Accidentally Yours (Merffy Kizzmet) novel Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Rafael

C7)

Timing was everything. He’d learned that young. And hospitals, for all their order, ran on predictable rhythms. Guards swapped. Nurses changed shifts. Lights dimmed for the night cycle.

That’s when Rafael moved.

The hallways were hushed, nothing but the soft pad of rubber soles and the low hum of machines behind closed doors. He slipped through like smoke, a shadow trailing edges, until her door gave under his hand.

Inside, it was quiet. Too quiet, save for the steady beep of her monitors.

She lay still in the center of the bed, skin pale beneath bruises, silver hair fanned across the pillow like spilled light. Wires, gauze, stitches–fragile trappings that didn’t suit her. Not the woman who had bled with a smirk, who had mocked him even as she sagged in his

arms.

Rafael shut the door behind him and crossed the room, slow, unhurried. He didn’t need to rush. No one knew he was here.

He stood at her bedside, watching the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Even broken, she radiated something that curled under the skin. A pull. The same pull he’d seen in Enzo’s eyes. In Nico’s. In the way even her enemies couldn’t seem to leave her untouched.

“My nona used to tell stories,” he murmured, almost conversational, like she’d asked. His hand slid into his pocket, drawing out a small fox carved of crystal, its tails flared, its eyes glinting in the machine light. He set it on the table beside her, angled toward her pillow. “Of the volpe dalle nove code [nine–tailed fox]. A creature with many faces. A maiden one day, a monster the next. She could trick a man into chasing her, or lead him home without him knowing which was which. Fire in her step. Smoke in her laughter. Always out of reach.”

He leaned on the edge of the bed, not close enough to touch, but close enough to breathe her in. She smelled faintly of antiseptic, smoke still clinging to her hair. And beneath it? Something else. Something warm, human.

His lips curved faintly. “You wear more faces than the fox ever did, volpacchiotta [little fox]. The artist. The dancer. The fiancée. The survivor. Men bleed themselves dry just trying to keep up.”

His gaze drifted to her hand resting slack against the sheet, bandaged and bruised. He didn’t touch it. Just let the thought linger.

“You cast spells without trying,” Rafael said softly, the amusement curling under his words. “And everyone obeys.”

He straightened, coat whispering as he moved back toward the door. The fox gleamed under the monitor’s glow, throwing fractured light across her pillow.

“Wake soon, little fox,” he murmured, voice low, casual, almost a parting joke. “The game’s no fun if you stay asleep.”

And then he was gone–no sound, no trace–like he’d never been there at all.

Nico

The war room stank of burnt coffee, steel, and too many bodies running on no sleep! Maps stretched across the table, markers bleeding red and black into the outlines of Vegas. Jake’s laptop threw static across the speakers as he muttered into his headset, tracking Russian chatter. Dom and Gino argued low in the corner, voices sharp but tired.

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Chapter 153

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Enzo stood over it all, the weight in the room. His bruises had faded into shadow, but the exhaustion still clung like smoke. When he finally spoke, everyone stilled.

“Dmitri wants a meeting.” His voice was calm, but every word had an edge. “I’ll take it myself.”

That landed like a knife. Dom opened his mouth, but Enzo’s stare cut him off.

Then his gaze shifted–direct, unblinking–onto Nico. “You’ll handle the transfer. Lola moves tonight. Private care. Penthouse is ready.”

For a second, Nico just held that look. It wasn’t a request. It was trust–and a test. He gave a short nod. “Consider it done.”

They hadn’t been back long before Lola stirred–lashes twitching, ribs hitching shallow under the sheet. Nico straightened, muscles tense, but Enzo was already leaning in.

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