"Sweetheart," he murmured, "you won't." Her knees felt weak. It should have scared her how much that thrilled her. A sharp knock hit the front door of the penthouse. Marco's eyes flicked toward the hallway.
Instantly, the softness vanished. The air around him hardened. He straightened. "Stay here." He said.
Lisa grabbed his sleeve without thinking. ""Wait."" His gaze dropped to where her fingers curled into his shirt. For a split second, his expression changed. His eyes went darker. His jaw ticked. He took in a slow breath like he was holding something back that wanted out.
Then he gently pried her hand free and pressed her knuckles to his mouth. Not a kiss. Not exactly. Just a touch. A claim.
"Stay." He repeated, voice low. He turned and walked down the hall with slow, measured steps that told her he was already calculating a dozen outcomes. Lisa stood there, pulse racing, every nerve awake. She heard the front door open.
Muffled voices. Luca's voice first, low. ""Boss, we've got a problem."" ""Marco."" ""Tell me."" "Luca." ""Bennett went public."" "He's putting out a statement at noon." "He's telling press his daughter was assaulted." ""He named Lisa."" Her blood ran cold. "Named?" "Full name."
"Out loud." Lisa pressed a hand to her chest and felt her own heartbeat under her palm. Luca kept talking, voice tighter now. "He's calling her unstable." "He's saying she's been harassing his family for weeks."
"He's painting you like you're using her to go after a minor." Marco didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was calm, controlled, lethal. ""Okay."" He said softly. "Then we're done playing nice." Lisa swallowed hard.
Luca lowered his voice. ""You want me to leak it?"" "Leak what? Leak what?" ""Marco."" ""Not yet."" "But get everything ready. Every clip, every screenshot, every timestamp." "If Bennett wants a war in public, I'll give him a war in public." Lisa's breath hitched.
A long silence followed. She didn't hear all of what Luca said next, just words like press, social, and governor's office. Then she heard Luca ask something that made her heart slam against her ribs. ""What about the girl?"" Luca said. "You want her moved or you keeping her here?" ""Keeping her here."" Her stomach flipped. Marco didn't hesitate. ""She stays with me."" Lisa felt heat rush to her face.
Luca let out a low sound that might have been a laugh. "Boss." ""What?"" "You know what." A pause, then Luca, in a lower tone, "Just saying I've known you a long time. I've never heard you sound like this over anybody." Silence.
Lisa held her breath. When Marco finally answered, his voice had that calm steel again. "Luca." "Yeah?" "From now on," Marco said, "everyone in this building understands something very clearly.
Which is if anyone so much as looks at Lisa Smith like she's a problem instead of a priority, they don't work for me anymore." Lisa's lungs forgot how to work for a full second. Priority. He called me a priority. Her heart thudded so hard she had to brace herself on the counter.
The conversation at the door quieted. Boots moved. The lock clicked again. The silence in the penthouse dropped back down around her, heavy and private. A moment later, Marco returned to the kitchen.
He looked different now. Not physically, same rolled sleeves, same loosened tie. But there was something in his eyes that hadn't been there 20 minutes ago. It wasn't softness or warmth. It was decision.
He walked straight up to her. Close. Closer than before. Close enough that she had to tilt her chin up to meet his eyes. "Pack a small bag," he said.
Her brows pulled. "For what?" "We're going out," he said. Her stomach tightened. "Out where?"
His gaze didn't waver. "To fix this." Her mouth went dry. "Marco, I can't be seen with you in public." They're already saying I'm "That's exactly why you're coming with me, he said.
Bennett thinks he can drag your name through the mud because he thinks you're alone. You're not. "Today people learn that." Her pulse kicked hard. "Marco."
He lifted a hand. His knuckles brushed her jaw. Slow, careful, nothing demanding, just contact. Her breath caught. He looked down at her like she was already his and said quietly, "You're under me now."
That means nobody touches you. Not online, not in person, not with a rumor, not with a headline. I don't care if their father sits in an office with a flag behind his name. Her heart beat so hard it felt like it might bruise her ribs. He lowered his voice even more.
"Lisa, look at me." She was already looking. I am not letting anyone rewrite who you are, he said. Not for votes, not for money, not for a clip on some teenager's phone. Her lips parted.
"And who am I?" He didn't blink. "Mine," he said. Her breath hitched. She should have said no.
She should have told him he was insane. She should have told him she wasn't property. Instead, in a voice she almost didn't recognize as her own, she whispered, "Okay." Something dangerous flickered in his eyes then. Pride, hunger, relief, possession all tangled into one.
He exhaled slowly through his nose like that single word from her had eased something tight inside his chest. ""Good girl."" he murmured. Her knees nearly gave out. He stepped back just enough to let her breathe. "5 minutes. Bag.
Nothing complicated. Toothbrush, whatever you need. Luca's waiting downstairs." She swallowed and nodded. She turned to go, heart in her throat, body buzzing like a live wire.
Then she paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Marco?" He stopped in the doorway. "Yeah?" Her voice came out small and raw. ""Am I in danger because of you?"" His answer was instant. ""No."" he said. ""You're in danger without me."" Her stomach flipped.
"And Lisa." he added quietly. ""That ends today."" She didn't know what it meant yet. She didn't know what he was planning to do to Senator Bennett. She didn't know what it would look like to walk into the world on Marco Conti's arm. What line she was crossing. What she couldn't come back from.
But she knew one thing with absolute clarity. For the first time in her life, someone dangerous wasn't the problem. He was the protection. And if that was true, then she wasn't just some waitress anymore. She was about to become a problem for the wrong people.
A very big one. By noon the next day, Lisa's world was on fire. The video The video was everywhere. On news sites, on social media, on every phone in town. Only now, it wasn't the raw clip from the diner.
It was edited, cut, twisted, rearranged until it told a lie that fit Senator Richard Bennett's story. Lisa stared at the television in Marco's living room, her hands cold around a cup of untouched coffee. The screen showed Olivia crying, mascara smudged, voice trembling, pretending to relive the attack. Reporters nodded solemnly. The banner at the bottom of the screen read, "Senator's daughter speaks out, claims waitress and local mobster harassed her."
Lisa's stomach turned. "She's lying." she whispered. Marco stood behind the couch, his arms crossed. His face was calm, too calm. ""I know."" the reporter continued. "The senator has called for a full investigation into Marco Conti, who's been long suspected of criminal activity in the city.
He's accused of coercing the young waitress into participating in an online campaign to damage the Bennett family name." Lisa dropped the remote. ""Coercing me?"" Her voice cracked. "They're saying I'm what? Your your accomplice?" Marco didn't answer.