Mine to Protect
707 Words
The tension didn’t fade.
It settled.
Under Elena’s skin.
In the air around them.
In the way Alessandro looked at her now—like something had shifted, something he wasn’t willing to undo.
And that made everything more dangerous.
---
“You should eat.”
Elena glanced up at the voice.
It wasn’t him.
A man stood a few feet away, holding a tray—mid-thirties, calm expression, dressed like the others but less rigid.
Less intimidating.
“I’m Marco,” he added when she didn’t respond. “I handle security on the east side.”
She hesitated before answering.
“Elena.”
“I know,” he said with a small, almost friendly smile.
That caught her off guard.
Of course he knew.
Everyone here probably did.
He set the tray down carefully.
“You haven’t eaten all day.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
Marco studied her for a second, then leaned slightly against the table, lowering his voice.
“You should be,” he said. “Things aren’t exactly calm right now.”
Her stomach tightened.
“I noticed.”
A faint smile.
“Then you also know staying strong is a good idea.”
There was something different about him.
Something… normal.
It made her guard slip just a little.
“What happens now?” she asked.
His expression shifted slightly.
“Depends on him.”
Her chest tightened.
Everything seemed to come back to Alessandro.
Before she could respond—
the door opened.
The shift in the room was immediate.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Elena didn’t need to turn to know he was there.
But she did anyway.
Alessandro stood in the doorway, his gaze already locked onto her.
Then—
it shifted.
To Marco.
And just like that—
the temperature in the room dropped.
“Leave,” Alessandro said.
The word was quiet.
Controlled.
But absolute.
Marco straightened instantly.
“Of course.”
He didn’t argue.
Didn’t hesitate.
But as he moved past Elena, he gave her a quick glance—something almost reassuring.
That didn’t go unnoticed.
Because Alessandro saw it.
And the moment the door closed—
the tension snapped.
“You seem comfortable,” Alessandro said.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Elena crossed her arms slightly.
“He was just being decent.”
A slow step forward.
“He was looking at you.”
Her breath caught.
“So?”
Another step.
Closer.
“People don’t look at what’s mine.”
There it was.
That word again.
Mine.
It hit differently now.
Stronger.
More personal.
“I’m not yours,” she said, though her voice wasn’t as steady as she wanted it to be.
His gaze darkened.
“Then why are you still here?”
The question landed hard.
Too hard.
Elena hesitated.
And that was all it took.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
He always noticed.
“That’s what I thought,” he said quietly.
Her chest tightened.
“You don’t get to twist things like that.”
“I don’t have to,” he replied. “You’re doing it yourself.”
Silence stretched between them.
But this time—
it wasn’t just tension.
It was something deeper.
Something harder to fight.
“You scared him,” she said suddenly.
Alessandro’s brow lowered slightly.
“Marco.”
“He wasn’t scared,” he said.
“He was careful.”
“That’s the same thing,” she shot back.
A pause.
Then—
something unexpected happened.
Alessandro exhaled.
Slow.
Controlled.
Like he was holding something in—and deciding whether to let it out.
“Fear keeps people alive,” he said.
The words weren’t cold this time.
They were… honest.
Elena studied him.
“That’s how you live?” she asked quietly.
His gaze met hers.
“Yes.”
Something in her chest tightened again.
“That’s not living,” she said.
“It is in my world.”
A beat.
“And now it’s yours too.”
She shook her head slightly.
“No.”
But the word felt weaker now.
Less certain.
Because part of her—
a part she didn’t want to face—
was already adapting.
Already staying.
“Why?” she asked suddenly.
The question caught him off guard.
His
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