Page 20 of Vows Made in Silence
I crouch behind a pedestal, trembling—not from fear.
From adrenaline. From knowing this moment was always coming.
A shadow passes beyond the frosted glass doors.
Luca flattens against the far wall.
“They’re not going to knock this time.”
The door rattles. Not a knock.
A test.
A countdown.
Luca turns his head, his whisper barely audible.
“If they step inside, you run. No hesitation. Take Daniel and go back to our city. Go to the first museum you dragged me to—you know the one. You said it made the whole world look different.”
His eyes lock on mine.
“One of my men will be waiting. They’ll hide you both until I come back. If you don’t hear from me—if even a whisper feels wrong—you run. You start over.”
He presses a key fob and burner phone into my palm.
“There’s a safe. Documents. Accounts. Instructions. Enough to vanish if you have to.”
His voice cracks. “You’ll know what to do.”
My throat burns.
My heart breaks.
He grabs me, yanking me into him. His mouth crushes mine—fierce, desperate, wild.
It isn’t soft.
It’s not sweet.
It’s a goodbye sealed with fire.
I clutch him, breathing him in.
I taste fear. His. Mine.
For Daniel.
For us.
“Now go,” he whispers.
“And don’t fucking look back.”
“And you?” My voice is barely sound.
His eyes burn into mine.
Love. Rage. Regret.
