I meet her gaze. She studies my face for a moment, searching for something.
“You let him live,” she says simply. “Why?”
That floors me more than anything she’s said so far.
“You’re not bothered by what you saw?” I ask carefully.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I know what this life is. I just… don’t understand why you spared him.”
I exhale slowly.
“Simon has been with our family for years,” I explain. “He’s loyal. He works hard. Something about this doesn’t smell right, so I’m giving him a chance to redeem himself.”
She nods, considering that.
“But don’t mistake that for weakness,” I add. “I have someone tailing him. If he’s lying—if he tries to run, if he covers for someone else—I’ll handle it myself.”
She doesn’t flinch. Not once.
“You will never gain respect,” I continue, “if your men think you’ll go off half-cocked and kill them without the full picture. Loyalty doesn’t come from fear alone. It comes from fairness.”
Her eyes soften then she nods. I take her hand as we pull away from the warehouse. The SUV pulls into the driveway. I open my door, then hers.
As she steps out, I reach for her hand without thinking, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Thank you for the help,” I say quietly. “I mean that.” Her fingers tighten around mine—just slightly—but enough to feel. “I need to make some calls,” I add. “I’ll find you soon for lunch.”
She nods, her hand slipping from mine like she’s reluctant to let go and I hate the feeling of losing her warmth.
And as she walks inside, I realize something I didn’t expect to feel this early:
I want more moments with her. More sparks. More truths. More of her. And I’ll burn down every ghost her father left behind if that’s what it takes to see her light up…starting with her clothes.
The moment Elena disappears down the hallway, I force myself toward my office. My first call should be to Dante. He needs to know about the warehouse, about the pricing changes, about Simon. But my fingers don’t dial Dante’s number. They dial Gia’s.
Gianna Moretti, Dante’s sister. My cousin.
One of the only people in this world who knows exactly who I am underneath the duty and the discipline.
She answers on the third ring. “Cousin,” she sings, light and amused. “What can I do for you? Aren’t you supposed to be enjoying married life?”
Normally I’d throw a sarcastic comment right back at her, but not today.
“Gia, I need a favor.”
Her teasing tone drops instantly. Because Gia knows I don’t ask for favors. Ever. If I need something, I go to Dante or handle it myself.
“Anything,” she says, voice hardening with purpose.
And damn, that makes my chest warm.
My father tried his entire life to drive wedges between me, Dante, and Gia. But blood meant something different to us. We chose each other.
“I need you to come take Elena shopping.”
Silence.
So long that I pull the phone from my ear to check if the call dropped. It didn’t.
