Chapter 16: Love and War

Sofia's POV

I slammed the door shut and locked it before Vincent could reach the top of the stairs.

"That won't hold them for long," Nikos said, already moving furniture to block the door.

"It doesn't have to," I said, my mind racing. "There's another way out."

I ran to my closet and pushed aside the clothes. Behind them was a small door I had found weeks ago but never opened.

"Where does it lead?" Cassian asked, helping me clear the entrance.

"I don't know, but anywhere is better than here."

The door was barely big enough for one person. Elena went first, then Isabella, then the rest of us squeezed through one by one.

We ended up in a narrow passage that smelled like dust and old secrets. Emergency lights flickered along the walls, casting weird shadows.

"This connects to the garage," Elena called back to us. "We can get to the cars."

Behind us, I heard Vincent's men breaking down my bedroom door. We had maybe two minutes before they figured out where we went.

"Move," Isabella ordered, and we all ran.

The passage seemed to go on forever, but finally we reached another door. Elena pushed it open, and we spilled out into the garage.

Three black cars were waiting with engines already running. Our escape had been planned.

"Everyone split up," Cassian said. "Different cars, different routes."

But I grabbed his arm. "No. We stay together."

"Sofia, that's not smart—"

"I don't care if it's smart," I interrupted. "We're stronger together."

The four men looked at each other, having one of their silent conversations.

"All right," Rafe said. "Together it is."

We piled into the biggest car. I ended up in the middle of the back seat, squeezed between Luca and Nikos. Rafe was driving, with Cassian next to him. Isabella and Elena took the other car.

As we drove away from the house, I watched it get smaller in the rear window. The place that had been my prison, then my home, then my battleground.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Safe house," Cassian said. "About an hour away."

"Will Vincent follow us?"

"Probably," Nikos said. "But we'll be ready for him."

I settled back between Luca and Nikos, trying to ignore how good it felt to be close to them. After everything that had happened, I should be scared or worried. Instead, I felt oddly peaceful.

"Can I ask you guys something?" I said.

"Anything," Luca replied.

"Are you really okay with this? With sharing me?"

The car went quiet. Even Rafe glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

"I mean," I continued, "most men would be fighting each other over a girl. But you're all working together. Why?"

"Because fighting each other would hurt you," Cassian said simply. "And none of us want to hurt you."

"But don't you get jealous? When you see me with one of the others?"

Nikos was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. Then he said, "Of course we get jealous. But we also understand something most people don't."

"What's that?"

"Love isn't supposed to make people smaller," he explained. "It's supposed to make them bigger. Stronger."

"If we fought over you, we'd all lose," Rafe added from the front seat. "But if we work together, we all win."

"And you win too," Luca said, nudging my shoulder. "Because you get four men who would die for you instead of one."

I felt tears starting. "I don't deserve you guys."

"Yes, you do," all four of them said at the same time.

That made me laugh through my tears. "Did you practice that?"

"We didn't need to practice," Cassian said with a smile. "We just know."

The safe house turned out to be a cabin in the woods, hidden from the road by tall trees. It was small but comfortable, with one big living room and two bedrooms.

"I'll take the couch," I said when we walked in.

"You'll take the master bedroom," Rafe corrected. "We'll figure out the rest."

While the men checked the security systems, I found myself alone with Isabella for the first time since she had appeared in my room.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting next to me on the couch.

"Confused. Scared. Happy. Angry. Everything at once."

Isabella nodded. "That's normal when your world changes overnight."

"Is this really normal, though?" I asked. "Having four boyfriends?"

"Are they your boyfriends?"

I thought about that. "I don't know what they are. I just know I can't imagine my life without any of them."

"Then that's your answer," Isabella said. "Don't worry about labels or what other people think. You're not other people."

"Because I'm a queen?"

"Because you're you," Isabella said firmly. "Royal blood or not, you deserve to be happy. If these four men make you happy, then be happy."

"Even if it's complicated?"

"Especially if it's complicated. The best things in life usually are."

Over the next few days, I got to see how the four men worked together to take care of me. And Isabella was right - they made me happy.

Cassian would bring me books and sit with me while I read, discussing the stories like we were old friends.

Rafe cooked meals that were way too good for a criminal hideout and made sure I ate enough.

Luca told jokes and played music on an old guitar he found, making me laugh when I got too serious.

Nikos taught me card games and chess, always challenging me to think harder.

The amazing thing was how they coordinated without even trying. When Cassian saw I was getting tired of reading, he would signal to Luca, who would start a funny story. When Luca noticed I was getting restless, he would catch Rafe's eye, and suddenly we'd be going for a walk in the woods.

"You guys are like a team," I told them on the third day.

"We are a team," Nikos said. "Team Sofia."

"That's terrible," I laughed. "You need a better name."

"How about Team Badass?" Luca suggested.

"Team Unbeatable?" Rafe tried.

"Team Sofia is fine," Cassian said with a grin.

But as nice as it was playing house in the woods, I knew it couldn't last. We were hiding from dangerous people who wanted to use me or kill me. Eventually, we'd have to face them.

That evening, I was in the kitchen getting some water when I heard Cassian talking quietly on his phone in the other room.

"Yes, I understand the offer," he was saying. "Fifty million is a lot of money."

I froze. Fifty million dollars? For what?

"But you need to understand something too," Cassian continued. "Sofia isn't just some girl you can buy and sell. She's under our protection now."

My blood went cold. Someone was trying to buy me?

"Alive only, you said? Why is that?" Cassian asked.

I crept closer to the door, trying to hear better.

"I see. And if we refuse to cooperate?"

There was a long pause.

"Then you'll have a war on your hands," Cassian said grimly. "Because we're not giving her up."

He hung up the phone, and I quickly moved away from the door. But my mind was spinning.

Fifty million dollars. Alive only. Someone wanted me so badly they were willing to pay that much money.

But who? And why?

I went back to the living room, trying to act normal. Rafe was reading a magazine, Luca was tuning his guitar, and Nikos was doing a puzzle. They all looked up when I walked in.

"Everything okay?" Rafe asked.

"Fine," I lied. "Just getting some water."

But nothing was fine. Someone out there had put a bounty on my head. Fifty million dollars was more money than most people saw in their entire lives.

What made me worth so much?

"Sofia?" Luca said. "You look pale."

"I'm just tired," I said. "I think I'll go to bed early."

All four men stood up at the same time, like they were going to follow me.

"I'm okay," I said quickly. "Really. I just need some sleep."

They sat back down, but I could feel them watching me as I walked to the bedroom.

Once I was alone, I sat on the bed and tried to think. Fifty million dollars was serious money. The kind of money that made people do terrible things.

But alive only - that was the part that scared me most. If someone wanted me dead, they could have killed me already. The fact that they wanted me alive meant they needed me for something.

Something worse than death.

I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Come in," I called.

It was Cassian. He looked worried.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"Not really."

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Want to talk about it?"

I almost told him about the phone call. Almost asked him who had offered fifty million dollars for me. But something held me back.

If I asked, he would have to explain. And maybe the explanation would be worse than not knowing.

"Cassian," I said instead, "do you ever regret getting involved with me?"

He looked shocked. "Never. Why would you ask that?"

"Because my life is dangerous. Anyone who cares about me gets hurt."

"Sofia, we chose this. All of us chose you."

"But what if choosing me gets you killed?"

Cassian reached out and took my hand. "Then we die protecting something worth dying for."

His words should have made me feel better. Instead, they made me more afraid.

Because I was starting to realize that fifty million dollars wasn't just about me. It was about the people I loved.

Someone out there was willing to pay a fortune to get their hands on me. And if they couldn't get me willingly, they might try to force me by threatening the four men who meant everything to me.

I was still thinking about that when I heard Cassian's phone ring in the other room.

"I should get that," he said, standing up.

"Wait," I called. "Cassian?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. All of you. I need you to know that."

He smiled, but it was worried. "I love you too. We all do."

After he left, I crept back to the door to listen.

"What do you mean they're not the only ones?" I heard Cassian say into his phone.

My heart stopped.

"How many other offers?" he asked.

There was a pause.

"Jesus. And they're all alive only?"

Another pause.

"So you're telling me that half the criminal world is bidding on Sofia like she's some kind of prize?"

I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from making noise.

"What makes her so valuable?" Cassian asked.

The answer came so quietly I almost missed it.

"Because whoever owns Sofia Romano Moretti owns the entire underworld."

The phone slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor.