RULES OF PROTECTION
786 Words
Amina barely slept.
The room Luca had put her in was too quiet, too clean, too unfamiliar. The bed was large and soft, but it felt like a stranger’s kindness—something she wasn’t sure she deserved or trusted. Every sound outside the door made her flinch.
Morning arrived without sunlight.
The windows were thick, reinforced glass, letting in only a dull grey glow. Amina sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her phone. Still no signal. No messages from Zara. No missed calls.
Her chest tightened.
I’m really here, she thought. In a mafia safehouse.
A soft knock sounded.
She tensed. “Yes?”
The door opened slowly, and Luca stepped in.
He wasn’t wearing a suit today. Instead, he had on a plain black T-shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing strong forearms marked with faint scars. He looked less like a mafia heir and more like a man who knew exactly how dangerous he was.
“You’re awake,” he said.
“Was I allowed not to be?” Amina replied.
A corner of his mouth twitched. “You don’t need permission to sleep.”
She crossed her arms. “Good to know.”
Luca glanced around the room, as if mentally checking security. “We need to talk.”
Amina exhaled sharply. “About when I get to leave?”
“About how you stay alive.”
She didn’t sit back down. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“I know.”
The word surprised her. He said it simply, without argument.
Luca leaned against the desk, arms folded. “This place is secure. No one comes in without my approval. No one leaves without my approval either.”
Her heart skipped. “So I am a prisoner.”
“No,” he said firmly. “You’re a responsibility.”
She hated how that made her feel—small, owned.
“I have classes,” she said. “A job interview next week. A life.”
“And you’ll return to it,” Luca replied. “But not until Matteo believes you’re unreachable.”
Amina swallowed. “And how long will that take?”
“Days,” he said after a pause. “Maybe weeks.”
Weeks.
Her knees felt weak. She sat down hard on the edge of the bed.
Luca noticed. His expression softened—again, that barely-there crack in the armor.
“I’ve assigned guards,” he continued. “You’ll stay in this wing. Meals will be brought to you. You can walk the courtyard, but only with an escort.”
“I’m not a criminal,” she snapped.
“No,” he agreed. “You’re collateral.”
The word stung more than she expected.
She looked up at him. “Do you ever hear yourself?”
His eyes darkened. “I hear the truth.”
Silence fell between them.
Then Amina straightened. “If I’m staying, I have rules too.”
That caught his attention.
“Go on,” Luca said.
“No lying to me,” she said firmly. “No touching without permission. And no decisions about my life without telling me first.”
Luca studied her like she was a puzzle he hadn’t expected.
“You’re brave,” he said finally.
“I’m terrified,” she corrected. “I just refuse to act like it.”
A pause.
“Fine,” Luca said. “Agreed.”
She blinked. “That was easy.”
“It wasn’t,” he replied quietly. “I just choose my battles.”
Amina hesitated before asking the question burning in her chest. “Why did you really save me?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because Matteo killing you would start a war,” he said. “And because…” He stopped.
“Because what?”
“Because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he finished.
She knew that wasn’t the whole truth.
Luca turned toward the door. “Rest today. Tomorrow, we talk about what you saw.”
Her stomach dropped. “You’re going to make me relive it?”
“I need details,” he said. “And I need your honesty.”
She nodded slowly.
At the door, he paused. “Amina.”
“Yes?”
“If anyone here makes you uncomfortable,” he said, “you tell me.”
There was no threat in his voice—only certainty.
The door closed behind him.
Amina sank back onto the bed, heart racing.
She was trapped in a world of shadows and rules she didn’t understand…
protected by a man who terrified her just as much as he intrigued her.
And somehow, she knew this was only the beginning.
- Writer
