Elio paused at the door. Looked back at me.
"I want you to be smart enough to survive this. To understand what you've walked into and navigate it successfully." His voice was carefully neutral. "Because if you're not, you'll get hurt. And I don't want that."
He left before I could respond.
I sat on the bed and tried to calm my racing heart. Tried to make sense of the warmth spreading through my chest at his words.
I don't want that.
Such simple words. But the way he'd said them—like they'd been pulled from somewhere deep and honest—made them feel like more.
Made them feel like they mattered.
I lay down and stared at the ceiling and thought about Elio Marino's almost-smile. About the way his hand had moved toward me then pulled back. About the careful distance he maintained even when we stood close enough to touch.
I'd come to Inferno looking for sanctuary. For safety. For escape from a life I couldn't control.
I hadn't expected to find someone who looked at me and saw danger instead of weakness.
Hadn't expected to want someone who was so completely wrong for me in every possible way.
Hadn't expected to lie awake at night cataloging the way Elio moved. The intelligence in his eyes. The careful way he never touched me even accidentally.
Like he was afraid of what might happen if he did.
Like maybe he felt this pull too and was fighting it just as hard as I was starting to.
This was dangerous. Stupid. The worst possible complication in a situation already complicated enough.
But I couldn't stop thinking about that almost-smile.
Couldn't stop wanting to see it again.
Couldn't stop wondering what it would take to make Elio Marino's control finally crack.
CHAPTER 4: ELIO
I WAS TRYINGvery hard not to notice how attractive Julian was.
The kid was twenty-one. Fourteen years younger than me. Fresh out of college and completely inexperienced in every way that mattered. Everything about the situation screamed inappropriate.
But Julian was also brilliant and observant and responded to my presence in ways he was clearly trying to hide.
I saw the way he watched me when he thought I wasn't looking. The way his breath caught when I got too close while showing him the security systems. The way he blushed when our eyes met for too long across the dinner table.
I told myself it didn't matter.
Julian was under my protection. That meant hands off. No exceptions. I had a job to do and personal interest couldn't interfere with security.
I'd spent my entire adult life perfecting control. Discipline. Order. Everything in its place. Everyone at a safe distance. Emotions were inefficiencies I couldn't afford.
Julian Bianchi was threatening that control in ways I didn't want to examine.
So I focused on work instead.
***
Sandro and Luca were waiting in the main conference room when I brought Julian down at noon. The room was designed for intimidation—dark wood, leather chairs, floor-to-ceilingwindows overlooking the club dancefloor below. A power space where deals got made and lives got changed.
