Isabella POV
The adrenaline of our victory at the Plaza faded the moment we crossed the threshold of the 72nd Street townhouse. The heavy oak doors sealed shut behind us, instantly transforming the space back into a silent, dust-sheeted mausoleum.
I looked down at Damiano. The champagne stain on his tuxedo jacket was a stark reminder of the moment he had thrown his body in the line of fire for me. A fragile, foolish hope bloomed in my chest. We weren't just a transaction anymore; we were allies.
"Let me help you with that jacket," I said softly, stepping closer and reaching for his lapel. "Club soda might get the stain out before it sets."
Damiano flinched as if I had offered him poison. His hand snapped up, catching my wrist in a grip that was entirely too fast and too bruising for a crippled man.
"Do not touch me," he commanded. The freezing, absolute authority of a Don echoed in the empty foyer, leaving no room for argument.
"I just wanted to help," I whispered, the warmth draining from my blood.
"We played our parts for the public, Isabella. Do not confuse a performance with reality." He released my wrist, his storm-gray eyes devoid of the protective fire I had seen at the gala. He spun his wheelchair around with brutal efficiency, putting a humiliating distance between us.
He rolled into his library without another word. A second later, the heavy brass lock clicked shut. The sound was a physical blow, shattering my illusions and leaving me entirely alone in the suffocating silence of the hallway.
Hours later, the storm that had been threatening the city finally broke.
Thunder rattled the old windowpanes, vibrating through the floorboards. I sat up in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. Another crack of thunder tore through the sky, and suddenly, I was back in the crushed metal of my parents' car, smelling rain and copper blood. My PTSD clawed at my throat, making it impossible to breathe.
Then, the townhouse plunged into pitch blackness. The power was gone.
Panic seized me. I needed to know I wasn't the only living soul in this tomb. Grabbing my phone, I turned on the flashlight and hurried downstairs.
As I approached the library, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open. The red emergency lights of his massive server racks blinked ominously in the dark.
My flashlight beam swept the Persian rug and stopped. Damiano was sprawled on the floor, his wheelchair pushed back a few feet.
"Damiano!" I gasped, rushing to my knees beside him.
"I'm fine," he gritted out, his jaw tight. "The servers went offline. I tried to use the grabber tool to reach the backup power switch on the top shelf, and I slipped."
Guilt and terror washed over me. I dropped my phone, letting it illuminate the floor, and slid my arms under his armpits to help him up. "On three. One, two, three—"
I pulled with all my might, expecting the dead, atrophied weight of a paralyzed man. Instead, my hands met a wall of solid, coiled steel. His back was incredibly broad, the muscles shifting and flexing with terrifying power under his damp shirt. His biceps were like carved marble against my forearms. It made no sense.
A jagged flash of lightning illuminated the room. I looked down into his face, expecting to see the grimace of a helpless invalid. What I saw stopped the breath in my lungs. His pupils were blown wide, his expression intense, dark, and utterly predatory. There was no pain in his eyes—only a fierce, caged panic.
"Please, don't play hero," I whispered, tears of residual fear blurring my vision. "You could have been seriously hurt. I am your legs now, Damiano. Let me help you."
A muscle feathered in his jaw. He shoved my hands away with a sudden, violent jerk, his voice a harsh rasp that sounded like it was torn from his throat. "I don't need a nurse, Isabella."
I swallowed the lump of hurt in my throat, refusing to back down. "You need a wife."
Before he could respond, the overhead lights snapped back on with a blinding glare. The sudden brightness shattered the heavy, charged intimacy of the dark. Damiano looked away, his chest heaving once before his expression smoothed into an impenetrable mask of ice.
"Get out," he ordered, not looking at me.
I slowly stood up, the rejection burning a hole in my chest. I turned and walked out of the library, my hands still tingling with the phantom heat of his skin. As I climbed the stairs, my mind spun with the impossible, rock-hard strength I had just felt beneath his shirt, a dangerous seed of doubt taking root in the dark.
