UNDER LOCK AND GUARD
745 Words
Sofia
The mansion felt different after the blood.
It wasn’t quieter—if anything, security had doubled—but there was a new tension in the air, sharper and more deliberate. Guards stood closer now. Doors that had once been merely watched were now actively controlled.
And everywhere Sofia went, she felt it.
Protection.
Or surveillance.
She sat on the edge of the bed in the room that had been assigned to her—given, not chosen—twisting her fingers together as the reality of the last few hours caught up to her. The image of Alessio slumped against her, blood warm on her hands, refused to leave her mind.
She’d been handed to him as payment.
Yet she’d been the one holding him upright.
The door opened softly.
Sofia looked up instantly.
Alessio stood there, pale but upright, his side bandaged beneath a fresh shirt. He moved more carefully now, controlled in a different way—not weaker, just… aware.
“You shouldn’t be walking,” she said.
“And you shouldn’t be awake,” he replied.
He closed the door behind him, gaze never leaving her. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
“You’re hurt because of me,” she said quietly.
“No,” Alessio said immediately. “I’m hurt because someone tried to make a statement.”
She studied him. “And did they?”
His mouth curved faintly. “They failed.”
She should’ve been relieved.
Instead, a chill ran through her.
“Everyone is watching me now,” she said. “I can feel it.”
“They’re watching us,” he corrected. “That changes things.”
“How?”
“You’re no longer a background detail,” he said. “You’re visible.”
Sofia stood. “So I’m a target.”
“Yes,” he said honestly.
Her jaw tightened. “You could’ve let me leave.”
“No,” he said, sharper now. “I couldn’t.”
The admission hung between them.
⸻
Alessio
He hadn’t slept.
Pain tugged at his side with every movement, but it was nothing compared to the relentless awareness of her presence in the house. Sofia Marchetti moved through his territory like a variable he hadn’t accounted for—unpredictable, grounding, dangerous.
The attack had confirmed what he already suspected.
Someone close wanted him destabilized.
And Sofia was the easiest pressure point.
“I’ve increased security,” he said. “You’ll have guards with you at all times.”
“I don’t want a leash,” she replied coolly.
“This isn’t negotiable.”
“Everything should be,” she countered. “Including how much of my life you control.”
Her defiance sparked something dark and sharp inside him. Desire, anger, respect—it tangled together in ways he didn’t like.
“You think I enjoy this?” he asked quietly. “You think I want you locked behind walls?”
She hesitated.
“That’s not what this looks like.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “This looks like survival.”
Her eyes searched his face, as if trying to find the line between truth and threat.
“And what happens when I decide I don’t want to survive like this?” she asked.
Alessio’s jaw tightened.
“Then I’ll change the rules,” he said. “But not tonight.”
⸻
Sofia
She didn’t back away when he stopped in front of her.
She should have.
The space between them was too small, charged with things neither of them was ready to name. She could see the exhaustion in his eyes now, the strain beneath the composure.
“You’re not invincible,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“You act like you are.”
“That’s because weakness gets you killed.”
Her voice lowered. “You were weak tonight.”
Something flickered across his face—surprise, then something deeper.
“And you stayed,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She swallowed. “Because I didn’t want you to die.”
The words felt too honest once spoken.
For a moment, Alessio said nothing. Then his hand lifted—hesitated—before resting lightly on her wrist.
The contact was brief.
Deliberate.
“Get some rest,” he said. “Tomorrow, everything changes.”
As he turned to leave, Sofia realized two terrifying things at once.
She was no longer just collateral.
And she no longer wanted to be.
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