CHAINED BY FIRE

e's

es heavy with exhaustion, my chubby cheeks flushed from Nonno's words. "You're a hero, Cece," he'd said, his silver hair catching the light, his hand warm on my shoulder. My 5'5" frame felt small in this w

eo, had earned me trust, but Marco's name twisted my gut. He'd fed my mother, Lily, the drugs that killed her, his greasy smile a ghost from Birmingham. I'd recognized his warehou

wline, shadowed by stubble, softened when he spoke earlier, his voice low, teasing. "You're full of surprises, Cece. Black belt, huh? Remind me not to piss you off." His admiration, sparked at lunch, now

on the mug, Lily's face flashing, her sunken eyes, Marco's laughter, the warehouse where she'd begge

at thrilled and scared me. In my room, I locked the door, last night's creak, a shadow in the hall, still unsettling. My sketchbook opened, my pencil tracing Matteo's ey

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eo's

5'5" frame, her chubby cheeks, her soft whispers, they screamed fragility, but her black belt, her nerve strike on Julian, her kick to Leo's chest, that was strength I'd kill to protect. I leaned against

Marco's warehouse again, it wasn't fair. She was innocent, no tie to Leo or Julian, just a survivor caught in our war. Her soft "I don't usually fight" broke me, her pain a mirror to the

t it cool, but her whisper, "Trying to" had me hooked. I wanted to know her, her sketches, her scars, the strength behind her fragility. Bu

ce. Marco's trafficking, the girls she'd mentioned, it was filth I'd burn out. Leo's war, my empire'

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e's

able, my afro loose, my eyes heavy. Alicia, bruises faint on her wrists, waved me over,

ured coffee, his glasses clear, his nod a quiet thanks. Nonno served eggs, his s

're digging into Marco's ties to Leo. Anyt

scared when I went there with Lily. I think he trafficked them. Mom went there, when he stopped supplying to her in Birmingham, she started going to the one

yes fierce. "You're family, Ce

ingering. Matteo entered, his tattoos glinting, his gray eyes softening as they met mine, a wa

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eo's

ing her now, her whisper about Lily, the girls, Marco's cruelty, it pissed me off, a rage I hadn't felt in years. She was innocent, her pain real, her strength in that warehouse a fi

st, they marked her as family, and I'd protect her like my own. I stayed quiet, my smir