SHADOWS AND SECRETS

Isabella's POV

Not one night since the wedding. Luca Vitale's warning kept repeating in my head, his haughty attitude as he all but assured me that I was next on his kill list. Every time I considered what he said, my heart accelerated. I was caught in a marriage I felt like a perilous game for which I lacked the skills.

Still, here I was.

I fixed my gaze on my image in the large mirror mounted on the Enzo penthouse room wall. My skin pallid against the silky cloth of my nightgown, dark circles ringed my eyelids. I seemed delicate, as if I may break with one touch. I afford to be delicate, though. not here. Not at the moment.

Days had gone since Luca's threat, and the air's tension had only gotten more intense. Enzo and his guys had been busy; the penthouse became an improvised war room, tactics murmured over maps and records I was not allowed to view.

Not yet, but I did not live in that world. Deep down, though, I knew it was just a matter of time until it sucked me in totally.

My hands quivering slightly, I moved away from the mirror and pulled on a robe, fastening it around my waist. I could not spend eternity trapped in this chamber. I had to answer him, Enzo. the guy keeping me hostage in several capacities.

Low sounds floated from the room at the end of the hall as soon as I entered the corridor. My pulse thumping in my chest, I followed the sound. The voices grew more apparent the closer I approached.

Enzo's voice, icy and abrupt, sliced over the radio, "Marco's not going to stop." "He has made it personal lately. We have to retaliate.

"You honestly believe it wise to go straight after him?” The second voice belonged to Matteo, the younger brother of Enzo. Since the wedding, he was the only person living in this house who had even slightly warmed me. Once, he had given me a brief smile—a flash of humanity in this icy, black world.

"I don't care if it's smart, Enzo snapped." "I worry about the message it delivers."

My fingers tightening on the doorframe, I stopped at the entryway. Something stopped me even though every instinct urged me to turn back and return to the protection of my chamber.

More would be interesting to hear. I had to know what I was resisting.

The door creaked as I moved forward, catching the eye of both guys. Enzo stared at me down and down, his eyes narrowing and his expression invisible.

"Isabella," he answered, his voice low. The moment is not right for this.

Bit my lip, caught between defiance and terror. "I will not spend eternity hiding in that room."

Enzo turned his black eyes. "Your fight is not this one."

"It became my fight the moment you dragged me into your world," I said, startling even myself with the clarity of my voice. Though I was not sure where the boldness came from, I would not allow him to silence me. "I am entitled to find out what is happening."

There was a little stillness, anxiety flickering around between us like electricity. Matteo peered between the two of us, his look wary yet inquisitive.

At last Enzo sighed, his shoulders somewhat relaxed. "Fine," he answered, sounding quieter this time. But claim I did not warn you.

As Matteo laid out a city map on the big table, the suspense in the room mounted. Enzo's gloomy countenance matched the lines of territory his finger followed. Feeling more like an outsider than ever, I stood on the outside of the room as they strategized their next action.

Enzo pointed to several clearly identified sites and remarked, "These are the main fronts for the Vitale family." But they are sloppily. Marco's only waiting for us to get retribution; Luca was brought here to convey a message.

"You believe this to be a trap?," With his brow wrinkled, Matteo asked.

"I don't think," Enzo said. Knowing is something.

A cold slid down my spine. Enzo understood Marco Vitale was playing a game with us. Still, Enzo saw something in his eyes—something like hunger—despite the risk. He was ready for this struggle.

And it worried me as well.

"Why don't you merely—?" I started, but before I could continue Enzo stopped me off, staring at me.

"Don't," he said forcefully. There is no negotiation here. We die or we hit first.

His comments were like a smack to the face; I cringed and naturally turned away. This world of violence and power plays where the cost was blood; I was not used to this. But just now I couldn't back down. I couldn't allow him to believe me to be merely some powerless pawn in his game.

I murmured softly, my voice almost audible, "I just want to understand." "I want to know what's going to happen."

Enzo's tone softened, only momentarily. With a quiet and under control voice, he said, "What's going to happen?" "We are going to take back control. We also want to make sure the Vitale family understands just what it means to cross us.

I sucked hard, his words weighing down on me. This transcended mere territory or authority. This revolved around survival. And I wasn't sure I was prepared for what was ahead.

I failed to fall asleep that evening. The room's shadows appeared to elongate and twist, engulfing me entirely. Every sound, every squeak of the floors had my heart pounding, like though Luca Vitale were just waiting to explode through the door right now.

Still, the man laying next to me most terrified me.

Enzo seemed to be a black cloud hovering over me even while he slept. His face relaxed in the moon's little light, his breathing was consistent. But I understood what lay under that composed front. Having seen it, The savagery. The carnage.

Still, there was another element as well. anything I couldn't really locate.

I felt a hand on my wrist as I started to float into a restless sleep. My eyes opened, my breath seized in my throat, and I turned to see Enzo staring directly at me.

Can't sleep? His voice low and harsh, he questioned.

Shaking my head, I find my voice. Tension permeated the air between us, the unsaid worry that had been gathering over the wedding like a storm cloud.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered gently, his hold on my wrist tightening just slightly. Bella, you are mine right now. And I guard what is personal.

Though it was not only terror running through me, his words shivered down my spine. I didn't want to confess anything else, something worse.

The sound of feet reverberated down the corridor before I could reply. As Enzo sat up, his body tensed and his hold on my wrist tightened much further.

He murmured, his voice crisp and forceful, "Stay here."

I watched as he took the revolver from the nightstand, his motions quiet and deliberate as he slid off bed. Watching him vanish into the darkness, my heart thumping in my chest.

Moments later, I heard voices—low, anxious murmurs I couldn't quite identify. Though I wanted to be motionless and believe Enzo could manage whatever was occurring, fear shot through me.

Then the door cracked open, and Enzo emerged, grimacing on his face.

His voice tight, he replied, "We have to leave." "NOW."

Enzo's fingers tightly gripped mine as we raced down the dark apartment hall. Shouts, footsteps, the clear sound of a gun fired—I could hear the disturbance behind us.

"Where are we going??" I gasped, trying to match his lengthy steps.

"There's been a breach," Enzo said, his voice taut with rage. " Someone made it past security. We have to go before they locate us.

As we came to a secret door at the end of the corridor, my pulse raced; Enzo throwing it open drew me inside. We went down a little staircase; the air grew colder and more subdued the further down we traveled.

I was barely keeping up with events. Whose apartment had been broken into? Was it men under Marco's command? luca? Before we went down the steps and emerged into an underground garage, I had little time to question.

We were waiting for a sleek black automobile with a running engine already. Enzo opened the door for me; his face was hard as he waved for me to enter.

"Go," he said right away as I took seat.

The driver needs no second instruction. The city lights blurring as we rushed through the streets, we shot out into the darkness.

I felt somewhat afraid for the first time since the wedding. Whatever was occurring, it was beyond my wildest expectations. And I wasn't sure whether I was ready for what was ahead.

Enzo's phone chimed as we raced across the dark, tiny lanes, the screen illuminating Luca Vitale, which made my pulse stop cold. Enzo answered after his jaw tightened as he briefly fixed the screen.

Luca's voice hissed across the speaker, arrogant and sloppily venomous. "You didn't really think you could run, did you?"

The automobile was left in a terrible quiet when the line went dead. Enzo's eyes moved to mine, and for the first time I saw something in his look that worried me even more than the peril we were in—uncertainty.

Under his breath, he said, "We're not safe," clutching the steering wheel closer. "They are on their way for us."

And the car turned sharply as I opened my lips to ask what he meant. As headlights showed up in the rearview mirror, rapidly descending on us, the sound of screaming tires filled the air.