Page 57 of The Cost of Silence

“I’d rather know where she is and how she feels,” I say. “If she’s in my bed, I can keep her safe. If she thinks I don’t want her, she’ll keep trying to push me away, and that will make her unpredictable.”

Matteo snorts. “You’re rationalizing wanting to fuck her six ways from Sunday as a security strategy.”

“I’m multitasking,” I snap.

He laughs, delighted.

Adi’s expression softens just a fraction. “Be careful, Nic,” he says quietly. “You’ve always taken care of everyone else. If you’re going to let someone get close enough to matter, make sure she’s not just another weight you’re adding to your shoulders.”

“She’s not a weight,” I say before I can stop myself.

And there it is.

The truth.

She’s the first thing in a long time that feels like something for me.

“I’ll handle it,” I add, because that’s what I always say.

Adi nods once, accepting that for now. “Then let’s focus on what we can control today. We keep following the money. Matteo keeps listening for Orlov’s name in the wrong mouths. You keep Isabella close and start feeding her the threads we want pulled. And we move slowly. No big moves until we’re sure which way this is going to break.”

“Got it,” Matteo says. “I’ll head to the club after dinner. Word is, Orlov’s people like to drink where the women are pretty and the music’s loud. I’ll make sure the right questions get floated.”

We wrap the meeting with the usual efficiency, assignments, timelines, contingencies. Rossi peels off to coordinate withsecurity, Adi disappears back into his office, and Matteo walks me to the elevator.

He waits until the doors are closed before speaking. “You’re in deep, huh?” he says quietly.

I stare as the floor numbers tick down. “Deeper than I planned.”

He bumps his shoulder lightly against mine. “For what it’s worth? She seems like the first woman you’ve brought home who might actually like the man, not the name.”

“Don’t get poetic on me,” I mutter.

He grins. “Who said I was talking about you?”

I flip him off.

He laughs as the doors open, then claps my shoulder once. “Go home, big brother. Try not to scare her off before I get to officially charm her.”

“She’s not interested,” I lie.

“In me? I know.” He winks. “That’s what makes it fun.”

I shake my head, but there’s no real heat in it. This is us. Bickering on the edge of a knife, always circling the same core: family first.

Us three against the world.

Only now, there’s a fourth name in the equation.

17.Nico

The ride back feels shorter.

Maybe because my head is already in the penthouse, picturing how she looked pressed to the wall, how her lips felt under mine, how her voice went breathy when I told her how I wanted to control her.

By the time the door opens into my living room, my control is a taut wire.

She’s at the island when I step in.