She looks at me. Looks at the phone on the floor.
"That sounded productive," she says.
I don't answer. I can't. If I open my mouth right now, I'll say something I can't take back.
Marina sets one mug on the nightstand beside me. She doesn't comment on my silence. Doesn't push. Just stands there, holding her own coffee, watching me with those blue-green eyes that see too much.
"Lorenzo's dealing with a lot right now," I finally manage.
"I heard." She takes a sip of her coffee. "Thin walls."
Fuck.
"How much did you hear?"
"Enough." Marina's expression doesn't change. "You just threatened to go on a suicide mission if they don't protect me."
I close my eyes. "Marina?—"
"Don't." Her voice is quiet. Not angry. Something worse. "Don't explain. Don't justify. Just... don't."
I open my eyes. She's still standing there. Still watching me.
"You barely know me," she says. "We've had maybe ten real conversations in our entire lives. Most of them happened while I was being held hostage by your family."
"That's not?—"
"And you're willing to die for me." She shakes her head. "That's insane. You know that, right? That's actually insane."
"Probably."
"Definitely. Drink your tea before it gets cold. And stop throwing your phone. You might need it when Lorenzo calls back to yell at you."
She gives me the phone and leaves the room.
Marina
I grab my phone and dial Sophia before I can talk myself out of it.
She answers on the second ring. "Marina? Is everything okay?"
"Put Lorenzo on the phone."
Silence. Then Sophia's voice, careful. "He's in the middle of?—"
"Sophia." I keep my voice flat. "Put me on speaker."
More silence. I hear movement, muffled voices. Then Lorenzo's voice cuts through, deeper than I remember. "Marina."
"What's going to happen?"
Lorenzo sighs. The sound carries exhaustion and something else—calculation. "There's no lead that suggests they know you exist. They're searching for Dante in hospitals. Our doctor reported someone asking questions about a man matching Dante's description at three different emergency rooms in the Denver area."
I process this. "That's the good news."
"Yes."
"And the bad?"
