Safe Between Monsters

CHAPTER 11

WINTER POV

Sleep didn’t come easy.

Even when my body was exhausted… my mind wouldn’t shut off.

Marcus’s message.

My reply.

Dante’s voice.

We dismantle him.

The words replayed over and over until sometime before dawn, I must’ve drifted off—because when I opened my eyes again, sunlight was already creeping through the curtains.

And voices…

Low.

Focused.

Dangerous.

I sat up slowly.

My body ached from yesterday’s training, from the fight, from everything. But underneath that ache… there was something else.

Readiness.

I stepped out of my room.

The hallway was quiet, but the voices were clearer now—coming from downstairs.

I followed them.

The living room had been transformed overnight.

Tables covered in laptops.

Screens lit with maps.

Camera feeds.

Names.

Photos.

It looked less like a home… and more like a command center.

And in the middle of it—

Dante.

Kai.

Luca.

They didn’t notice me at first.

Dante stood over one of the tables, sleeves rolled up again, jaw tight as he studied something on the screen.

Kai leaned against the edge, flipping a knife lazily in his hand like this was just another day.

Luca sat with a laptop open, typing quickly, his usual softness replaced with sharp focus.

“…he’s moving money,” Luca was saying. “Large transfers. Offshore accounts.”

“Running?” Kai asked.

“No,” Dante said. “Repositioning.”

Luca nodded. “He’s preparing for pressure.”

“Good,” Kai muttered. “Let him.”

I stepped closer.

“What’s going on?”

All three of them looked up at the same time.

And just like that—

The room shifted.

Not softer.

Just… aware.

Dante’s gaze swept over me quickly. “You should still be resting.”

“I’ve rested enough.”

Kai smirked slightly. “Yeah, she doesn’t seem like the resting type.”

I ignored him.

“What is all this?” I asked, gesturing to the screens.

Dante didn’t answer immediately.

Luca did.

“We’re building Marcus’s world,” he said. “So we can break it.”

My chest tightened.

“How much do you know already?”

“Enough to hurt him,” Kai said.

“Not enough to finish it,” Dante added.

I stepped closer to the table.

There were photos.

Marcus at events.

Marcus with business partners.

Marcus smiling.

Like a normal person.

It made my skin crawl.

“He’s not careful,” I said quietly.

Dante glanced at me. “Explain.”

I pointed at one of the images. “He likes control. Which means he likes being seen as perfect. He won’t disappear completely—he’ll maintain appearances.”

Luca’s fingers paused over the keyboard.

“That tracks,” he murmured.

“He’ll keep routines,” I continued, my voice steadier now. “Same places. Same people. He doesn’t trust easily, so his circle will be small.”

Kai tilted his head slightly, watching me.

“Look at you,” he said. “Profiling.”

I didn’t smile.

“I had to,” I said. “It was the only way to survive him.”

Silence.

Then—

Dante nodded once.

“Keep going.”

Minutes blurred together.

Maybe hours.

I didn’t notice.

I stood there with them, going through everything I could remember.

Habits.

Triggers.

Patterns.

Weaknesses.

Things I never thought I’d say out loud.

But here… it felt different.

Like I wasn’t reliving it.

I was using it.

Weaponizing it.

“That’s it,” Luca said finally, leaning back slightly. “That’s the pattern.”

Dante studied the screen.

Then—

“He’ll go here next,” he said.

Kai leaned over. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Dante’s eyes flicked to me.

“Because she is.”

My breath caught slightly.

Not fragile.

Not broken.

Useful.

Trusted.

Something warm—and dangerous—settled in my chest.

“Then we move tonight,” Kai said.

My stomach dropped. “Tonight?”

Dante nodded. “We apply pressure before he stabilizes.”

“You mean… you go after him.”

“Yes.”

My hands curled slightly at my sides. “I’m coming.”

“No.”

The word came from all three of them at once.

I blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not ready for that,” Dante said.

“There it is again,” I snapped. “Not ready.”

Kai stepped closer, expression serious now. “This isn’t training, Winter. This is real.”

“That was real yesterday,” I shot back.

“And you survived because we were there,” Luca said gently.

“I can still be there.”

“No,” Dante said firmly.

Anger flared.

“I helped you build this,” I said. “I gave you everything I know—”

“And that’s exactly why you’re not coming,” he cut in.

I froze.

“What?”

Dante stepped closer.

His voice dropped.

“Because you’re the reason this matters.”

My breath caught.

“And if something goes wrong,” he continued, “you’re the one Marcus will go for first.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Not against him,” Dante said.

The words hit harder than they should’ve.

I looked away.

My chest tight.

“I’m not asking,” he added.

I laughed bitterly. “Of course you’re not.”

“Winter—” Luca started.

“No,” I said, stepping back. “I get it.”

Kai’s jaw tightened slightly. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Shut down.”

“I’m not shutting down,” I snapped. “I’m just… adjusting to the fact that I’m only useful when I’m giving you information.”

“That’s not true,” Luca said immediately.

“Feels like it.”

Silence.

Then—

“You’re not coming tonight,” Dante said again, quieter this time.

Final.

I swallowed hard.

“Fine.”

The word tasted like defeat.

Hours later…

The house felt emptier.

Even with security everywhere.

Even with the noise.

Because I knew.

They were leaving.

And I wasn’t going with them.

I stood by the window, watching as the sun dipped lower in the sky.

My reflection stared back at me.

Not the same girl who arrived here.

Not the same girl who ran.

But not… fully something else yet either.

A knock came at my door.

“Come in,” I said.

Luca stepped inside.

Of course it was him.

It was always him when things felt like this.

“You’re upset,” he said softly.

“No,” I replied automatically.

He raised an eyebrow.

I sighed. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“A little,” he repeated, amused.

I sat on the edge of my bed.

“I just… hate feeling like I’m being left behind.”

“You’re not being left behind.”

“Then what is this?”

Luca stepped closer.

Careful.

Measured.

“This is us making sure you’re still here when we come back.”

My throat tightened.

“That’s not fair.”

“No,” he agreed quietly. “It’s not.”

Silence.

Then—

“But it’s necessary.”

I looked up at him.

“And what if something happens to you?” I asked.

His expression softened slightly.

“Then you survive,” he said.

“I don’t want to just survive anymore.”

The words came out before I could stop them.

Luca stilled.

Something flickered in his eyes.

“Then don’t,” he said.

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means…” He hesitated.

Then stepped closer.

Closer than before.

“You stop thinking like someone who’s running.”

My breath caught.

“And start thinking like someone who fights back.”

My heart was pounding again.

Not fear.

Something else.

“And how do I do that?” I asked quietly.

Luca’s gaze dropped briefly to my lips.

Then back to my eyes.

“You already are.”

The space between us felt too small.

Too charged.

Too—

A knock cut through the moment.

“Time,” Dante’s voice.

Luca stepped back instantly.

The air snapped.

Gone.

Just like that.

They were leaving.

Kai grabbed his jacket.

Luca checked his phone.

Dante stood near the door.

Ready.

Always ready.

I stayed a few steps back.

Not part of it.

Not really.

Dante looked at me.

“Stay inside,” he said.

I nodded.

This time…

I didn’t argue.

Kai walked past me, pausing just long enough to murmur, “Don’t miss me too much.”

I rolled my eyes. “Go do your thing.”

He grinned.

Luca lingered for a second.

“You’ll be okay,” he said softly.

“I know.”

A pause.

Then he left.

And finally—

Dante.

He stepped closer.

Not touching.

But close enough.

“Lock your door tonight,” he said.

“I always do.”

His gaze lingered on my face.

Searching.

Then—

“We’ll finish this.”

My chest tightened.

“Be careful,” I said before I could stop myself.

Something shifted in his expression.

Small.

But real.

“I always am.”

Then he turned—

And walked out.

The house went quiet.

Too quiet.

I stood there for a long moment.

Then slowly…

I turned.

And walked back to my room.

Alone.

For now.

But something told me—

That wouldn’t last long.