Ashes of Midnight

Chapter One: Smoke and Secrets

The music pulsed like a heartbeat inside La Sombra, Barcelona’s most infamous underground club. Lights flickered across sweat-slicked skin and clinking glasses. Sofia Reyes moved behind the bar like she owned the place—because in many ways, she did. Not officially, but with her sharp wit, fast hands, and that crimson dress that clung like second skin, she ruled the room.

“Two vodka tonics. And smile, cariño, or people will think I’ve insulted you,” her coworker Marta teased, sliding over the order.

Sofia smirked. “I’ll smile when men stop thinking a tip is a phone number.”

Just then, the door creaked open against the pounding storm outside. Lightning cracked behind a tall figure in black. Rain dripped from his leather jacket as he stepped inside, scanning the room like he expected trouble.

He walked to the bar, eyes locked on Sofia.

“Whiskey. Neat.”

She arched a brow. “No ‘please’? Must be Italian.”

He cracked a half-smile. “Guilty.”

“Name?” she asked, pouring the drink.

“Luca Moretti.”

She handed him the glass. “Sofia. Don’t start a fight in here.”

“I never start them,” he said, taking a sip. “But I always finish them.”

Luca took a slow sip of his whiskey, never taking his eyes off her. The tension between them crackled like static in the thick, pulsing air of La Sombra.

“You work here every night?” he asked, voice low, gravel-soft.

Sofia leaned on the counter, arms crossed under her chest. “You interested in my schedule, or are you just really bad at flirting?”

“I don’t flirt,” he said.

“That much is clear,” she said, smirking.

He studied her for a beat, then looked down at his drink. “You always wear red?”

She arched an eyebrow. “You always ask questions like a cop?”

That made him chuckle—just barely. “Just observant. Red suits you.”

Before she could reply, a crash came from the back hallway. Shouting followed—two male voices, one of them panicked.

Sofia instantly straightened, her entire posture changing. Less bartender, more… soldier. She motioned for Marta to cover the bar and disappeared through the back door.

Luca was on her heels.

“Didn’t peg you as the nosy type,” she said as they walked down the dim corridor.

“Didn’t peg you as the type who walks toward trouble,” he countered.

“I don’t walk toward it,” she said, pulling open a side door. “I handle it.”

Inside, a skinny teenage boy had another guy pinned to the wall, shouting in rapid Spanish. Something about “debts” and “orders.”

“¡Basta!” Sofia barked.

Both froze. She stepped between them like a storm on legs.

“Luis, you don’t bring this shit into my club,” she snapped.

“He owes—” the boy started.

“I said not here,” she growled. “You want to survive in this city? Learn when and where to be a problem.”

The other man scrambled away as she turned to Luis.

“Go home. Don’t come back tonight.”

Luis looked like he wanted to argue—then saw the fire in her eyes. He left without another word.

Sofia exhaled hard and leaned against the wall. Luca stood behind her, arms crossed.

“Well,” he said, “that was… instructive.”

She turned her head toward him. “What did you learn?”

“That you’re more than just a bartender.”

“And what are you, Luca?” she asked, eyes narrowing. “Besides broody and in everyone’s business?”

He stepped closer, his presence filling the small room.

“I’m someone who can tell when a woman’s in danger—even when she pretends she’s not.”

Sofia’s jaw clenched. “You don’t know me.”

“Not yet,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “But I will.”

They stood inches apart, heat thick between them. Her breath caught for just a second—and she hated that he noticed.

Then she turned on her heel and walked away, heels clicking against the floor like a dare.

Luca watched her go, a smirk curling at the edge of his mouth.

Trouble, he thought.

And I just stepped right into it.

Sofia Reyes (aka Sofia Delgado)

Age: 28

Occupation: Bartender at La Sombra (formerly in hiding)

Personality: Sharp, guarded, fiery, independent

Notable Traits: Strategic mind, skilled in hand-to-hand combat (thanks to her past), fluent in Spanish and English, has a small phoenix tattoo behind her ear.

Backstory:

Sofia was born into the Delgado cartel, one of the most feared crime families in Spain. But after a brutal betrayal within the organization that nearly cost her life, she faked her death and disappeared. Now living under the name Sofia Reyes, she works in an elite underground nightclub in Barcelona, carefully keeping her past buried. She’s built a quiet, controlled life—but it begins to unravel the moment Luca Moretti walks in.

Core Conflict:

Sofia is torn between the life she’s built and the legacy she can’t escape. She doesn’t trust easily—and Luca threatens both her safety and her heart.

Luca Moretti

Age: 33

Occupation: Ex-special forces / Undercover agent for Interpol

Personality: Brooding, loyal, calculated but with a protective streak, emotionally restrained

Notable Traits: Scar down his left shoulder, speaks Italian and Spanish, carries a silver lighter from his late brother.

Backstory:

Luca served in the Italian military until a mission gone wrong left him disillusioned and scarred. He now works as a covert agent for Interpol, specializing in organized crime and cartel takedowns. When he’s assigned to investigate La Sombra as part of a sting operation to get to Raúl Delgado, he doesn’t expect to fall for the cartel leader’s estranged daughter.

Core Conflict:

Luca is caught between duty and desire. He’s supposed to bring Sofia in as a means to an end—but his instincts scream to protect her, not use her.

Raúl Delgado

Age: 55

Occupation: Cartel Boss (in hiding)

Personality: Cold, calculating, charismatic but ruthless

Notable Traits: Wears a gold ring with the Delgado family crest, speaks softly but always commands fear

Backstory:

Feared across Europe, Raúl was once the head of a vast narcotics and weapons empire. After a near-fatal betrayal from within, he disappeared from the public eye. Secretly, he’s rebuilding power and watching from the shadows. Sofia was once his prized daughter—until she vanished. Now he’s hunting her down, not just for betrayal… but because she’s the only one who truly knows his secrets.

Core Conflict:

His obsession with control and legacy makes him believe Sofia should rule beside him. He’d rather kill her than let her walk away.

Marta Alvarez

Age: 31

Occupation: Co-bartender and Sofia’s best friend

Personality: Witty, loyal, street-smart, has zero tolerance for bullshit

Notable Traits: Pierced eyebrow, always carries a blade in her boot

Backstory:

Marta has lived in Barcelona her whole life, navigating shady deals and sketchy clubs. She doesn’t know Sofia’s full past, but suspects there’s more than Sofia lets on. Protective to a fault, she watches Luca closely—and is the first to sense trouble when things between Sofia and Luca heat up.

Core Conflict:

She wants to help Sofia escape her past, but she’s afraid that love—or Luca—will be the thing that finally destroys her friend.

Chapter Two : Friction and Fire

Chapter Two: Friction and Fire

It had been three nights. Three nights of tension, long stares, and Luca asking too many questions.

That evening, he waited for her outside the club.

“You follow all the staff home, or am I just special?” Sofia asked, slipping on her leather jacket.

“You’re special,” he said. “Also, someone slashed the tires on your bike.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I had the cameras checked. No one saw anything. But that’s not random.”

“You think I’m being targeted?”

“I think you’re lying about who you are.”

She stepped in close, breath warm. “Careful, Luca. You’re starting to sound like my father.”

“Then maybe I should meet him,” he said coldly.

Her smile vanished. “He’s dead.”

But she lied.Chapter Two: Friction and Fire

The rain came down in sheets outside La Sombra, turning the alley behind the club into a glistening, shadowy corridor. Sofia lit a cigarette with trembling fingers. She hadn’t smoked in months. But something about Luca Moretti made her skin itch and her instincts scream.

She barely heard the door open behind her.

“Didn’t peg you for the ‘brooding in the rain’ type,” Luca said, stepping out, his voice deep and calm.

She exhaled smoke without turning. “And I didn’t peg you for the ‘stalker with a badge’ type.”

Luca chuckled. “I don’t have a badge.”

“That supposed to make me feel better?”

He stepped beside her, his shoulder brushing hers lightly. “You were quick with that kid earlier. Luis, was it?”

“Yeah. He’s just angry. Dumb. But not dangerous.” She looked over at him. “Unlike you.”

He met her stare. “You think I’m dangerous?”

“I think you’re watching me,” she said, flicking ash into a puddle. “Too closely. Like you’re waiting for something.”

He was quiet for a second. Then, softly, “Maybe I am.”

A beat passed between them, thick with unspoken tension.

“I don’t like being handled,” she warned.

“I’m not trying to handle you,” Luca said. “I’m trying to understand you.”

She looked him up and down. “And what do you think you’ve figured out?”

“That you don’t scare easy. That you’re used to taking care of yourself. And that there’s a reason a woman like you keeps looking over her shoulder.”

She stepped closer, the cigarette forgotten, her face inches from his. “Let me give you some advice, Luca. If you want to keep breathing in this city—don’t dig into things you don’t understand.”

“Maybe I want to understand them,” he murmured, eyes locked on hers.

“Or maybe you’re just too damn curious for your own good.”

The space between them crackled with heat—electric and dangerous.

Sofia turned and crushed the cigarette under her heel. “Stay out of my way, Moretti.”

But she didn’t walk away.

And neither did he.

Later that night…

Luca sat at the bar as Sofia worked, watching her interact with the crowd—flirting, laughing, but always with a barrier. A flicker of something buried just beneath the surface.

He noticed how her eyes would occasionally sweep the room, never fully relaxing. She didn’t just move like someone with experience—she moved like someone trained. Someone who had survived more than her share of close calls.

Marta slid beside him and dropped a gin and tonic in front of him.

“You look like a man trying too hard to look like he’s not watching someone,” she said casually.

Luca didn’t look at her. “She always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Sharp. Guarded. Dangerous.”

Marta smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sofia’s a firecracker wrapped in barbed wire. You either give her space… or get burned.”

“And which are you?” Luca asked.

“I’m the one who’s gonna kick your ass if you screw with her.”

She winked and walked away.

***

Back at the far end of the bar, Sofia’s phone buzzed.

A message. Unknown number.

We know where you are.

Time’s up, princesa.

Her heart stopped. Her past had just caught up.

She looked across the room—and saw Luca watching her.

For the first time all night, she didn’t have a clever line.

She had a choice.

Run… or let him in.