“I didn’t agree to it,” she spat.
Luca took a step closer, slow and deliberate. “That wasn’t a request. Your agreement isn’t necessary.” Her lips parted—ready to argue, to push, to test him again, but she didn’t get the chance.
“Dante,” Dante was behind him in seconds, already scanning the street, and reading the tension in Luca’s posture.
“Boss,” Dante said, waiting for his orders.
“I want two cars,” Luca said, his voice even. “One in front and one behind. No stops and no deviations.”
Dante’s gaze flicked briefly to Isabella, then back to Luca. “Where’s she going?”
Luca didn’t hesitate. “My house.”
Isabella’s head snapped toward him. “Absolutely not.”
He didn’t even look at her. “Make it happen,” he said to Dante. He nodded, and Luca knew that he could count on his second in command to ask no questions. He didn’t hesitate. He turned and moved, already pulling his phone out. That was how Luca’s world worked. Orders were given and followed. There was no debate, ever. His word was law.
“Luca,” Isabella snapped. He looked at her, and she sighed as though relieved to have his attention. “You don’t get to tell me where I go,” she said.
His expression didn’t change. “Tonight, I do.”
“I have my own place,” she insisted.
“And now they know where to find you,” he pointed out. That shut her up for half a second, but no longer.
“They already tried,” she shot back. “I handled it.”
Luca’s eyes darkened. “You didn’t handle anything,” he said, voice dropping. “You got lucky that I came along.”
Her chin lifted higher. “I don’t believe in luck.”
“Then start believing in consequences,” he growled.
Silence snapped tight between them. He was fine with that because he wanted her to understand that the danger that hadjust found her wasn’t going away. That’s not how family business worked. But she still didn’t seem to get it, not really.
Luca stepped closer again, close enough that there was no ignoring him, no stepping around him without making a choice to flat-out disobey him. From the look in her eyes, that was exactly what she wanted to do.
“They didn’t grab you because I walked out that door,” he said, quieter now—but no less lethal. “That’s the only reason you’re still standing here.” Her breath hitched—barely noticeable, but he caught it. “They’ll try again,” he continued. “And next time, you won’t be standing in front of my club with half my men inside.”
Her jaw tightened. “You don’t know that.”
“I do,” he insisted. He knew the kind of men who made moves like that, and they didn’t stop at one attempt. They adapted, they escalated, and they took what they wanted. Unless someone stopped them, and Luca didn’t lose what was his—or about to be his. Isabella was going to be his wife, and he was betting that those men knew that. He wouldn’t let them take her.
Dante returned, stepping into Luca’s peripheral vision. “Cars are on the way.”
“Good,” Luca said.
“Want me to double the perimeter at the house?” Dante asked.
“Yes,” Luca agreed.
Isabella exhaled sharply. “I’m not going to your house.”
Luca didn’t even glance at her this time. “Yes, you are.”
“I said no.”
“And I said yes.” Dante shifted slightly, clearly deciding this was a conversation he didn’t need to be standing in the middle of. He was a smart man. He stepped back, giving them space without actually leaving.
