Page 70 of The Underboss's Secret Twins

"You fell for me knowing exactly who I was," she continues. "A woman who doesn’t run. Who doesn’t look the other way. Who doesn’t wait for someone else to save her."

Damn it, she has a point.

She lifts her chin slightly. "So, tell me—what happens if I keep going? If I don’t stop looking into the Lombardis? If I don’t back down?"

How do I explain? How can I tell someone to stay the fuck back when all they want is to court trouble?

Sofia steps closer, so close I can feel the warmth of her body, the barely-there tremble of her fingers as she fists them at her sides. "I repeat my question. Will you still love me then?"

A raw, aching silence stretches between us.

I want to tell her there’s nothing in this world that could make me stop loving her. That I’d kill for her, die for her, burn for her a thousand times over. But the words stick in my throat, tangled in the brutal reality of what she’s asking.

I don’t love weak women. I never have. I love Sofia because she is sharp and relentless and refuses to be broken.

But I’ve also held her bleeding body in my arms. I’ve watched the life drain from her eyes, knowing that if I had been just a second too late, she’d be gone.

I can’t do it again.

Iwon’tdo it again.

I reach for her, cupping her face in my hands, tilting her chin up. "You think I don’t know who you are?" I murmur. "You think I don’t love that fire in you?"

Her lips part, but I don’t let her speak.

"But if you think I’ll sit back and watch while you put yourself in the crosshairs of the men whojust fucking took you—" My voice drops to a growl. "Then you don’t knowmeat all."

Her lashes flutter.

"Youarein a cage, Sofia." My thumb drags slowly across her cheekbone, over the fading bruise that still lingers there. "Not because I want to control you. Not because I think you’re weak." I press my forehead to hers, my voice raw. "Because I can’t fucking lose you, and you don’t know how to survive on your own—fuck,don’t even try to lie about it."

She closes her eyes, her breath shaking against my lips.

I pull her in, wrapping my arms around her, holding her against my chest. Her fingers dig into my shirt, but she doesn’t push me away.

"I get it," I murmur against her hair. "This fight—it’s part of who you are. And you’re not just another woman in my life." I inhale deeply, steadying myself. "So, if this is what you want—if you’re set on this—I’ll find a way to protect you while you do it."

Sofia’s body softens, her fingers loosening against my chest.

I can feel the war still raging inside her, the push and pull of instinct versus reason, her need for control battling against the reality of what she’s up against. And I know—if I force her to stop, if I cage her too tightly—she’ll slip through my fingers.

I can’t let that happen.

"If you’re going to keep doing this, we need to change the approach," I say finally, my voice measured. "No more going out on your own. No more direct confrontations. We’ll set upa network—people you can trust to gather information for you. You’ll stay in the background, analyzing the intel, connecting the dots—away from the front lines."

Sofia tilts her head, considering, but I don’t miss the flicker of curiosity in her expression. The gears in her mind are already turning, testing the idea, weighing the risks.

"And what about the Salvatore family?" she asks, careful, watching me closely. "I’ve exposed mafia corruption before. I can’t promise to ignore what I find, even if it leads back here."

"You don’t hurt your own, Sofia." My voice is firm. "The Salvatores protect this city in ways you can’t imagine. We have our flaws, but we’re not the Lombardis. If you find something that concerns us, you bring it to me. We handle it in-house. No one else needs to know."

I’m asking her to trust me.

To believe that I can handle our own demons without her dragging them into the light for the world to see.

Sofia studies me for a long moment, her gaze searching mine, trying to decide if she can live with that. The silence stretches, thick with unspoken consequences, until finally, she exhales.

"Okay." She nods, slowly. "I’ll focus on the Lombardis. But I’ll come to you if anything touches the Salvatores." She pauses. "But Marco, I need you to promise me something too."