Lina’s POV
Carlino still didn’t answer. He kept mute. I waited. Ten seconds. Fifteen.
But nothing.
A strange sound left my throat — not quite a laugh. “Okay. Good talk.”
“Lina—” he finally decided to speak.
“Don’t.” I held up a hand, but it trembled, so I curled it into a fist. “You don’t get to say my name like you didn’t just help blow up my entire life.”
The night air felt thick, hard to breathe. My chest was tight, like someone had wrapped wire around my ribs and kept twisting.
“I was trying to protect you,” he said.
“That sentence is starting to sound like a threat,” I scoffed.
His jaw flexed. He took a step forward.
I stepped back. “No. Stay there. You don’t get to be close right now.”
That stopped him.
I wiped my face with both hands, angry that I was crying at all. “Fo
