Page 22 of Entwined Lies (Entwined #1)

Isabelle

The warehouse smelled like bleach and concrete—sterile, lifeless. None of it helped. Last night was still all over me. It clung to me like a second skin.

Luca, though? He acted as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t kissed me until my legs were shaking or told me things that had me tossing in bed all night. Now, here we were, back to business as usual.

He leaned against the table, twisting the cap off a water bottle.

His sharp blue gaze was cold as he weighed Reid’s plan to plant bugs in Parker’s office during the charity gala for victims’ families.

Luca, perfectly composed in that maddening way of his, looked more like a predator calculating his next move than a man debating logistics.

Nina, standing next to Reid, glanced between us, clearly sensing the tension.

“Isabelle, your invitation is the perfect opportunity. No one will suspect anything. You can plant the bugs and get out before anyone realizes.”

I kept my face carefully neutral, even as Nina’s suggestion made my stomach turn. That damn invitation. They’d sent it right after my appointment as District Attorney, the ink barely dry on my title, like I’d want to stand shoulder to shoulder with Parker.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Luca was invited too, as a donor . A man who profited off the very violence that stole lives and broke families, standing there in a tuxedo pretending to care about victims. What a joke.

The whole event was a farce. Parker parading as the face of justice, using grieving families to polish his image, made me sick. It was insulting. Worse, it was infuriating. But Nina wasn’t wrong. The gala was the perfect cover, and Parker wouldn’t suspect a thing.

“It’s risky. Parker’s no fool. If he catches wind of this…” I started, but Luca cut me off.

“He won’t. You can handle this.”

My brows shot up. “Alone?”

Nina stepped in, her hands resting on her hips as she looked directly at me.

“Isabelle, you showing up alone makes sense. You’re the District Attorney—or you were before this marriage.

No one will question why you’re there. But showing up with Luca?

” She gestured toward him. “Sure, his crime record is squeaky clean, but let’s not pretend people don’t know who he is. ”

Before I could respond, Enzo, leaning against the wall, added with a grin, “I assume your marriage already made enough of a splash in certain circles. You two showing up together would point the spotlight on you. No doubt about that.”

My jaw clenched.

What the hell, Enzo?

I shot him a glare, but the heat behind it faltered fast. Because dammit, he wasn’t wrong. None of them were.

I exhaled hard, the knot in my chest pulling tighter with every second. I dropped the crushed paper I held like a lifeline onto the table, its torn edges screaming everything I didn’t say out loud.

“You’re serious? You want me to stroll in there, pretend I’m not about to puke from terror, and just… plant the bugs? Like nobody’s gonna notice?”

“Exactly,” Nina nodded. “The fewer distractions, the better. ”

Luca’s gaze stayed locked on mine. “It’s the smartest move. The less heat on us, the better chance you have of pulling this off.”

As much as I wanted to push back, to fight for another way, I couldn’t deny the truth staring me in the face: they were right. Their logic was cold, calculated, and airtight.

If I wanted to put an end to this whole exhausting charade, to walk away with at least a shred of my old life intact, this was the way to do it.

What’s left of it anyway , I thought bitterly. The career I’d spent years building—ruined. Not because I wasn’t good at what I did, not because I didn’t fight like hell for justice, but because of Luca. Because he forced me into this marriage.

The thought burned, sharp and bitter, as it always did. This entire situation—the lies, the headlines, the charade—wasn’t just a disruption; it was a wrecking ball that had swung straight through my carefully constructed life.

Now I found myself tied to a man I had no business trusting.

His past should’ve been a warning loud enough to drown everything else out.

I told myself I wouldn’t fall for the illusion.

That the man I saw wasn’t the man he really was.

But when he was close, when he spoke low and sure, when his hand brushed mine with too much intent, the lines blurred.

I hated that I couldn’t keep my guard up, hated the way I’d started to ignore the edges of him that should have screamed danger. It wasn’t trust—far from it. But proximity had a way of dulling the warning bells, even when I knew better.

Reid didn’t even glance up as he spoke. “I’ve hacked into their security. If there’s a hiccup, we’ll handle it before it becomes a problem.”

Nina crossed her arms. “Parker’s security is no joke, but we’ve got the plan to handle it. ”

She broke it down step by step, leaving no detail overlooked as she outlined the challenges we’d face. It was like trying to break into Fort Knox, only with worse company and fewer gold bars.

Reid pulled up a detailed map of the estate on his screen and zoomed in on key areas.

“Getting into his office unnoticed is going to be tricky, especially with all the high-profile guests. But if we time it right, there will be windows of opportunity.”

“Parker is smart,” I leaned in, my eyes scanning the plans. “He knows how to cover his tracks, but he’s also arrogant. That’s his weakness. He’ll want to be the center of attention at this event, and that’s where we’ll find our opportunity.”

Nina didn’t miss a beat, taking charge as she began assigning roles. “Reid, you handle the tech. I will blend into the crowd, keep an eye on the guests. Isabelle,” she turned to me, “you’ll slip into his office and plant the bugs. Enzo, you’ll be ready in the car for a quick exit if needed.”

“You sure I’m the right one for this?” I asked. Handling pressure was one thing. Playing spy? That was another.

“If there’s anyone they won’t suspect of pulling something like this, it’s an ex-DA,” Luca said, his voice firm, leaving no room for questions. “And I trust you can do it.”

His gaze bore into me, and all I could see was the cold, focused resolve of a mob boss with a five-step plan for world domination. It was unnerving how he could switch from the man who seemed ready to devour me whole to the calculating criminal I knew he was.

This was a mess, and to prevent this from spiraling into an even bigger catastrophe, I had to finish it. Fast. Even if it meant compromising myself further.

“Fine,” I nodded, my voice steadying with false confidence. “I’ll get into Parker’s office and place the bugs. ”

Nina handed me a tablet, the blueprints of Parker’s estate already pulled up. “Focus on the main floor, particularly his office and the surrounding rooms. If things go sideways, knowing the escape routes could be the difference between getting out clean and getting caught.”

I nodded again, already mentally mapping out my plan.

The tension in the room shifted slightly, a shared understanding passing between us. We were all chained to this now, and failure meant dragging everyone else down with me.

As I stared at the plans, the gravity of it all started sinking in.

This wasn’t just dangerous—it was a gamble so stupid it bordered on suicidal.

One wrong move and everything would crash.

But fear or no fear, quitting wasn’t an option.

Even if the whole idea felt like walking into the wolf’s den with a damn lunch box.

Still, no matter how hard I tried to push it away, one ugly thought stayed—what if I was the one who blew it?

And then Luca dropped the real bomb.

“Tony’s away for a reason. No one says a word of this to him. Nina found a photo at George’s place yesterday, and there was a guy in the background who looked a hell of a lot like Tony. Until we know where he stands, he stays out of this.”

A shiver swept through me, quickly followed by a surge of relief.

Thank God Nina was the only one from Luca’s team I’d allowed myself to trust. She’d sensed my unease yesterday, cornering me with questions in that fierce, guarded way of hers.

At first, her tone was sharp, almost accusatory, but as I laid everything out, she listened carefully.

By the end, she didn’t just accept my reasons—she seemed to understand the weight behind them and why I’d had to make certain choices.

Nina hadn’t brought up the photo, but that wasn’t a surprise.

Even though she’d agreed to keep my secrets, her loyalty was to Luca, not me.

That bond was carved from moments that went beyond words—experiences only they understood.

She spoke openly of her brief affair with him, of the time he’d saved her life, making it clear she’d go to any length for him.

And yet, in spite of all that, she’d offered me something rare: a sliver of support, a sense of protection.

Now, with someone close to Luca possibly turning against him, I couldn’t risk anyone else knowing.

Only Nina and Chrissy could be trusted with what I was protecting—and why Luca had to be kept out of it.

? ? ?

On the ride back home, Luca was tense, clearly deep in thought, and neither of us said much. But as I organized my workspace in the basement, he appeared in the doorway and finally broke the silence.

“We’ve set a trap for Tony. I need you to watch for a name in the investigation reports—the one my informant mentioned. If it shows up, it means Tony’s been leaking information straight to George.”

The weight of his words sank in, heavy and unsettling.

My pulse quickened as the implications hit me: if Tony really was the leak, this wasn’t just a matter of exposure—it could be a death sentence.

Would Luca kill him? And if I were the one to confirm it, would that make me complicit?

A chill ran down my spine, mingling with the dread I couldn’t shake.