Blood and Redemption

---

Valemont City – Early Morning

Dante stared out over the skyline from the 18th floor of Killian's safehouse apartment. The city buzzed below—a million lives moving in oblivion while his burned in slow motion.

He hadn't slept.

The attempted hit on Aria rattled him more than he'd admit. Not because of the violence. He was used to that.

It was the fear in her eyes.

And the relief when she saw him.

She'd clung to him like he was something more than a ghost. Like he wasn't just a man forged from the ashes of betrayal.

Like he could be whole again.

But wholeness was a lie.

"Coffee?" Killian asked, placing a mug on the table behind him.

Dante nodded without looking. "Thanks."

Killian leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "You going to tell her what this is? What she's getting into by staying near you?"

"She's already in it. They made that choice."

"No," Killian said evenly, "you made that choice. And now she's got a target on her back because you let her matter."

Dante didn't respond.

Because Killian was right.

---

Aria – Off-Campus Hideout

Aria paced inside the cramped apartment they'd stashed her in. A converted loft on the edge of the city, protected by Killian's surveillance system and reinforced doors.

But no amount of locks made her feel safe.

Not from them.

Not from him.

She kept replaying the attack in her mind. The masked men. The smell of sweat and blood. The sudden, jarring boom of Dante kicking in the door and saving her—again.

And then the way he'd held her. Not like a savior. Like someone afraid to lose her.

Who was this man?

He was a mystery wrapped in shadows, and every piece she uncovered only made her more determined to understand him.

She sat down at the small kitchen table and opened her laptop. Across the screen was her growing research file: "Project Inferno."

Photos. Clippings. Names. Maps of Valemont's criminal network.

In the center: Nico Verratti.

And just beside him—circled in red—Dante Moretti.

If she couldn't pull him from the fire, then maybe she could help end the blaze.

---

Valemont Police Headquarters – Captain Pike's Desk

Captain Vincent Pike nursed a black eye and a bottle of whiskey under his desk drawer. His hands still shook from the night at the docks. Moretti had found him—alive.

He wasn't supposed to be alive.

Pike knew what that meant. The Vultures would assume he talked. He had talked. And now he was marked.

When his phone rang, he nearly jumped.

"Pike," he rasped.

A cold voice answered. "Meet us at the East Pier. One hour. Don't bring your badge."

Click.

He rubbed his temples. There was no escape now. Only options. Limited ones.

---

Dante – Visiting Carmen

The elevator groaned as it rose to the 20th floor of a luxury condo complex downtown. Dante stepped out, glancing both ways before knocking twice on Apartment 2012.

The door opened.

"Dante," said Carmen, unflinching. "You've got a talent for resurrecting."

He stepped in. "And you've got a talent for surviving."

She poured him a drink. Bourbon. Expensive. "To what do I owe the visit?"

"You know why."

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "You want names. Again."

"No," Dante said. "I want him. Nico."

Carmen sipped. "You think he'll show himself? You burned his docks. Took out half his Russian deal. The man's bleeding."

"And rats crawl faster when they're wounded."

Carmen walked to the window. "He has a meeting tonight. Somewhere downtown. Private. Big names involved."

"Where?"

She paused.

"You're going to owe me for this, Dante."

"I already do."

---

Killian – Interrogating the Cleaners

Back at a safehouse, Killian stood over two bloodied men tied to chairs.

They were part of Nico's "cleaner" crew—enforcers who handled inconvenient messes.

Like Aria.

"You're going to tell me who sent you," Killian said calmly.

The first man spat blood. "We'll die either way."

"Not necessarily," Killian replied, drawing a knife. "One way's quicker."

The screaming began five minutes later.

By the end, he had a name.

Paolo Genna.

Nico's left hand.

It was time to start chopping off limbs.

---

Dante – The Deal

That evening, Dante met Carmen at a hidden garage under the Marlowe Hotel. She wore a red trench coat, heels clicking against the concrete like gunshots.

She handed him a flash drive.

"Security schematics. Nico's meeting location. The senator and judge will be there."

"You sure this isn't a trap?"

She smiled thinly. "Of course it is. That's why I'm not going with you."

He tucked the drive into his coat.

"And Aria?"

"Still breathing. She's safe, for now."

Carmen leaned closer.

"She makes you vulnerable."

"She makes me care."

"Same thing."

---

Aria – Reaching Out

Back in her hideout, Aria opened her email and typed a message:

> Subject: We need to talk.

You saved me again. But I need more than protection. I need truth.

Who are you really?

Aria

She hit send.

A moment later, her burner phone buzzed.

> Message from Unknown Number:

Tonight. 9PM. The bridge. Come alone.

---

Dante – The Trap

He watched from across the rooftop as the limo pulled up beside a private office building. Out stepped Nico, followed by Senator Calloway and Judge Bernhardt.

Two of the dirtiest hands in the state.

The meeting was brief.

But Dante wasn't there to spy.

He was there to burn bridges.

He set the first charge beneath the garage. Then the second near the security booth.

Killian's voice crackled through his earpiece. "Clear to go. I've got eyes on Nico."

"Copy."

Dante dropped down from the fire escape and entered the building silently.

One by one, he picked off guards. Silenced pistol. No mercy.

He entered the conference room just as Nico turned toward him.

The room froze.

"Well, well," Nico said. "Lazarus himself."

Dante stepped inside, gun drawn.

"Nice to see your face before I erase it."

But he wasn't here to shoot. Not yet.

He threw a tablet onto the table—displaying files, photos, and a video of Captain Pike's confession.

"This hits the press in one hour unless you back off. Pull your cleaners. Stop hunting Aria."

Nico sneered. "You think blackmail works on me?"

"No," Dante said. "I think fear does."

He turned and walked out—vanishing before they could react.

---

Back on the Bridge – Aria Waits

Aria waited under the old footbridge, heart racing. Every sound echoed too loud. Every shadow felt too long.

Then, he appeared.

Dante, in his black coat, face bruised, eyes burning with something fierce and ancient.

She ran to him.

"You came."

"I said I would."

They stood for a moment, uncertain. The city was so loud around them—and yet this moment was painfully still.

"You lied to me," she said. "You told me to stay away."

"I did."

"You told me it was for my own good."

"It was."

"Then why are you here?"

Dante's jaw clenched.

"Because staying away didn't stop me from caring."

She stepped closer. "Then let me in."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because people who get close to me end up buried."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be."

She reached up, brushing her fingers against his jaw.

"Then prove me wrong."

For a long moment, they just stood there—two broken pieces orbiting the same gravity.

And then he kissed her.

Not soft. Not sweet.

Desperate.

Like a drowning man surfacing for air.

---

End of Chapter Hook

Deep in a private lounge across town, Nico watched the footage of Dante leaving the meeting.

He turned to a man in a three-piece suit.

A new player.

Young. Ambitious. Cold.

"This is your chance," Nico said. "Find out what he cares about."

The man smiled.

"I already know."

---