Chapter 193 – Not the Man I Knew
Chapter 193 – Not the Man I Knew
POV: Lila
I froze.
Not because he grabbed me.
Not because of the gunshots echoing from the entrance again.
But because of him.
Enzo.
The name still rang in my head like something unreal, like I had said it in a dream and now it was standing in front of me, breathing, watching, waiting.
He looked different.
Not just older.
Not just changed.
Harder.
Darker.
Like something inside him had been stripped away and replaced with something sharper.
Colder.
The Enzo I remembered—no, the Enzo I thought I understood—had always been dangerous. There was no denying that. He carried power like it belonged to him, like the world moved because he allowed it to.
But this?
This wasn’t just power.
This was something else.
Something controlled.
Something that didn’t hesitate.
His hand wrapped around my wrist, firm but not rough, pulling me just enough to shift my balance.
“Move,” he said.
His voice was low.
Calm.
Like everything happening around us didn’t matter.
I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
I just stared at him.
“You’re bleeding,” I said without thinking.
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
His gaze flickered to my face.
Not surprised.
Not annoyed.
Just… aware.
“It’s not mine,” he replied.
Another gunshot cracked through the building.
Closer now.
The men at the entrance were pushing in.
I could hear them shouting, boots hitting concrete, weapons being raised.
Enzo didn’t even look in their direction.
“Lila,” Dante’s voice cut sharply through my earpiece. “What’s happening? Who is with you?”
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
Because Enzo’s attention shifted to the small device in my ear.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Still taking orders?” he asked.
The question was simple.
But it hit harder than it should have.
“I’m not taking orders,” I said.
“Then stop listening to them.”
Before I could respond, he reached up and pulled the earpiece out of my ear.
Clean.
Quick.
Like it had never been there.
“Hey—” I started.
He dropped it to the ground, crushing it under his boot without even looking.
The sound was small.
Final.
“You don’t need distractions,” he said.
My chest tightened.
“That wasn’t your call to make.”
“Everything here is my call,” he replied.
The certainty in his voice sent a sharp edge of anger through me.
“Since when?”
He didn’t answer.
Another gunshot echoed, closer than before.
A bullet hit the wall behind us, sending dust and debris into the air.
This time, Enzo moved.
Fast.
He pulled me toward him, shifting both of us behind a broken pillar just as another shot rang out.
His hand stayed on my wrist.
Firm.
Steady.
Not letting go.
“You’re standing in the open,” he said, like he was pointing out something obvious.
“I noticed,” I shot back.
“Clearly not fast enough.”
I glared at him.
“This was my plan.”
“No,” he said, his voice cutting through mine without effort. “This was their plan. You just walked into it.”
I opened my mouth to argue.
Then closed it.
Because he was right.
And I hated that.
“Vivian,” I said suddenly, looking back toward where I had left her.
“She’s covered,” he replied.
“How do you know?”
“I made sure of it.”
Of course he did.
Something about the way he said it—like it was already handled, already decided—made my chest tighten again.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
The question came out sharper than I intended.
But I needed to know.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he leaned slightly, glancing past the pillar, tracking movement with precise focus.
Another shot.
Another man dropped near the entrance.
The same pattern.
The same control.
“You already know,” he said finally.
“No,” I replied. “I don’t.”
His eyes shifted back to me.
“You walked into a council trap,” he said. “Did you think I wouldn’t show up?”
“I didn’t think you were watching me.”
“I wasn’t.”
The answer came too fast.
Too clean.
“Then how did you know I’d be here?”
A pause.
Not long.
But enough.
“I knew where they’d strike next,” he said.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It’s the only answer you’re getting.”
Frustration burned in my chest.
“You don’t get to do that,” I said.
“Do what?”
“Show up, take control, and then decide what I’m allowed to know.”
His expression didn’t change.
But something in his eyes shifted.
“You’re alive because I showed up,” he said.
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“No,” he replied. “You didn’t.”
Another shot cracked through the air.
Closer now.
Too close.
The men were spreading out, trying to find angles, trying to push deeper into the building.
“They’re regrouping,” I said.
“Yes.”
“So what’s your plan?” I asked.
A faint pause.
Then—
“To end it.”
The words were simple.
But the way he said them—
There was no doubt.
No hesitation.
He meant it.
I studied him for a second.
Trying to understand.
Trying to match this man in front of me with the name in my head.
“You’ve changed,” I said quietly.
He didn’t respond.
“Enzo,” I added, forcing him to meet my gaze.
This time, he did.
Fully.
“What happened to you?”
For a moment—
Just a moment—
Something flickered in his expression.
Gone almost instantly.
“You don’t want that answer,” he said.
“Try me.”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
“I stopped hesitating.”
The words landed heavier than I expected.
I felt it.
In the way he stood.
In the way he moved.
In the way he looked at the bodies on the floor like they were already forgotten.
“You didn’t hesitate before,” I said.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
A shout echoed from across the room.
“They’re behind the pillar!”
Gunfire erupted again.
Bullets tore into the concrete, sending fragments flying.
Enzo shifted instantly, pulling me lower, shielding me without even thinking about it.
His body between mine and the shots.
Controlled.
Precise.
“Stay here,” he said.
“No.”
His grip tightened slightly.
“That wasn’t a request.”
“And I’m not taking orders,” I shot back.
His gaze snapped back to me.
Cold.
Sharp.
“You don’t get to argue right now.”
“Watch me.”
For a second, we just stared at each other.
The tension between us cutting through everything else.
“You’re still the same,” he said.
“Is that supposed to be an insult?”
“It’s an observation.”
Another burst of gunfire.
Closer.
“They’re closing in,” I said.
“I know.”
“Then we move together.”
“No.”
“Yes,” I insisted.
His jaw tightened.
“You slow me down.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
But I didn’t back down.
“Then adjust,” I said.
A beat.
Then—
A faint exhale.
Not quite frustration.
Not quite acceptance.
But something close.
“Stay behind me,” he said finally.
It wasn’t agreement.
Not really.
But it was enough.
He moved first.
Fast.
Stepping out from behind the pillar with controlled precision, his weapon already raised.
Two shots.
Two men dropped instantly.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
I followed, keeping low, my eyes scanning for any remaining threats.
The air was thick with smoke now, the smell of gunpowder sharp and heavy.
Every step felt like walking through something unreal.
Because this—
This wasn’t a fight.
This was something else entirely.
A clean sweep.
Deliberate.
Unstoppable.
“Left,” Enzo said sharply.
I turned just in time to see a man stepping out from behind a broken wall.
Before I could react—
A shot rang out.
He dropped.
I blinked.
That hadn’t come from Enzo.
Another sniper shot.
From outside.
From above.
Still covering us.
My chest tightened.
“That’s not you,” I said.
“No.”
“Then who is it?”
He didn’t answer.
Of course he didn’t.
We moved deeper into the building, the gunfire fading as quickly as it had started.
One by one, the attackers were gone.
Silence settled again.
Thick.
Final.
I slowed my steps, my breathing still uneven.
“It’s over,” I said quietly.
“No,” Enzo replied.
The word was immediate.
Sharp.
“It’s not.”
Something in his tone made my chest tighten again.
“What do you mean?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, his gaze lifted slightly.
Toward the far end of the room.
Where the shadows were thicker.
Darker.
I followed his line of sight.
And that’s when I saw it.
Movement.
Not chaotic.
Not desperate.
Calm.
Someone stepping forward.
Not running.
Not hiding.
Walking.
Like they had been waiting for this moment.
Waiting for us.
My breath caught.
“Enzo,” I said quietly.
His expression didn’t change.
But I felt the shift in him.
Subtle.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
“I know,” he said.
The figure stepped fully into the light.
And something in my chest dropped.
Because whoever this was—
They weren’t surprised.
They weren’t afraid.
They were smiling.
And in that moment—
I realized something worse than the trap we had just walked through.
This wasn’t the end of it.
This was exactly where they wanted us to be.