Chapter 8
604 Words
Arielle
Selene looked exactly like trouble.
Not loud trouble. Not messy trouble.
The kind that smiled while cutting your throat and made you thank her for it.
“So,” she said, eyes lingering on me like she was cataloging weaknesses, “this is the girl who made you break protocol.”
“I didn’t break anything,” Dante replied coolly.
She laughed. “You brought a liability into a safe house. That’s breaking something.”
I straightened. “I’m standing right here.”
Selene’s smile widened. “Good. Saves time.”
Dante stepped between us without thinking, his body blocking hers from mine in a way that felt… instinctive.
Possessive.
And that made my chest do something stupid.
“She’s not a topic,” he said sharply. “Say what you came to say.”
Selene raised a brow. “Relax. I’m not here to hurt her.”
I didn’t believe that for a second.
“I’m here to warn you,” she continued. “Your enemies are getting impatient. Moving her tonight was predictable.”
“They didn’t get close,” Dante said.
“No,” Selene agreed. “Because they wanted to see how far you’d go.”
My stomach twisted.
“Congratulations,” she added lightly. “You showed your hand.”
I looked at Dante. “Is that true?”
His jaw tightened. “Not now.”
Selene chuckled. “Always protecting. That’s your weakness.”
She turned to me. “You know he has a pattern, right?”
Dante snapped, “Enough.”
“What pattern?” I demanded.
Selene’s gaze softened—fake sympathy wrapped in sharp edges. “Women in danger. Women he feels responsible for. He rescues them.”
I felt heat crawl up my spine. “I’m not some charity case.”
“No,” she said. “You’re worse. You’re personal.”
The room went still.
Dante’s silence felt louder than shouting.
“Get out,” he told her coldly.
Selene held up her hands. “I’m just saying—don’t confuse protection with love. He’s very good at blurring those lines.”
She walked past me, pausing just long enough to whisper, “Ask him what happened the last time he crossed them.”
Then she was gone.
The door clicked shut.
I turned to Dante, heart pounding. “Is she lying?”
“No,” he said. “She’s provoking.”
“About what?”
He didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
“I need air,” I said, pushing past him.
He grabbed my wrist gently. “Arielle—”
I pulled away. “Don’t.”
I walked down the hallway, not caring where I went, just needing distance. My thoughts spiraled. Was I just another responsibility? Another problem he felt obligated to manage?
I stopped when I heard voices.
Dante’s.
And Selene’s—through a door that wasn’t fully closed.
“I told you bringing her in would complicate things,” Selene said.
“She was already in danger.”
“And now she’s leverage,” Selene shot back. “If this goes public, everything we buried comes back up.”
A pause.
Then Dante said quietly, “I’ll handle it.”
Handle it.
Like I was a situation.
A problem.
Something to manage.
Selene sighed. “Just don’t forget—feelings are liabilities. And she’s already one.”
I backed away slowly, heart cracking with every step.
By the time Dante found me, my decision was already forming.
Whatever this was between us…
I couldn’t afford to be his weakness.
Even if walking away hurt worse than staying.
- Writer
