Read Online The Muscle Part Two by Michelle St. James - Free Book Online

said softly. “I can’t be scared forever. At some point I just have to do what I can, hope for the best, and get out. Get Sofia out.”
    Marco nodded. “So how does this go down in the study?”
    “I should do it,” Isabel said. “I know it better than - ”
    “No way,” Luca said. “I’m not giving that asshole one more reason to hurt you.”
    “But I’ll be faster,” she said. “I know all the drawers and cabinets. Plus I think I know where he keeps the keys to his desk.”
    “Great,” Luca said through clenched teeth. “Then you can give me or Marco the key, and we’ll take it from there.”
    “You’re not being reasonable.” Her eyes flashed, and he remembered the girl on the beach, the one who’d jumped from the top of the hotel. Here she was again, full of fire and ready to fight. “If you get caught, what will you say? What excuse can you possibly have for being in his office?”
    “I’ll think of something,” Luca said tightly.
    “What would you say?” Marco asked her.
    “I’ll say I’m looking for my father’s rosary. Or his pipe with the cherry smoke because I miss him. Or the old sweater he left in the desk drawer that he wore around the house.” She sighed. “The point is, there are hundreds of reasons I might be in the study.”
    “But will he believe you if you’re caught?” Luca asked. “That’s the question.”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “But there’s a bigger chance of him believing me than believing you.”
    “She has a point,” Marco said.
    Luca knew a losing battle when he was in one. And it’s not that Isabel didn’t make sense. It was just that he couldn’t stand the thought of giving Diego any more ammunition against her, and even more than that, he couldn’t stand the thought of what Diego might do to her if he caught her.
    “Okay, on one condition,” Luca said.
    Isabel smirked, clearly glad that she’d won. “What?”
    “I’m somewhere nearby. Somewhere that I can get to you if Diego finds you, if you run into trouble.”
    “Where will you hide without being obvious outside the study?” she asked.
    “I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out.” He was glad his voice was as hard as his resolve, because there was no way he was letting Isabel search Diego’s study unless he could reach her in under ten seconds.
    She hit the bar for another shot, and looked away. “Fine.”
    There was no real victory in the win. Isabel would be in enemy territory, and if she couldn’t find the key to the drawer, or if the computer wasn’t there at all, they were back to square one.
    And Luca had the distinct feeling that time was running out.

12
    L uca found Isabel in her room, sitting on the balcony and looking out over the sea in the distance. He sat in the chair next to her without speaking for a moment.
    She was still pissed that he’d pushed her at the bar earlier. He understood. She wanted to take charge of her situation. Wanted to be part of the solution. And probably, she even wanted to protect him.
    But he didn’t need her protection. He needed a lot of things from her, but that wasn’t one of them. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone all this time without her parents, fending off Diego, taking care of Sofia, trying to put the ugliness of what Diego had done to her out of her mind.
    Now he just wanted to shelter her, offer her the protection she deserved. Hell, if he had his way, he’d lock her in an ivory tower with the finest of everything and keep her safe from every hurt the world could throw her way.
    But that would be just another prison, and he didn’t want that for her either. Somehow he had to find a way to love her and protect her and give her the best of everything while letting her be in charge of her own life, her own destiny.
    He reached out and took her hand. “I’m sorry.”
    She looked over at him. “I have to do something for myself sometime.”
    “I know.” He sighed. “I’m just trying to