Pursued by the Rival Mafia King

Brielle's POV I was trapped in the fire when my husband finally came. But he didn't come for me. He ran past me, and lifted another woman into his arms. His first love. Kenna. "Kenna, are you hurt?" His voice shook with a fear he had never once shown me. I was lying three feet away, and he didn't spare me a single glance. "Jayce…help… " My voice scraped out, thin and raw. The fire was too loud. I didn't know if he heard me at all. His bodyguard poured in. A shoe came down on my hair, and the man didn't even slow. I froze. Everyone’s attention was on Kenna. "Boss, the hospital is ready," a man said. "Get the best doctors in place," he said, hoarse but iron. "Nothing can happen to Kenna. Do you hear me?" The words went into my chest like a blade and kept carving downward. He never even noticed that his wife was trapped in the same fire. He turned toward the exit, carrying another woman. Not me. Not his wife.I blinked, and scalding tears spilled down my face. Even with flames crawling up my arms, all I felt was cold. "Jayce, I'm here—" I screamed in anguish. His silhouette flickered in the light beyond the doorway, and finally, he heard my voice and looked over at me. I couldn't hold on much longer. Through the towering flames, I watched Jace, hope burning in my chest, and I saw him finally start walking toward me. But the very next second, I heard a soft, pleading voice. "Jace, it hurts so bad..." Kenna. In that moment, I watched Jace freeze mid-step. Then, without so much as a glance back at me, he scooped Kenna into his arms and walked out, never once turning around. I heard the sound of my own heart shattering. I never thought that, forced to choose between his first love and his wife, he wouldn't hesitate for even a second. He'd choose his first love. A beam cracked overhead and crashed down, breaking my ribs and pinning my legs beneath its weight. The pain turned my vision white. A spark landed on my cheek. I forced myself forward another inch and then— BANG! I froze. That was a gunshot. I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine it. BANG! BANG! BANG! More shots echoed through the smoke. "Find the package!" "Move!" "Boss, this way!" I screamed, swallowed whole by a terror in that instant that was worse than the fire itself. My strength finally gave out as I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing hard until I gave out. I didn't understand why any of this was happening. Today was my birthday. I was supposed to be celebrating with Jace at the restaurant. But one text shattered all of that. My best friend Hannah sent me a message: Jace was at a club, kissing and holding some woman, hot and heavy. I called Jace right away, but he never picked up, so I had no choice but to come see for myself. The whole way there, I clung to hope, Hannah had to have gotten it wrong. Jace would never betray me. But just now, the moment the fire broke out, when he risked his life to save Kenna and left me, his own wife, behind in the flames, I knew. I'd lost. From start to finish, there had never been any room for me in Jace's eyes or in his heart. "...Help..." A last desperate attempt, I'd stopped daring to hope that Jace would ever come back to save me. With smoke surrounding me, my eyelids grew heavier and slowly, I started to succumb to it. I was sure the smoke would kill me first before the fire. Then a massive figure emerged from the smoke. I blinked, certain for a second that it was a figment of my imagination, but the figure strode through the flames like they weren’t even there. There was an intimidating streak in his movement, a dark aura, like he’d swallow everything whole. "Don!" someone shouted behind him. "We have to move!" The shadow paused for a brief moment, but then continued straight toward me. He moved like a predator stalking its prey. Every instinct screamed that he was dangerous, yet for some reason, I wasn't afraid. My breath hitched in my throat when he stopped next to me. I stared at him, taking in his black gloves hiding his long, big hands. He wore a mask that covered half his face, matching the black clothes he had on. Without a word, he gripped the table trapping me and lifted it away as though it weighed nothing. And then he crouched down next to me. Our eyes met. I gasped. He had a piercing, icy blue eye. Something about them felt hauntingly familiar. Those eyes... I'd seen them before. Before I could react, he slid one arm beneath my knees and another around my back, lifting me into his arms. “Who… are…. you?” I whispered. Behind us, more gunfire erupted. "Boss!" someone shouted. "They're closing in!" Without answering, the man turned. My vision blurred as he carried me through the smoke. The next moment, I felt myself being laid into a soft, leather couch. He climbed in next to me; and through my fading vision, I watched him pull off his mask. My breath caught. “Enzo?" It was him, the person I'd hated most back in my school days. The person everyone feared. But in this moment, he was, without a doubt, like my savior. A slow smile tugged at his lips. "Babe, I see you've gotten yourself into trouble." His gloved hand brushed a loose strand of hair from my face with surprising gentleness. "Don't worry. You're not going to die that easily.." Darkness swallowed me whole.