Episode 5

The sound of gunshots echoed in the hallway. Gabriel took cover behind the wall, drawing his weapon. The chaos had begun. Enzo's henchmen were exchanging fire with the police tactical team, which had surrounded the building. He needed to get out of there — and fast.

But, in his mind, there was only one image: Enzo.

That touch, the whisper in his ear, the warmth of the body he hadn't felt in years. It was as if time had stopped the moment Enzo hugged him. Damn it. That shouldn't have happened.

"Agent Costa here, I'm on the fifth floor! Confrontation initiated! I need backup!" Gabriel shouted into the radio, trying to ignore the emotional turmoil that was overwhelming him.

He moved through the hallway, alert to every shadow. He found one of Enzo's men unconscious on the floor. He passed him and continued forward, trying to stay focused. But his thoughts kept returning, insistent, to the past.

University, five years earlier...

Gabriel had been sharing a room with Enzo since the second semester. The apartment was cramped, but there was a strange energy between them. The lingering glances, the late-night conversations, the arguments that always ended in loaded silence.

One night, after a party, Enzo came into the room laughing, his hair disheveled, still smelling of whiskey. Gabriel pretended to be asleep, but his eyes were half-open, watching.

Enzo stopped in front of his bed.

"I know you're awake."

Gabriel sighed.

"Go to sleep, Enzo."

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Silence.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Gabriel." Enzo whispered, kneeling beside the bed. "You feel it as much as I do."

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly, suppressing the urge to pull him onto the bed. But back then, they never crossed the line.

End of memory.

Back in the present, Gabriel shook his head. He couldn't get lost in those thoughts now. A noise alerted him — footsteps coming from the opposite corridor.

He turned around with his gun pointed... and there he was.

Enzo.

No henchmen. No weapon in sight. Just him.

"Why did you come back?" Gabriel asked, his breathing heavy.

"Because I knew you wouldn't be able to forget me. Just like I've never been able to forget you." Enzo walked slowly, as if each step was a provocation.

"This isn't a game, Enzo. People are dying because of you!"

"And you think I don't carry that with me every night?" Enzo retorted, his voice more tense now. "I didn't choose this life. It was imposed on me."

Gabriel tightened his grip on the gun. His finger on the trigger. His heart racing.

"You have a choice. You always have."

Enzo stopped, less than a meter away.

"I only want one thing. Only one. You."

The two stared at each other. Gabriel's eyes were full of anger, pain, and repressed desire. He wanted to scream, he wanted to arrest him, he wanted to kiss him until he ran out of air.

And then, as if the world around them had disappeared, Enzo moved forward.

His hands grabbed Gabriel by the nape of the neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was brutal, hungry, full of longing and anger accumulated over years. Gabriel resisted for a second... just a second. But then desire won.

The gun fell to the ground with a dull thud. Gabriel's hands slid down Enzo's back, pulling him tightly against his body.

The kiss deepened, urgent, uncontrolled.

Gabriel pushed Enzo against the wall, their mouths never separating. Enzo's hands ran inside Gabriel's shirt, feeling his hot skin, his heaving chest.

"Do you hate me that much?" Enzo whispered against his lips.

"I should..." Gabriel replied, pressing their foreheads together. "But my body won't cooperate."

Gabriel's hands were ravenous, exploring every inch he could reach. They both knew that this moment was forbidden, wrong — but still, inevitable.

Clothes began to be torn off between kisses and bites. Gabriel turned Enzo with his back to the wall, his hands sliding over his firm waist. They were both panting, in a trance of lust and memories.

Enzo arched his body when he felt Gabriel's kisses descending on his neck, his collarbone, down to his abdomen. His breathing was ragged, the moans escaping even as he tried to contain them.

"You're still mine, Gabriel... always have been." Enzo whispered, as they both surrendered to that explosion of forbidden feelings, between poorly healed scars and promises never made.

It was quick, wild, intense. A stolen moment in the midst of chaos. When it was over, they were leaning against each other, sweaty, breathing heavily.

"This doesn't change anything," Gabriel murmured, still with his eyes closed.

"But it changes everything..." Enzo replied, his voice low and hoarse.

Gabriel picked up the gun from the floor, moving away. He needed to get out of there. He needed to breathe. This couldn't happen again.

But as he walked back down the hallway, Enzo's voice still echoed in his mind.

"You're still mine."

Here's an extra scene to further deepen the emotional tension and dilemma between Gabriel and Enzo:

Gabriel left the building, his heart pounding against his ribs as if it wanted to escape his chest. The cold early morning air hit his face, but it wasn't enough to dissipate the heat of what had just happened. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to compose himself.

But the truth was simple. He had made a mistake.

The radio on his belt crackled.

"Costa, what's your position?" Sofia's firm voice brought Gabriel back to reality.

He took a second to respond.

"Leaving the building. No sign of the target."

Silence on the other end of the line.

"Are you okay?"

Gabriel closed his eyes. No. He wasn't.

"Yes. I'm heading to the rendezvous point."

He turned off the radio and took a deep breath. But before he could take a step, he felt something vibrate in his pants pocket. His cell phone.

Unknown number.

He answered hesitantly.