“Then I walk away,” she said as though it would be easy to do. She had already walked away from her family to marry Luca. Having to say goodbye to her father was something that she didn’t want to have to do, but she would.
“And if there is something worth holding onto?” he pressed.
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “There won’t be,” she whispered.
“You don’t know that,” he said. “Maybe he’s not in on this.”
“I know him,” she breathed. “Or I thought I did.” That was the truth—ugly, raw, and unavoidable.
Luca exhaled slowly. He was weighing the risks and going through every outcome in his head. “You don’t go alone,” he finally said.
Relief hit too fast, and she hated that. “I didn’t expect to go alone to see him.”
“You don’t talk to him without me there,” he continued.
Her jaw tightened. “That’s not?—”
“It is,” he said, cutting her off. “You don’t get to change our rules, honey. It’s my way or the highway.” God, she hated when he acted like a smug son-of-a-bitch. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have a deal, but this was important. She needed to hear her father tell her the truth, even if it was going to gut her.
She wanted to argue with him, but she knew that he wasn’t wrong. “Fine.” That one word seemed to surprise him. She saw it in his eyes.
“What happens if I decide that this is a horrible idea and say no again?” he asked.
Her answer came immediately. “Then, I go anyway.”
“Yeah,” he muttered under his breath. She was giving him an ultimatum, and she knew that Luca didn’t like those, but she had no choice. Isabella knew how to play with fire and not get burned.
Luca stepped closer, his hand coming up to her jaw, holding her still—not rough, just enough to make sure she didn’t look away. “You stay next to me,” he said quietly. “The entire time.”
“I will,” she promised.
“You don’t react, no matter what he tells you,” he said.
That almost made her laugh. “Don’t react?” she asked.
“Yes, you keep it together,” he insisted. Her pulse felt as though it was racing. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t get to tell her how to react to her father, or anyone else, but that wasn’t going to get her in to see her father. For now, she had to play by her new husband’s rules, even if she hated them.
“I will,” she agreed.
“If I say we leave, then we leave,” he said. She hesitated, just for a second, and it was almost as though he could read her mind. “Isabella,” he said in warning.
Her eyes locked back onto his. “Fine.” Luca held her there for one more second, searching her face like he was making sure she meant every word that he was saying.
“Get your jacket,” he ordered. Her heart kicked in her chest, and she wasn’t sure if she was excited that she was getting her way or terrified that she was going to have to face her father.
“You’re serious?”
He gave her a look and even rolled his eyes at her. “Do I look like I’m joking?” He didn’t, but he never did.
She turned toward the door, then paused, just for a second. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
Luca didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to because this wasn’t about thanks. This was about control and making sure when she faced the truth—she didn’t face it alone.
She and Luca walked into the hospital, hand in hand, with Dante and the rest of his army waiting in the parking lot. He had come prepared to fight a damn war, but then again, he never traveled light. She was beginning to see that Luca’s world was constantly evolving, but always dangerous. He had learned how to survive, and when it came right down to it, she was happy that he had her back.
The nurse showed them back to her father's room, on the second floor. She hesitated until Luca squeezed her hand into his own, silently letting her know that he was there with her. She walked into the dim room. It was quiet—too quiet. Medical equipment hummed softly in the background. And on the bed, her father lay looking frail and so pale. She had never seen him look so helpless before. Antonio Romano was alive, but just barely.
Her chest tightened painfully as she stepped closer. He looked smaller than usual—not like the man she remembered when she saw him just months earlier. He didn’t look like the man who had controlled everything about her life until she met Luca.
