The first light of the sun hit the black silk pillows, but the room didn't feel peaceful. Leo woke up with his heart racing. His body felt heavy and sore, a constant reminder of what had happened between him and the Mafia Boss during the night. He looked down at his own chest and saw the dark red marks Dante had left on his skin. They weren't just bruises; they were a claim.
Dante was still asleep beside him. Without his sharp suits and his cold eyes, the man looked almost human. But then Leo saw the silenced pistol still lying on the nightstand, and the reality hit him like a bucket of ice water. He wasn't a hero. He was a surgeon who had just slept with a monster.
Leo sat up slowly, trying not to wake the giant next to him. He reached for his clothes on the floor, but his hand stopped when he saw the small electronic device glowing near the edge of the bed.
The burner phone.
Leo's fingers trembled as he picked it up. He remembered the footsteps in the hall from last night. He remembered the way he had ignored the order to leave the door unlocked. He clicked the screen, and the red text burned into his eyes: "YOU CHOSE DEATH. THE DEBT IS NO LONGER ABOUT MONEY. IT IS ABOUT BLOOD. WATCH YOUR BACK, DOCTOR."
A cold shiver ran down Leo's spine. He had protected Dante, but in doing so, he had put a target on his own back. The traitors inside the mansion now knew that Leo was loyal to the Boss.
"You shouldn't be looking at things that don't belong to you, Leo."
Dante's voice was a low growl. Leo jumped, nearly dropping the phone. Dante was watching him, his dark eyes sharp and fully awake. He didn't look tired at all. He looked like a wolf ready to hunt.
Dante sat up, the sheet falling away to show his bandaged chest. He didn't look at the phone; he looked at the marks he had left on Leo's neck. A small, dark smile touched his lips. "Did you sleep well, or did the guilt keep you up?"
"Someone was at the door last night," Leo whispered, his voice shaking. He held out the phone. "They sent this. Enzo... he's going to kill me, isn't he? Because I didn't let them in?"
Dante took the phone and crushed it in his hand until the screen cracked. He threw it across the room like it was trash. He reached out and grabbed Leo's chin, forcing the younger man to look him in the eye.
"Nobody touches what is mine," Dante said. His voice was quiet, but it was more terrifying than a scream. "You saved my life twice now, Leo. Once with your knife, and once with your loyalty. You think I'm going to let some low-level soldier hurt you?"
"But my sister—"
"Your sister is already being moved," Dante interrupted. "I sent my best men to her house an hour ago. She is safe. But you... you are staying here. By my side. Every hour of every day."
Leo felt a mixture of relief and pure terror. His sister was safe, but now he was truly a prisoner of the Volkov family. He wasn't just a doctor anymore. He was the Mafia Boss's obsession.
"I have to go to the hospital, Dante," Leo tried to argue, his voice weak. "I have patients. I have a life."
Dante leaned in, his lips brushing against the mark on Leo's neck. "Your life ended the moment you stepped into this house. You belong to me now. Every breath you take is because I allow it. If you want to be a surgeon, I will build you a hospital inside these walls. But you are never leaving my sight again."
Dante stood up, ignoring the pain in his side. He walked to the window and looked out at the SUVs in the driveway. "Enzo thinks he can scare me. He thinks he can use you to get to me. He is about to learn why they call me the Devil of France."
Dante turned back to Leo, his eyes burning with a dark, possessive fire. "Get dressed, Leo. Today, we find the traitors. And you are going to watch me handle them. I want you to see exactly what kind of man you gave yourself to last night."
Leo looked at the broken phone on the floor and then at the powerful man standing by the window. He realized that the "smutty" heat of the night was over, and the cold reality of the Mafia war had begun. He had survived the night, but the real battle for his soul was just starting.