The silence in the bedroom wasn’t peaceful- it was pressure, waiting to burst.
Emilia slipped on a silk robe and turned from Rafael, but she could feel his eyes on her back. Heavy. Unrelenting.
“You think you can kill your way out of this?” she asked without looking at him.
“I think I’ve done worse for less.”
She walked to the edge of her bed, fingers curling over the frame. “Cesare wants me to panic.”
“Then don’t give him what he wants.”
“I won’t,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not already unraveling.”
Rafael stepped forward and rested a hand on the side of her waist. “Let me help.”
“You’re already helping too much.”
He tensed. “Meaning?”
“Meaning- ” She turned to face him fully, eyes wild beneath control. “- I’ve killed men for less than what you know.”
Rafael didn’t fl
