Page 6 of Entwined Lies (Entwined #1)

Isabelle

Running into Luca was like stepping back into a fire I thought I’d extinguished.

His piercing blue eyes that had once pinned me to his bed hadn’t changed.

But there wasn’t a hint of recognition in them.

I was just a stranger, another face in the crowd.

He’d probably forgotten me the moment the sheets cooled after I left.

I was relieved. Or I should have been. But no matter how much I wanted that to be a good thing, it still stung.

That night had changed everything. But for Luca? It was just another hookup.

I hated him. I wanted to hate him. He was the kind of man who made it easy—ruthless, calculating, dangerous. The kind of criminal who didn’t blink at the damage he left behind. Just like the man responsible for taking my father from me.

I needed him to be the bad guy. But the second I saw him, I knew it wasn’t that simple.

What I felt wasn’t just shock—it was the pull.

The same one that had made me reckless all those years ago.

It pissed me off that it was still there.

I’d worked so hard to move on, to build a life that was supposed to be untouched by him.

And in a single moment, with just one look, he had the power to make all of that fragile, like it could come crashing down if I wasn’t careful.

But the cruelest part of it all was realizing I didn’t know if the anger was for him—or for myself, for not being able to forget.

The courthouse loomed ahead, but today its familiar stone walls only made the knot in my stomach tighten. And the pounding in my head? That was his fault too.

God, what’s wrong with me? I should be over him, I thought as I reached the top of the steps.

Chrissy appeared at my side, falling into step.

“You okay?”

“Define okay. I didn’t sleep much.” I pulled my sunglasses off and rubbed my temples.

“I bet. Seeing him last night… that had to be a shock.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

I spared her the full extent of the truth.

The sleepless night. The endless replay in my head.

That his touch pulled me back to a time I’d buried deep.

That grip on my wrist—God, it was like I was 22 again, standing in his kitchen.

I could almost feel it: the way he’d pinned my hands above my head, his body pressing me against the wall as his mouth claimed mine with that reckless, consuming heat.

Back then, I’d been so oblivious to who he really was, so blind to the consequences that would follow.

I’d fought with my parents that day. “Clubbing in Palermo is too dangerous,” they’d said.

I’d always been the good girl—the one with perfect grades, a spotless reputation, and no secrets to hide.

The kind who never got grounded and always stayed within the lines.

So, my plan was simple: a couple of drinks and to get home before midnight. Just one night to feel free.

But then he came. And all my carefully laid plans dissolved.

It wasn’t about a harmless night out anymore; it was about the way he made me feel—bold, recklessly alive, like I was finally breaking free from the rules I’d always followed.

Just an insanely hot stranger I was never going to see again, I’d told myself.

And with that, I threw my common sense right out the window .

“Of all the people to run into,” Chrissy shook her head and pushed open the door.

“I know. I just didn’t expect him to still… look the same. Be the same.”

“Same, huh?”

“Exactly. He’s still the same arrogant jerk who thinks the world bends for him.”

She let out a slight laugh. “Judging by last night, it still does.”

“Yeah, well, not mine.”

My pace quickened, as if I could outrun the mess in my head.

“It’s been a long time. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I know. It’s just… too close. He’s too close.”

She gave me a sympathetic look as we approached the elevators. “You’ve stayed out of his orbit this long. You’ll manage to do it again.”

I wanted to believe her. God, I really did.

I’d spent years doing everything I could to keep him out of my life, dodging the slightest chance of crossing paths, hiding the one thing that forever linked us together—our son, Jake.

The only consequence of that reckless night that I could never regret, no matter how much I wished the rest had never happened.

But Luca? He could never know. I wouldn’t let him.

There was no room for him in Jake’s life, in the life I had built.

No room for the chaos he’d bring with him if he ever found out the truth.

The elevator dinged, and we stepped inside.

“Look, I saw how you reacted when he was around. He’s the kind of man who could make a nun reconsider her vows, but he’s not worth everything you’ve worked for. Don’t forget how hard it was to get here.”

Yeah, if anyone understood that, it was Chrissy.

We had landed jobs at the DA’s office at the same time, both eager, ambitious, ready to take on the world.

I had Jake less than seven months later, and while Chrissy was pulling late nights at the office, I was buried in diapers and exhaustion, trying to balance motherhood with a career I wasn’t willing to let go of.

But I hadn’t done it alone.

Instead of post-trial drinks, she showed up at my parents’ house with ice cream and case files, rocking Jake in one arm while strategizing at the kitchen table. She never let me feel like I was falling behind—or like I had to choose between being a mother and a damn good lawyer.

I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath as the vent’s cold air washed over me.

She was right. I just needed my body and mind to get on board.

Jake and I had a future mapped out, built on the stability of my hard-earned place at the DA’s office.

I wasn’t that naive girl anymore, the one who had fallen for the idea of the wrong man.

That version of me was gone. And I wasn’t about to let him bring her back.

The elevator chimed again, and we stepped into the hallway, the hum of courthouse life filling the air like white noise. This was my world. And no matter what happened last night, I’d keep Luca out of it.

“Busy day ahead?” she asked.

“The Parker case needs tightening up before the meeting with Michael.”

Just the thought of telling him about my past made my stomach churn.

I took a steadying breath. “And I need to make sure we’re on track for next week’s hearings.”

My thoughts had already moved to the stack of files waiting for me.

Men like Luca filled those pages—people who thought they could live above the law.

And it was my job to make sure they paid for it.

I’d spent years climbing the ranks in the DA’s office, pouring everything into bringing people like him to justice .

I owed it to my father.

After Dad died, his best friend, Daniel Callahan, who had all the right connections, didn’t push hard enough.

He could’ve done more, but he didn’t, and Dad’s case went cold.

That day, I shut Danny out of my life and made a promise—to myself, to Dad, to the universe, hell, to anyone who’d listen.

Every case I worked on, every criminal I put behind bars, was for him.

If I couldn’t get him justice, I’d damn well make sure I got it for everyone else.

I threw myself into the mountain of work in front of me—reports, case files, anything that kept my mind busy. With each hour that passed, the pull of routine dulled the edges of the thoughts I didn’t want to face.

Halfway through a report, Chrissy appeared at my office door, pale and tense.

“Izzy, hurry. Conference room. Now.”

I tossed the papers aside and followed her down the hallway.

A knot tightened in my gut as I took in the office—too still, too quiet for this time of day. And empty.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

But Chrissy didn’t answer, just kept moving, her lips pressed into a thin line, which only fueled the growing dread settling in my chest.

We reached the conference room, where the blinds hung half-closed, muting the light. Everyone was packed in, their faces pale and eyes glued to the TV mounted on the far wall; the only sound came from the news anchor’s voice.

“Reports are coming in that District Attorney Michael Harris was found dead in his home today. Authorities are treating the case as a homicide, with early indications suggesting a deliberate act of violence.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. The air was thick enough to choke on, the same grim scene playing over and over on the screen.

I turned to Chrissy, my voice barely above a whisper. “Do you think it’s Parker?”

Her eyes flicked to the screen, then back to me. “If it is, we’re in serious trouble. Especially you.”

My heart sank.

Why me? I asked myself, but I already knew the answer. I wasn’t the lead on the Parker case, but as Chief Deputy, I was neck-deep in it.

If Parker had gone after Michael, it wouldn’t be long before he turned his attention to the rest of us.

Reality hit like a punch to the gut. As the highest-ranking member left, I had a target squarely on my back. I wasn’t just another prosecutor in the background anymore—I was the one expected to keep everything from falling apart.

And now, I was the one in Parker’s crosshairs.

“What do we do now?”

“We keep going.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt. “But we have to be careful. Maybe they don’t know how involved I am yet.”

Chrissy gave a small nod, but her eyes said it all. Change was coming, whether we liked it or not.

Surrounded by my silent colleagues, a chilling thought crept in: What if I end up like my father? Lying on cold concrete, my blood pooling around me, and no one left to ask the right questions.

I couldn’t escape the feeling that safety wasn’t something I could offer Jake or myself now. So, I did what I had to. I got in touch with the feds and made sure every safeguard was in place.

They were cooperative. But the fear stayed, lingering like a shadow I couldn’t shake.