But she's alive.
I pass Mila to Alexei. "Take her to Maria, get her cleaned up and something sweet to eat.”
I go to Hannah, pulling her against me.
We don't speak. Don't need to. The fact that we're both standing, both breathing, both here—that says everything.
"I love you,” I murmur.
"I know." She touches my face, her fingers gentle despite everything. "I love you too. But I really need to sit down now before I fall down. And I can feel the wetness of your shirt. You’re bleeding."
I like that she’s not panicking. “I am.”
“Let’s see the damage,” she says with resignation.
She’s acting like we had a wild party and not a fight for life and death. It’s just another sign she’s the woman for me.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Is it over?”
"This part is. The council will handle Radimir and Bogdan. There will be consequences. But the immediate threat, that's over."
She leans her head on my shoulder. "Good. Because I don't think I can do that again."
"You won't have to."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
30
DANTE
The council convenes in my formal dining room twenty-four hours after the attack, sitting around a table scarred by shrapnel from last night's battle. Blood has been cleaned from the floors, but the smell of gunpowder still lingers in the air. A fitting backdrop for what I'm about to propose.
I made the call and because of the situation, it was determined it would be better to have the council come to Chicago. They needed to see the fallout. And getting a wounded Bogdan to New York would have been difficult.
Hannah and Mila are tucked away in the panic room because I trust no one. She knows what to do if this meeting goes sideways. I am very aware that removing me is an option. I have no idea how much sway Radimir has with the men that act as the governing body of the underworld.
Yuri Mirov, head of the council, sits at the head of the table, flanked by the other elders who were willing to come on such short notice. They're the old guard. They’ve watched myleadership with varying degrees of approval over the past five years.
And now they're here to decide what happens next.
Radimir and Bogdan are brought in separately, both in restraints, both wounded from the battle. Radimir maintains his dignity despite his circumstances, spine straight with an expression of indignation. Bogdan looks defeated, his shoulder bandaged, his eyes darting between the elders like he's calculating his chances of survival.
My doctor patched him up, which seems like a waste of time and first aid supplies. I would have preferred to put a bullet in his head and throw him in Lake Michigan. But he’s not going to get a quick death from me.
"Tells us," Yuri says. “Dante, present your evidence."
I signal Alexei who brings my evidence.
"Ivan was captured during the ambush on my family," I begin, my voice steady despite the rage simmering beneath. "He gave a full confession implicating both Radimir and Bogdan in a conspiracy to remove me from power."
I play the video recording. Ivan's voice fills the room, detailing months of planning, the frame job against Richard Quinn, the embezzlement scheme designed to make me look weak. The elders watch in silence, their expressions growing darker with each revelation.
When it ends, I display financial records. "We've traced the missing five million to offshore accounts created by Bogdan using Richard Quinn's identity. Quinn himself was innocent—afact Bogdan counted on me discovering too late to prevent his execution. I’ve also found evidence of more embezzlement."
