Isabella
Her chest rose slowly as she dragged in a breath, followed by another.
He had asked her to stay. He wasn’t making a request. That word echoed in her head—stay.
She promised him that she would, but it wasn’t really a choice that she had made.
He made it a condition for her survival, and that thought made her laugh softly under her breath.
“I stay, or I die,” she whispered to herself.
Saying it out loud didn’t make it feel less real.
If anything, it made it worse, because now, she couldn’t pretend this was only temporary.
This wasn’t just a bad night out at a club or a misunderstanding.
This was her life now. Her father was hidden somewhere she couldn’t reach him, and her family might have betrayed her.
Right now, the only man standing between her and death owned the ground she walked on.
Her hands curled at her sides. No—he didn’t own her.
He was protecting her, and the difference mattered to her.
It had to because it was the only way that she’d stay with him.
Her gaze swept the room again. There were no visible locks, no bars, and no chains holding her back.
But that didn’t mean freedom. That just meant the cage was invisible.
Her lips pressed together as she tried to figure out her next move.
Fine—if she was trapped, then she wasn’t going to be useless.
She crossed to the door and opened it with no hesitation and no fear.
The hallway outside was quiet—but not empty.
She didn’t expect it to be. Two men stood at opposite ends, both straightening slightly the second they saw her.
They were there to watch her. She always had someone watching her—even at her father’s house.
“Can I help you, miss?” one of them asked. He was polite, but firm. There was no way that he was going to let her out of his sight. He had his orders from Luca, and he wouldn’t fail his boss.
Isabella lifted her chin. “Yes, you can move out of my way.”
The man didn’t even blink. In fact, he seemed somewhat amused by her. “No.”
Her jaw tightened as she thought of a good excuse to be out of her room. “I need to see Luca,” she quickly said.
“He’s unavailable,” the guard insisted.
“I’m not asking permission,” she spat. “I need to see him, now.”
“You’re not leaving this floor.” His voice was calm, and that made her temper flare—but she forced it down. Losing control wouldn’t help her right now, not here, and not with them.
“Then call him,” she ordered. The guard studied her as though measuring his options and trying to decide what to do next. She felt as though she was holding her breath waiting for him to respond to her demand. He reached for his earpiece, and she let out the breath that she had been holding.
“Boss, she’s asking for you,” he said. Silence filled the hallway as the man waited for Luca to respond.
He finally nodded and said, “Understood.” The guard lowered his hand.
“He’ll see you.” Luca granting her permission to see him just plain pissed her off.
He was making sure she stayed exactly where he wanted her and letting her know that he was the one in complete control.
Isabella stepped past the guards without another word.
This time, they didn’t stop her because Luca had given her permission to leave her room.
Isabella was beginning to understand that they were all puppets in Luca’s play, and she felt the need to cut her strings.
She just needed to figure out a way to do that and stay safe.
Isabella walked into his office and noticed that it was darker than before—quieter even. The city lights spilled through the glass, cutting sharp lines across the floor and him. Luca was standing near the window again, as he always did. It was like he was looking over everything that he owned.
He didn’t turn when she entered the room. “Couldn’t stay in your room?” he asked, still staring out of the window.
She closed the door behind her. “No.”
“Good,” he breathed, catching her off guard.
Her brows pulled together slightly. “What?” she asked.
He turned to face her, slowly and deliberately. “I didn’t bring you here to sit in your room and sulk all day,” he said.
That wasn’t what she expected him to say. “Then what did you bring me here for?” she questioned.
His gaze locked onto hers. “Well, I brought you here to be my wife,” he said.
She stepped closer to him. “I’m not going to sit in a room while you make decisions about my life,” she insisted.
“I know,” he agreed. Her steps faltered slightly. Every time he agreed with her seemed to confuse her further.
“You know?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “You don’t seem to be wired that way. I didn’t peg you as the type of woman who’d be all right with her husband calling all the shots.”
Something in her chest tightened because that sounded like he actually understood her. And she didn’t want that. She didn’t want him to understand her. She didn’t want him to even see her, because that made him dangerous in a way bullets weren’t.
“Then stop treating me like I have no say,” she said.
“I’m not,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Locking me in my room, controlling where I go, and who I talk to—that’s not treating me like I have a say in any of this.”
“You’re being targeted, Isabella. Someone in your family has possibly betrayed you and your father, and now, they know exactly where to find you. I’m just trying to figure out how to keep you safe.”
She exhaled slowly, knowing that there would be no fighting with him because he was right. “Then let me help.”
Luca didn’t answer right away. He studied her instead, as though he was trying to solve a problem. “Help with what?” he finally asked.
“My father,” she said. “I can help you find the people who took him, and the people who leaked my location. I can help with all of it.” He took a step closer, and she took one back. “I know things,” she insisted.
His expression didn’t change. “You don’t know enough,” he growled. “And getting involved in this will get you killed.”
She was beginning to think that Luca was the most stubborn ass on the planet. “Then test me,” she insisted.
His gaze sharpened slightly. “Why were you at my club?” he asked. Okay, so they were getting straight to it. There was no warning, and that made her stomach tighten.
“I was looking for you,” she said.
“I know that,” he responded.
“Then why ask?” she asked.
“Because I want to hear your version of things,” he insisted. Of course he did. Luca was taking back control of the situation.
“I needed answers,” she said.
“About your father,” he added.
“Yes,” she said.
“And, what else?” he asked, pushing her for more answers.
Her jaw tightened. She wasn’t sure if telling him the rest would be in her best interest, but the stubborn look on his handsome face told her that he wasn’t going to give up questioning her until he was satisfied with her answers.
“I heard things,” she said.
“What things?” She hesitated, just for a second, but Luca saw it—of course, he did.
“Careful,” he said quietly. “Now’s not the time to start holding back.” His warning made her pulse race.
“I heard my father wasn’t just negotiating peace,” she said slowly. “He was restructuring the family’s power.”
Luca went still, and Isabella knew that she had hit a nerve. She was telling him something that he didn’t know, and that shocked the hell out of her. “I heard names,” she added.
“Which names?” he asked.
She met his eyes. “People who shouldn’t have been involved.”
“Like who?” he asked, pressing her for more details. Her heart pounded in her chest because she knew that this was important. This could change everything.
“My cousin,” she said. Isabella felt like a nark, but if she was right, her cousin was the one trying to kill her. Telling Luca might be the only thing that kept her alive.
Luca’s gaze darkened. “Which one?” he growled.
“Serge,” she breathed.
Luca slowly exhaled. “That tracks,” he said.
Her stomach dropped. “You believe me?”
“Yes,” he said. “I believe you.” There was no hesitation, and no doubt. That hit harder than disbelief would have.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because he’s already on my radar. In fact, Serge has been on my list of people to watch for a damn long time.”
Her breath caught. “Then you knew that he could be the one who betrayed me?”
“I suspected,” he admitted.
“And you didn’t tell me?” Yeah, that hurt, but she was trying, and failing, not to let him know it.
“I wasn’t sure,” he insisted.
Her hands clenched. “But you’re sure now?”
“Yes,” he breathed.
The certainty in his voice made something inside her twist. “My family—” she whispered, stopping when her voice broke. The thought of someone who called themselves her family, coming after her—well, that just hurt.
“They’re not worth your anguish, Isabella,” he said.
Her gaze snapped to his. “That’s easy for you to say.”
“No,” he corrected. “It’s not. They tried to kill you.” She swallowed past the lump of emotion in her throat. “They tried to use you,” he added. “To me, that means that they are no longer your family.”
“Not to me,” she spat.
“No,” he said. “It wouldn’t be that easy for you to accept. You are the one who was betrayed.”
He closed the distance between them, always seeming to stand too close to her. “And now?” she asked.
“Now we find him,” Luca said, his expression mean.
“You want to find Serge?” she asked.
“Yes,” he breathed. “I’m hoping that you can help me with that.”
Her pulse kicked harder. “And then what? What happens when we find him?”
Luca’s expression didn’t change. But something in his eyes did. Something darker and final stared back at her. “Then we end it.” The words sent a chill down her spine because she knew what that meant. She knew what he was capable of and knew what ending it looked like in his world.
“And my father?” she asked.
“He lives,” Luca said. “If that’s what you want. But if he’s part of it, I’ll be making that decision.”
Her breath caught. “You think he could be a part of all of this?”
“I think everyone’s a suspect until we can rule them out.” The truth of that hit hard, too hard. Her father and her family might all be trying to kill her. Nothing felt certain anymore. Except—him. And that was the most dangerous part of all.
She stepped back from him, giving herself some much-needed space. Even if it didn’t feel like enough. “This isn’t over,” she said.
“No,” he agreed.
Her chin lifted. “I’m not just going to sit here and let you handle everything,” she reminded.
“I know,” he agreed.
Her brows pulled together again. “You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true,” he said. “You’re not weak, Isabella. But right now, you're exposed,” he added. Her breath caught. There it was—the truth of the matter. She was in danger, and that was her new reality. “And until that changes,” he said quietly, “you stay with me.”
Her pulse pounded hard and fast in her chest. And this time—she didn’t argue, because she understood now.
Staying with him wasn’t giving in or giving up her control; it was surviving.
Even if it meant standing next to the most dangerous man in the city, and slowly realizing that he might be the only one she could trust.