Chapter 1

By the time I finally made it back to the safe house, it was late at night.

The three of them were lounging on the couch, swirling glasses of red wine like they didn't have a care in the world.

Sofia looked up when I walked in and gave the two men a smug look.

"See? I told you she'd make it back alive! I win. That block on the south side is mine."

Victor clicked his tongue.

"Isabella, did you and Sofia plan this whole thing just to screw us over? Last time, it took you 12 whole hours to get back from the casino! This time, you did it in three!"

Victor was the brother I'd brought home when I was little.

His parents had been killed in a war between families. I'd always wanted an older brother, so when I found him, I decided he would be mine.

My father was against it at first.

"A person isn't a stray kitten. You can't just bring someone home and expect him to become family. If he never accepts us, he might turn around and bite the hand that feeds him."

Victor swore to my parents that he'd be a good brother.

In the end, my father took pity on him and let him stay.

Now Sofia was getting all the care and devotion he'd promised me.

"Did you secretly memorize the safe route? I knew it! You can't even recognize your mother. How could you possibly get out of there by yourself? You cheated. You broke the rules and wasted all the effort we put into helping you overcome this weakness!"

That was my fiancé, Luca.

We grew up side by side.

He'd known about my face blindness since we were kids, and for years, he'd never left my side.

Before Sofia came along, we'd faced everything together.

He'd even held my hand and sworn an oath before God.

"As long as I'm alive, I'll protect Isabella with my life."

Yet somehow, he'd become the person who abandoned me most often.

"Rules? All that effort you put into helping me?" I almost laughed. My voice was so hoarse I barely recognized it myself.

"I knew you two would come up with some excuse to get out of paying me," Sofia said.

Sofia pulled my radio from her bag and slapped it down on the table.

"I followed the isolation rules to the letter. She made it back completely on her own. That territory is mine, fair and square."

Victor and Luca froze.

"You really didn't leave her a radio?"

Victor's voice rose sharply. "Sofia, what if she'd gotten killed out there? Why didn't you tell us what you were planning?"

Sofia immediately shrank back, as if he'd frightened her. Her eyes filled with tears.

"You're the ones who agreed to help me train Isabella. And now you're blaming me? Is it because she's your sister and your fiancée? Is that why you suddenly care about what happens to her?"

She bit her lip and stood, looking hurt.

Both men panicked. They reached for her at the same time.

"We're not blaming you. Don't think like that."

Victor's voice softened at once. He sighed and said, "Look, she's not dead, is she? Let's just drop it."

I'm alive, so let's just drop it.

Luca picked up a fresh glass of wine and walked over to me.

"Stop sulking, Isabella. You'd better apologize to Sofia. Look how scared she is. She was only trying to toughen you up."

I stared at him. He actually believed he was right. I slapped him across the face.

"Are you insane?!"

Luca staggered back, stunned, one hand flying to his cheek.

I snatched my radio off the table and pointed at all three of them.

Then I snapped. "I almost got hacked to pieces by 12 men swinging goddamn machetes back there! Meanwhile, you three were sitting here betting on whether I'd make it out alive and fighting over my territory?! And you want me to apologize?"

"Arghhh!"

Sofia suddenly screamed and burst into tears. She ducked behind Victor.

"Victor, she wants to kill me! Look at her—she wants to kill me!"

Still crying, she ran out of the house.

Luca didn't even look at me. He shoved me aside in disgust and ran after her.

"Sofia, I'll drive you home. There's still a firefight going on out there. It isn't safe!"

The shove knocked me off balance. My shoulder slammed into the doorframe, splitting the skin. Blood began to trickle down my arm.

Victor wasn't about to be outdone. He snatched up his car keys and shoved Luca aside.

"I've got her. She's riding in my bulletproof car!"

What a joke. The two men who swore to protect me are fighting over who gets to take home the woman who almost got me killed.

Neither of them even notices I'm bleeding. And neither of them stops to wonder how someone who can't even tell friend from enemy managed to survive a hail of bullets.