The Monster Never sleeps

CHAPTER 6

LENA POV

The island looked beautiful from far away. That was the cruel part.

White waves crashed against dark rocks beneath the fortress while cold wind pushed rain clouds across the sky. From the bedroom window, the ocean almost looked peaceful.

But nothing about this place was peaceful. Men with rifles patrolled below like machines. Cameras followed every hallway. Locked gates surrounded the property like invisible chains.

Even the silence here felt dangerous.

I stood beside the window with my arms folded while Matteo sat cross-legged on the carpet behind me, sketching absentmindedly inside a notebook one of the maids had left earlier.

Neither of us had spoken much since arriving. Sleep barely came anymore. Every time I closed my eyes, I still saw blood spreading across white wedding flowers. Still heard gunshots. Still saw Salvatore Romano standing in the middle of the massacre looking less like a man and more like vengeance itself.

Matteo finally broke the silence.

"Do you think we can escape?"

I turned from the window slowly. "You already thinking about running away?"

"Aren't you?"

His voice was quiet, but his eyes weren't. Fear sat inside them constantly now.

I forced myself to smile anyway. "Of course I am."

That earned the smallest reaction from him. Barely there. But I would take anything at this point.

I walked toward him and sat beside him on the floor. "What are you drawing?"

He hesitated before turning the notebook around.

A boat. The ocean. And me standing beside him. Just me.

My chest tightened painfully. "You made me look taller," I said softly.

"You complain too much to be short."

I laughed before I could stop myself. A real laugh. Tiny. Brief. But real.

Matteo stared at me like he hadn't heard that sound in years.

Then his expression changed suddenly. "Do you think he's going to kill us?"

The question destroyed the warmth instantly. I looked away first.

Because the terrifying part was that I didn't know anymore. Salvatore had every reason to hate my family. He stormed into my wedding and executed Luca and Killian without hesitation.

But he could've killed Matteo too. Could've killed me.

Instead, he brought us here. Fed us. Protected us. Watched us like something dangerous he couldn't quite figure out.

And somehow that confused me more than hatred would have.

"He won't touch you," I said finally.

"You sound sure."

"I am."

Another lie. Or maybe not. That was the problem.

Matteo studied me carefully before lowering his voice. "He looks at you weird."

I frowned. "Weird how?"

"Like he's mad at you and worried about you at the same time."

Before I could answer, a knock sounded at the door. The guard outside opened it immediately.

"Dinner."

Matteo instantly moved closer to me. The guard noticed. Everyone noticed everything in this fortress.

I stood slowly. "We're coming."

The dining hall downstairs looked like something stolen from royalty. Massive chandeliers glowed above a long black table. Expensive paintings covered the walls beside hidden security panels. Armed men stood silently near every entrance.

And at the center of it sat Salvatore Romano. Black dress shirt. Rolled sleeves. A silver watch resting against tattooed skin.

His attention lifted the second we entered. Not toward Matteo. Toward me.

That should not have affected me the way it did.

"Sit," he said calmly. Not rude. And not also kind. Just controlled.

I pulled Matteo's chair out first before taking the seat beside him. Servants immediately began placing food on the table. Nobody touched anything.

Salvatore leaned back slightly, watching us both. "You think it's poisoned?"

His voice was smooth enough to make the question worse. I met his eyes across the table.

"I think men like you enjoy making people uncomfortable."

One corner of his mouth almost moved. Almost.

"If I wanted you dead, Lena," he said quietly, "you wouldn't still be breathing."

Matteo shifted nervously beside me. I refused to look away.

"You always say horrifying things so casually?"

"And you always challenge dangerous men this easily?"

"Yes."

That time, amusement actually flickered in his eyes. Small. Gone fast. But there.

A servant poured wine beside Salvatore carefully. The man's hands trembled.

Salvatore noticed immediately. "Relax," he said without even looking at him. "I'm not killing anyone tonight."

The servant nearly dropped the bottle anyway.

I stared at Salvatore. "You enjoy that too."

"What?"

"Watching people fear you."

His gaze returned to mine slowly. "No," he said. "I enjoy when fear keeps people honest."

The room fell quiet again. Heavy quiet. The kind that made every breath feel loud.

Then Matteo spoke unexpectedly. "Did you really come back from the dead?"

My head snapped toward him instantly. "matteo—"

"It's fine," Salvatore interrupted.

His attention stayed on Matteo now. For the first time since meeting him, his expression softened slightly. Not warm. But less sharp.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Matteo swallowed hard. "People said your whole family died."

A shadow crossed Salvatore's face so quickly I almost missed it. "My family did die."

The words turned cold enough to freeze the room. Matteo looked down immediately.

I kicked myself internally for not stopping the conversation sooner.

But Salvatore surprised me again. "What's your favorite food?" he asked Matteo suddenly.

I blinked. Matteo looked confused too.

"...Pizza?"

Salvatore nodded once like that answer somehow mattered. Then he looked toward one of the staff.

"Tell the kitchen to make it tomorrow."

The servant nodded immediately.

I stared at him. Why was he doing this? Why act human one second and terrifying the next? Nothing about him made sense.

The storm outside worsened as dinner continued. Thunder shook the windows while rain hammered against the fortress walls.

Matteo slowly relaxed enough to start eating. It was the first proper meal he'd had in days. Salvatore noticed that too. Of course he did. The man noticed everything.

Halfway through dinner, one of the guards approached quickly. "Boss."

Salvatore didn't look away from me. "What?"

"We checked the east wing like you asked. Everything's clear."

I frowned slightly. Salvatore finally glanced toward the guard.

"And the docks?"

"Locked down."

"Good."

The guard nodded and walked away. Something about the exchange unsettled me.

"You expecting someone?" I asked carefully.

Salvatore cut into his steak slowly before answering. "I always expect someone."

"That sounds exhausting."

"It keeps me alive."

The answer came too quickly. Like he believed it too much.

Matteo suddenly pushed back his chair. "I need the bathroom."

"I'll take you," I said immediately.

Before I could stand, Salvatore spoke. "Marco."

One of the guards stepped forward. "Show him."

My jaw tightened instantly. "He can walk to the bathroom alone."

Salvatore's eyes met mine. "Not on this island."

The tension between us sharpened immediately. "You think a child is dangerous?"

"I think enemies use weaknesses."

Matteo looked between us nervously. I stood anyway.

"Then I'm going too."

Salvatore leaned back slightly, studying me. Rain crashed violently outside behind him.

"You don't trust me."

"No," I said honestly. "I really don't."

Something unreadable moved across his face. Then he nodded once.

"Go."

The hallway outside the dining room was quieter than before. Marco stayed several steps behind while Matteo washed his hands inside the marble bathroom.

The second the door closed, Matteo looked at me through the mirror. "He's scary."

"I know."

"But... he's different with you."

I stiffened. "No, he isn't."

Matteo gave me a look that said he didn't believe me at all.

Before I could respond, shouting echoed faintly through the hallway. Marco cursed under his breath before touching his earpiece.

"What happened?" I asked sharply.

No answer.

Then another guard's voice crackled through the device. "Boss wants eyes on the west side now."

Marco straightened instantly. He looked torn for half a second before speaking to another guard farther down the hallway.

"Watch them."

Then he disappeared around the corner.

The second he left, my instincts sharpened. Something was wrong.

The replacement guard stood near the wall silently while Matteo stepped closer to me. "Lena…"

I grabbed his hand immediately. "We're going back."

Fast footsteps suddenly echoed from the far hallway. Then gunmetal eyes locked onto mine.

Salvatore.

He moved toward us with controlled urgency, black gloves still stained faintly red from earlier business I didn't want to imagine. His gaze went first to Matteo. Then me.

"why did you stay longer " he said flatly. "And your guards abandoned us."

The temperature in the hallway dropped instantly.

Salvatore slowly turned toward the guard beside us. "You left them alone?"

The man visibly swallowed. "Boss, I was ordered to cover the west side—"

Salvatore's voice stayed calm. Which somehow felt worse.

"And who told you to leave her unprotected?"

"Nobody, sir. I thought—"

"There's your mistake."

The guard paled.

I stared at Salvatore. "You're acting like someone attacked us."

His attention returned to me instantly. "Nobody gets near you without my permission."

The possessiveness in his voice hit harder than it should have. I crossed my arms. "You don't own me."

His jaw flexed once. Then he stepped closer. Close enough for me to smell rain and smoke clinging to his clothes.

"Princess," he said quietly, "this island belongs to me."

The words wrapped around my throat dangerously.

"And?"

"And that means your safety belongs to me too."

My pulse stumbled. God, I hated the way he spoke sometimes. Like threats and protection were the same thing.

Matteo suddenly tugged my sleeve. "I'm tired."

Salvatore's expression softened slightly at Matteo's voice. Small. Brief. But real.

He looked toward the guard coldly again. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

The man disappeared immediately.

I should have been disgusted by the power Salvatore carried so naturally. Instead, I felt something worse. Safe. And that terrified me.

Salvatore looked back at Matteo. "Go upstairs."

Matteo nodded quickly before walking ahead with another guard.

The second we were alone, silence stretched between us. Dangerous silence. Rain pounded against the fortress windows nearby.

Salvatore looked exhausted suddenly. Not physically. Emotionally. Like rage itself had worn him hollow.

"You barely sleep," I said quietly before I could stop myself.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "That concern?"

"No. Observation."

A lie.

He stepped closer again. "You watch me that carefully?"

I should have backed away. I didn't.

"You're hard not to notice."

The air changed instantly. His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth before returning to my eyes. And that tiny movement ruined something inside me.

"You should stop looking at me like that," I whispered.

"Like what?"

"Like you're thinking dangerous things."

A slow silence passed.

Then

"I am."

My breath caught.

Salvatore lifted one hand slowly. Like he was giving me time to pull away.

His fingers brushed a strand of hair behind my ear carefully. The touch lasted barely two seconds.

But heat rushed through me so fast it felt humiliating.

His eyes darkened immediately. He felt it too.

Big mistake.

Because the look on Salvatore Romano's face afterward didn't look like revenge anymore.

It looked like obsession.