BOUND TO THE BLOODLINE

THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS

Amina didn’t remember falling asleep.

One moment she was curled tightly on the narrow leather seat of the back-up SUV, arms wrapped around herself as the night wind seeped through the cracked window. The next, the vehicle jolted to a stop, and her eyes flew open.

They were no longer on campus roads.

Tall warehouses surrounded them, dim streetlights flickering like they were tired of shining. The air smelled of salt and cold metal, and far ahead, she could hear water hitting stone. A port.

Her throat tightened.

What am I doing here? Why am I even in this car?

The passenger door opened sharply.

“Out,” the man from earlier said—Andrei, Luca’s second-in-command. His face was blank, professional, unreadable.

Amina hugged her backpack instinctively before stepping down onto the gravel. The sound of her shoes felt too loud in the silence.

“Where are we?” she whispered.

“Safe,” Andrei answered, which did nothing to ease her tension.

He led her toward a metal door built into the side of one warehouse. Amina hesitated, her breath fogging in the cold air.

And then she saw him.

Luca Rossi.

He stood under a single hanging lightbulb, shadows slicing across his face. Every inch of him radiated power—the still, controlled kind that said he didn’t need to raise his voice to be dangerous.

His grey eyes lifted when she entered.

They landed on her.

Stayed.

Assessed.

Amina swallowed hard. Her heart was hammering so loudly she feared the entire room could hear it.

“This is her?” Luca asked without looking away.

“Yes, boss,” Andrei replied.

Amina bristled. “Her has a name.”

Luca’s head tilted slightly, like he wasn’t used to being corrected.

“And you are?” he asked.

“Amina Lawson.”

Silence stretched. Not hostile. Not warm. Just… heavy.

Then Luca nodded once. “Sit.”

There was only one chair in the room—a metal one, cold and uncomfortable. Amina sat anyway, placing her backpack in her lap like a shield.

Luca took a step closer. She realized two things at once:

1. He was taller than she expected.

2. His presence filled the room like a quiet storm.

“Someone followed you,” he said calmly. “Someone dangerous.”

Her breath caught. “You mean—the man who grabbed me earlier?”

Luca’s jaw clenched. “Matteo Varo. He works with a family that has been trying to undermine mine for years. Tonight, he crossed a line.”

Amina felt cold spread through her bones.

She wasn’t supposed to be here.

She wasn’t supposed to be involved in any of this.

“I don’t even know you,” she said, voice trembling. “Why would anyone target me?”

Luca didn’t answer immediately. His gaze shifted—calculating, conflicted. Like there was something he wasn’t saying.

Andrei cleared his throat. “Boss, the file—”

“Later,” Luca cut in without breaking eye contact.

Amina clutched her backpack tighter. “I just want to go home.”

“You can’t,” Luca said.

Her heart dropped. “What do you mean, I can’t?”

“You were seen with me,” he replied. “Matteo won’t stop. If you walk out there alone, he’ll take you within an hour. And I don’t allow threats wandering around freely.”

She blinked at him. “So I’m… what? A prisoner?”

Luca’s expression softened just a fraction—barely a shift, but enough for her to notice.

“No,” he said. “You’re under my protection.”

It sounded like a promise.

It felt like an order.

Amina stood abruptly. “I don’t want your protection. I want my life back.”

Luca stepped forward. She stepped back—only to hit the edge of the chair.

He leaned down just slightly—not intimidating, but impossible to ignore. His voice dropped to something low and unshakably calm.

“You’ll get your life back,” he said. “But right now, you stay alive. Which means staying with me.”

Her breath hitched.

For the first time, Luca dropped his gaze—not out of weakness, but as if something pained him.

“You were never supposed to be part of this,” he said quietly. “But now you are.”

Amina didn’t know what to say.

Her world—her safe, predictable world—was gone. And standing in front of her was a man who could destroy or save her with a single decision.

She didn’t want to trust him.

But when those grey eyes lifted back to hers, steady and unwavering…

she wasn’t sure she had a choice.