The night my mafia boss covered his mansion with hidden cameras to catch a thief, he expected to see someone stealing from him

I stared up at him, the water now cold around my knees, my lungs tight with a mixture of terror and raw, undeniable truth.

"You heard me," I whispered, refusing to look away from his intense, dark gaze. "I'm not leaving you."

Julian let out a ragged breath, his fingers tightening gently against my jawline. Before I could process what was happening, he pulled me toward him, slamming his lips onto mine in a fierce, desperate, electric kiss.

The kiss tasted of salt air, dangerous promises, and twenty years of suppressed hunger. It wasn't gentle; it was the kiss of a man who had spent his entire life in the shadows suddenly reaching for the sun. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself tight against his chest, completely forgetting about the rising tide, the blowtorch sparking at the door, and the icy ocean water.

When he finally pulled back, his dark eyes were burning with a fierce, brilliant light.

"Then we both survive," Julian declared, his voice ringing with a brand-new authority. "We don't leave anyone behind."

He turned sharply toward the rusted stone pedestal in the center of the room. "Thomas! Can you walk?"

The old groundskeeper pushed himself up from the wall, nodding weakly. "I can move, Mr. Corsini."

"Good. Get to the pedestal," Julian ordered. He waded through the knee-deep water, grabbing a heavy steel crowbar resting against the vault wall. He jammed the crowbar beneath the edge of the stone slab covering Marco's escape hatch, turning to me. "Sadie, give me a hand with the lever!"

I splashed over, grabbing the long steel bar alongside him. Together, using our combined weight, we heaved downward.

CREAK-GRAAAATE!

The ancient stone slab shifted aside, revealing a circular iron hatch built into the floor. Below it, a black, water-filled pipe disappeared into the foundation walls.

Suddenly, a loud EXPLOSION shattered the iron bulkhead door behind us.

The blowtorch had finally cut through the upper hinges. Doyle’s men had planted a breaching charge, blowing the door wide open. A massive wave of ocean water surged through the shattered entryway, carrying three armed men into the vault.

Doyle waded through the rushing water, his face scorched red from the steam, his rifle pointed straight at Julian's head. "GAME OVER, CORSINI!"

Julian didn't hesitate. He pulled the heavy bronze key from beneath my coat, turned around, and threw it with maximum force straight into Doyle’s face.

The heavy metal key struck Doyle squarely between the eyes, breaking his nose with a loud CRACK! Doyle shrieked in pain, stumbling backward into the deep water, his rifle discharging wildly into the ceiling.

"INTO THE HATCH! NOW!" Julian roared.

He grabbed Thomas and shoved him feet-first into the flooded pipe. "Follow the current, Thomas! Keep your eyes open for the marina light!"

Thomas disappeared into the dark water.

Julian grabbed my waist, pulling me over the open hatch. "Take a deep breath, my sweet, crazy dancer," he whispered into my ear, his dark eyes shining with fierce love. "Hold onto my hand and don't let go."

"Never," I promised.

Doyle’s surviving guard leveled his weapon at us from across the flooded room. "DIE, YOU BASTARDS!"

Julian grabbed the heavy emergency hydraulic valve beside the hatch and pulled it down with all his strength.

A massive, roaring vortex of ocean water instantly rushed through the room, creating a violent suction drain. The immense water pressure pulled us both downward into the black abyss of the pipe just as a hail of bullets tore through the empty space above us.

The world went completely dark, freezing, and silent.

The current hit us like a freight train, tumbling us wildly through the narrow steel tube beneath the ocean floor. The pressure squeezed my lungs, the icy salt water burning my eyes and nose. I felt like my chest was about to explode. Panic clawed at my mind, screaming at me to open my mouth and inhale.

Then, strong, warm fingers clamped tight around mine in the pitch black.

Julian was holding on. He was pulling me through the dark, fighting the freezing current, propelling us forward toward the light.

I kicked my legs with everything I had, channeling every ounce of strength from my years of ballet training, thrusting us forward through the pipe.

Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds.

My lungs were on absolute fire. Dark spots danced before my eyes. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, my grip on Julian's hand weakening.

Faster! Please, God, faster!

Suddenly, the steel walls vanished. The violent current expanded into open ocean water.

Julian pulled me upward with a powerful kick, driving us toward the surface.