Chapter 6 - BLOOD AND LULLABIES
With a mole in his organization, Dante trusted no one. He moved Sera and the twins to a secure, off-the-grid safehouse in the mountains. It was a rustic cabin, a stark contrast to the sterile mansion. Here, there were no guards pacing the halls, only the dense forest and the quiet hum of nature.
For a brief, fleeting week, they existed in a vacuum. Sera taught Dante how to bathe the boys, how to swaddle them, how to read the subtle shifts in their breathing. One evening, after the twins were asleep, Dante built a fire. He sat on the rug, exhausted, watching the flames. Sera sat beside him. The adrenaline of the past weeks finally caught up with them. "I never thought I'd have this," Dante murmured, his eyes on her. "A home. Peace."
Sera leaned her head against his uninjured shoulder. "You have to fight for it," she said. "Not with guns. With choices." Dante turned to her, his gaze dropping to her lips. The kiss was inevitable, fierce, and desperate. It tasted of survival and raw, unfiltered need. He pulled her into his lap, burying his face in her neck, clinging to her as if she were the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth. That night, they didn't sleep as boss and employee, but as a man and a woman who had found their anchor in the storm.
