Page 10 of Entwined Lies (Entwined #1)

Isabelle

I didn’t just open the door—I pushed it so hard, it slammed back against the wall with a satisfying crack. Probably overkill. Didn’t care. I was too far gone to think about the consequences. If he was half as dangerous as everyone said, then great—let him see exactly how far past caring I was.

Luca lounged behind a massive desk, navy shirt stretched across his broad chest, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms.

He didn’t flinch. Of course, he didn’t.

Everything was upside down, shattered into a million pieces around me, and I was the idiot left trying to glue it all back together, while he just sat there—perfect, composed, and somehow even more disgustingly attractive than before—like today was no different than any other.

The way he stayed calm while I was burning alive only poured gasoline onto the rage already crackling under my skin.

His eyes caught mine, and a slow, smug smile tugged at his mouth, as if he was in on a joke I hadn’t been told.

My whole body tensed, fists itching to wipe that look clean off his face.

“What the hell is this?” I thrust my hand forward as I strolled in, the enormous diamond glinting in the morning sunshine—a rock that weighed more than my sanity. This was the hand that had written “ single” on every legal document for years, the finger that had remained blissfully bare—until now.

He looked at the ring, and something dark flickered in his eyes. Before I could think, he closed the distance, his hand wrapping around mine in one smooth move.

At first, his fingers were gentle, almost like he cared, like I could fool myself for a half second. Then his grip tightened, firm and final, like a lock clicking shut.

My pulse jumped, heat flaring across my skin under the weight of his touch.

I hated it. I hated how my body betrayed me in his presence.

“Isabelle.” My name rolled off his tongue like he’d said it a thousand times. “You’re a lawyer. A damn good one. You know exactly what a marriage license means.”

Oh, I knew. I just didn’t expect to be holding one with his name on it.

I tried to yank my hand free, but he didn’t let go, his grip firm enough to make a point without crossing the line.

Frustration bubbled inside me, swirling with panic in a cocktail from hell. My mouth opened on its own, ready to fire off the first insult that came to mind, but his small nod over my shoulder made me pause mid-breath.

I turned just in time to see Chrissy’s pale face as the guard escorted her out, her body stiff, clearly holding back the urge to fight.

Her eyes locked onto mine, and for a half-breath, I was sure she’d scream, Run!

But she didn’t.

The second I realized it was just Luca and me, my whole body decided it was a great time to panic. I snapped back, locked eyes with him, and rose to my tiptoes, trying to match his six-foot-three presence .

“What the hell are you doing? You can’t just—”

“Clearing the room. This is between us.”

I stood there, gaping, and couldn’t ignore the thought of how many lives had been altered by that exact, effortless nod.

The worst part was that I had no clue which Luca I was dealing with.

Was he the man who, for one night, made me feel like I was the only woman he ever wanted?

Or the cold, ruthless criminal who could have me taken out with a snap of his fingers?

Either way, I was screwed—because not knowing him scared me, but the idea of him wanting me enough to keep scared me even more.

One thing was crystal clear, though: I wasn’t going to play along.

If he thought I’d just fall in line, he had another thing coming.

Luca pointed at the chairs. “Sit down.”

I held the papers like a shield, even though it was useless, and met his stare head-on.

“No. Not until you explain this.”

He stared me down, but I wasn’t imagining it—there was a twitch, a tightness, something slipping underneath the cool.

“Sit!” he repeated as he sat down.

“I’m not part of your crew. I don’t take commands.”

He looked bored, kicking his feet out and nodding at the chair like I was wasting time.

“Sit down. Promise I’ll act like you terrify me. Death glare works better without the height disadvantage, anyway.”

I held my ground a moment longer, refusing to let him see how easily he’d deflated my anger with a single sentence. But he had.

Damn it.

His calm, cutting humor chipped away at my resistance and left me standing there with no real option but to swallow my pride. I huffed out a breath and dropped into the chair, crossing my legs, throwing my chin up like it mattered .

“Good girl,” he muttered, just loud enough to slice straight through me.

A rush of heat broke over me, and I was right back there—on my knees, his fingers curling into my hair, his voice rumbling low and dirty, each syllable strung together with pure, wrecked satisfaction.

I shifted, pressing my thighs together, trying to hold in the mess of reactions lighting me up from the inside.

But his gaze remained fixed on me, that glint of amusement in his eyes showing he’d caught every flicker. And then came that damn curve of his lips—he knew. He knew exactly what was racing through my head, and he was fucking loving it.

My neck went hot, my jaw snapped tight, and I fought not to come undone right there.

Still, my body refused to play along, making obvious every trace of heat he’d dragged from me.

I held his gaze, even as anger and frustration bubbled beneath the surface, leaving me exposed, vulnerable…

and furious at myself for letting him get to me.

“Explain,” I forced the demand past the embarrassment that burned at my skin.

“It was a necessary move.”

“Necessary? Trapping a random woman in a marriage was necessary? You ruin my life—my career. You can’t just destroy everything I’ve built.”

Maybe pretending we’d never met was a ridiculous move, but I had to give it a shot. At this point, anything was better than acknowledging reality.

I half-expected him to snap back, to meet my anger with something just as sharp. But no—he just tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Random woman? Is that what we’re doing now? Pretending we don’t know each other? Because I have to say, for a ‘random woman,’ you left one hell of an impression. Not many people manage that. ”

He remembers me. That much is clear. But Jake? Please, God, let him be as clueless as I was that night.

Because it took me three years after Jake was born to connect the dots.

Three years of wondering, of occasional digging, trying to figure out who his father was.

I’d replayed that night in my head, how everyone around him had seemed a little too respectful, too on edge.

Sure, he didn’t seem to be a mama’s boy, but none of it had set off alarms back then. Well, it should’ve.

The reality of who I’d slept with was like free-falling into a black hole with no bottom. Because, of course, I’d ended up in bed with the one man whose name was whispered in dark alleys and could make actual criminals shit themselves.

And now, here I was, drowning in the fallout. One reckless night, and suddenly I was staring into a world I had zero intention of joining. All I wanted was some mindless fun, not a crash course in organized crime.

I needed to get out of this. Fast. Before Luca pieced together the truth, before this nightmare swallowed Jake too.

There had to be some loophole, any way to put miles between him and me, anything to keep him far, far away.

Yet the harder I tried to find a witty response, the more my brain refused to cooperate.

So, ridiculous or not, I clung to my flimsy defense—denial.

“I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but I’m not going along with this… this marriage scam. You’ve got the wrong person.”

He chuckled and nodded at the ring. “The wrong person? I don’t toss rocks like that around for fun, and I definitely don’t go to these lengths just to slip it onto the wrong finger. Trust me, that ring—and you—are exactly where I want them.”

“People like you think you can get away with anything. But not this. I’m getting out of this marriage. I’ll have it annulled by the end of the week. Watch me. ”

“An annulment? You’re sure about that?”

“Unless you’re craving a very public legal battle, I suggest we dissolve this marriage quietly. Facing me in court is not something you want to experience firsthand.”

He leaned back, arms folding slowly, face daring me to make the next move.

“We can do this nice, or nasty. Your pick.”

“What does that even mean?” I gritted out.

He smirked. “I always play with a backup. This time, it’s a video.”

Something tightened in his voice—barely there but enough—and everything inside me screamed that it was bad.

The puzzle pieced together ugly and fast—and when it hit, it hit hard.

No. No, no, no.

Security cameras.

Of course, there were cameras. Of course, there fucking were.

Reality struck me so hard I thought I was going to puke.

All the late nights, all those years at the DA’s office, all that sweat and hustle, and this is how I go down? God, I couldn’t write a better disaster if I tried.

Luca didn’t move, didn’t even blink. Every second stretched, tight and thin, like a wire someone was just waiting to snap. Probably around my neck.

“A video?” I managed to choke out.

He let the silence draw out for maximum effect.

“Of us in the VIP. Tasteful, but explicit enough to ruin you. Imagine the headlines: ‘Appointed District Attorney in scandalous affair with Mafia boss.’ How do you think that’ll play out in court?”

My hands curled into fists in my lap, and if looks could kill, he would have been six feet under by now.

“You’re bluffing. ”

“I don’t bluff. And believe me, this video? It’s the best damn amateur porn I’ve ever seen.”

Honestly? I should’ve seen this coming the second I unzipped his pants.

“Lovely. But if I’m going to get famous for this, I’d rather be getting fucked in a courtroom. Like making a mob boss fall apart on the witness stand. That would be poetic,” I rolled my eyes.

Luca blinked, his serious expression faltering for just a second, and it hit me—I’d said that out loud.

What the hell?

My brain had apparently left the building, and my mouth was running the show now. But maybe humor was my new defense mechanism. Pretending to be clueless and threats clearly weren’t working with this man, so rolling with his twisted little game seemed like my best shot.

He held the serious look for all of three seconds before that cocky smile slipped out. “You’re full of surprises, you know that?”

“Good. At least you’re having a good time.”

“You really think this is a good time?”

“Honestly? I’m seriously lost here. I’m stuck in this insane mess you created, trying to guess what you want out of it.”

Luca held my gaze, his voice dangerously smooth. “I need your help.”

I blinked. Of all the things I thought would come out of his mouth—more threats, maybe some mafia-style intimidation—this wasn’t even on the radar. What kind of crime lord traps someone in a marriage because they need help? Of all the power moves, this was a weird one.

“I’m sorry, what? Me , helping you ?”

“Exactly. And trust me, this isn’t how I imagined handling things either.”