"Unfortunately, no. I have more work to do and a pot of coffee to make." He lingers, not walking away until I answer him.
"I'll be fine. Just be safe…"
I watch him walk away before I begin climbing the stairs again.
Loving a man who puts himself in such dangerous positions isn’t easy, but you can't ever decide who your heart will fall in love with.
It just happens.
And when it does, you either fall apart or you hold on for the ride.
I just hope this ride is over soon. I'm getting motion sickness.
28
DANTE
The old warehouse has become my new war chambers, moved away from my home because I'm creating a barrier between what's left of this war and my family.
I stand at the head of a long metal table where my men gather around the table, from my closest advisors and soldiers to a dozen others who've come to aid me.
All of their faces are grim.
I have an empty chair directly to my right to honor the man who fell.
He was just a courier, a low-level soldier who hadn’t earned a true rank yet, but he died an honorable death fighting to ensure our legacy continues in Rome.
"We're down one enforcer," Enzo says, his voice flat. "Marco's death creates a gap in our defense."
I stare at the empty chair thinking about how short life is.
At just twenty-one, he was a new father, married less than two years, and had so much potential.
He gave it all up for me, and for that I'm forever grateful.
"We'll fill the gap," I say, "but it will never replace him."
My men's heads hang in silence for a moment before I give specific instructions on how to care for his wife and child, and the entire conversation leaves the room feeling somber.
Rico is the one to break the silence.
He pulls out a map of our territory and the paths through Gerard's warzone that we've been forced to evacuate. He's right.
We can't sit around grieving Marco's life when we have to move on with things.
If we just sit here, we'll all be slaughtered.
"Antonelli's deadline is just two days out. He's made it clear he's coming for you, but we don't know where he'll strike first." Rico taps on the corner of the map. "We need a plan."
The best defense is a good offense, but without knowing where he'll strike, all we can do for now is prepare and brace ourselves.
"He has three options." I lean over the map, tracing the locations with my finger. "The villa. The port. Or the club in Monti."
"The club's a soft target," Luca says. "But it doesn't send the message he wants. He's not interested in burning down a nightclub. He wants to humiliate you and eliminate you permanently."
"Agreed." Enzo pulls out a red marker and circles the villa on the map. "This is personal for him. He knows about Angelica and Sofia. He used them to bait you once already. He'll do it again."
My jaw tightens.
