She let out a slow breath, dragging a hand through her hair as she turned fully toward him. “No, but I will be.”
Luca’s expression didn’t change. “I won’t let him get to you. I’ll take him down before that happens.”
Something cold settled in her chest. “Good,” she said.
His eyes sharpened slightly. “Good?” he repeated.
Her chin lifted. “I’d rather know what I’m dealing with rather than pretend it’s over and get blindsided.” Luca studied her for a second. Longer this time, like he was reassessing something.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “That’s not happening. Like I said, I’ve got your back now.”
She saw it clearly now. Her family wasn’t coming for her out of love. They were coming for her because she was still worth something. She was still leverage. Still currency to them. And Luca wasn’t going to let them collect.
Her chest rose slowly. “He called me a Romano,” she said.
Luca’s jaw tightened. “You’re not anymore.”
“I know.” And she did, and that was the problem. That was the line she couldn’t uncross. “I heard the way he said it,” she continued. “Like I still belonged to them.”
“You don’t.” His voice was low and certain.
She held his gaze. “I know, but they don’t.” Luca stepped closer. “And that’s why they’re going to keep coming,” she said.
“Yes,” he agreed with no hesitation. Her pulse steadied, and that was the difference now. Before, she would’ve fought him and denied the truth, and tried to find another option. But now, she just accepted it.
“Then we stop them,” she said.
Luca’s brow lifted slightly. “We?” he asked.
“Yes, we,” she said, taking a step closer. They were standing too close again, but she didn’t move and didn’t back up. Isabella kept eye contact with Luca, not letting him see how afraid she was—not for herself, but for him.
“I’m not staying out of it,” she added.
His expression hardened slightly. “You don’t get in the middle of a war like this.”
“I’m already in the middle of it. Hell, I’m the reason why this whole war is happening, Luca,” she said. She could see the minute he realized that what she had said was the truth.
She gestured toward the front of the house. “He didn’t come for you,” she said. “He came for me.” Luca didn’t deny it, because she wasn’t wrong. “I’m the reason this just escalated,” she continued. “So don’t tell me to sit upstairs and pretend I’m not part of it.”
Silence stretched between them, tight and sharp as Luca’s gaze dropped briefly to her mouth, then back to her eyes. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
Her lips pressed together. “I do,” she insisted.
“No,” he said. “You don’t.”
“I know enough,” she assured. “I know my cousin is working with the same people my father was. And I know they want me.” Her voice didn’t shake and didn’t break. “I know they’re not going to stop coming for me. She stepped even closer, closing the last of the distance between them. “And I know you’re the only reason they haven’t gotten to me yet.”
Luca’s jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t step back. He didn’t shut her down immediately, and that meant that he was listening. “At least let me help,” she said.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “With what?”
“Information,” she said. “I need a better idea of who’s involved, exactly. I grew up around them, Luca. I know how they think.”
He studied her carefully, like he was weighing the risk. Not just of her getting hurt, but of letting her in. “You’re not leaving this house,” he said finally.
She expected that from him and knew that arguing wasn’t going to help her get her way. “Fine.”
That seemed to catch him off guard just a little. “But I’m not staying behind either,” she insisted.
