Seconds ticked by like hours.

The tension was suffocating her.

Rosa watched as Mesrine's hands tightened around the steering wheel once more.

"You swear on your life? That you will be loyal to me and only me from now on?"

Had he taken the bait?

Rosa prayed again for it to be so as she nodded fervently. "I do."

The rigidity in his muscles eased a little. "Only time will tell whether or not you are a two-faced bitch. But I will give you a chance to prove yourself to me."

Mesrine seemed placated by her little performance.

The bodyguards put their weapons away.

Thank fuck.

Rosa almost swooned. Her head felt a bit faint and dizzy from the stress of it all.

He gave her one final warning, "Do not disappoint me this time, ma moitié. Now that I have found you, I am willing to forgive your past sins, but if you fuck me over again—"

Rosa rushed to assure him, "I would not dream of it. You can trust me. I will deliver Massera's head to you on a silver platter. To be honest, I have a personal bone to pick with him as well. I just need a little time to break down his... defenses."

His voice grew sharp. "How much time do you need?"

Sweetly, she replied, "That will depend on what you want me to do, of course."

"There have been some rumors going around about Massera..."

Her interest was piqued. "What rumors?"

"Rumors," Mesrine revealed, "that suggest Massera is not who he claims to be."

No shit.

The bastard was definitely not a schoolteacher from Calabria.

But Rosa played dumb. "Oh?"

"There is talk that he is actually a... De León."

This time, Rosa's shocked reaction was genuine. "What?"

The bastard was related to Gaspare?

"His mother is believed to be Aberto De León's sister."

She blinked in surprise.

Her mind became a blur of possibilities with this new onslaught of information. She couldn't tell if Mesrine was lying to her. Still, Rosa found it quite ironic that Mesrine was actually the one feeding her more intel about Cristiano when she was supposed to be his spy.

Could he be right about Cristiano, though?

Did Cristiano's bloodline make him a contender for the fallen De León throne?

Why had the bastard gone through the trouble to change and hide his name, then, if he had been a mafia prince in his own right?

The man was truly a walking enigma.

Cautiously, Rosa inquired, "Who was Massera's father? Presumably?"

"That is what I want you to find out."

She frowned. "Why are you so invested in his family tree?"

"Because I want to know everything about this man. Past, present, and future. I do not want any surprises when I set out to kill this fucker."

"I see."

Mesrine muttered, "I have reason to suspect that he is angling to revive the De León clan."

"Are you sure?"

"I do not think that Massera is working for Vosa. I think Vosa is actually the one working for him."

Rosa's eyes grew wide.

She wasn't surprised that Mesrine knew about Cristiano's ties to Vosa. She was surprised to learn, however, that Cristiano might be the one calling the shots from behind the scenes.

"That seems... unlikely. Massera is a nobody while Vosa is a well-known capo."

"Your job will be to find out what is really going on between Massera and Vosa."

Rosa grimaced. "Got it."

Mesrine demanded, "Now, tell me, when can I expect results from you?"

"One month."

Mesrine's voice thickened with jealousy. "Only one month? You seem very confident. You must be better acquainted with Massera than I thought."

Rosa's nerves constricted slightly at the sound of his displeasure.

She tried to play it cool, "No, I am simply... motivated. I want to return to your side as soon as possible."

"Ah," he sighed, relaxing slightly. "That is good to hear."

Rosa continued to play his game, "How can I contact you in the future?"

"There will be no need."

"I am sorry, but I do not understand?"

"There will be no need," Mesrine elaborated, "because I will always be watching and listening to you."

Unease crawled over her skin. "What do you mean?"

"Hand over your phone."

Reluctantly, Rosa removed her phone from her pocket and handed it to one of Julien's bodyguards.

Mesrine went on to explain, "Andre will install a program on your device that allows me to access your messages, emails, microphone, camera, and GPS at any time. Keep your phone on at all times. If I sense that you have tampered with your phone or removed it from your person, then I will know that you have failed me."

Rosa gulped. "I understand."

Ten minutes later, the bodyguard returned the phone to Rosa.

She grumbled, "Merci."

The bodyguard smirked. "De rien."

You're welcome.

Rosa turned to Mesrine and questioned, "So, what happens next?"

"I will also assign men to track your movements after I release you. From there, I assume you can figure out how to find Massera on your own?"

This sounded like music to her ears even though she felt extremely hesitant to lead Mesrine's men back to Cristiano. Still, this was a very promising turn for her, and Rosa struggled to hide her relief and excitement. She would happily let Mesrine stalk her to hell and back as long as he set her free. Rosa would find a way to deal with her compromised phone and his guard dogs. Later. She would find a way to warn Cristiano. Later.

Focusing on the most important part of their conversation, she coaxed Mesrine to confirm his decision once more, "You will release me, then?"

"Yes, but..."

"What?"

"One more thing before I let you go."

She waited nervously.

From the rearview mirror, his gaze flicked towards one of her wayward curls. "Your hair."

Rosa could already predict what he was about to critique, but she asked, anyway, "What about it?"

"I do not like it. Get it... fixed."

She smiled again. Through her teeth. "I will do just that, Julien, if it pleases you."

Rosa had never despised him more.

"Where should I drop you off?"

"The airport," she answered without pause.

He glanced at her dubiously. "The airport?"

In playful, affectionate tones, she said to Mesrine, "I have a flight to catch, non? I must go seek out the target you have assigned me. You will hear from me soon, though. I promise."

To Rosa's surprise, Mesrine followed through on his word, and their cab started heading in the direction of the Madrid-Barajas Airport.

His blue eyes searched for hers through the rearview mirror. "I love you, ma moitié. Do not try to outsmart me again. Because I will find you. You cannot hide from me. My men are everywhere."

Gazing back at him, she promised, "Do not worry, Julien. I will prove myself to you. I love you, too."

The L-word tasted like rancid bile as it left her tongue.

"Come back to me soon," he urged. "You have one month."

"Of course, I cannot wait to be yours again."

Once again, uttering those words made her want to vomit, but those very words had been the weapons that allowed her to outplay Mesrine. A worthwhile sacrifice. She had used his obsession with her to her advantage, and her gamble somehow paid off.

It was almost unbelievable.

God, was this really happening?

Fate was being so good to her.

A crazed sense of hysteria threatened to overtake Rosa.

Mesrine had been such a nightmarish, untouchable figure in her mind. Mere moments ago, she had genuinely believed that he was going to end her existence with a bullet, but, now, it seemed, he intended to let her go without a scratch.

It made him more fallible in her eyes.

Mesrine was still a dragon, but, now, he was a dragon who could be slayed. Rosa didn't know whether to weep from the significance of this realization or cackle at the fact that she was about to escape from the fucker yet again. She was still quite shaken, but she no longer felt so helpless or broken.

Broken things do not always need to be fixed.

Sometimes, surviving a fall is enough.

Getting back up again is the best way to fuck with whatever and whoever broke us in the first place.

Rosa's heart skipped a beat as Cristiano's words echoed through her for the second time this morning. She couldn't bring herself to trust the bastard fully, but she believed in him more than any other man right now. She trusted in his attraction to her. In his lust for power. In his desire to remove an obstacle like Mesrine from his end game. The cab was on route to the airport. She couldn't wait to find Cristiano so that, together, they could set fire to Mesrine and everything he held dear.

Mesrine deserved it. He had stolen Nijah from her. He had exploited her, assaulted her, belittled her, and manipulated her countless times over the years. He had even gone so far as to use another child to toy with her grief just now.

Rosa wanted to watch the monster burn.

She wanted to incinerate him to ash. To dust.

At long last, her fears had forged into fury, and she felt more than ready for some good, old-fashioned vengeance.