"Not your business."
"Right." He grinned. "Not my business that you've been checking your phone during an active operation. Totally normal behavior."
I shot him a look that had made grown men reconsider their life choices.
He just kept grinning. Bastard.
We moved out of the warehouse, leaving Hughes' cleanup crew to handle the bodies and secure whatever evidence needed securing. Outside, the late afternoon sun felt too bright after the dimness inside. My eyes adjusted slowly.
Three more Donati vehicles pulled up. Leo stepped out of the lead SUV, Grayson right behind him.
"Status?" Leo asked.
"Clear. Two prisoners for interrogation if you want them. Rest are done."
"Any casualties our side?"
"Minor injuries. Nothing serious."
Leo nodded, satisfied. "That's the last of their holdings in Ironstone. Whatever Malatestas are left scattered to the wind. They won't be coming back."
"Not without a death wish," Grayson added.
I pulled out my phone again, couldn't help it. Still no new messages, but I reread Ivy's last text anyway.
"You keep checking that phone," Leo observed, "someone might think you've got somewhere to be."
"Just making sure my people are accounted for."
"Right. Nothing to do with a certain redhead who works at my club."
I met his eyes. "She tell you that?"
"Didn't have to. Sofia did." Leo's expression shifted, something almost sympathetic crossing his features. "Look, what you do on your own time is your business. But if you're going to be operating in my city, I need to know you're focused."
"I am."
"Are you?"
The question hung there. Fair, given the circumstances. But also completely beside the point because my focus had never been sharper. Ivy hadn't made me weaker. She'd given me something worth staying alive for, beyond obligation and family legacy and all the other bullshit that had been driving me for years.
"She's why I'm here," I said finally. "Not just the alliance. Her. I left four years ago because I thought I was protecting her. That was stupid. So I'm not leaving again."
Leo studied me for a long moment. "You know what being with someone in this life means. The risks."
"I do."
"And you're willing to put her through that?"
"I'm willing to let her make that choice herself this time. Instead of deciding for her like I did before."
Grayson made a noise that might've been approval. "Fair enough."
"Just keep your head in the game when it matters," Leo said. "Whatever's happening with you two, handle it clean. I don't need complications bleeding into business."
"Understood."
They left to supervise the cleanup. I stood there in the fading sunlight, gun oil and cordite still clinging to my clothes, and sent Ivy another text.
