Chapter 15 - The Confession
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They sat on the floor of the panic room for two hours, leaning against the cold steel walls.
The adrenaline was slowly leaving Nevaeh’s system, leaving her exhausted and shaking. Leandro kept his uninjured arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, holding her flush against his side.
“I brought you into a warzone,” Leandro murmured, his voice heavy with guilt. “I promised you immunity, and I almost got you killed.”
“You didn't shoot me, Leandro,” Nevaeh pointed out softly. “And you didn't bring me here. I chose to take the job.”
“I could have hired anyone to manage Stella,” Leandro confessed, his dark eyes staring at the opposite wall. “I could have paid off your mother's debt and never seen you again.”
“Then why didn't you?”
Leandro turned his head to look at her. In the dim emergency lighting of the bunker, his face was raw, stripped of all the terrifying mafia boss pretenses.
“Because when you stood in that restaurant, soaking wet, and told my sister the truth... I realized I had spent my entire life surrounded by beautiful, empty liars,” Leandro whispered. “I didn't want an assistant, Nevaeh. I wanted something real. I wanted you.”
Nevaeh’s breath hitched. The confession hung in the air, heavy and profound.
“I am a plus-size former waitress with eighty thousand dollars in debt, Leandro,” she said, her insecurities flaring up in the face of his intense devotion. “I don't belong in your world.”
“You are the only person who belongs in my world,” Leandro corrected fiercely. He reached out, his thumb gently brushing her lower lip. “You are brilliant. You are fearless. And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.”
He didn't wait for her to argue. He leaned in and crushed his mouth against hers.
The kiss was desperate, consuming, and fueled by the adrenaline of the ambush. Nevaeh kissed him back with equal fervor, her fingers tangling in his dark hair. The fierce, untouchable mafia boss melted against her, pouring all of his protective rage and hidden affection into the kiss.
When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing heavily.
May you like
Suddenly, the intercom on the steel wall buzzed loudly.
“Boss,” Marco’s voice crackled through the speaker. “The estate is secure. The Falcones are dead or captured. It’s safe to come out.”
