“She would be safer if I knew where the fuck you’ve taken her,” Luca said from the screen, his voice edged with ice.“She should have been moved to somewhere we can all get to and you know that.”
Mateo exhaled slowly, eyes flicking to the screen as if tracking Luca’s expression in real time.“I know exactly why I moved her, and so do you,” he said evenly.“And I’d do it again.You were wrong and you handled the whole situation like a fucking idiot.”
Luca leaned closer to the camera.“I was trying to keep her safe.”
“No,” Mateo said flatly.“You were emotional, and you let that overshadow your decision making.There’s a difference.”
Luca’s mouth tightened.“It’s still early, she should be asleep.”
“She’s awake,” Mateo replied.“And you are doing it again, trying to control her.And before you ask, no, I’m not putting her on just so you can hear her breathe and pretend that fixes something.”
Her chest tightened.
On the screen, Luca dragged a hand down his face, stubble shadowing his jaw, eyes bloodshot with exhaustion.“I just need to know that she’s okay,” he said, lower now, the fury pulled tight around something sharper.“That’s all.”
Mateo shook his head, one hand braced on the edge of the table as the laptop camera adjusted to follow him.“You’ve called four times since dawn.Rafael says you haven’t slept.Kol says you’re tearing through data like it owes you money.None of that fixes what happened between you.”
Luca spoke again, faster now, voice dropping just enough that Mara could only catch fragments—I’m responsible ...she’s a target...I won’t lose her.
“No,” Mateo cut in when Luca finished.“I’m not putting her on.If you want to know how she is—then ask her yourself, when she’s ready.”
Mara stepped fully into the room.
The laptop screen showed Luca clearly now.Pale under harsh overhead light.Eyes rimmed red.A faint bruise still visible along his knuckles, as if he’d already taken his anger out on something solid.His gaze snapped up the instant he saw her, control cracking just enough for her to see the need that sat underneath it.
“Mara,” he said, her name rough, immediate.“I didn’t know you were—”
“If you want to know how I am,” she cut in, voice steady despite the way her heart slammed against her ribs, “grow a pair and ask me yourself.”
Silence.
On the screen, Luca’s mouth parted, then closed.His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping there as he leaned closer, filling the frame.“Mara—please—”
She didn’t wait for him to finish.
She turned away from the screen and walked into the kitchen, yanked open the fridge, and started pulling things out with far more force than necessary.Eggs.Bread.Butter.A pan clanged onto the stovetop.Normal things.Grounding things.
Behind her, she could hear him saying her name again, sharper now.
She ignored it.
Mateo followed a moment later, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, not crowding her, just there.Present.
“You okay?”he asked quietly.
She let out a short, humorless laugh.“No.But I will be.”
They stood in companionable silence while she cracked eggs into a bowl, the simple rhythm of it calming her hands.Outside, the world went on.Inside, everything felt suspended.
“He’s tearing himself apart,” Mateo said finally.“Trying to find the traitor.He thinks if he moves fast enough, it’ll make this better.”
“It won’t,” she said, not looking at him.“It’ll just make him bleed.”
Mateo studied her for a long moment.“Would you meet with him?”
She stilled, then nodded once.“Yes.But not like that.Not with him talking around me.If we’re going to do this, it’s face to face.And with all the Covenant there.”
Mateo inclined his head.“Fair.I’ll make some calls.”
