I sit in the dark for a long moment, my phone still clutched in my hand, trying to breathe through the panic that's rising in my chest. Romeo is in custody. Thad orchestrated it. And I'm alone in an apartment that suddenly feels like a trap.
I get out of bed and check the locks on the door. It’s all secure. But it doesn't make me feel any safer. I pace the living room, my bare feet silent on the hardwood floor, and I try not to think about what Romeo must be going through right now, what it means that Thad has this much power, or what happens if the lawyers can't get him released.
Giulia arrives exactly twenty minutes later, and I can hear her voice through the door before I even look through the peephole. "It's me. Open up."
She's carrying an overnight bag, and her face is pale, and she looks older than she is, her face drawn with worry. She locks the door behind her immediately, checking each lock twice, and then she turns to me and pulls me into a hug.
"He's going to be okay," she says, but I can hear the uncertainty in her voice underneath the reassurance. "The lawyers are good. They'll get him out. But in the meantime, we need to be smart. We need to?—"
"Why did you bring a bag?" I pull back and look at her. "You're staying?"
"I'm not leaving you alone. Not while Romeo's in custody and—" She stops herself. "Just trust me, okay? I'm staying."
Within a half hour, I’m glad she is. Neither of us can sleep, so we make tea and sit on the couch with all the lights on, whileGiulia tells me stories about Romeo when he was younger. She’s trying to distract me, and it mostly works.
By morning, she makes breakfast, and we sit around more quietly than before, out of ways to not think about what’s happening. My phone stays silent. No calls from Romeo. No updates from the lawyers. Just the awful waiting, knowing that somewhere in the city Romeo is locked in a cell because of me—because Thad is willing to destroy him to get me back.
Giulia is in the kitchen making more tea when we hear three sharp raps on the door that echo through the apartment like gunshots. Giulia puts a finger to her lips and moves toward the door silently, and I follow her, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
She looks through the peephole, and her entire body goes rigid. "Fuck," she whispers, and then she's pulling out her phone, typing something fast. "Savannah, go to the bedroom. Lock the door. Don't come out until I tell you to."
"Who is it?" My stomach drops, and my hands start shaking.
"Thad. And he's not alone." She's still typing, her fingers flying over the screen. "He has cops with him. Go. Now."
The knock comes again, louder this time, and then Thad's voice filters through the door—smooth and controlled, and terrifyingly calm. "Savannah, I know you're in there. Open the door. I have a warrant for your protective custody. You’re being held against your will by a criminal organization. I’m getting you out of here and taking you home."
It's a lie. All of it. But he has cops with him, and he has a warrant. Suddenly, I understand why Giulia told me to hide.
"Savannah." Giulia's voice is urgent. "Bedroom. Now."
I run. I don't think about it, just move on instinct and adrenaline. I lock the bedroom door behind me and press my back against it, my breath coming in short gasps. I can hear voices in the living room—Giulia's, sharp and defiant, andThad's, still calm and controlled. Then other voices, male and authoritative, the cops demanding entry, demanding to see me and that Giulia step aside.
"You don't have jurisdiction here," Giulia is saying. Her voice is cold and dangerous, nothing like an eighteen-year-old’s should be. This is a woman, I realize, who has been taught all her life what to do in this scenario. "This is private property. You need to leave."
"We have a warrant." I hear one of the cops, his voice flat and professional. "Step aside, ma'am, or we'll have to remove you by force."
"Try it." Giulia's voice drops lower, and I can hear the threat in it, the promise of violence if they push her. "See what happens."
There's a moment of tense silence, and then Thad speaks again. This time his voice is directed at me, loud enough to carry through the bedroom door. "Savannah, this is ridiculous. I'm here to help you. Romeo Ciresa is a criminal. His family is under investigation. You're in danger, and I'm trying to get you somewhere safe."
I press my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming back at him, to keep from telling him exactly what I think of his lies and his manipulation, his fucking audacity to show up here pretending to be my savior. My phone is on the nightstand, and I grab it with shaking hands, but I don't know who to call or what to do. I don't know how to make this stop.
There's a crash from the living room—something breaking, furniture scraping across the floor—and then Giulia's voice, sharp and furious: "I said don't fucking touch me."
"Ma'am, you need to calm down?—"
"I need you to get the fuck out of this apartment before I make you regret ever putting on that badge."
I can hear them moving closer to the bedroom, can hear Thad's voice getting louder, more insistent, and I know they're going to break down the door. They're going to drag me out of here. Giulia can't stop them alone, no matter how fierce she is. My phone buzzes in my hand—a text from Giulia:Luca's coming. Hold on.
The bedroom door handle rattles, and then Thad's voice comes through, closer now, intimate in a way that makes my skin crawl. "Savannah, open the door. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I'm trying to protect you."
"I don't need your protection." My voice comes out stronger than I expected. "I don't want you here. Leave."
"You don't know what you want. You're confused. Romeo has manipulated you, made you think?—"
"I know exactly what I want." I push myself to my feet, my back still pressed against the door and my voice carrying through it with absolute clarity. "And it's not you. It will never be you. So take your warrant and your corrupt cops and get out of Romeo's apartment."
