Page 33 of The Marriage Debt

They were sent to watch—not grab, not kill.

Observe.

Wait.

Report.

They’re coming for revenge, sadistically hunting the only people who matter in order to bleed them dry—hell, maybe in order to bleed me dry, or Serafina Varo.

We reach the estate a little after two. The gate rolls open silently. My guards are on post as I expect. I watch their hands as we pass—one resting on a holster, one on a radio. Better than last night. Not good enough. I need this all amped up. I've already pulled three dirtbags off my back lawn this week. There will be more coming. If they were brave enough to come in the middle of the day, what's stopping them from coming in the night while I sleep?

Inside, I bypass the office and head straight to the security terminal. The overnight lead is already there. I give the orders without pausing.

“Double every patrol. I want thermals live before dawn. Motion sensors should be armed now. No one enters without a face and voice check. Do you understand?”

He nods, jaw tight. “We’ll rotate short intervals. Fifteen-minute sweeps, cross-patterns around the south wall.” His fingers are already working at his keyboard in front of his rotund stomach. He may not be one for a foot race, but I know he's an excellent shot with his pistol.

“Any delays?”

“Not unless someone dies, sir.” He doesn’t look up at me as he types.

“Good.”

I update the access codes myself. Strip out every override ever installed. Anton's way was sloppy—trust too wide, loyalty assumed. Mine isn’t. I trust very few people, and they've earned it in blood. Which makes me even more on edge as I climb the stairs, realizing I have to sleep with one eye open from now on.

Upstairs, I pause outside Lev’s room. The light under the door is dim. I push it open just enough to check—he’s asleep, one arm over his head, mouth open slightly, chest rising slow and steady. I shut the door.

My bedroom is dark, the fan humming quietly overhead. Lila is still in my bed, facing the window. I know by the way she’s breathing that she’s not asleep.

I undress in silence. Belt off first, then shirt unbuttoned. I leave my gun on the dresser with the safety engaged and slide into bed beside her and lie still, close but not touching.

“What happened?” she asks after a long stretch.

I say nothing.

“You changed the patrol,” she says. “I heard you—every guard armed… You’re setting traps around the estate. That doesn’t happen for no reason.” She waits. I don’t give her what she wants. Her voice sharpens. “You made me live here. You made me marry you. You don’t get to keep me in the dark.”

I turn my head toward her.

“There’s a target on your back, Lila. You and Lev,” I say. “You know that."

She stiffens, but her voice stays calm. “From whom?”

“Bianchi muscle. Low-level. But it's not about Anton's debt. They were watching you. Waiting for orders.”

“And we’re still breathing because…?”

“Because you’re mine,” I say. “And they know it. And they don't want you dead. They want you alive. They want you alive long enough to use you.”

Her breath catches just slightly, then steadies. “So, what does that make us?”

“Collateral,” I say, flat and even. “Until I end this."

17

LILA

When I wake, Mateo's already up. The sheets next to me are still warm, pushed back like he only just stood up. I can hear the water running in the bathroom. My mouth’s dry. My body aches in places that aren’t from sleep. The word stuck in my head hasn’t left since last night.Collateral.

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