Page 53 of To Love a Monster
“I was seven when my father died,” I say.“My dad never made it home that night.One day I was helping him clean his Glock in the kitchen ...the next, Matteo was holding my mother and I while we cried ourselves sick.
And then he made sure we never wanted for anything.Paid for my schooling, moved us somewhere safe.Gave my mom a job that let her stay close but still free.And when I turned eighteen, I joined his ranks.Started my own security company and became the man he could trust to handle the jobs no one else could touch.”I decide to leave out what happened shortly after that.I hope I never have to share that side of my past with her.God knows she’d never look at me the same again.
I meet her eyes and continue.“That’s why he sent me.Because there’s no one else he trusts to keep you safe.”Silence stretches between us like a wire pulled taut.And then, just barely, Lila whispers, “So you’ve known this whole time?”A pause.Then she looks up at me.“That I was her.”
“I knew who you were the second I saw you,” I say.Lila doesn’t blink, her face stays still, but I can feel the storm brewing just beneath it.The shake in her breath and the pressure building behind her eyes.
Then she speaks.“But how?”Her voice cracks, half anger, half disbelief.“How did Carl find me if Matteo did all of this to hide me?How did they even know where to start?”
I shift forward, my elbows braced on my knees.“I don’t know,” I admit.“That’s what we need to figure out.Matteo received an anonymous tip a while ago.He didn’t know if it was real or if it was bait.But then his data team picked up chatter, encrypted messages connected to Annalise’s network.Something about prepping an asset for transfer.The timeline fit.The tone was urgent.Coordinated.Like they were planning to move fast.”
“And then?”she asks.
“I was pulled from my last job without warning.No details.Just coordinates, a file, and a name.”I look at her.“Yours.”She exhales slowly, like the air is being drained from her lungs.“We think they were going to act immediately.But something threw them off.”
Her brow furrows.“What?”
“Maybe because you left,” I say.“Unexpectedly.Took a trip here, off the grid.No phone tracking, no pattern.And I think when Carl followed, they had to change the plan.”
Lila stares down at the files again, her jaw clenched tight.“But ...why didn’t he just take me when he had the chance?”she asks, voice sharp now.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.“Maybe he was waiting for confirmation.Maybe Annalise hadn’t given the order.Maybe they needed to finalize logistics, secure an extraction point.Or maybe ... maybe he just liked watching you first.Getting close.Softening the landing before they ripped the rug out from under you.”
She shudders and the color drains from her face again.“And what do you think they were going to do with me?”she asks.Her voice is quieter now.More afraid.“Were they going to ... kill me?”
I don’t answer right away.Because the answer makes my blood boil.“Rumor has it they’ve recently started dabbling in a trafficking pipeline,” I say, voice flat.“High-end, black-market human asset auctions.The worst kind of people with the worst kind of money.If they confirmed who you were and who your father is, they’d never kill you.Not right away.”
She looks up at me slowly.“They’d sell you,” I finish.“To whoever wanted a piece of Matteo Ferro.Whoever wanted leverage, revenge.”She covers her mouth like she’s going to be sick.
“That’s why I need your help,” I say.I keep my voice even, but something in it trembles at the edges.“I wasn’t supposed to involve you.Matteo wanted to keep you out of it, protect you with silence.Hell, when he finds out you know all this, he’ll probably kill me.”
Lila flinches.“But I’m done lying to you,” I say.“If I want you to trust me, if I want to have a shot in hell at keeping you safe, I can’t leave you in the dark.So, no more secrets.”She doesn’t answer right away.
Then, without a word, she rises and walks the few steps to where I am.Her hands come up slowly, fingers curling into my shirt as she presses her forehead to mine.Her breath is warm, her body trembling as she leans in.
“This is so fucked up,” she whispers.“I don’t even know how to begin to process any of this.”
“I know,” I say quietly.“I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head.“Don’t apologize for what they did.You didn’t start this.”A breath shudders through her chest.“But I’m done hiding too,” she says.“I won’t let them win.Not after everything they’ve taken.Not after all they’ve done.”Her eyes lift, shining with heat and fury.“So, what do we do now?How can I help?”
