That stubborn chin of hers dropped in defeat, and it broke my heart to see it. But I needed to get her inside and cleaned up before Luca and Tristan got home. “Okay,” she whispered so softly I barely heard her. I held out my hand, but she ignored it completely as she walked around me and started toward the glow of lights from the house.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed her, knowing this docile act was only temporary.

As we approached the circular driveway in front of the house, I pulled my sunglasses out of my inside jacket pocket and put them on. One of the guards...