Cold Hands, Burning Love

1. The Girl I Shouldn't Have Met

*Leonardo*

I've never liked losing control. I learned early to keep everything locked away — emotions, reactions, weaknesses. In my line of work, it's simple: if you show too much, someone will use it against you.

But then Anika Fiore appeared, and all of that became... a little less simple.

She stood across from me in an old warehouse, under a flickering light that seemed unable to decide whether it wanted to work at all. From the harbor came damp air, the scent of metal and sea, all mixed with concrete that had long since absorbed too many stories.

And her.

Anika didn't look like someone who gets lost or accidentally wanders in. More like someone who knows exactly where she's going and why.

"Fiore," I said.

"Sorrentino," she replied immediately, without a trace of hesitation.

She didn't sound afraid. She didn't sound impressed either.

"You shouldn't be here," I said more calmly than I actually felt.

She shrugged lightly.

"And you shouldn't be looking at me like I'm a problem you haven't solved yet."

That stopped me for a moment.

Because it didn't sound like a challenge. More like a fact.

Between us hung a strange silence — not empty, but heavy. Neither of us moved, yet it felt like the space itself was shrinking.

She knew where she had come. That much was clear.

The Fiore family weren't naive people. This city didn't allow naivety anyway.

But there was no fear in her. Only calm, like she was waiting for me to see something I hadn't understood yet.

"You're brave," I said at last, more to myself than to her.

She didn't answer. Just kept looking at me.

Someone behind her quietly said her name, but she didn't even turn her head.

That caught my attention more than I wanted to admit.

"Why did you come?" I asked.

For a moment she lowered her gaze, then looked back up at me.

"To see what kind of man might try to kill me."

Honestly, that almost made me laugh. But I didn't show it.

"And?" I asked.

She leaned in slightly, barely noticeable.

"You look like someone who's already losing control."

That sentence lingered between us — light and heavy at the same time.

And as I looked at her, I realized something: this was supposed to be a simple situation. It definitely wasn't.