul. He had become the monster tonight only because he loved us too much to let us die. "I know," I said gently, wiping a streak of blood from his cheek with my thumb. "You protected our family. And I protected our home." Enzo looked at the empty gun on the floor, and then back at my face. A profound look of awe and deep, consuming respect washed over his features. He leaned in and kissed me, tasting like smoke and rain, a brutal, desperate kiss that sealed our survival. We had walked through the fire, and neither of us had burned.