Page 69 of The Underboss's Secret Twins

Sofia doesn’t look away. Doesn’t flinch.

Because she isn’t fond of games.

And right now, she’s making it clear—she wants an answer. Straight up front.

17

MARCO

"Isee no sense in asking that question." My fingers curl around the table’s edge, the polished wood unyielding beneath my grip. A dull ache spreads through my jaw as I fight to keep my temper in check.

Morning stretches slowly over the Salvatore estate, golden light spilling through the windowpanes, thick and honeyed. It drapes itself over the kitchen, pooling in soft, molten ribbons across the marble countertops, kissing the dark wood cabinets with hues of amber and burnt sugar. Outside, the world is waking—birds stirring in the olive trees, the distant hum of an engine starting in the courtyard.

It should be a moment of beauty. But my mind isn’t in a place where it can appreciate the finer things in life.

The weight of Sofia’s stubbornness presses against my ribs like a vice.

"Because you’re not going back to that life, Sofia."

I want to give her the answer she’s looking for. I want to tell her that nothing could ever change what I feel for her. But I also want to shake her, to make her see how impossible this is. She’sasking me to let her walk into the fire while I stand back and watch.

I grip the edge of the table so hard that my knuckles turn white against the dark wood.

"Marco—"

"No," I say, my voice edged with frustration. "Absolutely not."

Sofia’s gaze doesn’t waver. "Marco?—"

"You’re not going near them again." I push away from the table, pacing, trying to smother the rage curling hot in my chest. "I won’t let you put yourself in that kind of danger."

She lets out a quiet breath, but I don’t miss the steel beneath it. "You won’tletme?"

I turn back to her, jaw tight. "That’s right."

Her lips press together, her fingers curling into the fabric of her dress. "You think you can keep me in a cage? Lock me up in this estate and expect me to just forget what I’ve been working for?"

I breathe in sharply through my teeth, raking a hand through my hair. "I expect you to stay alive."

Her eyes flash. "Iamalive. And I refuse to waste it hiding while the Lombardis?—"

"While the Lombardiswhat?" I cut her off, stepping closer. "Destroy people? Kill without remorse?I know, Sofia. I’ve lived this life since I was a kid. I’ve seen more bodies than you can count, I’ve cleaned up messes that would make you fucking sick. And I am telling you—this is a war you won’t win."

She pushes off the counter. "So that’s it? Just let them keep going? Let them burn this city to the ground while we sit behind these walls and pretend it doesn’t matter?"

My hands flex at my sides. "This isn’t aboutthem. It’s aboutyou."

A muscle jumps in her jaw. "I can’t just sit back and do nothing, Marco."

"You think I’m asking you to do nothing?" My voice rises. "I’m asking you to fuckingstay. To let me handle this. To trust that I would burn this entire city down before I let them touch you again."

Her throat bobs.

But she doesn’t give in.

Instead, she shakes her head, her expression sad. "You’re asking me to be someone I’m not."

My stomach twists.