There's a pause, and then Thad laughs—a cold, humorless sound that makes my stomach turn. "Savannah, I have enough of them in my pocket that it doesn't matter. You think you can fight me? You think Romeo can protect you from prison?"
"I think you're pathetic." The words come out before I can stop them, before I can think about whether it's smart to antagonize him. "I think you're so desperate to control me that you're willing to abuse your connections and pretend you're doing this for my own good. But we both know the truth, Thad. You don't love me. You never did. You just can't stand the idea that I chose someone else."
I can feel his rage radiating through the door, can imagine the expression on his face as he realizes that I'm not going tocome quietly. Then I hear Giulia's voice again. "That's enough. You've made your point. Now leave before this gets ugly."
"It's already ugly." One of the cops speaks again, and his voice is harder now, less professional. "We have a warrant. We're taking her into protective custody whether she wants to go or not."
"Over my dead body." Giulia's voice is flat, absolute, and I can hear the promise in it—the willingness to make good on that threat if they push her.
And then I hear new voices in the entryway of the penthouse as the door opens—multiple voices, male and authoritative and absolutely not on Thad's side. Someone says, "What the fuck is going on here?"
It’s Luca, I realize, and he's not alone.
I unlock the bedroom door and step out into the living room, and the scene that greets me is surreal. Giulia is standing between me and three cops who look increasingly uncomfortable, Thad has his hand on his phone like he's about to call for backup, and Luca is walking in with at least six men behind him, all of them looking like they're ready for violence if that's what it takes.
"Savannah." Luca's eyes find mine immediately, and there's relief in them, and concern. "You okay?" His gaze switches to Giulia, the concern deepening.
"I'm fine." My voice is shaking, but I force myself to stay calm, to not let Thad see how terrified I actually am. "They're trying to take me into 'protective custody.'"
"Protective custody," Luca repeats the words slowly, and then he turns to look at the cops. His expression is cold and dangerous, nothing like the easy-going man I've met before. "You have a warrant? Let me see it."
One of the cops—the one who seems to be in charge—pulls out a folded document and hands it to Luca. He reads itquickly, his expression darkening with each line. Then he looks up at Thad with contempt. "This is bullshit. There's no judge's signature."
"It's real enough." Thad's voice is tight, but I can hear the uncertainty creeping in now that he's outnumbered. "Savannah is in danger. Romeo Ciresa is a criminal, and his family?—"
"His family is none of your business." Luca steps forward, and the men behind him move with him, a coordinated show of force that makes the cops take a step back. "And Savannah is an adult who can make her own choices. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave. All of you. And if you ever come back here, if you ever try to use your connections to harass her again—we're going to have a very different conversation."
"Are you threatening me?" Thad's trying to sound outraged, but I can hear the fear underneath it now, the awareness that he's miscalculated. He thought he could use legal force to get what he wanted, but he didn't account for the fact that Romeo's family has force of their own.
"I'm promising you." Luca's voice drops lower, more dangerous. "Leave. Now."
The cops look at each other, and I can see them realize that whatever Thad is paying them isn't worth getting into a confrontation with the Ciresa family. The one in charge folds the document and puts it back in his pocket. "We're done here," he says to Thad. "This isn't worth it."
"What?" Thad turns to him, his composure finally cracking. "You can't just?—"
"We can. And we are." The cop is already moving toward the door. "You want to pursue this, you do it through proper channels. We're not getting involved in whatever personal shit this is."
They leave, and Thad is left standing there alone, his face pale with rage and humiliation. He looks at me, and for amoment I think he's going to say something, going to make one last attempt to convince me to come with him.
"You're making a mistake," he says quietly. "Romeo is going to destroy you. And when he does, don't come crying to me."
"I won't." My voice is steady now, and I meet his eyes without flinching. "Goodbye, Thad."
He leaves. The door closes behind him, and the silence that follows is so complete that I can hear my own heartbeat. And then my legs give out. I end up sitting on the floor, and Giulia sits down next to me, her arm around my shoulders. I'm shaking so hard I can't stop.
"You're okay," she says, over and over. "You're safe. He's gone. You're okay."
But I'm not okay. I'm terrified and exhausted and so angry I can barely see straight.
Luca crouches down in front of me, and his expression is gentle. "Romeo's being released in a few hours. The lawyers got the charges dismissed. He'll be here soon."
The relief that floods through me is so intense it's almost painful. "He's okay?"
"He's fine. Pissed off, but fine." Luca stands up and gestures to his men. "We're going to stay until he gets here. Make sure Whitmore doesn't try anything else."
I nod, not trusting my voice, and Giulia helps me up off the floor and guides me to the couch. She makes tea that I don't drink, and she talks to Luca in a low voice about security and contingency plans. I sit there in a daze, trying to process everything that just happened.
Romeo arrives three hours later. The door to the penthouse opens so sharply it bangs into the wall behind it, and the look on his face is a tangle of relief and rage and fear all mixed together. It makes him look almost feral.
