The first explosion hit the east gate at 2:13 a.m.

The mansion shook hard enough to rattle crystal glasses off shelves.

Ivy woke instantly.

Not fully awake—

then another explosion ripped through the night.

And suddenly the entire room lurched beneath her.

Oh no.

Absolute oh no.

Red emergency lights flashed sharply across the bedroom walls while alarms screamed through hidden speakers downstairs. Somewhere deep in the mansion, men shouted orders over automatic gunfire echoing violently through snow and darkness.

Lucien was already out of bed before Ivy fully sat upright.

Interesting.

Terrifyingly fast.

He shoved bullets into a handgun one-handed while crossing toward the bedroom door in black sweatpants and a dark shirt half-buttoned wrong from sleep.

“Ivy—”

Another burst of gunfire exploded outside.

Closer this time.

The windows rattled hard.

Lucien’s entire expression changed instantly.

Cold.

Focused.

Monster mode.

“Stay here,” he ordered sharply.

Ivy stared at him in disbelief.

“Absolutely not.”

Lucien grabbed a second weapon from the dresser drawer.

“I mean it.”

“And I mean your house is literally exploding.”

The mansion lights flickered once.

Then stabilized.

More shouting downstairs.

Matteo’s voice thundered faintly through the hallway:

“WEST WING MOVE NOW—”

Lucien cursed under his breath and crossed toward the bedroom door.

Ivy jumped out of bed immediately.

Big mistake.

Lucien turned sharply.

“No.”

“You are not leaving me alone during a mafia siege.”

“It’s not safe.”

“Lucien.” Ivy pointed toward the windows where actual bullets shattered glass somewhere below them. “Nothing about this is safe.”

The truth landed hard.

Lucien’s jaw tightened sharply.

Tiny reaction.

Still there.

Then his phone buzzed violently in his hand.

Matteo.

Lucien answered instantly.

“What.”

Heavy gunfire crackled through the speaker.

Then Matteo shouted:

“They breached the south entrance!”

Lucien’s face darkened immediately.

“How many.”

“Three factions minimum— Russo hired half the city tonight!”

Interesting.

Very horrifying.

Lucien looked toward Ivy instantly afterward.

Decision happening fast behind his eyes.

Stay and protect her personally.

Or leave and stop the mansion from becoming a graveyard.

The conflict lasted exactly two seconds.

Then Lucien crossed toward her fast enough to steal breath entirely.

One hand caught her jaw carefully.

“I need you hidden.”

Ivy grabbed his wrist instantly.

“No.”

Lucien froze.

Not expecting resistance.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

“Ivy—”

“You said this changes now.” Her voice shook slightly but stayed steady enough. “No more locking me away while you bleed for me downstairs.”

Another explosion shook the mansion violently.

Dust rained faintly from the ceiling.

Lucien’s breathing sharpened hard.

“I can’t lose focus wondering if you’re safe.”

“Then keep me where you can see me.”

The sentence hit directly.

Lucien stared at her silently.

The alarms screamed harder through the halls.

Then suddenly—

gunfire erupted directly outside the bedroom corridor.

Too close.

Way too close.

Lucien moved instantly.

One arm wrapped around Ivy’s waist hard enough to pull her against his chest while he aimed the handgun toward the door automatically.

Pure instinct.

The hallway outside exploded with footsteps.

Then Matteo’s voice:

“Luce! It’s me.”

Lucien lowered the weapon half an inch.

Only half.

Matteo burst through the doorway seconds later already bleeding from a cut near his temple.

Interesting.

Very alarming.

“I’ve had worse nights,” Matteo announced breathlessly.

Ivy stared.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Emotionally too.”

Another burst of automatic fire ripped through the lower floors.

The mansion lights flickered again.

Matteo looked directly at Lucien.

“They’re heading for the east vault.”

Lucien’s eyes darkened instantly.

Diversion.

Of course.

Russo never attacked directly.

Always strategic.

Always cruel.

“They know you started dismantling accounts,” Matteo continued quickly. “This is retaliation.”

Lucien’s expression hardened into something lethal.

Interesting.

Very terrifying.

“I need ten minutes downstairs,” he said quietly.

Matteo nodded once.

Then both men looked toward Ivy.

Absolutely not.

“No,” Ivy said immediately.

Lucien stepped closer.

“Ivy—”

“You don’t get to decide survival alone anymore.”

The sentence landed hard.

Lucien stopped moving instantly.

Caught.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Gunfire thundered again somewhere beneath them.

A guard screamed downstairs.

The sound twisted sharply through Ivy’s chest.

Lucien looked torn now.

Actual visible conflict.

Because every instinct inside him screamed to lock her away somewhere bulletproof.

But another part—

the new part—

understood she would hate him for it afterward.

Interesting character growth.

Very emotionally stressful.

Matteo suddenly reached inside his coat and pulled out another handgun.

Then tossed it directly toward Ivy.

Lucien looked horrified.

“Matteo.”

“What?” Matteo shrugged while wiping blood from his mouth. “She stabbed a man with glass last week. Evolution.”

Ivy caught the weapon awkwardly.

Heavy.

Cold.

Real.

Lucien stared at the gun in her hands like the universe personally betrayed him.

“You are absolutely not—”

Another explosion interrupted him violently.

The entire bedroom shook.

Then smoke alarms joined the screaming chorus downstairs.

Interesting.

Very bad.

Matteo checked his watch quickly.

“Decision time, Romeo.”

Lucien looked at Ivy again.

At the fear.

The stubbornness.

The complete refusal to leave him alone inside chaos anymore.

And suddenly—

something shifted.

Tiny.

Still there.

Acceptance.

He crossed toward her slowly.

Then took the handgun carefully from her grip.

Ivy opened her mouth immediately.

“Excuse me—”

Lucien ejected the magazine.

Checked it.

Then slid it back into place before handing the weapon back to her properly this time.

The entire room went silent.

Interesting.

Very very interesting.

Lucien looked directly into her eyes.

“If you stay beside me,” he said quietly, “you do exactly what I say.”

Ivy’s pulse hammered instantly.

“Okay.”

“You don’t run toward danger.”

“No promises.”

“Ivy.”

“Fine. Partial promises.”

Matteo covered his face briefly.

“This relationship is exhausting.”

Lucien ignored him completely.

Of course he did.

His hands moved carefully across Ivy’s shoulders instead.

Grounding himself.

Grounding her.

“You stay behind me unless I tell you otherwise.”

“I know.”

“If anything happens—”

“It won’t.”

The answer came immediate.

Sharp.

And Lucien realized suddenly—

she believed that.

Not because the mansion was safe.

Because he was there.

The realization nearly wrecked him on the spot.

Another burst of gunfire screamed downstairs.

Then came shouting.

Closer now.

Lucien’s expression hardened instantly.

Monster returning.

But different this time.

Not alone anymore.

Interesting.

Very ride-or-die coded.

Matteo opened the bedroom door carefully.

Smoke drifted faintly through the hallway beneath flashing red emergency lights.

The mansion looked like war.

Lucien stepped into the corridor first.

Gun raised.

Pure predator.

Ivy followed directly behind him gripping the handgun with shaking fingers while chaos exploded through the lower floors beneath them.

Halfway down the staircase—

a wounded guard stumbled backward into the hall bleeding heavily from the shoulder.

“East corridor breached!”

Lucien moved instantly.

Three armed men appeared below through smoke and flashing lights.

Gunfire erupted.

Lucien fired twice.

One body dropped immediately.

Another crashed sideways through marble railings.

The third disappeared behind cover.

Ivy’s heart slammed violently against her ribs.

Too loud.

Too real.

Lucien reloaded with terrifying calm beside her.

Then suddenly stopped.

His spare magazine had emptied.

Interesting.

Very bad.

Without thinking—

Ivy grabbed another loaded magazine from the guard belt abandoned near the stairs and shoved it directly into Lucien’s free hand.

Lucien froze briefly.

Actually froze.

Then looked at her.

And for one completely insane second in the middle of gunfire and blood and burning hallways—

something dangerously close to pride flashed across his face.

Tiny.

Still there.

Then Lucien slammed the fresh magazine into place smoothly.

And beside flashing emergency lights and war tearing through the mansion—

Ivy Bennett reloaded the devil’s gun without hesitation.