Alessio steps in, his face drawn with the same exhaustion that's been riding all of us. He takes one look at me and pauses.
"Something's happened."
It's not a question. He knows me too well.
"Lucrezia called," I say, my voice rough. "They're meeting me tomorrow at The Café on 8th at ten. Just me."
Alessio's eyebrows shoot up. "Both of them? Are they alright?"
"She says they are."
He crosses the room, dropping into the chair across from me. "Is this Easton's play?" he asks. "Drawing you out alone?"
I shake my head. "Lucia said he doesn't know where they are."
"And you believe that?"
"I believe my sister," I snap, then immediately regret it. Alessio doesn't deserve my anger. "Sorry."
He waves it off. "I'll organize security. We can have Noah and?—"
"No," I cut him off. "I'm going alone."
Alessio leans forward, his face intense. "That's not happening, Damiano. It's too exposed."
I steel myself against Alessio's glare. For a moment, we're locked in a silent battle of wills, neither willing to back down. Finally, I exhale, my shoulders dropping slightly.
"Fine. Two men, but they stay outside," I concede. "If they're visible, Zoe and Lu might bolt."
Relief crosses Alessio's face. He runs his thumb along his bottom lip, thinking through the logistics. "Noah and Daniel. They'll blend in better than most."
"That works. But make sure they understand—no move unless I signal."
Alessio nods. "Lucrezia will understand the precaution." He studies my face for a moment. "How are you holding up?"
I laugh bitterly. "How do you think?"
"Are you ready to hear what she has to say?" Alessio asks carefully.
I lean back in my chair, running a hand through my hair. "Fuck, I don't know." The admission costs me. "Maybe I should have let her talk that day in my office. If I knew Lucrezia would pull something this fucking stupid..." I trail off, the rage and fear of the past week threatening to overwhelm me again.
"You were blindsided," Alessio says. "Finding out about her father—about Travis—it would shake anyone."
"Doesn't matter. I should have maintained control." The words taste bitter in my mouth. Control has always been my shield, and I'd let it slip.
"Just hear her out tomorrow," Alessio says.
I nod once, sharply. Whether I believe a word out of Zoe's mouth is another matter entirely.
"It would be easier to just drag them both back here once I see them."
Alessio's eyes lock with mine, that steady gaze that'skept me grounded through countless crises. "Technically, yes," he says carefully. "We could have Noah and Daniel grab them both, bring them back here. Problem solved."
"But that's not the best option if I want to be trusted again," I finish, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The morning air bites at my skin as we step out of Scarlett's apartment building. Lucrezia hugs her light jacket tighter around her slender frame, her dark hair partially hidden under a baseball cap. I tug my own cap lower over my eyes, a precaution that feels both necessary and futile.
