Trapped by Seven Mafia Wolves novel Chapter 148

Hands Between Us

Nico’s POV

The courtyard is still soaked in rain, the sky cracked open and bleeding silver. Aurora’s still

clutching my jacket, breath uneven, but my eyes catch movement near the archway.

A figure.

A boy–fourteen, maybe fifteen. Dark hair plastered to his forehead, soaked shoes sloshing

through puddles. He doesn’t look afraid. Doesn’t even hesitate.He stands beside Aurora like he

belongs there.My instincts flare.

The gun in my hand comes up automatically, locking onto his chest. “Who the hell are you?“The boy lifts a brow, eyes flicking lazily to the gun, then back at me. He looks too calm for someone who’s got a barrel pointed at him. He doesn’t answer. Just studies me with lazy, unreadable eyes,

like I’m the one intruding.

“Fucking answer me,” I snap, stepping forward.

Before I can blink, Aurora spins, putting herself right between us. Her small hand shoves the gun

down, shaking.

“Nico, no!” she snaps, voice rising – not scared, but angry. Angry at me.Her glare cuts straight through the rain. “Don’t hurt him!“I blink, caught between confusion and disbelief. “What?”

“He’s with me!” she yells, her tone cracking halfway between rage and pleading. “He helped me!

You can’t “My jaw tightens. “Aurora, move.

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“No!” she yells, glaring up at me, rain streaking down her cheeks. Her hand shoots out and locks

into his.

Fuck no.

The sight trips something hard and ugly inside me. The kid’s eyes drop to their joined hands. The corner of his mouth twitches into a smirk, looking their intertwined hands.

Every instinct I have is screaming to break his wrist in half.

The way he holds her hand.

The way he looks at her.

The way he’s still fucking breathing. He looks right at me, his eyes flashing with recognition.

Chapter 148

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“Russo…”

he murmurs, looking at my gun.

Aurora turns to him, confused. “Damion-“The name hits me like a punch.

Hector,

Cigarette smoke and expensive cologne hang thick in the air.He sits across the room — head of the Spanish mafia, surrounded by his men. Beside him, half–hidden by the chair, a smaller figure in a crisp white shirt and dark vest. The kid can’t be older than fourteen.He doesn’t fidget. Doesn’t look away.

Even then, his stare has weight.

“Your son?” Papá asks, gesturing towards the boy.Hector smiles, pride curling like smoke. “Sí. He

watches, learns. One day, he’ll command.

“My eyes catch the boy’s for a moment – bright green, sharp, unblinking. He tilts his head

slightly, like he’s memorizing me.

—

The memory blurs – rain bleeding through it until that boy’s face shifts, fading, reshaping into

the one standing in front of me now.

“Right, estrella?“Aurora blinks, caught off guard, color rising faintly in her cheeks. “Damion…

I’m just gonna burn this motherfucker. My jaw clenches. “You done?” I ask, voice flat enough to slice through concrete, still holding the gun towards him, my other hand resting in my pocket.

“Jealousy is not a good look on you, hermano. (Brother)Then he tilts his head his eyes locking on Aurora who’s still staring at me in confusion.

“Or well… futuro cuñado.

“(Future brother in law.)…

Fuck this shit.

I’m blowing this bitch up.

Before I can say a damn thing, she reaches out–and grabs my hand too.

For a second, I freeze. One small hand tangled with his, the other locked around mine. Rain drips from her hair, streaking down her cheeks, but she just looks up at me and smiles. Not the polite

kind. Not the broken one I’m used to.

This one’s real.

And then her eyes-

God, her eyes.

They light up.Like she swallowed the sunrise and it’s fighting to get out. That soft, glowing blue flares into something so bright it makes the rain itself look dull.

It hits me right in the chest. Hard..My glare dies.

The edge in my jaw softens.

And before I know it, the corner of my mouth curve–slow, small, almost a laugh.

I squeeze her hand once, my voice dropping low, steady against the sound of rain.

“Ready to get out of here, sorrellina?” (Sister) Her smile widens, eyes bright as she nods fast, a tiny breathless “yeah” leaving her lips-

and for a moment, everything else just fades.

Chapter 148