Page 54 of His Ruthless Claim

"This one's my favorite." Maria points to a photo of Luca and a stunning woman with his same dark hair. They're dancing in what looks like a kitchen, flour coating their clothes. The woman - Sofia - has her head thrown back in laughter while young Luca grins up at her.

My vision blurs. I blink rapidly, but a tear escapes anyway. The happiness in these photos feels like a physical ache in my chest.

"Skye." Luca's voice cuts through the room like ice.

I startle, looking up to find him frozen in the doorway. His gaze locks onto the album in my lap, and for the first time since I've known him, his careful mask slips.

The change is subtle - a slight parting of lips, a barely perceptible tremor in his hands - but on Luca, it's like watching an earthquake. His eyes fix on his mother's face, and something raw and wounded flashes across his features before he can hide it.

"Luca-" Maria starts, but he's already turning away, his shoulders rigid with tension.

I catch his wrist before he can leave. His pulse races beneath my fingers, betraying the storm behind his controlled exterior.For a long moment, he stays perfectly still, caught between fleeing and staying.

Finally, he sinks onto the bed beside me, his thigh pressing against mine. His fingers brush the edge of the photo, hovering over his mother's smile like he's afraid to touch it. A soft expression crosses his face I've never seen before.

I'm glad Maria pulled it out of him. I'm glad they have each other.

The next morning, I find Maria in the kitchen, wrapped in one of the cashmere sweaters I'd ordered. Her curls are tamed into a neat bun, and she's already applied light makeup. The sight makes my chest warm - these small acts of self-care are victories.

"Want to come to the boutique with me today?" I pour us both coffee. "It might be good to get out of the house."

She hesitates, fingers tightening around her mug. "I don't know if-"

"Ace and Mickey will be with us." I slide her a croissant. "And I could use the company. These boys aren't exactly fashion experts."

"I heard that." Mickey appears in the doorway, his massive frame filling the space. "I have excellent taste."

"You're wearing cargo pants with dress shoes."

His mock offense pulls a quiet laugh from Maria - the sound feels like sunshine breaking through clouds.

At the boutique, Jazz and Kendra immediately adopt Maria into our circle. They don't ask about the marks on her skin or why she needs guards - I'm sure they know. Instead, they pull her into their usual banter about upcoming collections and difficult customers.

"Try this." Jazz hands Maria a silk scarf in deep burgundy. "It'll bring out the warmth in your complexion."

While Maria examines herself in the mirror, I catch Ace watching from his post by the door. His usual stoic expression softens when Maria manages a real smile.

Days turn to weeks. Maria becomes a fixture at the boutique, her natural eye for fashion making her invaluable. She helps customers find perfect pieces, arranges window displays that draw crowds, and slowly rebuilds herself in this safe space we've created.

One afternoon, I'm organizing new inventory when I hear genuine laughter - Maria's doubled over while Kendra acts out a story about a particularly demanding client. The sound makes me pause, remembering that haunted look in her eyes when I first met her.

"You've done good here." Luca's voice startles me. He's materialized beside me, watching Maria through the stockroom doorway. His hand finds my waist, pulling me against his side. "With her. With all of this."

I lean into him, breathing in his cool mint scent. "She's strong. She just needed somewhere to remember that."

His fingers trace patterns on my hip, possessive and tender at once. "You've carved out your own territory." There's something like pride in his tone. "Even my men respect it."

I turn to face him, noting how his ice blue eyes track every movement. "Is that a problem?"

"No." He catches my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "It's exactly where you belong."

26

SKYE

I'm reading through last month's invoices when I come across a weird discrepancy. I'm certain it has to be wrong, and for once, I'm glad for all the cameras I have. It takes me a minute to get logged in, but when I start to scroll through the footage, I'm surprised I can see outside my store too.

My fingers freeze on the keyboard as I try to find the date I'm looking for. The timestamp shows that day just before I moved in with Luca. I watch as the O'Malley guy that tried to attack me coming up to the boutique - twenty minutes before he grabbed me - and he's not alone. Two faces I now know well hover in the background. Bas and Mickey, wearing those expensive suits Luca insists his men wear, speaking to the O'Malley soldier in the shadows of my storefront.

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