Chapter 26
Elena
I feel something warm on my back, and something wrapped around me. I blink my eyes open slowly, disoriented for a moment before remembering where I am. Who I'm with.
Marco.
His arm is draped over my waist, his body pressed against mine. The sunlight filtering through the curtains tells me it's late morning. I shift slightly and his arm tightens, pulling me closer.
"Running already, little fox?" His voice is rough with sleep.
I turn in his arms to face him. He's smiling, and it's infuriating how handsome he is even first thing in the morning.
"No," I say, though my mind is already racing with questions. Where do we go from here? What does this mean?
He kisses my shoulder, then slides out of bed. "I'll start the coffee."
I watch him pull on his pants from yesterday, commando, and head to the bathroom. I try and not crash out as the reality of what just happened between us washes over me.
When Marco emerges from the bathroom, he catches me staring and smiles. "You good?"
"Yeah. Just thinking."
He walks to the bed and pulls the sheet away from me. "Hey!" I grab for it but he's too quick.
"You got your fill, now I want mine," he says, his eyes roaming over me.
I cover my chest. "Stop it!"
He grins and heads for the door. "Get dressed. We need to talk."
The words send a chill through me. Of course we need to talk. I told him about the debt, and now he's going to want every detail.
I pull on a shirt and shorts, then take a deep breath before leaving the bedroom. Time to face the music.
In the kitchen, Marco hands me a mug of coffee. "Last night doesn't change anything about what we need to do today. We still have to deal with the threat. But now we're doing it together."
Together. The word makes my chest tight.
"I know the basics about the debt," he continues. "But I need to know everything else. The timeline. Every interaction you've had with them. Anything that might help us figure out their next move."
We move to the couch and I start from the beginning. I tell him about how my father was excommunicated from the Rossos, about the gambling debt. About how I hadn't heard from him in over a year and got worried.
"That's when I went to Marcello," I explain. "He's a friend of my dad's. I thought he could help me find him."
Marco's jaw tightens at the mention of Marcello.
"The conversation was just about finding my dad. Nothing about the debt at first. Then Marcello wanted payment for information." I pause. "He wanted sex. But you stepped in before anything happened."
"And you tried to contact him again after that," Marco says. It's not a question.
"Yes. Through the cafe." I glance at him. "You figured that out."
"I had a theory. The pattern was pretty clear—you'd go to the cafe, then try to escape within twenty-four hours."
"The barista. She's my contact. I slip her notes with my order, she gets me responses." I take a shaky breath. "But the meeting I thought was with Marcello turned out to be Ronan."
Marco's hands clench. I reach for one of them. "Thank you for saving me that day. I never said it properly."
"I was in the neighborhood," he says, attempting to lighten the mood.
I tell him about Ronan's threats, how they couldn't find Elio and were using me as leverage because of my connection to the Rossos. How I stupidly offered to work off the debt.
"I never wanted to work for them, Marco. Please believe me. It was a slip of my tongue. I was desperate."
"I know." His voice is strained but he squeezes my hand.
I continue with the rest—the meeting with my father that Marco witnessed, how dad just wanted money from my trust fund and then abandoned me when the Irish showed up.
"They've definitely been tailing you," Marco says. "They must have been watching Elio for a while, and once they saw him meeting with you..."
"So they've known who I am this whole time," I say bitterly.
"Most likely. The Costellos have eyes everywhere. Once they identified you as Elio's daughter, they would have started building their case for how to use you as leverage."
"Great. So I've been a marked target for months and didn't even know it."
Marco's expression darkens. "Which is why you should have come to me or Vito immediately instead of trying to handle this alone."
The thought makes my skin crawl. I take a shaky breath. "There's something else. Something I haven't told you yet."
I stand and walk to my bedroom, my heart pounding. When I return, I'm holding the ultrasound photo. My hands shake as I give it to him.
Marco stares at it, confusion flickering across his face. Then his eyes widen as he reads the name at the top. "Is this—"
"Rina's," I whisper. "The man at the fountain gave it to me."
"Rina's pregnant?" His voice is sharp with surprise. Then concern. "Does Vito know they have access to her medical records?"
"I don't know if Vito even knows she's pregnant yet. They haven't announced it." Tears fill my eyes. "But the Costellos know. They gave this to me as a threat. They're saying they'll go after her. After her baby."
Marco's expression hardens into something dangerous. "When did you get this?"
"That day I went for a run. The man in the alley—he grabbed my throat, gave me this, told me it was my final warning."
"And you didn't tell me." It's not a question, not quite an accusation. Just a statement of fact.
"I was trying to protect her! I thought if I could just handle it myself, if I could find a way to pay the debt or make a deal, they'd leave her alone." I'm crying now. "But it's all my fault. She's in danger because of me."
Marco pulls me into his arms. "It's not your fault that your father is a piece of shit who left this on your shoulders."
"But it is my fault it's gotten this far. I should have told someone. Told Vito. Told you."
"Yes, you should have." His voice is firm but not unkind.
"But you're telling me now. And we're going to fix this.
" He pulls back to look at me. "We need to tell Vito everything.
Today. He needs to know about this threat, and he needs to know the Costellos have access to Rina's medical information. "
"He's going to be so angry."
"He's going to be furious," Marco corrects. "At the Costellos. At your father. At me for not figuring this out sooner. But mostly he's going to be focused on protecting Rina and taking down the people who threatened his wife and child."
The certainty in his voice steadies me slightly. "What if telling him makes it worse? What if the Costellos find out we went to Vito and they—"
"They won't get the chance." Marco's eyes are cold. "Vito will lock down security on Rina immediately. And then we're going to hunt down every single person involved in this threat."
I want to believe him. Want to let myself lean on him completely.
But forty-eight hours is ticking down, and I have no idea what the Costellos are planning when time runs out.
"I'm scared," I whisper.
"I know." He kisses my forehead. "But I've got you. I promise. I need to make some calls, figure out our next move. We'll talk to Vito this afternoon."
I nod. As he turns to leave, I grab his hand.
"Marco?"
"Yeah?"
"Last night... this morning... us. What does it mean?"
He's quiet for a moment. Then he leans down and kisses me softly. "It means you're mine to protect. And I don't walk away from what's mine."
It's not exactly a declaration of love, but it's enough. For now.