He holds my gaze. “And as much as I regret not telling you, Matteo, I agree with her. Our intel said Giacomo was hiding out in Belarus, but he wasn’t. He was here. In the city.”
He pauses. “Every time we think we’re one step ahead, he’s already three moves past us. He wanted you to know he’d seen her. He wanted to play you into something.”
His voice hardens. “And right now, we can’t afford to start a war we can’t contain.”
I think back to the parking lot and how he had Vladimir’s men with him. The man is gathering allies on the wrong side of the creek.
“I’ve been keeping eyes on Giacomo for years, and I thought my intel was solid. He was meant to be in an entirely different continent, not in the same borough as her.”
I close my eyes and take a slow breath. Silence falls between us. The weight of too many things unsaid, and the fear of what comes next, hangs heavy in the air.
“We’re locking everything down. I want my wife and son watched with hawk-eye precision,” I spit, the words tasting like venom. “I also want to know his movements, and how deep his connection to Vladimir goes.”
Valerio straightens, his entire demeanor shifting. “Already started. I pulled in Marco and Elena from the East crew. They’re setting up surveillance at the school and the building. Every route Beatrice takes gets mirrored from now. We may also need to move you back into the city for a little while. I know you love the estate, but for the next week we need to fortify the mansion and keep it fully protected. There needs to be no way for him to get to her ever again.”
Good.
There’s a chill in the air, but not from the cold.
“He knows the truth about my son’s paternity.”
He blinks, but doesn’t speak. I’m sure he already knows, but I continue anyway.
“He knows about Daniele,” I clarify. “I can’t let him near him, Rio. That man cannot have my son.”
“He won’t get close, boss,” Valerio says, attempting reassurance. But even he knows he can’t promise me that for certain.
Giacomo has been evading us for years, slipping through cracks we didn’t even know existed until it was too late.
“I want him dead,” I say, the words final.
“We will get him, boss,” Valerio nods.
I take the long way back to the penthouse, circling the block twice before parking. I scan every rooftop, every alleyway, every window, making certain his shadow isn’t lurking nearby. I have at least twenty men within a twenty-foot radius of the building, and another twenty stationed inside. Every measure is in place—and yet I still feel that gnawing sense that it’s not enough.
I walk into the building,my muscles still wound tight.
Beatrice is still asleep on the couch when I enter, the blanket draped over her body. Her chest rises and falls gently, and forthe first time tonight, something inside me eases. At least she has enough peace left in her to sleep.
She looks small. Breakable.
I kneel down, press a kiss to her temple, and whisper the words I said to her all those years ago, when our story began on that rooftop.
“I got you, bella.”
No matter what bullets I have to take, I will always have her.
26
BEATRICE
The water is hot when I step in—too hot, scalding even—but I don’t flinch. I relish the burn on my skin. I want it to hurt a little. I want it to wash away the weight on my chest. I want it to burn away his touch that marred my skin in that park. It’s been three days since my last encounter with that man, and still I can’t shake the coldness that slithers up and down my spine.
I will be seeing you soon, cara mia.
I breathe in the steam and heat. They scorch my nose, but it pales in comparison to the panic bubbling in the deepest parts of my soul. I lift my head and meet the cascade of water head-on.
I got you, bella.
