Page 50 of The Marriage Debt

Giorgio doesn’t need more than that. He keeps his foot down, weaving us through side streets until we hit the long, winding road back to the estate. No headlights behind us. No sound but the rain hammering the roof and Lev’s breathing under my arm. The kid stays curled against me, silent, not crying. Just holding on.

We reach the gate, security sensors pinging as we roll up. The guards open it fast—good. At least someone’s doing their job tonight.

As soon as we’re inside the garage, I open the door. “Kill the engine. Full lockdown,” I say over my shoulder, already stepping out with Lev in my arms. He tightens his grip as we cross the foyer. The house is warm, lit, untouched. Like nothing just happened. I keep walking.

Rosa appears in the hall, wiping her hands on a towel. Her eyes jump to Lev, to the shattered glass on my jacket, to the strain on my face I’m not even trying to hide.

“Señor Mateo?”

“He’s fine. Take him upstairs. To Lila.” She hurries to help, arms open at my orders.

Lev doesn’t budge at first. His fingers knot in the front of my coat.

“Hey,” I say, crouching down so when his feet touch the ground we’re at eye level. “You’re safe. They’re not coming here.” I hold him by the shoulders and his bottom lip quivers. It's the first indication that he's actually afraid.

He looks at me, eyes big and searching. “Did Bruno die like that? In a car?”

I shake my head. “No. Bruno died fast.” Then I press a hand to his face, the way I would if it were Lila, and it softens me. “And we’re not dying at all.”

He stares for a second, then nods, lets go. He walks into Rosa’s arms without a word and she picks him up. I wait until they disappear up the stairs to dust my shoulders off. Then I head straight for the basement.

The panic room was built during Anton’s days—reinforced, yes, but meant for hiding, not holding. That’s not good enough anymore. With the threat coming for my family, I need more.

Rafe joins me within minutes, already rolling his sleeves up. After that nightmare, he knows as well as I do that this fight is far from over. “We upgrading?”

“We’re fortifying.”

He cracks his neck and plants his hands on his hips. “You really think they're coming for Lila or the kid?”

“Both."

We spend the rest of the night in the basement. Rafe handles the wiring and backup systems while I focus on the structure—bolting steel plates into the doorframe, reinforcing the hinges, sealing off weak points. We install new locks, a manual override, backup oxygen tanks, rations, burner phones, flashlights. Everything we can think of. Anything to buy time if they breach the house.

No one says much. The silence between us is a kind of understanding. We’ve both been in this business too long to pretend one firefight means we’re in the clear.

By two a.m., the house is still. The storm has tapered off outside, just rain ticking softly against the windows.

I’m testing the new crossbar system on the panic room door when I hear footsteps behind me.

Lila's barefoot, wearing one of my shirts, hair tangled like she gave up trying to sleep. “You’re not coming to bed?” she asks, voice soft but laced with tension.

I don’t turn to look at her. I just finish locking the door, then gesture toward the upgraded wall.

“They’re going to try again,” I say. "They’re not going to succeed.”

She steps closer, takes in the oxygen tanks, the reinforced steel, the emergency lights.

Her arms cross. “You really think this will stop them?”

“No,” I say. “But it’ll slow them down. Long enough for you to get Lev inside and locked tight.”

She doesn’t argue.

She just nods once, then stands with me in the quiet hum of the lights. I've been on the defensive too long now, silently gathering information. But the storm is brewing, and when the first bolt of lightning hits, Bianchi won't know what hit him.

Hell hath no fury like Mateo Rossi when his family is threatened.

I grasp her hand and she doesn't pull away. It's how I know she is finally on the same page as me.

---