Theo
Contained. Waiting on backup for a full sweep.
I lower the phone, my grip tightening around it.
Contained. For now. That isn’t good enough.
I need to find out who infiltrated the Castello. Because contained isn’t secure, and that might not be an issue for me,but she’s my responsibility and I need to make sure she’s safe. Unless the Castello is secure, that can’t happen. Not when the stench of fear is hanging so heavy I can taste it.
A soft sound drags my attention from the monitors. Mara. Her breaths are coming too quickly, shallow and uneven, her shoulders shaking as she hugs her knees to her chest.
Panic.
I curse under my breath. This is the last thing I need.
“Stop.” My voice cuts through the silence, low and steady.
Her wide eyes snap to mine, glassy with unshed tears. “I-I c-can’t—” She stumbles over the words, chest rising too fast. “C-can’t breathe?—”
I stand, crossing the space in three strides, and crouch in front of her, forcing her to look at me.
“Yes, you can.” My hand wraps around her wrist, firm but not cruel. Grounding. “In. Now out. Match me. Do it again.”
Her lips part and tremble, but she listens. A shaky inhale. A broken exhale. Again. And again, until her chest starts to ease, until her breathing falls in line with mine.
I should let go. I don’t.
Her fingers curl into the front of my shirt, clinging like I’m the only solid thing in the world. Her head tips forward, brushing my shoulder as she hides her face from the monitors’ glow. My pulse slams against my throat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, barely audible.
Outside, my men are ripping the Castello apart to secure it. Inside, this girl is undoing me with a single touch in ways I don’t want to admit.
The phone buzzes in my hand.
Theo
Premises clear. Backup sweeping.
My jaw tightens. I should leave her in the safe room and be down there. I should stick to the logic, the discipline, the iron-clad rules I live by.
Instead, I sit back against the couch. Her weight is warm against me, her breathing finally even. Her lashes flutter against my shirt once, twice, and then she goes still. The small, soft snores that fill the small space confirm that she fell asleep.In my arms.
I stare at the concrete wall across from me, the hum of the monitors filling the silence alongside her snores.
I’ve fought wars. I’ve killed men. But one word from her undoes a lifetime of rigid rules and discipline.
This is a mistake. And it’s going to cost me in the worst way possible.
15
MARA
Ikeep my eyes shut, wishing to stay asleep for a little longer, but the warm rays of the sun are heating up my face in an unbearable way. Twisting around, I push my face into my pillows, but I give up trying to go back to sleep.
That’s when I realize that I didn’t fall asleep in my bed last night. Nicolo came into my room late last night. Something had happened. I panicked, and he…helped me through it. Then I fell asleep on the couch…against him.
I don’t have time to replay it on a loop, to pick apart the way his hand was steady on mine or how his voice was low enough to make me forget the panic. Because the universe doesn’t give me time. A strong, demanding knock sounds at my door before it swings open and in comes the robotic caveman who helped me through yesterday’s panic attack.
